By noon, the five of them had divided the tasks and, except for the fish, everything was ready.
Naruto patted Shikamaru's shoulder from behind, and the latter looked back at him in confusion.
"Let me take over."
Hearing this, Shikamaru, with a long face, stood up reluctantly and said annoyedly, "It turns out that fishing is really tough. No wonder I rarely saw my dad fish."
"It is indeed difficult."
Naruto agreed, then caught five fish within five minutes, which made Shikamaru's eyes widened in disbelief.
"No way! I saw you didn't even put the bait on the hook!"
"I have a good relationship with the fish."
"That's nonsense! How can that be true?!" Shikamaru held his head, feeling exasperated.
"Even if I tell you, you wouldn't believe it, so it's better not to say anything." Naruto continued fishing and caught a total of eight fish before stopping.
As Naruto was packing up the fishing rod, Shikamaru came over to help. Naruto simply handed the fishing rod to him, letting him handle it, and Shikamaru didn't refuse. One stood at the riverside winding the line, while the other stood watching.
The cool mountain breeze swept through, making them feel refreshed.
Listening to Sakura and Ino's laughter not far away, Naruto nudged Shikamaru with his shoulder, with a nostalgic look on his face.
"What's up?"
"Don't you think this is what summer should really feel like?" Naruto said.
"Summer feel?"
Shikamaru followed Naruto's gaze, and saw Sakura and Ino grilling fish while chatting and laughing, while Choji was sitting nearby, eating potato chips. Behind them, the eye-catching mountains and forests swayed in the cool breeze.
"Who do you like? Ino or Sakura?" Shikamaru asked with lifeless eyes and no enthusiasm.
"I just like the summer atmosphere." Naruto turned to Shikamaru and said, "But I do prefer girls in skirts."
"Is there any difference?" Shikamaru made a face similar to his father's, "Women are the most troublesome."
"Of course, there's a difference. Youth and panties are inseparable." Naruto said offhandedly, looking around out of boredom, "Speaking of which, the profession of Shinobi is really not that good. When I become an adult, I will definitely change jobs."
"What kind of job?" Shikamaru had too many comments to make, and for a moment, he didn't know where to start.
"One that allows me to travel the world and live freely."
"I don't want to discourage you, Naruto, but you're still the village's Jinchuriki." Shikamaru slung an arm around Naruto's neck and said in a low voice, "Talking about not wanting to be a Shinobi with me is fine, but don't say it to others."
"I get it." Naruto nodded helplessly. "But I really don't want to stay in this village for the rest of my life."
"There will be missions, and there will be opportunities to go out." Shikamaru scratched his head and said, "Come to think of it, we'll probably be like my father's generation, never leaving this village our whole lives."
"I don't think I mind that. To be precise, my dream is to live an ordinary life. Marry an ordinary wife, do ordinary things every day."
"Tch." Naruto brushed off Shikamaru's arm and muttered, "People who say things like that usually like pretty girls the most."
"Naruto! Shikamaru! What are you two dawdling about?" Ino, who was far away, waved at the two men with her hands on her hips and shouted with a smile, " The fish is ready, and we brought some ingredients for barbecue. Come over and eat!"
"Okay!" The two responded in unison and jogged over.
At night fell, the group dispersed.
Naruto hadn't walked far when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps coming from behind.
The streets of Konoha were brightly lit, with all the shops illuminated, creating a series of glowing ribbons running through the village when viewed from above.
Ino, slightly out of breath, rested her hands on her waist and called out, "Wait."
"What's up?" Naruto had been thinking about what Shikamaru said during the day, so he was not in a good mood.
"I heard from Shikamaru that you plan to leave the village in the future?" Ino asked nervously.
"Shikamaru told you?" Naruto asked with some doubts.
"I forced it out of him." Ino admitted, fiddling with her hands, "So, is it true?"
"Yeah." Naruto didn't hide it.
"Why?"
Hearing this, Naruto did not answer immediately. Instead, he stepped closer and looked at Ino carefully, examining her as if he was looking at a work of art.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Ino took a step back and asked in a slightly flustered manner.
At the same time, she began to regret her impulsiveness. She had chased after him on a mere whim, and now, it felt so embarrassing!
"Ino, you're really nice."
"Eh? Why say something like that all of a sudden?" Ino's face instantly turned red, her hands crossed and twisted together, and she started to stutter.
The unexpected compliment caught her off guard.
Naruto said this from the bottom of his heart. Ino was one of the few Shinobi he knew who was both emotionally intelligent and genuinely caring. It touched him that she would run so far in the opposite direction just to follow him out of concern.
At this time, Naruto was not heading home, but the Hokage Rock.
"Honestly, I don't know myself, so I don't know how to answer your question." Naruto said seriously, "At least in the next few years, I have no plans to leave the village. I may do so in the future, but that's a matter for later."
Hearing this, Ino felt a bit relieved and blushed as she spoke, "I mean, if... if you have someone you like in the future, will you stay for her?"
"I think I prefer freedom." Naruto said, as he felt that it would be better not to give Ino false hope. After all, making promises he couldn't keep would only lead to trouble.
"I see."
"Yeah." Naruto nodded, then glanced toward the Hokage Rock and suggested to Ino, "Since we're here, let's take a walk up there."
Ino didn't object and quietly followed behind him. She remained silent, unusually so, making Naruto think the matter was resolved.
Perhaps it was because Naruto had been eating more meat and drinking milk recently, his height had grown to be the same as Ino's. The two of them were walking on the mountain road, one in front and one behind.
The lights on Hokage Rock were bright, and strings of small colored lights adorned the walls of the mountain path.
Looking at the nearby Hokage Rock, Naruto suddenly thought of Tayuya. He wondered if that girl was eating well without him around. Before this, those four idiots seemed to be not good at disguising and survival, only good at fighting.
"Hey, do you want some dango?" Ino caught up a few steps and handed him a bag of packaged dango.
"Sure." Naruto nodded enthusiastically. Dango are sweet, and having a few skewers occasionally was a nice treat.
Seeing Naruto's happiness, Ino smiled too, handing him several skewers of dango.
"Here, I noticed you seemed to like these last time."
"Thank you, Ino." Naruto took it and took a bite, then said vaguely, "I've never had these before."
What he meant by 'before' was before he crossed over, when he never got the chance. After arriving in this world, he had a new life to live.
But Ino interpreted 'before' as Naruto's past from childhood. Because of this, her hand holding the skewer trembled slightly, and she pursed her lips.