"Another day!!!"
Naruto jumped out of bed, opened the window, picked up a small stone beside the bed, and carefully scratched another mark onto the wooden wall.
Last night, he had suddenly decided to record the days he spent on this planet.
So, he had searched the storage room for a long time before finally finding a stone hard enough to leave marks on the wall.
After finishing today's mark, Naruto nodded in satisfaction.
Then he went out to wash up.
After washing his face and brushing his teeth, Naruto was about to prepare tea when footsteps sounded outside.
Ichiro Tsuchigen arrived early.
"Hi, Naruto, good morning!"
Naruto looked at him suspiciously.
"What's wrong with you today? You seem to be in a good mood."
Ichiro walked in, put the meat buns on the table, waved his hand, and said casually,
"No, nothing's wrong!"
Naruto poured hot water into the teapot and smiled.
"You never came this early before. And you even greeted me so enthusiastically."
Ichiro wanted to refute him, but stiffened his neck and said,
"How could that be? I just thought the weather was nice today!"
Naruto deliberately walked to the window and looked outside.
"It looks cloudy to me."
Ichiro froze.
"…A little."
Naruto turned back and stared at him.
"Come on. Something's definitely wrong. Tell me."
Ichiro scratched his head, sighed deeply, and finally gave in.
"Alright. I do have something to ask you."
Naruto sat down, picked up a bun, and ate while listening.
"Go on," he said with his mouth half full.
Ichiro hesitated for a moment, then said,
"It's like this. Didn't you tell me before to try accepting Keiko?"
Naruto nodded.
"Yeah. Keep going."
Ichiro sighed.
"So… when she came to me recently, I didn't reject her anymore. I just did whatever she said."
Naruto continued chewing.
"And then?"
Ichiro looked helpless.
"I don't know why, but she became very happy. She thought I had finally figured things out."
"Last night… she wanted to sleep with me."
"Pff—!"
Naruto almost spat out his bun.
He hurriedly stood up and ran to the back room to drink water.
"Cough! Cough!"
It took him several sips to calm down.
He patted his chest and walked back.
"S-Sorry… I choked. Keep talking."
Ichiro looked at him strangely.
"What's wrong with you?"
Naruto waved his hand.
"Nothing. Go on."
Ichiro spread his hands.
"Do you know how I felt?"
"I only tried to accept her a little, and she became so direct. I couldn't handle it at all!"
"Even on Fertility Day, people usually match first, then cultivate feelings before getting intimate."
"But she…"
He looked depressed.
"When I told her that, do you know what she said?"
Naruto leaned forward with interest.
"What did she say?"
Ichiro replied blankly,
"She said that after cultivation, it's still the same in the end."
"So instead of wasting time, it's better to do it directly."
Naruto froze for a moment.
Then he burst out laughing.
"Hahaha…"
Ichiro stared at him.
"Hey! Naruto! Why are you laughing?! This is serious!"
Naruto hurriedly stopped.
"Sorry, sorry… go on."
Ichiro sighed.
"After that, I didn't know what to do, so I just ran away."
Naruto picked up another bun and said while eating,
"Brother Ichiro, to be honest, that probably hurt her."
"She likes you sincerely. She didn't hide anything from you."
"Most girls are shy about this kind of thing."
"But she was willing to say it so directly."
"That means she really loves you."
"She doesn't care about those formal steps."
Naruto looked at Ichiro seriously.
"If you just leave like that, she must be very sad."
Ichiro was silent.
After a while, he muttered,
"…I thought so too. That's why I came to see you so early."
Naruto laughed.
"No wonder you were so energetic this morning. I thought something good happened."
Ichiro smiled bitterly.
"What else can I do? Cry?"
"That works too," Naruto nodded seriously.
Ichiro rolled his eyes.
Naruto put down his bun and looked at him.
"You want to ask me how to fix this, right?"
Ichiro slapped the table.
"Yes! Otherwise, why would I wake up so early?"
Naruto thought for a moment.
"How about this…"
"You just… give in?"
Ichiro's face stiffened.
"…Is there any other way?"
Naruto nodded.
"There is."
Ichiro leaned forward.
"What is it?"
Naruto looked straight at him.
"Be honest. Communicate."
Ichiro frowned.
"What kind of answer is that?"
Naruto said calmly,
"That's my experience."
"My life with Hinata wasn't always smooth."
"We argued. We disagreed."
"But whenever that happened, I talked to her honestly."
"We solved things together."
"After communicating, we always found a solution."
Ichiro waved his hand.
"That's because Hinata is gentle. Keiko is totally different—"
"No."
Naruto interrupted him.
He looked at Ichiro seriously.
"Brother Ichiro."
"A girl who truly loves you will listen to you."
"Even if she doesn't fully understand, she'll try."
"Because she cares."
Ichiro froze.
Even if she didn't understand… she would still listen?
Because of love?
Naruto finished eating and drank some tea.
Then he stood up.
"Let's talk on the way."
Ichiro nodded.
He lifted Naruto with dark matter and flew toward the farm.
On the way, the two continued talking.
After listening carefully, Ichiro finally made up his mind.
"I'll talk to her properly tonight."
"I'll be honest."
Naruto smiled.
"That's the spirit."
After landing, Ichiro looked at Naruto sincerely.
"Thank you."
Naruto waved his hand.
"No problem."
Ichiro took off again.
"See you tonight!"
Naruto watched him leave and smiled.
Then suddenly he slapped his forehead.
"Oh!"
"I forgot to ask him about the neighbor again!"
He sighed.
"Forget it. I'll ask tonight."
At that moment, Tomu arrived.
"Let's go, Naruto."
Naruto replied loudly,
"Oh!!!"
And followed him toward another day of training.