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Snow fell softly over Tanzaku Town, and the New Year Festival passed in a lively atmosphere. Unlike Konoha, where people were more reserved, Tanzaku Town was bustling with festive energy.
This was, after all, a comrcial hub. Businesses thrived here, and rchants eagerly awaited custors. n and won from nearby villages, with full wallets, poured into the town.
Despite the light snowfall, the crowds kept coming in waves. The lines in front of food stalls and shops stretched long, creating a scene of unprecedented prosperity.
Naruto and Tayuya were stuck in the middle of the crowd, unable to move forward or backward. Wrapped in thick scarves and wearing hats, the only visible part of them were their eyes, through which they exchanged amused glances.
Naruto had never intended to return to Konoha for the New Year Festival, as the festive atmosphere there was never that strong. His friends all had things to do, not to ntion that they were all adults, so they must have even more things to do.
It was impossible for them to be carefree like they once were. Naruto was probably the only one who still had ti and stayed true to himself.
Naruto also knew that if he returned to Konoha before the New Year Festival, the house wouldn’t be entirely empty. But it wouldn’t be lively either. Ino would probably squeeze in so ti from her busy schedule to sit down with him briefly.
He also didn't want to trouble them at that special ti of the New Year Festival. With his personality, he would definitely be restless, and they wouldn't have ti either, and by then, he would inevitably make them look guilty.
After thinking about it, he decided to stay in Tanzaku Town for the New Year, which was a good solution that would keep everyone content.
Besides, Naruto didn’t care much for the New Year Festival anyway. To him, it was just another ordinary holiday. In his previous life, on Earth, every holiday besides New Year’s felt like just another excuse for consurism.
Even holidays like Tomb-Sweeping Day, which was ant for mourning, had beco an excuse for couples to sneak off and spend ti together.
Fortunately, Naruto considered himself a straightforward person. In this world, he treated all holidays equally. He even treated their birthdays the sa way.
At first, he paid special attention to Ino’s birthday, but when he realized how busy she was every year, he stopped trying so hard. Nowadays, he simply gave her an expensive gift and left it at that. The sa went for Hinata’s birthday, as he didn’t even attend.
The damned nobles turned their daughters’ birthdays into elaborate banquets. A bunch of old n gathered around, bragging and drinking, or making deals for their own benefit.
Sakura's birthday was much simpler, but it was mostly a family gathering, so he resorted to giving her gifts too. Although Naruto didn’t lack money, he also had his own rules when giving gifts.
He made sure to give sothing that was just right, sothing they wanted but couldn’t refuse. He never gave anything that are beyond their spending power, which might make them feel pressured.
Compared to girls, gifting among the guys was much simpler.
They could give a gift whenever they felt like it, whether cheap or expensive, and the others would accept it without fuss. After all, those second-generation young masters didn’t lack money. If he gave them sothing too extravagant, they might jokingly treat him like a surrogate father for a while, but no one took it seriously.
They all knew Naruto didn’t take on missions but still had plenty of cash, so they were at ease and didn’t feel the need to help him out financially.
That was one of Naruto’s goals as well. Although he didn’t flaunt his wealth, once you reached a certain level of financial comfort, there was no need to hide it. Besides, he just didn’t want people worrying about his financial situation and potentially creating unnecessary misunderstandings.
Luckily, Tayuya never concerned herself with such matters, and she always had a smile on her face these past two days. She was smiling when she changed her shoes at the entrance before leaving, and she was also smiling when she returned ho.
Tanzaku Town was blanketed by falling snow.
Naruto gently brushed the snow off Tayuya's shoulders and asked helplessly, "What's so funny?"
Ever since that day, he hadn’t pushed things further. Every night, they stopped at the sa point, as if sharing a private secret. Tayuya, in her own silly way, seed quite content with it.
It wasn’t that Naruto had any strange habits. He just had a tendency to think that before filling her body, he should fill her heart first.
During those five years, he had lied to her a few tis, and now, in a way, this felt like retribution.
So of their past conversations were too distant to rember clearly, but fragnts of those mories still lingered. The emotions trapped in those long-lost mories gradually trickled into this naive girl’s heart, bit by bit.
It felt like the soft light stretching across the horizon was slowly soaking into her being. For the first ti, Naruto found himself truly appreciating beauty, though he couldn’t quite put his feelings into words.
Tayuya had traveled to many places during those five years, through the mists of the Land of Water, past the great waterfalls of the Land of Grass, across the vast hot springs of the Land of Hot Water, and through the endless deserts of the Land of Wind.
But all the breathtaking scenery she had witnessed paled in comparison to this mont.
"I don’t know... I just feel really happy." Tayuya said, turning back with a smile, her fiery red hair swirling in the cold wind, "I... I like you too."
"Hmm, I get it." Naruto reached out and pinched her cheek, "Liking soone isn’t that big of a deal. You don’t have to shout it so loudly."
"I wasn’t... shouting." Tayuya replied, but there was a hint of uncertainty in her voice.
But deep down, she wanted to argue that it’s impossible to hide love. Even if you can hold back the words, your eyes will always give you away. She could feel the affection in Naruto’s gaze, and that’s why she had been so happy these past few days.
As for everything else, she hadn’t thought much about it. Just being able to spend every day together like this was enough for her.
Even if Naruto was a liar, she willingly let herself be deceived by him.
To her, everything right now was already more than enough. She had eaten so many delicious foods, t countless people, traveled thousands of miles, and now had soone she loved.
If she could be more greedy, she’d hope to be deceived for the rest of her life.
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