Chereads / Shikigami Summoning in Konoha / Chapter 28 - Chapter 28: What Was Grandpa Shouting Back Then?

Chapter 28 - Chapter 28: What Was Grandpa Shouting Back Then?

Chapter 28: What Was Grandpa Shouting Back Then?

Watching Naruto's admiring expression, Katsuragi was speechless. Just a few fish had won the admiration of the future Seventh Hokage to this extent; he really didn't know how to express his feelings at the moment!

After considering for a moment, Katsuragi ultimately decided not to just walk away. Since things had come to this point, he might as well interact a bit with Naruto. As long as he didn't get too involved, it probably wouldn't lead to anything serious.

Remembering that Hinata was still waiting nearby, Katsuragi first told Naruto to "wait a moment," then walked over to where Hinata was hiding behind a tree.

Seeing Katsuragi return safely, Hinata finally breathed a sigh of relief and immediately asked with concern, "Are you okay, Katsuragi?"

"Yes, I'm fine!"

Katsuragi smiled and shook his head, then said to Hinata, "That guy wants to make grilled fish for me. Let's go try it together!"

"Grilled fish!?"

Hinata paused for a moment, then asked with some concern, "Is it okay to do this? Isn't it too dangerous?"

"It's fine! Don't worry! I will protect you if there's any danger."

Seeing Katsuragi's serious face, Hinata's cheeks flushed red again. She stopped worrying about any potential danger and nodded gently, seemingly content to let Katsuragi make the decisions.

"Let's go!"

Taking Hinata's hand, Katsuragi approached the wet Naruto and introduced, "Hey! Let me introduce us. My name is Katsuragi Kotori, and this is Hinata Hyuga. What's your name?"

"I... I am..."

Apparently nervous, as it was his first time encountering such a situation, Naruto stuttered for a bit before finally managing to say his name, "My name is... Uzumaki... Naruto!"

"Uzumaki Naruto!"

Katsuragi repeated the name, then extended his hand with a smile, "Nice to meet you!"

Looking at the hand Katsuragi offered, Naruto felt a sudden surge of emotion. His nose tingled, and tears unexpectedly began to well up in his eyes. This was the first time someone had shown him kindness without any signs of malice. He felt unexpectedly overwhelmed.

"Uh..."

Seeing Naruto suddenly start to cry, Katsuragi was also a bit taken aback. He hadn't really done anything, just politely offered a handshake, right? Glancing at Hinata, who was watching him, Katsuragi awkwardly withdrew his hand and scratched his head, asking, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!"

Naruto cracked a smile, then tried to wipe his face with his sleeve, only to accidentally smear it with snot, making Katsuragi hurriedly take a step back with Hinata.

"Cough, maybe you should go wash your face before we talk!"

Seeing that Naruto seemed about to speak again, Katsuragi quickly interrupted him, feeling an urge to turn around and walk away at the sight of his snotty face.

Hearing Katsuragi's suggestion, Naruto paused, but didn't mind. He nodded and quickly ran to the river to wash his face, then hurried back to Katsuragi, beaming, "I'm clean now!"

"Uh, clean enough, I guess!"

Watching Naruto report back like he was completing a mission, Katsuragi was speechless. He glanced at the now lively fish that had recovered on the ground and said teasingly, "Weren't you going to give me some grilled fish? Let's see it then!"

"Eh!"

Naruto was stunned; the promise to cook grilled fish was just an excuse in a moment of panic. He hadn't expected Katsuragi to take it seriously and now didn't know what to do.

But he didn't want to lose Katsuragi, this hard-won friend. In his heart, Naruto had already silently considered Katsuragi a friend. So, he quickly picked up the fish from the ground, recalling how he had grilled fish with his grandpa in the past.

"First, I think we need to gather some firewood!" Naruto looked around; being in a forest, there were plenty of dry branches and leaves everywhere. So, he put the fish back down and started collecting branches.

Katsuragi and Hinata stood by, watching Naruto's bustling figure. Perhaps feeling a bit embarrassed, Hinata whispered to Katsuragi, "Katsuragi, shouldn't we help him?"

"It's okay! You sit here and rest, I'll go help him."

Katsuragi found a clean spot for Hinata to rest and then approached Naruto, who had gathered a pile of branches. He picked out some of the wet ones, and when he felt it was about right, he stopped Naruto:

"Alright, alright, that's enough!"

"Huff! Is it enough?" Naruto wiped the sweat from his brow, then looked at the pile of branches arranged by Katsuragi, scratching his head and muttering as he recalled, "Next, I think you shout something, then spit out a ball of fire to light the branches!"

"What was grandpa shouting back then?"

"Pfft!"

Katsuragi almost burst out laughing. The innocent Naruto might still not understand the concepts of chakra and ninjutsu. His understanding of the outside world was his own, and perhaps there was also the Third Hokage's guidance, but given the Third's busy schedule, how could he possibly have time to teach Naruto such basic knowledge?

"Katon, Hoo!"

"Katon, Run!"

"Fire..."

"Alright, alright! Stop trying to breathe fire!" Katsuragi interrupted Naruto, who was still experimenting, and said weakly, "You could shout for a year and still not spit out any fire."

"But what should we do then, Katsuragi? I saw grandpa do it like this!"

Naruto scratched his head, looking embarrassedly at Katsuragi.

Katsuragi knew that the 'grandpa' Naruto mentioned was likely the Third Hokage, but he didn't ask further. Instead, he asked, "Don't you have a lighter or even matches?"

Naruto shook his head, puzzled.

"What a hassle!"

Katsuragi looked at the pile of branches with a headache. If he had known it would be this troublesome, he wouldn't have teased Naruto. Now, having spent so much time, he felt it would be quite annoying not to eat a grilled fish. Besides, he didn't know any fire techniques.

"Looks like we'll have to use the most primitive method?"

"Primitive method?"

Naruto looked curiously at Katsuragi as he got up to find a thick branch and a thinner one, then placed some dry grass around them and asked, "Katsuragi, what are you doing?"

"Starting a fire!"

Katsuragi rolled his eyes, then, with Hinata also approaching to see, he explained, "I read about this in a book—friction fire! Using friction to light these dry grasses!"

This was the first time both Naruto and Hinata had seen something like this, and they both watched intently as Katsuragi started the fire. When they saw Katsuragi successfully ignite the dry grass, Naruto began shouting excitedly:

"Wow! Wow! It really lit up, Katsuragi, you're amazing! Grandpa is even more amazing!"

"This brat!"

The Third, observing all this through his crystal ball, couldn't help but show a disgruntled expression. Then, after taking a puff of his cigarette, he looked at Katsuragi in the crystal ball and began to ponder deeply.

End of Chapter 28