The sun set in the west, painting the sky with poetic and picturesque hues, bathing the land in a warm afterglow, and the village seemed to be draped in a golden filter.
Chizhao saw Naruto sitting on the swing from afar.
Under the glow of dusk, his golden hair was outlined with a soft radiance, and his small figure swayed with the movement of the swing.
His clear eyes watched the children playing in the distance, and a beautiful arc formed on his lips.
Naruto felt a gaze and instinctively looked over, meeting Chizhao's bright eyes.
A surprised smile bloomed on his face, but then he remembered the grievance of being left behind by her, and the smile vanished the next second.
He frowned, pouting unhappily at Chizhao as she approached: "You're so slow, Chizhao! I've been waiting for ages, you know."
"Did you send Hinata back so quickly?"
Ignoring Naruto's complaints, Chizhao sat on the swing beside him and began to sway.
Naruto, who had just been feeling wronged, smiled again when he saw her sit beside him.
"Her house isn't far, we got there quickly!"
"That's good!"
Chizhao happily swung on the swing, lifting her legs high and feeling the breeze on her face, when Naruto's voice came from beside her.
"Oh, right, that... that debt you mentioned earlier... is it resolved?"
Naruto, in a playful mood, stood on the swing, holding the chains with both hands, swaying gently.
"Not yet... still a little bit, but they're all minor issues."
"If you need help, tell me! I'll definitely help you!"
Looking up at Naruto's clear blue eyes, and remembering the two servings of takoyaki from today, she thought about it with a bit of difficulty.
Forget it, it's better not to tell this idiot.
Chizhao lightly jumped off the swing, turned back to Naruto against the setting sun, and said cheerfully.
"Let's go, it's time for dinner."
Naruto grunted, jumping off the swaying swing, almost falling to the ground due to inertia, but he managed to steady himself in time, avoiding embarrassment in front of Chizhao.
"Where are we eating?"
"At home, of course! Grandma Huizi must have made delicious food and is waiting for us, let's go!"
Chizhao naturally took Naruto's small hand and headed towards home.
Chizhao naturally understood the hardships of a child living alone, so he was not only helping Naruto but also helping his past self, who was stuck in the river of time.
Looking at their intertwined small hands, a beautiful blush appeared on Naruto's cheeks.
It seemed that every time, Chizhao would lead him forward like this, giving him a strange sense of security.
His empty heart seemed to be filled with something, heavy and continuously giving him strength.
He tightened his grip on Chizhao's hand, and a happy smile bloomed on his small face.
He quickened his pace slightly to walk beside her.
The two exchanged smiles, and their anticipation for future life grew a little.
........
During his time with Naruto, three days, as promised to Jiraiya, quickly passed.
Early that morning, Chizhao woke up, put on light clothes, carried the backpack Grandma Huizi had prepared for her, and walked towards the back mountain of Konoha Village.
She walked through the forest, and the scene before her suddenly opened up. What came into view was a waterfall with rushing water.
The waterfall cascaded down from the precipice, like the Milky Way hanging upside down, like a white ribbon suspended in the air.
The rushing water roared into the river, splashing layers of spray, like smoke, like mist, like a dream, like an illusion.
The river divided the lawn in front into two, winding across the ground and flowing further into the distance with a gurgling sound.
The damp air, mixed with the fresh scent of trees and soil, instantly made Chizhao feel refreshed.
And the figure sitting cross-legged by the river was none other than Jiraiya.
Chizhao excitedly ran over: "Jiraiya Sensei!"
Hearing the call from behind, Jiraiya stood up, turned around, and smiled: "Oh ~ just in time, Chizhao, what's that on your back?"
"It's the bento Grandma Huizi prepared, and of course, there's a portion for you too."
After hearing this, Jiraiya happily stroked his chin, his eyes curving into a smile: "That's great, I can still eat Keiko's cooking here, excellent, excellent."
Jiraiya sat down again, looking at the girl in front of him, who looked no different from an ordinary child, and tentatively asked.
"By the way, nothing unexpected happened while I was away, did it?"
Little Chizhao, while tidying her backpack, looked up and replied:
"Nothing unexpected, except for meeting a few friends."
"Sō ka, that's good."
Chizhao also thought of the past few days when Jiraiya was away and curiously asked: "Sensei, where have you been these past few days?"
Looking at the sparkling river in front of him, Jiraiya's thoughts drifted.
In these short three days, he had not been idle, of course.
He first searched for information about the Shiratori Clan in the Konoha Village archives as much as possible.
The records only stated that it was a very ancient clan, one of the few races that deeply loved peace, almost never participating in conflicts between nations, so they were basically like ordinary civilians.
Beyond these brief records, there was nothing else.
During this time, he was also reverse-summoned to Mount Myōboku by the Toad Sage, where the Toad Sage gave him a new prophecy.
"The Tailed Beast Jinchuriki will disappear because of one person, and this person will bring centuries of peace to the entire Ninja World."
This statement undoubtedly brought Jiraiya no small shock, and he quickly pressed: "Is this the same person as the Child of Prophecy?"
The old Toad Sage swayed his body, and Jiraiya nervously awaited the next words, but unexpectedly, the Toad Sage began to snore rhythmically, falling into a deep sleep.
Chizhao looked at the dazed Jiraiya, waving her hands in front of his eyes:
"Jiraiya Sensei?"
Jiraiya, snapping out of his daze, crossed his arms and cleared his throat.
"Of course, I went to find inspiration for my novel."
Upon hearing 'novel,' the 'make-out paradise' that Kakashi often read in her memories flashed through Chizhao's mind. She poked Jiraiya with her elbow, feigning ignorance.
"What kind of novel is it? Can I read it?"
Jiraiya chopped her on the head with a hand, saying in an educational tone:
"Why do children ask so many questions? Don't forget, today is for training."
Chizhao clutched her head, looking wronged, and pouted unhappily, letting out an 'oh'.
If she couldn't read it, she couldn't read it, but why hit her?
"Alright, let's start today's warm-up exercises. Just run ten laps around the back mountain first."
"What?! Ten laps?! Do you have to be so harsh?!"
Looking at the towering mountains behind, how long would it take to run that, and it was just a warm-up?
Jiraiya bent down, looking at the despairing Chizhao, and chuckled maliciously: "If you don't finish before lunch, I'll eat all your bento too ~"
After hearing Jiraiya's every word of the latter half, Chizhao felt like her world was about to collapse.
This wasn't training; this was life-threatening training!
At noon, Chizhao finally completed the arduous ten-lap warm-up exercise.
She lay on the ground, exhausted, her mouth dry and unable to make any sound, as if all her strength had been drained, and she could faint at any moment.
Recalling when she first started running, Chizhao easily completed four laps with her incredible stamina, but as time went on, fatigue gradually set in.
Those four laps seemed to have exhausted her limit strength, but she still gritted her teeth and persevered, completing the remaining laps by alternating between walking and running.
Chizhao, who had already run half her soul away, laboriously lifted her head from the ground and saw Jiraiya opening her bento.
Her pupils instantly constricted, and with a burst of unknown strength, she sprinted forward with a ferocious expression, snatching her bento back from Jiraiya's hands.
She opened the bento box and, without bothering to admire the exquisite plating, began to devour it.
Chizhao, who had been on the verge of collapse, felt her lost strength gradually return as she consumed the food.
"Finally... I'm alive again... Wuwuwu..."
Chizhao stuffed food into her mouth while wiping away exaggerated tears with her sleeve.
Grandma Huizi's bento was indeed a gift from heaven.
Jiraiya watched Chizhao wolfing down her food and shook his head with feigned regret: "I didn't expect you little rascal to actually finish. I thought that bento would definitely be mine."
"Dream on! I'll defend my bento with my life!"
Jiraiya walked with a smile to a large tree, leaned against it, and sat down, crossing his legs in a leisurely manner.
His geta sandals came off his heels, swaying with the movement of his feet, and the shadows of the leaves fell on his face, flickering between light and dark.
"But you did very well. Remember to rest for a while after lunch, and we'll do the other training in the afternoon."
Chizhao ate her bento in big bites, and just as she was about to ask about the training content, she heard Jiraiya's steady breathing.
He fell asleep so quickly.
After two hours of rest, Chizhao's stamina had mostly recovered, and listening to the sound of the waterfall made her feel refreshed.
Soon, Jiraiya walked over to Chizhao, yawning, and handed her a small piece of paper.
"Is this a Chakra paper?"
"Oh? You actually recognize this?"
Chizhao quickly waved her hands and explained: "I heard Grandma Huizi mention it before..."
Jiraiya nodded indifferently, as this wasn't anything rare after all.
"Did Keiko also tell you about its function?"
"It's for testing Chakra nature, I think."
"That's right."
Looking at the eager Chizhao, Jiraiya introduced all the different natures to her, then told her to follow his instructions, placing the Chakra paper between her palms and gathering Chakra.
Chizhao clasped her hands together, concentrating on feeling the flow of Chakra. After a while, Chizhao opened her hands and looked expectantly, only to see the Chakra paper lying perfectly intact in her palm.
"You're not concentrating enough. Try again."
Hearing this, Chizhao clasped her hands together again, trying to find the sensation of Chakra, but there was still no reaction.
"That's strange. Could it be..."
Jiraiya placed his hand on Chizhao's shoulder.
"Don't move yet. I'll inject Chakra into your body, then you try again."
Chizhao nodded, concentrating on feeling Jiraiya's Chakra.
Suddenly, Jiraiya recoiled as if electrocuted, his hand pushed away, and he froze in shock.
"What... what's going on?"
Jiraiya stared at his palm, full of confusion, and an unusual conclusion formed in his mind.
The girl's body was rejecting Chakra, but how was that possible?
Could it be that inside her body...
There was no Chakra at all?.....