413 Learning Ninjutsu in a Glance

In the blink of an eye, another half a year had passed.

A quick count showed that it had been nearly a full year since the Fourth Great Ninja War.

During this half-year, Shinju traveled across the ninja world gathering intelligence on the Ōtsutsuki, while also training Naruto.

Of course, whenever he had time, he would also drop by the company.

The good news was that Naruto was almost fully trained—soon, Shinju would finally be able to enjoy life.

On top of that, the company's first game console had sold like crazy, earning him a massive fortune!

The bad news was that there hadn't been much progress on the Ōtsutsuki intelligence…

Back then, Kaguya, who had secretly eaten the Divine Tree's fruit, created many White Zetsu to defend against the Ōtsutsuki, leaving behind countless ancient ruins scattered throughout the ninja world.

Over the past half year, Shinju had practically visited all of these ruins, yet still hadn't found any useful information.

The mark Momoshiki left on his palm had also shown no reaction at all.

Inside the Hokage's office, Shinju leaned back in his chair and muttered to himself,

"The Sage once said that Kaguya didn't come to Earth alone… and Momoshiki mentioned the name 'Urashiki'…"

"So the one who came to Earth with Kaguya was 'Urashiki'? Or are they actually two different people… damn it, the more I think about it, the more annoying this gets."

...

In the small room next to the Hokage's office.

Naruto, wearing a headband that read "Hard Work," was busy memorizing text.

"I get why Shinju wants me to learn ninjutsu and even sealing techniques."

"But why does he also make me study Ninja World Geography and The Way of Governance? He hasn't even read these himself, has he?! (*꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ)"

Shikamaru was working nearby. Hearing Naruto complain, he chuckled and said,

"Reading more books is never a bad thing. Once you become Hokage, you'll be dealing with this stuff all the time…"

"Hurry up and memorize it. Shinju's going to quiz you later."

Naruto: "..."

"I'm exhausted. Even back in school, getting checked by teachers never made me this nervous."

Even though he complained, Naruto still buried himself in the pile of books.

A few hours later, Shinju got off work and came by as promised to quiz him.

Naruto answered haltingly, but at least managed to get most of it right.

Even so, Shinju was dissatisfied and frowned.

"Did you actually study properly? You can't even answer this…"

Naruto said, "How am I supposed to know why the fruit from the Land of Wind is sweet, or where the population boundary of the Land of Lightning is… Are these things really useful for being Hokage? (*꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ)"

Shinju smacked his lips. "So much talking. Just memorize it."

With that, Shinju left.

As he stepped outside, he ran into Hinata, who had come to deliver food. Shinju greeted her,

"Hinata, make sure you really keep an eye on Naruto's studies. His academic basics are terrible…"

Hinata nodded obediently and carried the lunchbox inside.

After heading downstairs, Shinju went to the Konoha barbecue restaurant, planning to reward himself with a good grilled meat meal.

The moment he walked in, he ran into Chōza and Karui.

These two had long since confirmed their relationship, so Shinju wasn't surprised at all. He even casually greeted them.

Chōza immediately invited him enthusiastically, "Shinju, you just got off work, right? Must be exhausted. Want to join us for barbecue?"

Shinju had enough tact to know that intruding on a couple's meal would be rude, so he politely declined and took a small table by himself.

After Shinju sat down, Chōza pulled a walkie-talkie out from his clothes, lowered his voice, and said mysteriously,

"Hurry, hurry! Shinju's eating barbecue today—he's sitting alone in the restaurant right now!"

Across from him, Karui: 눈_눈

"You're just chasing a man. Do you really need to act like a spy?"

Chōza replied seriously, "Shinju isn't an ordinary man. He's at least a hundred times more clueless than I am…"

"Shikamaru and I can only help Ino this far!"

A few minutes later, Ino came running into the barbecue restaurant, panting.

"Oh! Chōza and Karui are eating here too," she said, pretending to be surprised.

"It's fine, you two go ahead. I won't disturb you. I'll just sit at a small table by myself."

After saying that, Ino turned her head and looked at Shinju beside her.

"Shinju, you're here too—and you're alone. What a coincidence!"

"How about we share a table? (´◊ω◊｀)"

Hearing this, Shinju's brain started spinning.

Ino wanted to share a table with him—just the two of them, a man and a woman. Sitting together like that would definitely feel awkward!

And besides, he was the man. After the meal, he'd definitely have to pay. Paying for an extra person for no reason? No way!

As these thoughts crossed his mind, Shinju put on an apologetic smile, ready to come up with an excuse to refuse…

But before he could even open his mouth, Ino spoke first,

"Waiter, add another set of bowls and chopsticks to this table! ❛‿˂̵✧"

After that, Ino flashed a victor's smile and sat down in the chair across from Shinju.

She had done plenty of homework over the years just to pursue Shinju!

This time, she was definitely going to take him down!

...

Half an hour later, after finishing their meal, the two of them went for a walk in Shinju Park nearby.

Shinju hadn't wanted to come at first, but after the meal, before he even had time to put down his chopsticks, Ino had already paid the bill and invited him out for a walk.

Shinju thought about it—he had just eaten a free meal. A walk was a walk…

Inside the park.

The two walked along a pebble path.

Neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere became a bit awkward.

Shinju Park was huge, and not every corner had streetlights.

So as they walked, the lighting gradually grew dimmer…

Not far away.

On a secluded bench, a young couple was tangled together, kissing wildly.

From time to time, sounds like "smack smack" could be heard, making Shinju's scalp tingle!

Ino, hearing it too, blushed deeply. "Ah… this…"

Shinju waved his hand. "Young people. A moment of uncontrollable passion—totally understandable."

They walked a bit farther. The lights grew even dimmer as they reached a small grove…

Then Shinju heard faint, soul-melting sounds drifting through the air…

Ino: (´つヮ⊂︎)

Shinju: ◝₍ᴑ̑ДO͝₎◞

Has Konoha really become this open already?

I can't listen to this—it's downright scandalous!

Faced with this situation, the two of them could only turn back the way they came.

On the way back, affected by everything she had seen and heard, Ino's face stayed red the whole time.

Just as they were about to reach the park entrance, Ino gathered her courage, reached out, and slowly grabbed Shinju's hand.

(ꈍᴗꈍ)

It was as if the air froze at that very moment!

When her fingers touched Shinju's warm hand, Ino felt like she could barely breathe!

The next instant, that warm sensation vanished, snapping her back to reality!

Ino: (*꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ)

"Where did he go?"

"Shinju, you really have no heart!! ꒦ິ^꒦ິ"

...

At the same time, inside Shinju's house.

Shinju sat on the sofa, his face frozen in shock. (꒪⌓꒪)

The icy-cool sensation of Ino's fingers felt as though it had been carved into the palm of his hand!

After swallowing with a loud "gulp~," Shinju decided to go take a cold shower!

Soon after, Naruto returned home after finishing a full day of studying and complained,

"I don't know what's going on with Hinata these past couple of days. When we're on dates, she keeps quizzing me out of nowhere. The pressure is killing me…"

Just as he finished speaking, Naruto heard Shinju's muttering voice coming from the bathroom:

"Hah…"