Traveling through Naruto with Heroes of Might and Magic.

Thinking of those eyes, Qingwu felt a chill run down her spine.

However, he was unaware that the owner of those eyes would soon have a connection with him...

"Let's go, come to my place."

Fortunately, no shops in the village were open at this time, so Qingwu stood up and said, "Let's have a small get-together at my place."

Hongdou skipped along and hooked her arm around his. "Hey, aren't you concerned about Xiyan's treatment?"

Qingwu looked in the direction Tsunade had left and said softly, "With her here, Anko, you can rest assured."

Kakashi then spoke up, "I forgot to tell you, I left Naruto at your house."

Qingwu was slightly taken aback, but then she understood. "It's alright, you're safe with me!"

He had already learned about the Shadow Guard's fate from Hongdou. So what if a fox spirit is involved with the Shadow Guard?

"Captain, why don't you let Naruto live with me from now on? If you want to take better care of him, you can move in with us too."

"Huh?" Kakashi was taken aback, and he was actually quite tempted.

Since he was no longer in charge of monitoring Qingwu, he really missed the fresh air in the territory. Anyway... the family didn't feel like a home.

"With more people, it will be easier to help you share some of the burden. Tianzang also really likes Naruto," Qingwu continued to persuade.

"Okay." Kakashi's eyes narrowed, and he smiled much more when Naruto was mentioned.

"I...I'll pass for now," Iruka stammered, explaining as everyone looked at him.

"I...I have class tomorrow. I've been locked up all day and haven't had time to prepare my lessons yet."

Kakashi's smile vanished, and his expression turned somewhat hesitant.

"What are you saying?" Qingwu unceremoniously stretched out his arm and put it around Iruka's head, punching him in the temple.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch!" Iruka's tense little face instantly broke down.

"You said we should get together, but you're not giving me face, are you?"

"No, no, no, I'll go, I'll go with you, okay?"

Qingwu then let Iruka go.

Sometimes, stubborn people need a different approach to solve their problems.

"go!"

Qingwu took the first step, her footsteps crunching on the thin snow: "I might be exiled to the frontier soon, and they're doing this to me, really."

Upon hearing this, Iruka felt a pang of guilt and quickly chased after him, saying, "I have some meat at home. I'll go get it and we'll have a barbecue at your place."

"Yay, we get to eat barbecue!" Red Bean cheered happily.

Tianzang whispered, "Let's leave quickly, some villagers are coming out."

It's really embarrassing.

Kakashi patted his forehead and thought to himself.

Qingwu's territory is indeed suitable for outdoor barbecues. It has a large area and good air quality. Well, it's just that the timing is a bit unsuitable.

By the time Iruka had finished grilling the first batch of meat, the sky was already beginning to lighten.

Tsk, what kind of nice person is having a barbecue in the forest in the middle of the night?

However, everyone also knows that although the matter has been temporarily settled, if Qingwu is punished, they probably won't be able to see each other for a long time.

Therefore, the friends cherish the time they spend together.

Kakashi and Tenzo stood aside chatting, speculating about where the Third Hokage would send Qingwu.

The war between Konoha and Iwagakure and Kumogakure is still not over.

Since the defection of the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Onoki vented his anger on Konoha. Iwagakure, along with a large number of Kusanagi ninja, fought several battles against Konoha at the border.

The conflict on the northwestern border escalated, and Konoha had to reinforce its troops twice to stabilize the situation.

Meanwhile, the war with Kumogakure in the northeast seems to be nearing its end.

The peace talks between the two sides have been dragging on, but in the process, they have occasionally fought each other in order to gain more say.

The purpose, of course, is to show our strength.

Red Bean comes from a ninja family and knows a bit about the ninja world, so she joined in the conversation as she listened.

The three of them discussed it for a while but came to no conclusion. It was possible that Qingwu would be sent to any side.

Because Qingwu has already proven his "power" on the battlefield, and is already a powerful ninja capable of influencing the course of a battle.

Iruka sat silently in front of the barbecue grill.

This thing was something Qingwu tinkered with in his spare time, but the Shadow Guard hadn't had much of a chance to use it before because they were so busy.

Kakashi continued talking, but his gaze kept drifting towards Iruka.

He didn't care about being disliked by Iruka, but he was worried about damaging the friendship between Iruka and Seigo.

What's more... Naruto wasn't asleep either; he was squatting next to Iruka, watching him brush on barbecue sauce.

"Brother, can I try it?" Naruto watched for a long time, and finally couldn't help but be eager to try.

Iruka was taken aback by what he heard, his hand stopped moving, and when he turned around and saw Naruto clenching his little fist with bright eyes, his heart softened instantly.

……

Chapter 178 A Person of Loyal and Red Background

"You want to try it? Take your time, don't get it on your hands."

As Iruka spoke, he handed over the brush and reached out to hold Naruto's little hand, teaching him to gently brush the meat.

The air suddenly became quiet.

Iruka sensed something was wrong and looked up, only to find that everyone immediately looked away and glanced elsewhere.

"Hey, Qingwu, the moon here seems a bit bigger too." Hongdou looked up.

"Really? Let me see." Qingwu looked up.

"I don't believe it. We're all under the same sky, how could this be? Let me see." Kakashi also looked up at the sky.

“…You guys,” Tianzang said somewhat shyly, “Alright, I’ll take a look too.”

Seeing all four of them staring up at the sky, Iruka's face darkened. "That's enough, you know."

Naruto was intently brushing sauce onto the grilled meat, and even held up the brush for Iruka to see, "Brother, do you think I did it right?"

"No problem, it's even better than the first time I tried it."

Iruka ruffled the little blond hair, his eyes filled with genuine laughter, the previous gloom completely gone.

Qingwu and Kakashi exchanged a glance, both of them smiling with their eyes narrowed.

I told you, Iruka just lacked an opportunity—an opportunity to reconcile with himself after interacting with Naruto.

He was kind-hearted by nature and loved children. How could he possibly hate Naruto with such innocent eyes?

Hongdou teased in a low voice, "It seems your barbecue grill also has the effect of healing the heart."

Tianzang nodded in approval. "I'll go pick some vegetables to eat with the grilled meat."

The environment inside the territory is completely different from the outside world; even in winter, vegetables such as cabbage and tomatoes can be grown.

Of course, Qingwu wasn't interested in those things and never bothered with them. Instead, after Tianzang settled down, he specially cultivated an area and planted various fruits and vegetables.

Hmm, this kid loves life even more than I do.

Or rather, those who emerge from the roots always cherish everything they have now; Tenzo is like that... Yakushi Nonou is like that...

……

the next day,

News of Jonin Qingwu's rampage at the Root base spread like wildfire throughout Konoha.

From the Root and Anbu to the major clans, and even to the ninja elementary school and the streets and alleys, Konoha, after the snow had cleared, was in an uproar because of this incident.

The third generation leader didn't want to suppress the news; it was simply that too many people had died, making it impossible to keep it under wraps.

Aside from a few exceptionally talented commoner ninjas, most of those who become Root elites are descendants of various clans.

This is also one of the reasons why Qingwu knew he would definitely be punished.

We have to give the village an explanation!

Of course, compared to his importance, he believed that his standing in the eyes of Konoha's higher-ups and even the Third Hokage was still greater than that of the "dead."

However, the most vocal group also included one of Konoha's major clans—the Aburame clan.

The Aburame clan is a long-established and powerful clan in Konoha, with a large number of members. Ryoma Aburame is one of the most outstanding Jonin (high-ranking ninja) among the younger generation of the clan.

However, Ryoma Aburame perished in last night's tragedy, his body never recovered.

As the news spread, pressure from the Aburame clan reached the Hokage Building, with clan head Shiki Aburame personally visiting to demand an explanation from the Third Hokage.

Aburame Shiki wields considerable influence in the village, and even among the ninja forces currently stationed on the border, there are many members of the Aburame clan.

As an important part of the Konoha ninja army, the Third Hokage naturally dared not be negligent.

While frantically trying to appease the Aburame clan chief, he secretly cursed Danzo for acting too extremely, and now he had to clean up the mess.

After much difficulty, they finally managed to persuade Yu Nu Zhiwei to leave.

Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, two advisors to the Hokage, arrived together.

The old woman, Koharu, arrived with an unquestionable question: "Hiruzen, are you still protecting that Senju brat at a time like this?"

Mitomon Homura said with a worried look, "Yes, he's too lawless, causing such a big commotion."

Xiaochun, who was changing dorm rooms, slammed her hand on the table with a loud "bang!"

“So many family members have been killed. The Oil Maiden Clan Chief has already come to our door. Other families are watching. If you show leniency, the balance within the village could be disrupted.”

The third generation master lit his pipe and took a deep drag.

Amidst the swirling smoke, he said in a deep voice: