REVIEWS AND POWERSTONES PLSSS!!!!!Chapter 204: LoveLoveLove...
Naruto looked down at the little cat doll wearing miniature Uchiha clan attire in his hands, the corners of his mouth unconsciously lifting into a warm arc as he began mentally calculating which spot in his room would be best for it.
Though the things Satsuki had given him were already too numerous to count—from daily necessities to most furniture, she'd replaced nearly everything with newer, better versions under various pretexts.
But a gift handmade stitch by stitch like this was a first. This heartfelt gesture was more precious than any expensive present.
Satsuki's special emphasis on "don't stuff it in a closet gathering dust" simply meant she worried her efforts would be neglected, her feelings disappointed. This slightly willful reminder—Naruto naturally understood completely. How could he possibly not treat this gift carrying Satsuki's heart well?
It definitely needed placement within easy reach, somewhere he could see daily. Naruto gently touched the doll cat's head made of soft fabric. The first position he thought of was the bedside table.
However, that prime location was already occupied by a small incubator. Inside the incubator quietly lay a Pokemon egg decorated with green patterns—a legendary-level item the system had rewarded long ago. Yet after all this time, it remained completely motionless, showing not the slightest sign of hatching.
Clearly a legendary reward, yet after so long it's been completely useless... Naruto internally complained helplessly, but what could be done? Besides continuing to patiently nurture it, there seemed no other choice.
Finally, his gaze settled on the small study that doubled as half a kitchen. This was where Naruto usually read books and studied ninjutsu scrolls.
The reason he'd moved kitchen functions here was because long ago, worried that cooking smoke from the original living room kitchen would choke Satsuki who often visited, he'd specially renovated.
Naruto walked to the desk, placing the little cat doll properly in one corner of the surface, letting it lean against several stacked books.
He sat down, extending his hand to pet the doll's head again, finding it increasingly adorable the more he looked. Especially those black eyes reflecting light...
Thus, in quiet companionship with the little cat doll, Naruto unrolled the Scroll of Seals.
That's right—this thing still remained in his possession. Thinking about it was rather surreal—the scroll recording Konoha Village's highest-level forbidden jutsu secrets had been kept by a genin for such an extended period.
Naruto naturally couldn't possibly voluntarily return it—since the Third Hokage hadn't requested its return, he naturally regarded it as an excellent learning opportunity. His goal was firmly memorizing all the forbidden jutsu theory recorded on the scroll. As for whether he could smoothly perform them, that could only be slowly attempted and explored later.
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Uchiha compound, clan head's residence.
Satsuki returned home with light steps carrying a trace of barely noticeable urgency. At the entryway, her mother Mikoto greeted her with a smile.
"Satsuki, welcome home."
"Mm, I'm back."
Facing her gently smiling mother, Satsuki responded in a mild tone. She noticed her mother seemed particularly cheerful today, her face carrying a relaxed, pleasant expression.
And Father Fugaku's figure wasn't visible in the living room. However, Satsuki currently had no spare mental energy to care about that, though she'd originally intended to continue showing him some coldness due to his childish lunchtime behavior.
After simple greetings, Satsuki headed straight for her room. This room was now entirely managed by herself, normally locked when she wasn't home.
Of course, if she wanted privacy, her parents fully respected her wishes.
The door closed behind her with a slight click, completely isolating outside sounds.
She leaned against the door panel, gently releasing a breath. The room remained as tidy as when she'd left, unchanged. Apart from that clay figurine Naruto had previously given her on the desk, almost no excess decorations were visible, appearing quite plain.
However, when her gaze turned toward the bed, the style suddenly shifted dramatically—a meticulously crafted life-sized Naruto body pillow was prominently displayed on the bed. And this was merely the beginning of the room's certain "theme."
She walked toward the wardrobe on one side of the room, then slowly pulled it open.
Inside the wardrobe, besides neatly hung Uchiha clan attire and daily clothing belonging to herself, a considerable portion of space was actually occupied by another style of clothing—light orange athletic jackets.
These garments clearly weren't her size or style. Moreover, upon closer inspection, all showed varying degrees of wear—cuffs had subtle abrasions, collars carried some looseness from washing.
These... were all Naruto's old clothes that Satsuki had helped him say he'd discard.
Satsuki's gaze lingered on these garments, her fingertips finally settling on the most worn light orange jacket. She carefully extracted it. The clothing still retained an extremely faint scent belonging to Naruto, causing her tense expression to unconsciously soften somewhat.
She held this jacket and walked to the bedside. That well-crafted life-sized Naruto body pillow lay quietly there. Satsuki bent down, meticulously fitting that old jacket over the pillow, carefully arranging the collar and sleeves.
After completing this, she stood beside the bed, quietly gazing at this "substitute" wrapped in Naruto's old clothing. The calm and pride maintained before outsiders daily melted away like ice and snow, replaced by a deep attachment that almost drowned her. Those pitch-black eyes surged with emotion so intense it bordered on obsessive, like turbulent undercurrents in a deep pool.
She could no longer suppress that restless emotion unable to be directly vented due to reality's constraints. She extended her hands, pulling this special pillow tightly into her embrace with such force her knuckles turned white.
She held it, walked to the desk and sat down, burying her face deeply into that old jacket's shoulder area, rubbing against it gently, feeling the fabric's rough texture and that faint lingering scent, releasing a satisfied yet slightly suppressed sigh.
Belonging only to me alone...
After a moment of tender intimacy, she raised her head, gaze turning toward the large-headed computer she'd recently specially purchased on the desk. A trace of excitement mixed with tension flashed through her eyes.
She took a deep breath, then with slightly trembling fingers, pressed the power button.
The screen lit up, pale blue light illuminating her fair face. The image gradually cleared—displaying Naruto at this very moment in his apartment's small study, concentrating intently on reading through that Scroll of Seals in real time!
Satsuki's pupils dilated slightly, her breathing momentarily halting. She clutched the pillow tightly in her arms, eyes unblinking as they stared at that completely unaware blonde youth on screen, her face showing a complex expression—satisfied possessiveness, bottomless infatuation, and a subtle trembling sensation from this secretive behavior.
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