"Yes, yes, I slaughtered another fat sheep today. ”

The boss proudly counted the silver tickets in his hand, pushed open the curtain that blocked the back room, and let the stacked silver tickets collide with his palm, attracting the attention of several people sitting in the room who were gambling cards.

A man in a purple hat and a loose shirt threw the cards in his hand towards the pile, turned to the boss with drooping eyes, and said, "Yo, it seems to be making a lot of money?"

"Zhuoli, don't try to cheat, take your hand back, this game continues!" said another man with triangular eyes, a hooked nose, and a rickety body, pointing to the cards that Zhuoli had thrown down, in a hoarse voice.

"What are you talking about, you stinky rat that only grows in the sewers, do you want to fight!"

The long snow-white knife split the wooden table in two, and it was clear that the owner of the long knife preferred to use force to make people submit to it rather than to argue about the rights and wrongs of the matter.

"That's right, since you want to die, I'll fulfill you!"

The man who had jumped out at the moment of the long knife was still hunched up, making a hoarse sound that made people stop pimples, and the two cold lights hidden in the drooping long sleeves were like poisonous snakes waiting for an opportunity.

"Hawkers, calm down, calm down, today is a small fortune, tonight I have all the consumption of the love hotel, how about it?"

Touching his chin with a wicked smile, the boss threw a look you know at the two who drew their knives at each other without saying a word.

The two of them, who had received the benefit from their boss, glanced at each other, put away their weapons, and sat down together again as if nothing had happened just now.

"But yo, why did you stop us just now, boss. Wouldn't it be better to kill that guy and snatch all the money from him?" said another man with a scar, who had been silent, shaking his neck.

"I'm afraid that the man just now also noticed it, and let the girl go out first, in case we can't kill the live mouth, it will also cause us a lot of trouble. And that guy is also an acquaintance, and we have made a lot of money, so let him go. ”

Shaking the silver ticket in his hand again, hearing the pleasant crashing sound, the boss said pleasantly.

"Whew, really, I really want to cut something!"

The original seat was instantly cut in two, and the severed section was as smooth as a flat mirror, and the man with the scar on his forehead slowly retracted his long knife into its sheath.

"By the way, boss, these broken things ......"

"It's all on my head, I'll take care of it, and now I invite a few adults to go and have some breakfast together, how about it?"

Before the man could finish speaking, the boss who knew him hurriedly picked it up and made a gesture of invitation to the three people.

"Thank you then, boss. ”

"I'll have to ask a few adults to take care of me in the future, please, please, I know that there is a restaurant that has a good flavor, let's go and fill our stomachs first." ”

In the forest to the east of the village, Naruto walked through the towering trees with Shiro, who had just turned 6 years old. Unlike Naruto, the thick snow caused great trouble to Shiro, who had been malnourished for a long time, had no chakra support, and had not been trained in any way, and it took a lot of effort to take each step forward, and such a distance had been half a day since they had changed paths from the official road.

The howling cold wind ruthlessly plundered Bai's remaining body temperature, and the cold air surging in with his rapid breathing was a painful torment, but Bai didn't dare to stop, lest he slow down and never see the figure in front of him again.

"That's enough, the little girl can't hold it anymore. ”

The Nine-Tails, who had been hiding in the depths of the prison and rarely appeared, actually took the initiative to speak, but Naruto's will did not change in the slightest.

"Not yet, not yet. ”

"What's the point of doing that, it seems to me that you're just using that girl's feelings to abuse her unilaterally!"

As if disdainful and spurned, Nine-Tails asked himself that even he could not be so ruthless, venting his inner unhappiness into the universal language.

The wordless silence was seen by the Nine-Tails as being speechless because he had debunked the facts himself.

"I can't do it, I can't do it......"

"What do you mean?"

With the corner of his eye, he secretly looked at the figure that was staggering and seemed to be about to fall down at any time, recalled Bai's performance this morning, hardened his heart and said: "I am a human pillar force, even if I don't want to, others will target me because they covet your strength, one day, the enemy who is so strong that you and I can't resist will come to the door, at that time, what do you think Bai will do." ”

Nine-Tails was silent, although he didn't think he would lose to others, but now that he was sealed in the body of the imp, he couldn't fully exert his power, and the day he said it was likely to come true.

"The world of ninjas is too cruel, if Shiro becomes a ninja, it will definitely not end well, if he can retreat now, it will be the best choice. I will help him find a good job, and there is even a good chance that there will be families willing to adopt him, and he can have a better life if he is an ordinary person. ”

Looking at the outside world through the gap in the seal, the girl's insistence made the Nine-Tails unmoved.

"Now, do you still think so?"

In the snow, the black-haired teenager lay down in the snow and lost consciousness.

Walked up to the unconscious Bai, turned his body over, took off his coat to cover him, and replied to the Nine-Tails: "Then I will do my best to protect him......"

After some emergency treatment, Naruto, who was sure that Shiro was fine, began to set up the tent he carried, and if there was no accident, he camped here tonight.

"Boy ......"

"Huh?"

"Do you hate?"

"Hate what. ”

"Hate the person who made you a pillar of human power, the person who made you bear this fate, and ......"

"I'm already satisfied. ”

"Yes......"

The red light of the sealed prison faded and retreated into the darkness. Looking at Shiro's peaceful sleeping face, Naruto smiled.

The blurred vision began to focus, and it was already night when his consciousness returned. The clear night sky is full of stars, and the bonfire next to it exudes warmth that makes you feel warm even on a winter night.

"Young Master!"

The stagnant time in his body began to flow, and the memories of the day came flooding back, and in the end, the regret and anxiety caused by not being able to keep up with the young master made Bai immediately abandon the warm quilt and sit up to find the figure of the young master.

"Shiro, rest for a while. ”

The heat from his elbow and the familiar voice made Bai relax instantly, and then another feeling of guilt and self-blame hit his heart.

"Young Master, I'm sorry, I'm ......"

I felt guilty because I couldn't keep up with the pace of the young master, and I felt guilty because I was taken care of by the young master, and I was shameless at this time, so Bai lowered his head.

"It seems that you don't plan to rest any longer, drink the soup, and have something to say to you later. ”

patted the head that was just within reach, and pointed to Bai to the simple pot of hot soup.

"Yes, Young Master. ”

After eating it as quickly as possible, he put the dishes and chopsticks aside for the time being, and came to the young master and sat on the snow, waiting for the young master's words.

"White?"

A frown pulled Shiro to his side, letting the sheets on the ground keep the cold snow out.

"Young Master?!"

Such an intimate gesture flattered Bai, and the snow-white face was dyed with two shades of red, but fortunately, the fire at night was dim and not very obvious.

He took out the scroll of the cultivation chakra from the package and handed it to Shiro's hand.

"I haven't undergone orthodox training, first of all, you can start practicing with this scroll, and when you can refine the chakra, I will teach you some ways to control the chakra. ”

"Yes. ”

The scroll with both hands gave a concise reply, but he was not busy flipping through it, waiting for the following.

"White. ”

"Yes, Young Master. ”

"That, if the young master's title is okay, don't call it. ”

"Is it true that the master is better?"

In contrast to Naruto's sad face, Shiro's unchanging smile put aside the question of correcting the salutation for a while, and pulled the off-the-beaten-track conversation back to the point, "Forget it, whatever you want." You have a special power in you, and you are aware of it. ”

The thin body trembled slightly, the white eyes lowered a little, and replied in a low voice: "Yes." ”

"Don't be afraid, it's better to say that power is a rare treasure for you. ”

looked at the young master in disbelief, trying hard to seek a trace of denial in those pale eyes but couldn't get it, the excitement was overflowing, and even the words he said became unsmooth: "Young master, young master, don't you hate it, my ominous power?"

"Well, it's not annoying. After you learn how to control your own chakra, the guidelines of the training will be mainly focused on developing your blood limit......"

"Thank you, thank you, young master!"

Naruto, who was surprised by Shiro's interjection and looked at Shiro, who was smiling and wiping away tears from the corners of his eyes, and his original plan to elaborate on his future training policy was stopped.

Well, don't think about it so much tonight. Naruto thought to himself.

Far to the east from Naruto, a faint glow of fire came from a prison that had been carved out of a cave.

The prison was so empty that only the occasional whisper proved that there were still people inside.

At that moment, a man who looked like a jailer walked in through the gate with his dinner, and did not stop until he reached the deepest part.

"Hey, monster, it's time to eat. ”

With an unceremonious tone, he couldn't hide the fear in his heart, even as a monster who has always been called a monster by outsiders, he couldn't help but feel deep fear when facing this real monster.

With the sound of heavy chains rubbing against the ground, a thin arm reached out from the dark prison and dragged the steamed buns back on the tray.

The jailer who had completed the mission just wanted to get out of here, not wanting to stay here for a second longer.

A slender black shadow quickly reached out from the cell, pressing the tray that the jailer wanted to lift to the ground.

"Ahh

Even though he knew that the monsters in the prison were locked up, this sudden change still made the jailer paralyze to the ground in fright, and he pushed his limp body backwards with his hands on the ground, trying to distance himself from the monsters in the prison as much as possible.

The slender black shadow appeared in the light of the fire, and the thin arm carried the water from the tray back to the prison, and then there was no movement.

The frightened jailer hurriedly put away the tray and escaped from the cage.