In Konoha, Naruto lies down

"Naruto." Choji looked at him straight, almost biting his handkerchief out of grievance, "So I ate all afternoon and didn't spend a penny on you?"

"What? You want to eat me until I go bankrupt?" Naruto leaned lazily on the chair as if his bones had melted. His voice was a little drowsy, but his smile was very proud.

"You...you let Ino pay? Damn, isn't this a foul?" said Choji with narrowed eyes.

"I didn't say I would pay. Besides, it was Ino who said she would treat us to barbecue." Naruto smiled with a smug look on his face, but he was not in a hurry and had no temper with him.

"Next time, next time I'll pay."

"I give in." Shikamaru raised a fat middle finger.

Ino had already paid and was here. The wealthy young woman was almost an adult and had no shortage of money. Yamanaka Inoichi only had this one daughter, and he wished he could hold her in the palm of his hand.

"Let's go." She stood in the aisle in a heroic manner, raised her index finger and pointed in the direction of the door.

Snow is falling outside the barbecue restaurant.

A few lights flickered across the dimly lit streets of Konoha. It was just getting dark, and it was peak customer traffic. The couple was enjoying a 20% discount during that time, which allowed them to avoid the crowded lines at the stalls.

Choji went home feeling full but sour. He planned to ask Shikamaru about it in a few days to find out what it was like to have two friends who were closer than he was.

Shikamaru would probably tell him while looking at him with disdain that life is short and he should eat on time.

The New Year Festival arrived as scheduled.

Naruto had more money than he could spend, so he bought a bunch of gifts. Since he had Ino pay for everything last time, he had an excuse to ask her out again, so he chose a bracelet.

The price is not too expensive, just enough for someone who is more like a friend but less like a lover.

To avoid being accused of partiality, he bought all the gifts for everyone he could give them to. From high to low, he bought everything. He might not be able to give them all, but it was better to be prepared.

Casting a wide net would be too conspicuous, so he was just preparing, and currently only planned to quietly send two people. The rest would be decided based on the situation. If Choji and the others...

Tsk, the thought of giving gifts was too much trouble; he had never done anything like that before. He tossed and turned the night before the New Year's Festival and couldn't sleep well, and he even overslept the next day.

When I woke up, it was almost dark. With a bang, dazzling fireworks rose in the distance outside the window.

There was no light in the room and his mind was still a little dizzy.

As the light of the fireworks flashed across his face, Naruto realized it was already the New Year's Festival. He hadn't been able to deliver the gifts during the day, and that was due to his own subconscious mind.

"I'll send it tomorrow." He lay back down with a thud.

After a while, the door was pushed open, and beams of bright light from the living room streamed into the room. Nine Tails walked in with the ruthless gait of a Tom Cat, saying something that was really asking for a beating.

"Buy takoyaki."

Naruto gave it a light kick, "Wait outside."

After tidying up, he squatted in the entrance hall to change his shoes. Jiuwei had opened the door in advance and stood at the door excitedly. The brilliant fireworks in the night sky illuminated the entrance hall. A man was tying his shoelaces, and a dog was standing in front of the door.

This scene was strange no matter how you looked at it. The door slammed shut, locking all the desolation inside.

The man and the dog slowly walked downstairs, hungry and running towards the bustling streets of Konoha. The shops along the street were bustling with people, and everywhere there was the sound of loud shouting and the clinking of bottles.

Naruto and Kyuubi walked around and ate, bought takoyaki, and also bought a lot of Kyuubi's special liquor. When a large number of people in yukata walked by, they stood on the periphery of the crowd and stretched their necks to look in.

After eating and drinking their fill, the man and the dog wandered back slowly. Their shadows stretched long under the light, seeming out of place in the bustling world.

"How are we going to spend tonight?" Kyuubi suddenly asked.

"Sleeping? How else can we celebrate?" Naruto glanced at the Nine-Tails and asked casually, "Do you tailed beasts also celebrate the New Year Festival?"

"But I don't know what that is." Kyuubi saw that there was no one around, so he stood up and walked on two legs. "But it seems that you humans can cross it, won't you?"

"We are just one man and one dog, we can get by without any problem." Naruto glanced at Kyuubi with a light look, "How about, on this New Year's Day, can you kowtow to me?"

"Xi Nei!" Kyuubi raised his middle finger.

Naruto raised his eyebrows, suddenly remembering the middle finger that Choji raised at the barbecue restaurant last time. This thing has become a trend and it spreads quickly.

After dragging himself upstairs, the Nine-Tails immediately shut up, but Naruto didn't pay any attention to it. He just thought it was defeated, after all, it had suffered a lot from him.

Standing in front of the door, he slowly took out the key from his pocket, shook it for a long time before finding the key to the door. He aimed it at the keyhole and pushed it in with force.

The door opened, and light from the living room spilled out like a spider web.

He was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head and asked Jiuwei, "Did I turn off the lights before leaving?"

"How should I know?" Kyuubi muttered softly and stepped in first. But before he could feel comfortable for a few seconds, he found a figure appeared in the living room and was instantly frightened.

"Meow?"

Naruto stood outside the door and saw Ino standing there wearing a lavender fluffy sweater. The fireworks in the sky seemed to have run into her eyes alone, so bright.

"Why are you standing there like an idiot?" she frowned.

Chapter 258: Worrying about Gains and Losses is the Normal State

"How did you come?"

Naruto kicked the frightened Nine-Tailed Fox into the room, then regained his composure and carried his things into the house.

"Hehe, why can't I come? Or do you have another appointment?" Ino took the things in his hand and turned to walk towards the living room.

He was still changing his shoes at the entrance with his head down, when Kyuubi, like a dog, chased Ino into the living room.

"What kind of date could I have? I'm alone and was planning to go straight to bed." He paused and looked at Ino who was standing in the living room.

"You sneaked out by yourself? What about your uncle and aunt?"

Konoha doesn't attach much importance to the New Year's Festival, but it is a festival for being with family after all. Although the friends around Naruto are already capable Chunin.

But this is only the recognition given to them by the village at the ninja business level, and it does not mean that they can freely decide not to attend the New Year's Festival with their families. That is a right only adults have.

For example, they were busy with work or special missions, and Kazi-ge and Jiraiya were just as carefree as him. Doing missions during the New Year was a common occurrence.

"Father is busy with work."

"Working overtime during the New Year Festival? How inhumane!" Naruto was indignant.

"It's a temporary mission requested by Lady Tsunade."

"Oh, Lady Tsunade, that's okay." His only sense of justice shrank back in an instant with self-awareness. His arms could not twist his thighs, and he could not fight against the giant breast.

"What about Auntie?"

"My mother..." Ino sighed, glanced at him and said, "She's in Tansho Street for something and hasn't come back yet."

"Oh, that's why you came to my place." Naruto leaned back in the sofa and looked up at her.

The light was clear, and the girl's cheeks were smooth and hydrated, without any blemishes or blind spots. Even with a casual high ponytail, she looked pure and charming.

"No, I'm just bored staying at home alone." Ino took a glass of water and was about to drink it when she suddenly remembered that it was his cup, so she put it down again.

"Are there any other cups?" she asked, turning around.

"No more." He changed his position on the sofa and answered neatly, "If you don't mind, I'll give you some."

"What is speed?" Ino was confused for a moment and asked subconsciously.

Naruto didn't say anything, staring lazily at Ino's lips, which were shining with moisture under the light. He leaned back in the sofa with a malicious smile on his face.

As he neared adulthood, he became less reserved. After all, copper smelting was illegal, both literally and figuratively. Sixteen was a different world, and some harmless jokes were still acceptable.

"You!!" Ino noticed his gaze and immediately reacted, "If you say that again, I'll go back!"

He finally stopped talking, as joking too much would be offensive. Even though Ino wouldn't really get mad at him for continuing, he still stopped.

Seeing his cautious look, Ino still couldn't bear it and said as if she had given up struggling.

"I won't leave."

As soon as she said it, she regretted it. She clearly remembered that she wanted to say that she was too bored to stay at home and would not go back so early, but she was careless and said the wrong thing.

But Naruto didn't seem to react and just smiled at her.

"If you leave, I'll follow."

What was that? How could she continue? Ino looked at him unhappily, then said, "Whatever you want to me," and went straight into the kitchen.

After a while, there was a tinkling sound coming from the kitchen. She was probably looking for a cup.

"Where are the cups? I remember there were still a lot last time." Ino's voice came from the kitchen, and the heater in the living room was blowing.

"It was smashed to pieces by the foxhound, and only one is left." Naruto said lazily, yawned, and simply closed his eyes on the sofa.

"How could there be none?" Ino muttered as she walked out of the kitchen.

"It was broken some time ago and I didn't have time to buy a new one." He explained casually, his eyes slightly opened.

Ino had already picked up the glass of water and drank half of it as if nothing had happened.

"Did you drink?" He opened his eyes.

Hearing this, Ino's face suddenly turned red and she glared at him.

"You deliberately!"

"Ah."

"I... I'll strangle you to death!" Ino was almost mad at Naruto's teasing, and she didn't care about anything else. She pounced on him and twisted his waist hard.

He hadn't intended to resist in the first place, having already prepared himself for the pain. Ino's blow wasn't heavy, so it wouldn't leave a mark, nor would it hurt too much.

But after waiting for a long time, I didn't feel the pain I expected.

He looked over and saw Ino had changed her mind. Under the overhead light, she smiled at him with a lovely smile in her eyes.

"In the new year, I won't be angry with you anymore."

The balcony curtains were open, and I could see snow starting to fall outside. Beyond that, it was pitch black. On the living room sofa, two people sat on top of each other in an ambiguous position, only three fists' distance apart.

Ino was a little proud at first, but when she noticed that the people below had changed their expressions, she immediately wanted to stand up but was pulled back.

"What's wrong?" Her voice was trembling, and the hand that was wandering around her waist was not very honest.

"fine."

Naruto quickly let go of Ino, making a sound like she had just woken up. The living room suddenly became silent, with only the whirring sound of the heater as the door to the room opened.

Nine-Tailed Fox crawled out cautiously, and when he saw the two people almost stacked on top of each other in the living room, he meowed and shrank back.

"What the hell did you raise?" Ino was a little surprised. She stood up, patted her clothes, and asked calmly.

"I don't know, it's a weird thing." Naruto also stood up from the sofa, hiding his embarrassment.

"Just now..." Ino blushed and looked away, asking softly, "Were you thinking...thinking...why did you suddenly do that?"

"You're so close, you'd be moved too." Naruto didn't make any other excuses and told the truth.

Ino's ears were red, and she was naturally pleased with his words. But she didn't want Naruto to know her thoughts, after all, she was a girl with reserved feelings.

She was naturally happy that someone was attracted to her, but she didn't want to show it, especially in front of Naruto. She always felt that she couldn't let him know, otherwise he would definitely take advantage of her.

"Really? Anyway...anyway, I don't care."

After this little incident, the atmosphere became much more harmonious. The two of them sat on either side of the sofa, eating the snacks he brought back and talking about their plans for the new year.

"The title of Jonin? Is that why you are so desperate to take the mission?" Naruto looked at Ino in surprise.

"Don't look at me like that." Ino said a little embarrassedly, "Isn't it normal to want to get the title of Jonin? After all, we are ninjas, and we all want to become stronger."

"There's no need to be so anxious, right?" He wondered whether he should tell Ino the story of helping the seedlings grow faster than they actually are.

Hearing this, Ino suddenly felt like a poor student being attacked by a top student, and glared at him with dissatisfaction.

"Of course you're not anxious. If I were as strong as you, I wouldn't be anxious either. You're the one who lies around all day, yet you've made the most progress."

He was speechless for a moment. Who could understand the pain of Deep Blue's extra points?

This topic was skipped over, and Ino sat on the sofa in a girlish posture, slowly eating takoyaki. Occasionally, her eyes would glance at Naruto, then pause and glare fiercely.

A girl in an ambiguous relationship is always stupid and cute, and she never realizes it.

"Did you go to see Hinata after you came back?" she asked after clearing her cough. For some reason, the topic suddenly turned to this, as if it was just a random topic.

She glanced at Naruto, then her eyes fell on the almost empty takoyaki on the table. She took a sour bite, thinking she was just asking casually.

Anyway, he didn't show it on his face. He was just a friend, wondering how far he and Hinata had come. It was just ordinary concern, so it should be taken for granted.

"I looked for her, but she didn't have time because she had to go on a mission," Naruto said.

He told the truth, but omitted some details. For example, there was no point in telling the dark history of Kyuubi going to the Hyuga family to drink every day.

I don’t know if it was his illusion, but both Ino and Hinata have been working very hard on missions and training in the past six months, and they hardly see each other.