In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

Chapter 364 Wind Chime

Chapter 364 Wind Chime

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"You really are something..." Jiraiya chuckled dryly, taking another swig from his sake bottle. "Sometimes I truly can't figure out what it is you want."

"I don't know. People don't necessarily want the same thing. They want different things at different times."

"And what do you want now?"

"To take it easy." Naruto stretched his muscles in the water and took off the towel covering his eyes with one hand, “I want to go home and just lie down comfortably for a month before thinking about what's next."

"After that month of rest, maybe I'll want something else."

"That sounds like something you'd do. As for me…" Jiraiya paused, his hand holding the sake bottle in mid-air, "I guess I don't really know what I want either."

"Nagato's incident made me reflect on whether there was something wrong with my way of teaching. You, kid, don't share my ideals at all, but now, looking at you, I think it turned out fine."

"If one could live out their life peacefully, that wouldn't be such a bad ending."

"Pervy, you're always sighing for no reason. That really makes you seem old." Naruto said with a chuckle, "I'm going back to my village, and you're off to continue searching for your Child of Prophecy."

He stretched out his hand and raised the towel high, gazing up at the misty wooden ceiling, his eyes shining like stars.

"The path to greatness is laid out before us, but everyone has their own choices to make. You seek a world of mutual understanding and peace, while I just want to go home and be with my friends. That’s my way of life."

"Who can say what the future holds? No one’s word matters, and only what you find with your own eyes is real."

Jiraiya took another swig of sake, thinking, ‘This exactly the kind of thing this kid would say. The sun has its own brilliance, and the moon has its own integrity.’

Everyone has their own destiny, some are born into glory, while others are humbled in the dust. As we walk through life, no one knows what the future will look like.

Those living in the limelight might walk on thin ice or might be living in comfort, while those struggling in the dirt might face hardship but can still carve out their own brilliance.

Jiraiya had once trained a disciple like Minato, calm and composed, shining like the sun, and he had also accepted outstanding disciples like Yahiko, the gentle Konan, and the introverted Nagato.

He had never tried to define his disciples’ lives, only doing his best to pass on his own ideals to them. It is natural for disciples to inherit their master’s ideology.

But after what happened to Nagato and Yahiko, Jiraiya hesitated and became confused. For months, he had been burdened with worry, only able to express his thoughts in jest during casual conversations.

But Naruto's words made him realize that what he insisted on was not wrong.

If the sun burns out, then find a way to light a fire. If the mountains crumble and the world is destroyed, then dig yourself a comfortable grave.

There are always things worth fighting for, always lives worth not being wasted. The future’s brilliance is always on the horizon, and the youth’s passion is boundless, unstoppable.

An individual may seem insignificant, but they always believe in hope.

This is Jiraiya's Ninja Way. A Shinobi, in essence, is someone who endures. No matter the circumstances, what is more important than superior Ninjutsu is the unwavering will to never give up.

Even in the face of setbacks, Shinobi must continue to move forward firmly and will never go back on their oath.

Naruto had inherited Jiraiya’s Ninja Way and developed his own vision.

The future is full of possibilities, no matter how messy or chaotic it gets. Strive hard and press on. Even if you're trapped in a pit of mud, your heart can still be like wild grass, as a single spark can set the whole sky ablaze.

"Minato sure has a good son." Jiraiya muttered softly, seemingly a little drunk.

Naruto, who was leaning on the side, actually heard it, but he didn't take it to heart.

In the Land of Hot Water, the two went their separate ways.

Jiraiya continued on his journey, while Naruto didn’t rush back right away. He wandered around the Land of Hot Water, splurging on supplies and enjoying himself. Afterward, he traveled to the Land of Grass, where he indulged in even more leisure.

During this time, he didn’t forget to replenish the resources for the two guests in his seal space. Apart from the loss of their freedom, it seemed they weren’t being treated too poorly in their imprisonment.

He had other uses for Ajisai, and Yugito was imprisoned in order to suppress Kumogakure. Sooner or later, he knew that Konoha would clash with Kumogakure and Iwagakure, so holding onto her could prove valuable.

As the year-end approached, Naruto finally returned to the Land of Fire, heading straight for Tanzaku Town.

He suddenly remembered Tayuya was still waiting for him, though he wasn’t sure if she had returned home yet. It had been an urgent situation back then, and the lack of communication devices in this era made things inconvenient.

Tanzaku Town’s busiest district was bustling, even in the bright winter day.

The marketplace was still crowded with people, shoulder-to-shoulder, with an endless stream of activity. Outside the small building that belonged to him and Tayuya, a thin layer of ice had formed, and snow hung from the overhanging eaves.

Naruto tentatively pulled out a key from his sealed space and opened the door. The moment he pushed the door, he saw his pair of slippers that had not been thrown away at the entrance.

He bent down to check, realizing the slippers had become too small for his feet, yet they were still clean and dust-free, old but well-kept.

Time had layered dust over his memories, and six years had passed in the blink of an eye. After this year, he would be an adult, and even his old shoes had grown too small for him.

The old-fashioned TV screen in the living room was on, but no one was on the couch. The static sound from the television echoed in the empty living room, and he was almost startled by his own loud footsteps when he went up the stairs.

He remembered that this staircase was not so noisy, and going up and down the stairs would not make such a loud noise. But with each step he took now, his footsteps were met with a resounding echo.

In the empty house, the crisp sound of his footsteps seemed almost piercing.

On the second floor, two adjacent doors were closed, one room belonged to Tayuya, the other to him. To be precise, he had only stayed there once, but traces of his presence remained.

Standing before the two doors, Naruto instinctively reached out to open Tayuya’s door. However, just as his hand touched the handle, he drew back as if it had burned him.

"Maybe she’s out and hasn’t come back yet. It wouldn’t be polite to just barge in." He muttered to himself.

So he reached out and pushed open the door that belonged to him instead.

As the lights flickered on, the room gave him a strange blend of unfamiliarity and nostalgia. The bed and floor were spotless, immaculately clean.

On the desk were his used towel, toothbrush, and a change of clothes, all carefully stored in transparent containers.

At that moment, Naruto realized what the familiar feeling in this unfamiliar room was. He glanced at the small, now unwearable clothes sealed in the boxes, reaching out to touch them.

He wandered around the room for a bit, eventually finding a clean blanket. Opening the window, blinding sunlight poured in, and the wind chime on the balcony jingled softly.

‘The wind chime looked almost identical to the one from my old house. Did she remember it after visiting my house once, so she just bought it?’

Naruto slowly pulled the wind chime towards him by the thin string, examining it carefully. The calmness and composure he had tried so hard to maintain was instantly broken.

There was a line of tiny words engraved around the wind chime, ‘Tayuya and Naruto's Wind Chime’.

He released the wind chime, letting it swing back and forth, its soft ringing filling the air. He instinctively lowered his head, opened the transparent box and began to check the items inside, but there was no more writing.

As if he had thought of something, Naruto abruptly left the room, forgetting to close the door behind him. He rushed downstairs, and the sound of his footsteps was like a rapid drumbeat.

Lifting the stuffed toy on the couch, he found a ribbon tied to the back, with both his and Tayuya’s names written on it. The same was true for the pillows, the television, and the cups. Countless tiny notes with their names written on them made his heart race with confusion.

‘How come this person believes everything I say so easily?’