In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

Chapter 368 To Be Deceived For The Rest of Her Life

Chapter 368 To Be Deceived For The Rest of Her Life

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Snow fell softly over Tanzaku Town, and the New Year Festival passed in a lively atmosphere. Unlike Konoha, where people were more reserved, Tanzaku Town was bustling with festive energy.

This was, after all, a commercial hub. Businesses thrived here, and merchants eagerly awaited customers. Men and women from nearby villages, with full wallets, poured into the town.

Despite the light snowfall, the crowds kept coming in waves. The lines in front of food stalls and shops stretched long, creating a scene of unprecedented prosperity.

Naruto and Tayuya were stuck in the middle of the crowd, unable to move forward or backward. Wrapped in thick scarves and wearing hats, the only visible part of them were their eyes, through which they exchanged amused glances.

Naruto had never intended to return to Konoha for the New Year Festival, as the festive atmosphere there was never that strong. His friends all had things to do, not to mention that they were all adults, so they must have even more things to do.

It was impossible for them to be carefree like they once were. Naruto was probably the only one who still had time and stayed true to himself.

Naruto also knew that if he returned to Konoha before the New Year Festival, the house wouldn’t be entirely empty. But it wouldn’t be lively either. Ino would probably squeeze in some time from her busy schedule to sit down with him briefly.

He also didn't want to trouble them at that special time of the New Year Festival. With his personality, he would definitely be restless, and they wouldn't have time either, and by then, he would inevitably make them look guilty.

After thinking about it, he decided to stay in Tanzaku Town for the New Year, which was a good solution that would keep everyone content.

Besides, Naruto didn’t care much for the New Year Festival anyway. To him, it was just another ordinary holiday. In his previous life, on Earth, every holiday besides New Year’s felt like just another excuse for consumerism.

Even holidays like Tomb-Sweeping Day, which was meant for mourning, had become an excuse for couples to sneak off and spend time together.

Fortunately, Naruto considered himself a straightforward person. In this world, he treated all holidays equally. He even treated their birthdays the same way.

At first, he paid special attention to Ino’s birthday, but when he realized how busy she was every year, he stopped trying so hard. Nowadays, he simply gave her an expensive gift and left it at that. The same went for Hinata’s birthday, as he didn’t even attend.

The damned nobles turned their daughters’ birthdays into elaborate banquets. A bunch of old men gathered around, bragging and drinking, or making deals for their own benefit.

Sakura's birthday was much simpler, but  it was mostly a family gathering, so he resorted to giving her gifts too. Although Naruto didn’t lack money, he also had his own rules when giving gifts.

He made sure to give something that was just right, something they wanted but couldn’t refuse. He never gave anything that are beyond their spending power, which might make them feel pressured.

Compared to girls, gifting among the guys was much simpler.

They could give a gift whenever they felt like it, whether cheap or expensive, and the others would accept it without fuss. After all, those second-generation young masters didn’t lack money. If he gave them something too extravagant, they might jokingly treat him like a surrogate father for a while, but no one took it seriously.

They all knew Naruto didn’t take on missions but still had plenty of cash, so they were at ease and didn’t feel the need to help him out financially.

That was one of Naruto’s goals as well. Although he didn’t flaunt his wealth, once you reached a certain level of financial comfort, there was no need to hide it. Besides, he just didn’t want people worrying about his financial situation and potentially creating unnecessary misunderstandings.

Luckily, Tayuya never concerned herself with such matters, and she always had a smile on her face these past two days. She was smiling when she changed her shoes at the entrance before leaving, and she was also smiling when she returned home.

Tanzaku Town was blanketed by falling snow.

Naruto gently brushed the snow off Tayuya's shoulders and asked helplessly, "What's so funny?"

Ever since that day, he hadn’t pushed things further. Every night, they stopped at the same point, as if sharing a private secret. Tayuya, in her own silly way, seemed quite content with it.

It wasn’t that Naruto had any strange habits. He just had a tendency to think that before filling her body, he should fill her heart first.

During those five years, he had lied to her a few times, and now, in a way, this felt like retribution.

Some of their past conversations were too distant to remember clearly, but fragments of those memories still lingered. The emotions trapped in those long-lost memories gradually trickled into this naive girl’s heart, bit by bit.

It felt like the soft light stretching across the horizon was slowly soaking into her being. For the first time, Naruto found himself truly appreciating beauty, though he couldn’t quite put his feelings into words.

Tayuya had traveled to many places during those five years, through the mists of the Land of Water, past the great waterfalls of the Land of Grass, across the vast hot springs of the Land of Hot Water, and through the endless deserts of the Land of Wind.

But all the breathtaking scenery she had witnessed paled in comparison to this moment.

"I don’t know... I just feel really happy." Tayuya said, turning back with a smile, her fiery red hair swirling in the cold wind, "I... I like you too."

"Hmm, I get it." Naruto reached out and pinched her cheek, "Liking someone isn’t that big of a deal. You don’t have to shout it so loudly."

"I wasn’t... shouting." Tayuya replied, but there was a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

But deep down, she wanted to argue that it’s impossible to hide love. Even if you can hold back the words, your eyes will always give you away. She could feel the affection in Naruto’s gaze, and that’s why she had been so happy these past few days.

As for everything else, she hadn’t thought much about it. Just being able to spend every day together like this was enough for her.

Even if Naruto was a liar, she willingly let herself be deceived by him.

To her, everything right now was already more than enough. She had eaten so many delicious foods, met countless people, traveled thousands of miles, and now had someone she loved.

If she could be more greedy, she’d hope to be deceived for the rest of her life.