Two years flew by in a flash.
Naruto's mission in the Land of Snow was also coming to an end.
"Lord Naruto, can't you stay?"
Standing at the harbor, Koyuki looked tearfully at the handsome fifteen-year-old boy in front of her.
"Sorry, I can't."
Naruto said softly, "The mission ends here. I have to go back."
"I can pay you more!" Koyuki said excitedly.
"..."
"This isn't about money."
Naruto shook his head, not saying much. Instead, he turned to Yukina, "While I'm gone, you must guard Yukigakure Village well for me, and protect Koyuki's safety."
"Yes, Lord Naruto!"
Dozens of Yukigakure Ninja stood behind Yukina, kneeling on one knee and responding to Naruto in unison.
These were all subordinates he had trained in the past two years.
With them there, Naruto could firmly control the Land of Snow.
"Okay, set sail!"
Naruto turned and boarded the ship, with Karin following closely behind him.
"Wait for me!!!"
A familiar voice and the familiar sound of wooden sandals.
But before, it was the sound of wooden sandals on a cement floor. This time, it was the sound of wooden sandals on snow.
Jiraiya rushed over, but the ship had already left the harbor.
Seeing this, he could only speed up, push through the crowd, and then leap!
Bang!
He jumped too low. He crashed into the ship's hull like a frog, making a crisp sound, and then slid down like a bar of soap.
Everyone: "..."
Just as everyone was wondering if Jiraiya would fall into the sea, Jiraiya seemed to sense danger. He immediately woke up and gathered Chakra in his limbs, running quickly up the deck!
"That was close!"
Jiraiya wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and glanced at the sea below the ship.
For some reason, he felt that the seawater was strange, like a monster with a huge mouth ready to swallow him at any moment!
"Strange, it's just ordinary seawater, so why does it make my heart race?"
Jiraiya had a bad feeling.
Could it be that the Akatsuki Organization was going to make a move?
He had stayed in the Land of Snow for two years to protect Naruto, but hadn't received any news about the Akatsuki Organization.
It was as if the organization didn't exist!
"Looks like I need to be more careful when I get back. Maybe..."
...
Back in Konoha,
Naruto couldn't wait to take Karin to the Hokage building to hand in the mission.
[Ding! ♫]
[Congratulations to the host for completing an S-rank mission for the first time! Reward: all attributes *100! ♫]
[Now releasing the super mission: Become a Village Kage! ♫]
[Mission reward: Full-level Conqueror's Haki ♫]
In an instant,
Naruto felt his entire body surge with power. Even without moving, he exuded a terrifying aura!
"Naruto?"
Tsunade's voice brought Naruto back to his senses from the surge of power.
He looked up and saw that Tsunade was looking at him warily, as if she had encountered a natural enemy.
It seemed that even just physical strength had a strong deterrent effect!
"Sorry, I was distracted."
Naruto relaxed his body, and the oppressive feeling of power immediately disappeared.
Tsunade also breathed a sigh of relief.
"What were you thinking about, you guy? Suddenly... never mind. Here's your next mission!"
Tsunade threw a scroll to Naruto after saying this.
Naruto took the scroll and said reluctantly, "I just finished a mission and came back. Can't you let me rest before going on another one?"
"Don't even try it! You think I don't know what your mission was? You call it an S-rank mission, but it's no different from a vacation! The ruler of a country giving you a massage, beating your legs, and feeding you. How happy!" Tsunade curled her lip, directly exposing the truth of Naruto's paid vacation.
"Jiraiya told you, didn't he!"
Naruto clenched his fist, looking like he hated evil.
There were no other Leaf Village ninja in the Land of Snow, and Karin wouldn't betray him.
So the only one who could know his information and tell Tsunade was Jiraiya!
"Just tell me if I'm right!" Tsunade said disdainfully.
Seeing this, Naruto didn't bother to argue with Tsunade. He opened the scroll and looked at the specific mission content.
[S-rank mission: Escort the Prince of the Land of Moon back home from his travels abroad.]
[Mission reward: 40 million!]
?????
How much?
It's also an S-rank mission, but you're so rich?
Just going back home costs 40 million? (Really rich!!)
Seeming to realize what Naruto was thinking, Tsunade said, "The Land of Moon is different from other countries. Their country is very rich! And because it's an island nation, it's surrounded by the sea and doesn't have any neighboring countries, so they don't have to worry about suffering from war."
"No one wants to fight a country far out at sea, even if that country is very rich."
This reminded Naruto of the Land of Waves. If Gato hadn't existed, the Land of Waves might have become rich too.
I wonder how the Land of Waves is doing now.
"Okay, I'll take this mission. When do we leave?"
For the sake of money, Naruto decided to work hard.
He had gotten used to living in nice houses and eating delicacies in the Land of Snow. The thought of going back to Konoha to live in a small apartment and eat ramen made him uncomfortable!
To improve his quality of life in Konoha, he took this mission!!
"Three days later. The Prince of the Land of Moon will arrive in Konoha in three days. Your mission officially starts in three days! You can rest well for these three days!"
Good thing, the army hasn't moved, but the supplies are already in place!
"Got it. I'll go now."
Naruto waved his hand and was about to leave, but Tsunade stopped him.
"Wait a minute!"
Tsunade said, "This mission is important, so I'm going to temporarily add two more people to your team."
"Don't you trust my abilities? Even if the enemy is an entire village of ninja, I can guarantee the mission won't fail!"
"Of course I trust your abilities, but the prince requested four Jonin to carry out this mission. Although we can't find four Jonin right now, we should at least arrange four people, or the prince will probably think that our village doesn't have any ninja left."
"We can't neglect such a big customer!"
Heh, a mission for four Jonin, just pick four people and call it a day, isn't that neglect?
Naruto rolled his eyes, "Whatever, but I don't want people who are too troublesome or disobedient, understand?"
"Got it! Got it!" Tsunade waved her hand and guaranteed.
...
Leaving the Hokage building, Naruto and Karin returned to their small home that they hadn't been back to in two years.
The door opened, and dust filled the air!
Karin immediately covered her mouth and nose, while Naruto subconsciously used his elemental ability to avoid it!
Walking into the inner room, it was even more of a mess.
Dust was a minor matter,
But the rusty refrigerator, the moldy bed and table, and the cobwebs everywhere, along with the dead bugs and the droppings left by unknown creatures were unbearable for Naruto!
"Karin, I'm counting on you."
Naruto turned and left, leaving Karin with a look of despair.
"I'm walking down the streets of Konoha~"
Humming a little song, Naruto walked aimlessly through the streets of Konoha.
Two years, it looked like nothing had changed here, but it felt like a lot had changed.
At least there seemed to be fewer people who would usually give him cold looks.
He didn't know if it was because his appearance had changed and they didn't recognize him, or if these people had forgotten his existence because he hadn't been back to Konoha in two years.
"Big Brother Naruto!!"
Just as he was thinking, a familiar voice sounded.
Naruto turned his head and was surprised to find the Konohamaru trio, whom he hadn't seen in a long time!
"Long time no see, Konohamaru, Udon, Moegi."
"Long time no see, Big Brother!!"
"Where have you been for the past two years? I can't find you when I go to your house!"
"I went to carry out a mission."
"A mission? What kind of mission takes so long?"
"An S-rank mission, protecting the Daimyo of the Land of Snow!"
"S-rank?"
"Land of Snow?"
"Daimyo!!"
"Amazing!!!" *3
The three of them looked shocked and admired.
"Big Brother Naruto can already do S-rank missions? I heard that only Konoha's Jonin can carry out such high-level missions!"
"Because I'm already a Jonin."
"Jonin, so awesome!"
"It's a pity that we haven't graduated yet! Damn it, when will this old man be able to show off his skills!"
Konohamaru was quite dissatisfied with his small body. He eagerly hoped that he could grow up and carry out missions, and then become someone the villagers could rely on!
Like his grandfather, become a respected Hokage!
"Big Brother Naruto, what's the Land of Snow like? Does it have a lot of snow?"
"Yeah! It's snowy all year round, except for Shirokawa."
"Shirokawa?"
"Shirokawa is the capital of the Land of Snow. There are several geothermal generators made of huge crystal walls, and under the influence of the geothermal generators, all the ice and snow in Shirokawa will melt! It's the only city in the Land of Snow that has spring!"
"Huge crystals? It must be very beautiful!"
"I really want to see it!"
"I'll go to the Land of Snow to carry out missions after I become a ninja in the future!"
"Okay! It's decided, the three of us must go to the Land of Snow in the future!"
Looking at the Konohamaru trio, who were full of curiosity about the world, Naruto couldn't help but feel envious.
People can't enjoy youth and the feeling of youth at the same time.
This sentence still applies to him, who is only 15 years old!
His life experience in his previous life made it impossible for him to immerse himself in this age, even if he was young again!
What are people his age doing?
Naruto shook his head as he looked at the Konohamaru trio chatting about their future dreams, laughing and playing.
He really couldn't enjoy his youth. It had nothing to do with whether his body was young or not!
"Big Brother Naruto, did you see the Daimyo of the Land of Snow? What does she look like? Is she a dignified old man?"
"No, the Daimyo of the Land of Snow is just a woman who is less than twenty years old."
"A woman? And so young!"
"She's more powerful than Moegi!" Moegi said with admiration.
Moegi aspires to become a Moegi that adults have to avoid.
Naruto didn't know why Moegi had this idea, but he imagined that she wanted to grow into a respected and feared powerful woman!
Also a girl, Koyuki was indeed a worthy object of her admiration.
"I must meet her in the future. She must be a brave, mature, steady, great, and respected woman!"
Brave?
Thinking of Koyuki's appearance of not daring to face reality, Naruto shook his head.
Mature and steady?
Thinking of Koyuki only knowing how to make the movie "The Great Sea Adventure" every day after becoming the Daimyo, Naruto shook his head again.
Great and respected?
That was true, but in some ways, Naruto's status in the Land of Snow was even higher than Koyuki's Daimyo!
Koyuki was the Land of Snow Daimyo in name!
And Naruto was the uncrowned king of the Land of Snow!
"Big Brother Naruto, do you want to come to my house for dinner?" Konohamaru suddenly mentioned.
Sarutobi Hiyori...
Naruto still missed her cooking.
"Okay."
Naruto agreed, "Do you mind if I bring another person?"
"Of course not!"
Konohamaru smiled, "But Big Brother Naruto, who are you bringing? A man or a woman?"
"A girl."
"A girl? Could it be~"
Konohamaru looked playful and teasing, and then nudged Naruto's thigh with his elbow.
"No, she's just my subordinate."
Naruto denied, "But she doesn't have a place to live right now, so she's staying at my house temporarily."
"Tch, I don't believe it. You guys are living together, but you're not boyfriend and girlfriend?" Konohamaru crossed his arms behind his head, his face full of disbelief!
But Naruto's next words shattered his disbelief and... his values!
"Who says living together means you're boyfriend and girlfriend?"
Naruto said calmly, "Living together can also be just ordinary friends, or even not friends."
"Huh? Isn't that... Big Brother Naruto is so bad!" Moegi was the first to comment.
"Yeah, you're too bad, no girls will like you in the future!" Konohamaru complained.
"Although... but... I also think it's not good." Udon sniffled and echoed.
Naruto curled his lip and said, "Living together doesn't mean sleeping together; can't we be roommates? You're all full of dirty thoughts at such a young age! When you grow up, you'll all definitely be loyal readers of that old pervert Jiraiya!"
"A big pervert calling us little perverts!"
Konohamaru said dissatisfiedly, "I wonder who taught us the Sexy Technique!"
"..."
When it came to the Sexy Technique, Naruto was speechless.
He really couldn't refute that!
But who told him that he didn't know any other ninjutsu back then?
When they walked back to Naruto's house, Karin had already cleaned up the house after putting in a large effort.
The house, which was originally covered in dust, was now spotless!
The cobwebs, droppings, and bodies of insects had all been cleaned up!
Even the rusty refrigerator and the rotten bed and table had been replaced with new ones by Karin!
At this moment, Naruto truly realized the importance of this subordinate of his!
It was worth taking her in back then!
"Lord Naruto, you're back! Who are these people?"
It was the first time Karin had seen the Konohamaru trio.
"You must be Big Brother Naruto's... subordinate! Hello, I'm Konohamaru, Konoha's number one genius ninja!"
"I'm Moegi, who's going to become someone that adults have to avoid!"
"I'm Udon, who loves prime factorization!"
Karin paused, then smiled, "Hello, I'm Karin, who is working hard to become Lord Naruto's right-hand woman!"