Within the territory of Land of Earth.
A small bonfire was burning in the lee of the Rock mountain wall, dispelling some of the coldness.
Uchiha Hikari is sitting on a flat head of Taiseki, with an elegant posture.
She lowered her head slightly, holding a thick piece of dough with brown color and irregular baking marks on the surface in both hands.
This is exactly the specialty food of Land of Earth, Rock-Skin Flatbread.
This kind of pancake is traditionally baked directly on a hot flat Rock board, and the pancake body is thicker, harder, and chewier than ordinary sesame pancakes or flour pancakes.
That's why it's called Rock-Skin Flatbread.
This is my first time eating this.
There was also a small jar in front of her, which was the sauce Naruto had just made.
She was nibbling the hard Rock-Skin Flatbread in small bites, occasionally dipping it in some sauce, her eyes were lowered, and her long eyelashes cast fine shadows under the bonfire. She was so quiet that it formed a strange contrast with the rough environment around her.
It looked like he was having a meal between dangerous infiltration or raid missions, but rather like he was undergoing some kind of delicate tasting.
Not far next to her, Naruto sat opposite a middle-aged man with a tall stature and a calm temperament.
The man has Red Eyes short hair that is as flamboyant as Flames, a thick beard of the same color on his chin, and is wearing simple clothes. He is clearly Four-Tails Jinchūriki of Land of Earth, and he is also Yunyu Monk Roshi.
On the ground between the two of them, there were two thick Ceramic Bowl and a bottomed wine bottle.
It was said that they were "sitting across from each other and drinking", but in fact Naruto didn't touch any wine, and what he saw was just water. On the contrary, there were still wine stains on the edge of the bowl in Roshi's hand, and his bronze face also had some rosy color after drinking.
Obviously, almost all of this bottle of wine went into Roshi's stomach.
Roshi let out a loud belch.
He placed the wine bowl gently on the ground, then clasped his hands together and bowed slightly towards Naruto. His voice was loud and full of drunkenness, but also revealed a trace of sincerity:
"Thank you for the hospitality, little brother. I haven't had such a good drink in a long time."
Naruto smiled, followed the other person's example and made a casual sign, waving his hand. "Uncle, you are so polite. It's fate that we met him on the way. This Rock-Skin Flatbread is not bad, I'm quite hungry."
As he spoke, he picked up his piece of Rock-Skin Flatbread and took a big bite effortlessly, chewing it loudly, showing his excellent teeth and adaptability to such hard-core food.
Roshi looked at Naruto's unpretentious expression, and the corners of his mouth under his red beard seemed to be curved.
Although he is dressed as Monk, his behavior is quite heroic, and he admires Naruto's unpretentious attitude.
However, Naruto's next words made Roshi's clasped hands pause for a moment.
"But thank you anyway."
Naruto swallowed the cake in his mouth and patted the crumbs on his hand. He still had a smile on his face, but his blue eyes looked at Roshi and became serious.
"I don't need you to be so polite. In fact, I have something to do, and I want to invite you, uncle... to do me a favor."
The bonfire was crackling, and Guang was still nibbling on the cake, as if she was turning a deaf ear to the conversation here, but she had quietly locked onto Roshi.
The drunkenness on Roshi's face seemed to have sobered up a bit. A glimmer of light flashed in those same Red Eyes eyes, and he slowly lowered his clasped hands.
The beating light and shadow of Flames intersect with light and dark on Roshi's rough and serious face, making his already profound expression even more elusive.
He did not answer immediately, but instead stared at Naruto with a pair of sharp, glowing red eyes, unblinkingly and extremely seriously, as if he wanted to see the young Konoha Hokage thoroughly from the inside out.
After a few seconds of breathless silence, Roshi slowly spoke, his voice low and direct:
"Say it, Hokage of Konoha.
Are you going to kill Ōnoki?"
Naruto:"...?"
He opened his mouth slightly, as if he didn't realize the other person's jumping thoughts for a moment, and he was completely confused.
Seeing Naruto's completely unexpected expression with a "What the hell are you talking about" expression on his face, Roshi, who had been so serious just now as if he was ready to take action at any time, suddenly, like a child who had succeeded in a prank, let out a "puff" and then burst out into a loud and hearty laugh:
"Hahahahaha!"
Roshi smiled so much that his beard was trembling. The calm temperament of the eminent monk before was gone, and he looked more like a bold mountain traveler.
"Land of Grass and Land of Earth are adjacent.
I just heard yesterday that Kusagakure was 'swallowed' by Konoha's newly appointed leader Sixth Hokage, and the commotion was quite big.
As a result, I met you two in this barren mountain today..."
He stopped laughing, but his eyes were still narrow, and he pointed at Naruto and the light who was quietly eating cakes next to him with his thick fingers:
"You Hokage, you brought such a beautiful girl deep into my Land of Earth hinterland, you are not here to kill that stubborn old man Ōnoki..."
He deliberately prolonged his tone and then winked narrowly:
"Is it possible that you are here for sightseeing? Or..."
Roshi touched his fiery red beard, showed an "I understand" expression, and made a joke that he thought was quite interesting:
"Have you fallen in love with our Iwagakure girl Kurotsuchi? Are you here specifically to find someone?"
He said this in a completely joking tone. After all, Kurotsuchi is the granddaughter of Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki. He is also considered a leader of the younger generation of Iwagakure, and his identity is sensitive.
Roshi travels around all year round and does not care much about village affairs or the younger generation. He only casually makes fun of the younger generations he knows.
However, what he didn't expect was--
Naruto opposite, didn't smile.
Not only did he not laugh, but when he heard the name "Kurotsuchi", his eyes seemed to fluctuate slightly. He did not immediately deny it, nor did he accept the joke. Instead, he seemed to... What was he thinking about what he was saying?
The narrow smile on Roshi's face froze instantly, replaced by disbelief and a little absurdity.
Isn't it?
Are you really here for Kurotsuchi?
Roshi's eyes immediately changed, from a joke to a look of astonishment and condemnation that was almost like looking at a "beast"!
His voice rose a little higher:
"Hey, Kurotsuchi, that girl is only thirteen years old this year!"
He simply couldn't believe that Hokage from Konoha came to Land of Earth, and his primary target was to abduct his underage granddaughter?
Is this a lie?
But the next second, before Roshi's anger fully rose, he suddenly realized another problem.
He carefully looked at Naruto's face, which although seemed mature due to his experience and temperament, still had Young Naruto's sharpness between his brows and eyes.
Wait... this Konoha Sixth Hokage opposite looks... very young?
Roshi's anger was like a popped balloon, most of it "popped" out.
Oh... He touched his chin and his eyes became a little strange.
They are of the same age... that... seems... isn't completely unreasonable?
Although I still think this is outrageous, at the age of Young Naruto, I am no longer so "animal".
He coughed twice, trying to relieve the embarrassment of being too excited just now.
At this moment, Naruto finally came to his senses from Roshi's overly jumpy and misunderstood thoughts.
He rubbed his forehead helplessly, knowing that he could no longer let Uncle Jinchūriki, who was forthright but seemed to have a bit of an off-line mind, continue to "imagine".
"Stop, stop, uncle, where are you thinking?"
Naruto quickly waved his hand, interrupting Roshi's possible shocking words again, and his tone returned to seriousness.
"I came to Land of Earth for Dust Release and Iwagakure."
Then, looking at Roshi's still somewhat doubtful expression, he added:
"Of course, if the opportunity is right..."
Naruto looked at Roshi, or in other words, looked through Roshi at the hot and huge Chakra in his body, "I really want to ask 'Son Gokū' about the secret of Lava Release."
Four-Tails inside Roshi suddenly opened his eyes.
This Kid knows his own name?
"Dust Release...Lava Release... and the whole Iwagakure..."
Roshi repeated in a low voice and slowly sat up straight.
"Kid, your appetite is quite big."