nashuaworldcup Chapter 648 The End of the Journey
Chapter 648 The End of the Journey
"...I'm sorry, Naruto." Satsuki stopped mid-sentence. She realized that everything she had just said—about the villagers' malice, about her lonely childhood, about her question of "why all Narutos grew up under malice"—had been complaints. And she never wanted to complain to Naruto.
"Naruto must be very upset if he hears what I just said. I was just thinking about some things... things that I shouldn't be concerned about for you. Naruto doesn't need to worry about it, just pretend I was talking to myself."
"It's okay." Naruto shook his head, his tone casual and gentle. "To be honest, I don't really care about those people you mentioned. What they think of me, what they say about me, is no longer important to me. But—"
"To me, Satsuki is the most important person in the world. So if Satsuki is unhappy about something, don't keep it to yourself, you can tell me anytime."
"...Yeah. I really am, to think about things like that." Satsuki looked up into his eyes, then sighed softly, with a hint of helplessness and self-mockery. She reached out and took Naruto's hands in her palms.
"You know, before Naruto turned eighteen, all I wanted was to marry him and fulfill this wish. Back then, I felt that nothing else mattered as long as I could stand by your side. I didn't care about the village, what others thought of me, or what had happened in the past. As long as I could marry you, I would be the most content person in the world."
She paused, a faint, bitter smile appearing on her lips. "But now that I'm married to you, my wish has come true, and yet I'm starting to think about these things. Human desires are truly boundless."
"That's really good news." Naruto's eyes crinkled into a wider smile after hearing the news.
He grabbed Zuoyue's hand tightly, their fingers intertwined, his voice filled with genuine joy.
"But Satsuki is worrying unnecessarily... which means she's overthinking it. I'm very possessive of Satsuki, so much so that even I sometimes think it's a bit excessive. I don't want anyone else to be my wife."
"Really?" Zuo Yue blinked, the lingering gloom in his pupils from just moments before vanishing instantly at his words, replaced by a bright, expectant, and curious light. "How strong?"
"Well... I won't allow anyone to take you away from me. So strong that even if you want to leave—no, that assumption is invalid, because I won't give you any reason to leave."
"I'll cook every meal for you, I'll heal every time you get hurt, and I'll be there for you every night you have nightmares. I want Zuoyue to get used to me being by her side every day, so used to it that she'll feel something's wrong if I'm not there. That way, you'll never leave me... Isn't that a little scary?"
"...No." Satsuki was silent for a few seconds, then shook her head. There was no fear on her face; on the contrary, the corners of her mouth turned up into an extremely beautiful smile, both shy and satisfied. "Not scary at all. Because my possessiveness towards Naruto is just as strong."
After the heavy topic had subsided, the atmosphere between the two subtly changed.
One second they're discussing childhood loneliness and the world's malice, the next they're exchanging sweet nothings like newlyweds. Although the content of those sweet nothings... is probably a bit too heavy for the average person.
But perhaps this is how people with strong emotions and those who lack love are. They express their love in a way that doesn't require others to understand, only that they understand each other.
Although the topic had seemingly shifted, and although Satsuki had just exchanged those blush-inducing and heart-fluttering sentences with Naruto, Satsuki was still thinking about Naruto's childhood.
"Satsuki." Naruto's voice pulled her back from her thoughts. "What do we do next? Do you still want to see how those two kids live? It feels a bit like voyeurism, but if you want to see, we can stay a few more days. Or shall we continue searching for other worlds? We have plenty of time anyway."
"No."
Satsuki pulled herself out of her thoughts, looked up at Naruto again, and shook her head. "I'm satisfied. I've seen what I wanted to see. Now, let's go on a normal honeymoon trip together. Like when we were at the hot spring inn."
"...By the way, speaking of which, Naruto summoned all the powerful beings from the Pure Land to help him back then. Shouldn't Naruto explain or thank them or something?"
"I'll thank everyone later," Naruto replied earnestly. "I'll personally thank each and every senior, but—" He tightened his grip on Satsuki's hand, pulling her slightly closer to him, his tone becoming light and gentle, "Right now, I still want to stay with Satsuki. Thanking them can wait, but our honeymoon can't."
Upon hearing this, Satsuki gave a gentle smile, tinged with happiness and shyness. The smile looked especially beautiful in the glow of the setting sun.
Naruto gazed at her black eyes, bathed in the warm gold of the setting sun, at the curve of her lips, and at the tips of her ears, slightly flushed with shyness. He silently thought to himself, "Thanks to the companionship I spent with her when she was little, Satsuki has developed such an adorable personality. It's wonderful."