23: Chapter 23 The Funeral! A Lonely EchoOr.a mass walkout by thousands of people?
There seemed to be a faint, unpleasant odor lingering in the air, one that one was unwilling to delve into.
Meanwhile, his "boss," Naruto Uzumaki, was sitting on another stone bench about four or five meters away from him.
He was holding a bottle of ice-cold soda, chugging it down, his eyes darting around as if he were lost in thought.
Most notably, Naruto's nostrils were stuffed with two crumpled wads of toilet paper!
"Well..."
Konohamaru felt a dryness in his throat and a slight dizziness; he tried hard to recall the events before he fainted—
Naruto's boss is everywhere, and.some kind of "symphony" is deafening?
Then.it seemed like I saw my parents smiling at me from heaven?
"Boss.Boss?"
Konohamaru spoke weakly, greedily inhaling the fresh air, "Did you.save me?"
Hearing the sound, Naruto snapped back to reality and almost choked on his soda.
The scene flashed through his mind: a shadow clone on guard found Konohamaru foaming at the mouth and unconscious from the "poisonous gas" at the edge of the forest!He was so frightened that he rushed in and pulled the little guy out himself.
They initially intended to take him directly to the hospital, but after running a distance, they discovered that Konohamaru was breathing smoothly and his complexion had regained some color.
Thinking about the reason for fainting.even Naruto, with his thick skin, found it hard to talk about!
We had no choice but to place him in this relatively clean and well-ventilated abandoned training ground and let him recover on his own.
"Huh?Save.save you?"
Naruto's eyes darted around, and he nervously scratched his cheek with his index finger, mumbling, "Uh.I guess.I guess so!Hehe, don't worry, with Boss around, I won't die!"
He tried his best to appear reliable.
Konohamaru nodded, moved, then remembered his greatest obsession before he fainted:
"Boss.Boss, that 'Diamond Lockdown'.have you.have you learned it?"
His eyes held a hint of anticipation and curiosity.
Upon hearing this, Naruto immediately straightened his back, even the crumpled paper in his nostrils seemed to exude confidence.He pounded his chest forcefully and said decisively:
"Of course I've learned it!I'm Naruto Uzumaki!A mere Adamantine Sealing Chains technique is a piece of cake!"
His tone was full of unquestionable confidence!
"Oh.congratulations, boss."
Konohamaru said sincerely, though he still felt something was off.
He glanced around at the mess, then at Naruto who was quite a distance away, and finally couldn't help but ask the question that had been bothering him:
"Then.boss.why are you sitting so far away from me?"
Naruto: "."
His confident expression froze instantly, his eyes darted around again, and after a long pause, he mumbled in a barely audible voice:
"Because.because you.uh.you smell a little.a bit."
"Wow----!"
Konohamaru was stunned for a moment, and then a huge amount of grievance burst out like a flood breaking through a dam!
The fear of being overwhelmed by the fumes, the disappointment of not being able to learn the amazing skill, the sadness of being disliked by the boss.
All emotions converged into a deafening cry, and tears streamed down like beads from a broken string!
Through his teary eyes, Konohamaru felt a warm hand gently pressing on his fluffy head, and the bleak wind around him was no longer there.
He looked up and, through his blurry, tear-filled eyes, saw Naruto looking down at him.
Although those two ridiculous crumpled pieces of paper were still stuffed in his nose, his azure eyes were now filled with a rare gentleness and.a touch of helpless smile.
"Hey, hey, a real man doesn't cry like that!"
Naruto's voice softened unusually, carrying an awkward attempt at comfort, "How can you be Hokage if you're always crying?"
As he spoke, he shoved the half-finished bottle of iced soda into Konohamaru's small hand without saying a word.
"Here, have something sweet to calm your nerves."
The cool touch and sweet smell gradually calmed Konohamaru's crying, turning it into sobs.
Naruto sat down next to him; the stone bench was a little cold.
After a moment of silence, Naruto watched Konohamaru sip his soda, tears still streaming down his face, and suddenly asked, his voice carrying a barely perceptible seriousness:
"Hey, Konohamaru."
"Hmm?" Konohamaru mumbled a response, his mouth full of straw.
"Why are you so obsessed with defeating the Third Hokage and becoming Hokage?"
Naruto turned his head and looked directly into Konohamaru's eyes."To become Hokage.do you have to defeat the previous one?"
This question seemed to touch a corner of Konohamaru's heart.
He stopped drinking his beverage, lowered his head, and his long eyelashes cast small shadows on his face.
Konohamaru sniffed hard and wiped the tears from his face haphazardly with the back of his small hand, which was damp from the soda.
He looked down at the cold glass bottle in his hand, the orange liquid inside swaying, tiny bubbles rising gently.
"Konohamaru."
He spoke in a muffled voice, his tone thick with nasal resonance, as if talking to himself or answering Naruto's question, "This name.was given to me by my grandfather."
Konohamaru's voice was soft, as if he were reiterating a distant and sacred mission, "But.but my parents told me."
His voice suddenly softened with a hint of nostalgia, "They say, Konohamaru, your grandfather gave you a good name, but don't put too much pressure on yourself."
As long as you grow up healthy, happy, and a good adult, and become a kind and upright person, your mom and dad will be very happy and proud."
He paused for a long time, the soda bottle was gripped even tighter in his small hand, his fingertips turned slightly white.
"Then.one day."
Konohamaru's voice suddenly lowered, as if something was choking him, "Grandpa.was wearing black clothes.".took me to a.
A very quiet place, where many people were crying.Grandpa said, that was Mom and Dad's.funeral."
The afterglow of the setting sun cast long, slanted shadows of the two people.
The sound of the wind seemed to quiet down as well.
Naruto's azure eyes churned with complex emotions—understanding, pain, empathy, and an awkward urge to do something.
He slowly and hesitantly raised his right hand.
That hand once punched Mizuki away, once formed hand seals to create a thousand clones, and once graffitied the Hokage Rock as a prank.
At this moment, it carries a cautious tenderness, an awkward yet incredibly sincere empathy, slowly and gently.
It reached out towards Konohamaru's trembling, fluffy little head, which was shaking from crying.
"Hello!
A naturally evil demon.little devil!
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