In Konoha, Naruto lies down

Nine-Tailed Fox didn't move from its nest the entire time. It looked at the two of them with contempt, picked up the bottle with its claws, and drank the remaining few sips of wine in one gulp.

Stupid humans, it thought.

After Naruto lit the candle, he stood up again and lit another candle, then stood up and carried it into the kitchen, speaking as he walked.

"Wait a moment, there should be boiling water in the kitchen. I'll make you a cup of cocoa."

"Yeah." Ino's mood had not yet completely calmed down, and the afterglow was still coming in waves. She didn't hear clearly what Naruto said, but just responded.

It wasn't until Naruto brought two cups of steaming cocoa that she subconsciously said thank you.

"Don't you dislike cocoa?" Ino held the cup full of hot cocoa, and her hands gradually warmed up.

"I don't like it. It's too sweet and greasy. I'd rather drink water than this stuff." Naruto said, "Usually only girls like you like it, to replenish sugar or something."

"Then you still drink?"

Naruto smiled and took the seat across from her, taking a sip of his cocoa and said.

"I just want to know what you like to drink. If I drink your cup directly, you might beat me to death, so I can only settle for the next best thing."

"That's an exaggeration! I'm so..." Ino paused halfway through her sentence and then frowned.

This guy had a lot of things to say. If she said she didn't mind, he would definitely drink from the same cup with her openly. If she said she minded, who knows what weird things he would say.

So Ino stood up silently and automatically moved a little further away from Naruto.

Naruto: “….”

The power went out, and the temperature in the living room naturally dropped. Ino, wrapped in her bathrobe, couldn't help but shiver, and Naruto also noticed the cold.

He stood up and said to Ino.

"You can sleep in my room."

"Huh? Why?"

"The quilt in the guest room is very thin, and there's no power and heating now. You'll catch a cold sleeping there." Naruto explained patiently, "The quilt in my room is thicker, so..."

I had expected Ino to righteously refuse, and that wouldn't be surprising. After all, he was very self-aware, and in Ino's mind, he was probably in the top three of the most dangerous things.

I've probably been labeled as someone who can never be trusted.

But surprisingly, Ino didn't refuse, but just asked after a moment of silence.

"Where do you sleep then?"

"Ah?" This was a question he had never thought about. Of course, what he thought in his heart was that it would be nice if they could sleep in each other's arms, but in the end he couldn't say such words out loud.

After hesitating for a few seconds, he frowned and said.

"There's a very thick blanket in the foxhound's room, so I'll have to bear with it."

Chapter 172 More important things

Kyuubi understood and was so angry that he stood up from the sofa like a standing Tom cat.

Before the Nine-Tails could send a telegram, Naruto spoke first.

"At worst, I can just buy a bunch of wine for the Spitz tomorrow as compensation."

Hearing this, Kyuubi lay back down silently, pretending nothing had happened. In fact, the weather wasn't that cold, at least it didn't feel it, as long as it wasn't free.

After calming the Nine-Tails down, Naruto said to Ino with a smile.

"Don't worry about me, just go into the room first."

"But......"

"Don't say but!" Naruto pushed Ino into the room, then went back to the living room to get a candle and placed it on the bedside. He stood at the door and waved, then slammed the door shut.

The light in the living room was dim, and he stood at the door of the room but did not leave immediately. Instead, he counted down silently in his mind, starting from ten.

"Ten, nine, eight... three, two, one."

The door opened with a "ya" sound. Ino was startled when she saw Naruto standing at the door, but she quickly turned her head and whispered.

"You...you'd better not try to steal the foxhound's blanket. It's okay to sleep in the same bed. We are innocent anyway."

Naruto looked at Ino, smiled, nodded, and said okay.

in the room.

Ino's slender body sank into the right side of the bed, motionless, until she felt the candle in the room being blown out and heard the rustling sound of someone getting on the bed nearby.

Her stiff body couldn't help but tremble slightly, and she now regretted her impulsiveness just now.

I just felt that it would be too pitiful to let him sleep in that room. I accidentally felt pity for him and opened the door for some unknown reason.

Now it feels like the matter has been settled and it’s too late to regret.

"Are you nervous now?" Naruto asked.

"Don't say weird things." Ino turned her back completely and buried her hot face in the quilt.

She originally thought that Naruto's room was always a little messy, but when she came in, she found that the room was not only unexpectedly tidy, but even the quilt did not have any strange smell.

These can easily create a clean atmosphere and reduce the girl's resistance.

Ino really liked this, whether it was holding hands in the dark during a power outage, or the candles, looking into each other's eyes, the clean room, and the fluffy quilt with a scent.

In the darkness, Naruto could feel Ino's body temperature coming from one side, and he suddenly asked.

"Are you anxious to go home tomorrow?"

"Yeah." Ino's voice was so soft that it was barely audible.

"The New Year's Festival should have been postponed. Tonight isn't too important. Tomorrow we should go to the shrine with the elders of the Akimichi and Nara clans."

"So that means we won't have time tomorrow and have to get up early in the morning?" Naruto asked.

"That's about it, what's wrong?" Ino asked in a low voice. She felt that her voice was so soft that she could hardly hear it.

"It's okay, I just want you to stay a little longer." A voice came from the other side.

Ino was stunned for a moment, then turned around. In the darkness, the two of them were neither far nor close, lying on the same bed. No matter how innocent they were, they couldn't help but blush.

"I..." Ino looked into those extremely familiar eyes, pursed her lips, and hesitated but couldn't say the words.

I felt a little uneasy. Did he want me to stay? Should I agree? Actually, occasionally missing the New Year's Festival wouldn't be a big deal.

Although he had never been absent before, it was snowing heavily now. Konoha had never seen such a heavy snowstorm. Even if he didn't go, it didn't matter.

Naruto lay on his pillow, tilting his head to look at Ino in a daze, and couldn't help but find it a little amusing.

I've been in this world for half a year now. I was very lively and got into all sorts of trouble at the beginning. But after being beaten a few times, I became more docile. I've completed a few missions and made a few good friends.

He had experienced life and death, and had seen many troubles. Actually, his current situation was not bad. At least he would not be controlled by others and could afford everything he wanted.

".......Actually I can come back later." she said.

"Yeah." Naruto responded, and saw Ino put her hair behind her head, as if she had made some kind of decision, and looked at him with a dazed look.

"You've always remembered the incident with Uchiha Itachi, right?" Ino asked.

"Why are you asking this suddenly?" he asked with some confusion.

"I saw you reacted quite strongly last time. You get nervous every time someone knocks on the door." Ino pursed her lips and said, "I think you're probably having a stress reaction from being scared."

"Probably, but it's okay, it doesn't have much impact."

"I heard from others that if you talk about it in a safe environment, the psychological trauma will be much better." Ino said hesitantly, "I am very grateful to you for asking Jiraiya-sama to find a teacher for me."

"But there's nothing I can do for you, so..."

"Don't take that kind of thing to heart. We don't need to calculate our relationship so clearly," he said.

"It's different. These are two different things." Ino shook her head, her golden hair scattered on the pillow, her eyes stubborn and bright, "I can't pretend that I know nothing and accept it with peace of mind."

"If it were just a small favor, it wouldn't matter, but this kindness is too precious. Master Jiraiya, Master Tsunade, and I are people who should never have any contact with each other."

Naruto didn't know how to describe the girl before him. Sometimes she was silly, but in some things she was very clear-headed. Honestly, she was a perfect match for marriage.

But there is no rush now, there is still a long time.

"Well, how do you want to repay me?" Naruto asked.

"Well..." Ino stretched out her hands and held his face, and said in his surprised eyes, "You can speak now."

"What?" He looked confused.

"Eh? Speaking of trauma, if I stay with you like this, you won't feel the pain of the memories, right?" Ino said with some surprise, "Isn't it going to work?"

"That's what the book says!"

"What book are you reading?" Naruto had a bad feeling.

Ino blushed, pursed her lips, and said nothing. Naruto was speechless, thinking that Jiraiya's little uncle was really causing trouble! What a great writer in the 404 world! Damn it!

"Ah! Is this method wrong?" Ino looked panicked.

"It's not just wrong, it's completely irrelevant! It's completely irrelevant." Naruto sighed and said seriously, "You should read less of this kind of book in the future."

"Oh, okay." Ino nodded honestly.

Things were a bit awkward now, the method was ineffective, and it wouldn't work if I pulled my hand back now, nor would it work if I left it there. While Ino was hesitating, Naruto spoke again.

"Actually, there's nothing wrong with talking about it. We've already done it, so just say it as you wish."

"...Sorry." Ino felt a little embarrassed.

"There's no need to apologize specifically for something like that." He said, "Actually, I'm not afraid of death, nor am I particularly afraid of Uchiha Itachi. I was just really scared at the time."

"Is it because it's a life-or-death situation?" Ino's eyelashes trembled slightly.

"No, I was afraid something might happen to you. I was really, really afraid." His voice was calm, like the water of a winter lake. "You showed up unexpectedly that day, and I was already prepared to fight you to the death."

"But if the tailed beast transforms, half of the village will be reduced to ruins. However, I didn't really care about the lives of the villagers at that time. It was more important for you to be alive."

"Why...why?" Ino didn't know why her heart softened and she suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. She asked with a thick nasal voice.

"No reason, there's no need for so many reasons." He suddenly laughed and said with a bit of amusement, "Anyway, nothing happened in the end, luckily you didn't get hurt."

"You..." Her voice suddenly became tearful, she retracted her hands, and turned to the side, sleeping with her back to Naruto.

"What's wrong?" Naruto really didn't know what was going on.

"It's okay, I... I suddenly feel a little sad. Wuuuu..." Ino hugged the quilt and cried out loud. Even without turning over, Naruto could tell how many tears were on her face.

"No, it's okay, why are you crying?" Naruto asked with some amusement.

"Don't bother me! Wuuuuu!" Ino cried while acting fierce and aggressive.

"Isn't this what you asked me to say? Now that I've said it, you won't let me ask." Naruto was a little helpless. "How can this be justified? It's totally irrational."

"Wow! Are you... an idiot!..." Ino was crying so hard that she didn't want to pay attention to him and kicked him from under the quilt.

"Ah!" Naruto cried out in pain.

It wasn't until Ino calmed down and her crying turned into sobbing that he tentatively asked.

“Do you need a tissue?”

"You did it on purpose. You've already stopped crying, yet you're still asking!" Ino's voice sounded a little unclear, with a hint of turbidity, which is usually the case after crying.

"I just asked casually. There are no tissues in the room. They are in the living room," he said.

"Then can't you go get it?" Ino said with her back to him, her voice tinged with complaint. There was also a hint of coquettishness, but very little, as he had imagined it.

"It's too cold. I don't want to go."

"How can there be someone like you!" Ino was a little crazy. That person loved to deliberately make her angry for no reason and acted like a jerk at every turn.

How could a normal person say such a cruel thing at this moment? What inhuman element was in his heart? Was he allergic to the atmosphere?

"There are a lot of people like me, haha." Naruto reached out and poked Ino's back, and asked caringly, "Are you cold? I have a fleece-lined maid outfit."

"Go to hell!!!! Ah!!" Ino suddenly turned around and started punching and kicking Naruto. Her punches were not heavy, but she was exhausted and sweating.

Silent all night.

The next morning.

Ino was still sleeping soundly. There was nothing wrong with the two of them sleeping separately, and there was no famous scene from anime where the two of them lay naked in the early morning.

In short, everything was normal. Ino's defenseless sleeping posture made Naruto feel a little relieved, but he said one thing and did another.