Chapter 146: Getting Better

[Land of Rivers]

After luring Shukaku for a few hours, Pakura felt it was about time and woke Gaara up.

After Gaara regained consciousness, the sand covering Shukaku quickly collapsed to the ground and disappeared.

Revealing a slightly dazed Gaara inside.

He hadn't slept for too long, although it had only been a few hours.

But for Gaara, it was already a huge relief to his mental state.

"Why are you all not dead?", Looking at Pakura and the others standing before him, Gaara's expression showed some surprise.

In the past, whenever he accidentally fell asleep, someone would inevitably be torn to pieces by Shukaku.

But this time, not even one person was injured.

Gaara was the same age as Naruto, so he had no idea that when not on sandy ground, Shukaku's body wasn't very large.

In front of people who were fully prepared, it wasn't too hard to keep one's life.

Although Gaara going berserk in Sunagakure would always cause trouble, Pakura didn't dislike Gaara.

She even felt that Gaara was a pitiful person, "We're not in Sunagakure, Shukaku's power isn't strong."

"In order for you to be able to communicate properly later, we let you rest for a few hours."

Gaara stared blankly at Pakura. Pakura was neither afraid of him nor disgusted by him, and even let him sleep for a while.

A strange feeling welled up in his heart, making the originally irritable him remain silent.

"Let's go, it's not safe here anymore."

Seeing Gaara didn't say anything, Pakura waved her hand and began to move with Gaara.

———

[Konoha Academy]

A day passed in a hurry.

The students left in groups.

Naruto greeted Shikamaru and the others first, then followed Sasuke and Karin out.

"Sasuke, I've already recognized all the words on the Chakra Refining Technique. Isn't that amazing?"

Naruto had been called up by Iruka today to read aloud, and it happened to be the Chakra Refining Technique that Naruto had just learned to read.

He read it out word for word, drawing surprised looks from many people.

Now Naruto was showing off in front of Sasuke.

Sasuke said coolly, "I already recognized all the words on the Chakra Refining Technique a long time ago, way earlier than you."

Naruto clenched his fist and made a cheering gesture for himself, "Sasuke, I'm not the same as before. I'm going to surpass you."

Thinking of how different Naruto had been today, Sasuke, rarely, didn't argue with Naruto.

"Hmph! Then don't make me wait too long!"

"Don't worry! It won't be long!"

"I'm going home to cook! See you tomorrow!"

Naruto waved his hand and didn't sit at the gate like before, but ran toward home.

He not only wanted to learn cooking, but also planned to meet the Nine-Tails.

Sasuke watched Naruto's departing figure, and a smile appeared on his face involuntarily.

'Naruto's life… is getting better.'

"Sasuke, I already know enough words. When will Master come back?"

Karin had already gotten used to school life in the past two days, but not seeing Rengoku still made her feel empty.

Sasuke had been taken hostage more than once, so he had a more mature mindset than Karin.

He comforted her when he heard that, "Master went to do something important. He'll be back in a few days."

"Recognizing characters is the foundation of learning. Once your foundation is solid, Master can start teaching you directly when he returns."

"All right then," Karin was still young and couldn't hide her feelings.

Sasuke could still tell that Karin wasn't very happy.

He still doted on this junior sister, so he planned to go home and ask his father when Master would return.

———

[Naruto's House]

"I'm home."

After opening the door, Naruto shouted this into the empty room.

["Welcome back."]

Kushina replied from inside Naruto's mind.

Naruto chuckled, "Thanks."

Seeing the neat and tidy room, a sense of genuine comfort rose in his heart.

He changed his shoes, opened the fridge, and took out the ingredients.

["Let's start cooking the rice first, then prep the ingredients and cook the dishes. We'll wash the lunch box and dinner dishes together afterward."]

Uzumaki began teaching step by step, and Naruto also followed step by step.

Naruto hadn't mentioned wanting to know about his parents again in the past two days.

Although he was still young, not all things were beyond his guessing.

He knew the Uzumaki knew his mother, and he knew his mother didn't mean to make him suffer.

Then, for his mother and father not to have appeared all these years, there was only one possibility.

That vague answer was something Naruto didn't dare to think about.

He didn't ask anymore.

Right now, he already felt very happy.

["First cut the eel into sections…"]

As Uzumaki's voice guided him, after finishing the rice, Naruto began preparing tonight's dish.

Since he had already fried sausages before, Uzumaki decided to teach him how to pan-fry eel.

This dish didn't require much knife skill, just cutting the eel into segments.

Although the cuts weren't very neat, it wasn't far off.

For Naruto, who had already succeeded at frying sausages, frying eel just had a few more steps and seasonings.

In essence, it was no different from frying eggs.

Though the heat control wasn't great, causing some parts to be a little charred, considering Naruto's lack of kitchen experience, this was already a great achievement.

After finishing the eel, Naruto also fried more sausages, steamed eggs, and boiled broccoli.

He worked for quite a while before bringing all the dishes to the table.

Although he was slow and some of the earlier dishes got cold,

Naruto didn't mind at all, on the contrary, he was very excited.

Someone was teaching him, and he had learned something new.

["Naruto, you're amazing. You did great for your first time frying eel."]

Uzumaki praised him sincerely. After all, this was only Naruto's third time cooking.

Same for memorizing words, he had completed it all in just a few days.

These things weren't complicated, but Naruto was only seven years old.

Being able to do this meant Naruto was naturally smart, just lacked guidance.

Naruto hadn't yet learned humility. He just scratched his head and giggled foolishly.

["Eat up quickly. If it's cold, you can reheat it in the microwave."]

'No need, it's fine like this.'

Naruto quickly scooped rice and happily began eating.

———

[Uchiha Residence]

"What? Father went on a mission?", Sasuke was very surprised when he heard this during dinner.

As far back as he could remember, his father had never gone on a mission.

Previously, even with his position (as head of the Konoha Police Force), he always operated within the village.

Uchiha Mikoto asked, "What did you need to find your father for?"

Sasuke's gaze wandered slightly, "Uh, I wanted to know when Master is coming back. I'm still waiting for him to teach me."

Mikoto smiled, "Rengoku just left, and you already want to see him again?"

Although she knew Sasuke had taken Rengoku as his master, she hadn't expected that in such a short time, Sasuke would already be so attached to Rengoku.

Sasuke didn't explain and just casually brushed it off. After quickly finishing his meal, he ran out, "I'm going to teach Karin how to read!"

Mikoto smiled and shook her head, "This kid."

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