Nadeshiko Shizuka was drenched in fragrant sweat. The cold, proud flower of ice was incredibly vulnerable now.
Naruto pointed a kunai at Nadeshiko Shizuka's head and said, "It's over!"
Nadeshiko Shizuka lowered her head in dejection. "Please, finish it."
"Finish what..." Naruto was initially baffled, but then stated why he had come. "I'm not marrying into the village."
Nadeshiko Shizuka abruptly raised her head, curiosity filling her eyes. Naruto looked serious; he was not joking. Could it be that he did not know the benefits of marrying into Nadeshiko Village? No man should have been able to refuse, right? Or was she not pretty enough? Or were the female ninja of Nadeshiko Village unattractive?
Naruto looked over the female ninja of Nadeshiko Village below the arena, his gaze settling on the two older elders among them.
"A backward custom like this shouldn't exist, much less become shackles that bind everyone!"
One elder's expression shifted slightly as she sternly said, "Lord Naruto, you defeated Lady Shizuka yet chose to refuse marriage into Nadeshiko Village. We have nothing to say about that. But since you are an outsider now, you have no right to tell our village what to do."
Jiraiya stood at a distance, watching as though enjoying a show and waiting to see how Naruto would resolve this.
Naruto shouted sternly, "Shutting yourselves away, shutting away the village, maintaining everything like machines... why does it have to be this way? Rules this unreasonable need to be changed!"
"What does an outsider like you know? Do you understand the traditions of Nadeshiko Village? Yet you dare spout nonsense here." The other elder seemed angered by Naruto's words.
Naruto responded, "Traditions cannot be discarded, but rules must constantly be revised. Shizuka..."
Nadeshiko Shizuka's eyes widened. Naruto's words shook her to the core,