Good, even the protagonist hasn't maxed out his progress yet, so it seems the system is quite fair.
Chizhao suddenly felt her arm tightly gripped. Looking up, she saw that Naruto had gently placed her arm around his neck.
“We should leave here first.”
Naruto glanced at the adults running over in the distance, carefully helped Chizhao up, and left the scene.
“Phew~ I’m alive again, world peace… world peace…”
Chizhao lay on the soft grass, letting out a long sigh. Her violently pounding heart gradually returned to calm.
Naruto sat cross-legged beside her, completely bewildered by Chizhao’s soliloquy.
He recalled the image of this girl saving him without hesitation, and an indescribable emotion welled up in his heart.
He said in a low voice, “Thank you very much just now…”
Chizhao tilted her head slightly, glancing at the blond boy.
His youthful face was covered in dust, but combined with his apologetic expression, it made him look endearing and very cute.
As expected of the Prince, his looks are still impressive.
“Thank me for what? Anyone would have lent a hand in that situation.”
Naruto chuckled self-deprecatingly upon hearing this, a hint of loss in his tone: “You must be new here.”
“How did you know?”
“Because no one in the Village would come to save me…”
Chizhao’s heart tightened. How could she forget that Naruto, like Gaara, was an outcast?
Seeing Naruto’s dejected look, she felt a little guilty.
Then, she also sat cross-legged like Naruto, counting on her fingers with a naive expression.
“But since yesterday, I’ve been a resident of this Village. If you round it up, you were saved by someone from the Village, so there’s not much difference.”
Immediately, the brilliant light in Naruto’s dim eyes flickered back to life.
He stared at the girl in front of him, stunned for a few seconds, then broke into a bright smile and extended his right hand.
“My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I’m the one who will become Hokage in the future!”
The famous scene of the Prince introducing himself appeared before her, giving Chizhao a dreamlike feeling.
For the first time, she truly felt Naruto’s will, as if she herself was infected by his optimistic spirit.
Chizhao smiled, also extending her right hand to shake his.
“Shiratori Chichao. Hello, future Hokage-sama.”
The address “Hokage-sama” made Naruto’s face flush, embarrassed. He scratched his hair, trying to pull his hand back, but found it firmly held by the other party.
He looked up in confusion, only to see the friendly smile opposite him turn a little frightening, and a familiar chill emanated from her.
“So, Hokage-sama, can you come back with me to clean the wall now? Hmm?”
“Eek!?” Naruto instantly broke out in a cold sweat, his eyes turning into spirals, and he hurriedly nodded in agreement: “Got it, got it! I’ll clean it!”
The scene shifted, and the two returned to the front of Chizhao’s house.
Naruto looked at his graffiti, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
Chizhao, meanwhile, went back inside and brought out a bucket of clean water and two rags.
As soon as she came out, she heard Naruto muttering something.
“I didn’t expect my casual drawing to look quite like a tiger. Could I be a painting genius?”
Why was he critiquing his own graffiti? And where did he see a tiger?
Chizhao wordlessly shoved a rag into his hand: “Then, painting genius, please don’t draw on walls anymore.”
“Hmph! If I drew on paper, it would definitely look better than this!” Naruto said, unconvinced.
“Ah, yes, yes, yes!”
After that, the two began to vigorously scrub the paint off the wall.
Grandma Huizi stood at the doorway, kindly watching the two small figures working hard, planning the lunch menu in her mind.
“Let’s make some beef patties today~” After settling on the idea, Grandma Huizi turned and walked towards the kitchen.
Naruto secretly glanced at the girl diligently scrubbing the paint. After retracting his gaze, he continued his work and asked in confusion:
“Actually, I could do it alone, why are you still helping me?”
Chizhao didn’t look at him. She bent down to rinse the rag in her hand, then looked up and said to him with a hint of teasing:
“What? At this point, you still don’t consider me a friend? We’ve been through life and death together, haven’t we?”
“Eh!? Fri… friend…?”
Naruto was a little surprised; things happened too suddenly, and for a moment, he didn’t know how to react.
He felt not only happy but also a little apprehensive, frowning as he cautiously confirmed: “Are you really willing to be… my friend?”
Since birth, without parents, he had long been accustomed to living alone.
He longed for companionship, for friends, but when these things were truly presented to him, he became suspicious and flustered.
“Yes, I am.”
Looking at the girl’s smile in front of him made him a little dazed. Could it be that besides Ichiraku Uncle, there truly were other people who would smile at him?
Naruto averted his gaze, looking at his small, paint-stained hands. He squatted down in a blank spot on the wall.
He pressed his hand against it, and a blue handprint appeared there.
“Hey! What are you doing? It was so hard to clean…”
“You said we’re friends, so we need to leave proof of our friendship for it to count.”
Looking at the serious expression on little Naruto’s face, Chizhao couldn’t help but laugh.
“Do you still not believe me?”
Naruto was momentarily speechless, beginning to stammer: “N-no… it’s not that, I just… I just…”
Chizhao looked at the flustered Naruto with amusement.
She squatted down and pressed her equally paint-covered hand next to the blue handprint. A small red handprint nestled beside it.
“Is this okay?”
Looking at the two small handprints of different colors, Naruto’s face finally broke into a smile.
“Then this is proof of our friendship! You can’t deny it later, okay!”
“I won’t deny it! Hurry up and wipe off the graffiti!” Chizhao urged.
Naruto, filled with renewed vigor, scrubbed even harder. Before long, the two had restored the wall to its original appearance.
Except for the two small handprints at the bottom of the wall.
“Mission accomplished!”
Chizhao put her hands on her hips, looking at the clean wall with satisfaction. She exchanged glances with Naruto, then burst out laughing at his colorful face and the lifelike Six Paths whiskers.
“You look like a little kitten that fell into paint, hahaha.”
Naruto, teased, wiped his cheek, making it even more colorful than before, and Chizhao laughed even louder.
Shy and annoyed, Naruto quickly, with lightning speed, swiped his small finger across Chizhao’s face. Now it was Naruto’s turn to laugh.
“You were just making fun of me, and now you are too, hahaha…”
“Oh, you’re done for!”
Chizhao pretended to cover Naruto’s small face with her entire hand, but he dodged nimbly, causing her to miss. He didn’t forget to turn back and make a provocative goofy face.
“Hehe, you can’t catch me~”
“Damn it! Don’t run!”
The two began their game of chase again, their joyous laughter filling the area around the house, adding a touch of life and vitality to the dull morning.
However, Keiko felt this vitality seemed a bit excessive.
When she walked out of the room, she saw the two mischievous children covered in colorful paint, their faces even smeared beyond recognition.
Her usually calm temper finally gave way at this moment.
“Shiratori Chichao! Stop right now!”
The sudden command startled Chizhao. She stopped in fright, standing obediently in place, looking at the furious Grandma Huizi.
Naruto, beside her, was also intimidated by this aura. Seeing Chizhao stand still, he too reined in his mischievous behavior, nervously looking at the approaching adult, at a loss.
“Grandma… we cleaned the wall.”
Chizhao tried to divert Keiko’s attention, while nudging Naruto with her elbow, signaling him to say something too.
Naruto immediately understood Chizhao’s intention and quickly added:
“Ah… yes… we cleaned the wall.”
Keiko raised an eyebrow, looking at Naruto and saying, “I remember, you were the one who drew the graffiti on our house, weren’t you?”
Naruto lowered his head and bowed sincerely.
“I am very sorry! I caused you trouble! I know I was wrong, so please forgive me!”
Keiko looked at Naruto’s sincere apology and the now clean wall, and the anger in her heart subsided a little:
“Since you cleaned the wall, I’ll forgive you.”
A surprised Naruto looked up again, but his dirty little face still gave Keiko a headache.
“But! You two should go clean yourselves up first!”
Keiko picked up the two mischievous children, one in each hand, looking exasperated, and carried them into the house.
Chizhao, with her feet dangling, didn’t struggle. She was obediently carried by Keiko all the way. Looking at Naruto, who was in the same predicament, the two exchanged a knowing glance and chuckled softly.