After his clone hurriedly delivered the umbrella he had bought, Naruto opened the sufficiently wide umbrella and held it steadily over their heads, creating a small shelter.
And so, the two of them walked slowly, sharing one umbrella, down the now-silent Uchiha Clan Compound streets.
The rain outside grew heavier, eventually turning into a torrential downpour. The dense raindrops beat forcefully against the umbrella, creating a continuous sound.
Although the umbrella was large enough to completely cover both of them, the raging wind still carried cold rainwater, occasionally assailing them from the sides, wetting their sleeves and trouser cuffs.
Finally, the Clan Head's residence appeared through the rain. Naruto closed the umbrella and leaned against the porch. Satsuki reached out and pushed open the cold sliding door.
Creak—
They stepped inside. The entryway was dim, with only the grey light filtering in from outside outlining the furniture.
Satsuki stood blankly in the entryway, her gaze hollow as she looked at the familiar furnishings… Tears once again welled up uncontrollably, mixing with the rainwater dripping from her hair, silently sliding down her face.
In her memory, every time she returned from school or training, when she pushed open this door, her mother's gentle voice would be the first to greet her from inside. "Welcome home, Satsuki."
But now, there was only dead silence.
This dead silence sharply reminded her of a cruel fact: her mother was now lying on a hospital bed, her life hanging by a thread, and her father was also unconscious. This home was no longer the same.
Of course, Naruto knew that this situation was already much, much better than the absolute despair of losing both parents in the original story.
He knew that, with the all-restoring power of Crazy Diamond, Satsuki would see her parents return home safe and sound by tomorrow at the latest. But at this moment, he couldn't tell her about this "surprise" in advance.
Just as Satsuki was immersed in her grief, a hand patted her rain-soaked head.
"Alright," Naruto's voice sounded beside her, "If we stay like this any longer, we'll really catch a cold. Let's warm ourselves up first."
He looked around the somewhat dim surroundings. "Where's the hearth? Can you take me there? Let's get a fire going and dry our clothes first."
Satsuki was momentarily stunned. Making a fire to warm up… Such an ordinary, mundane thing, contrasted sharply with the immense grief and emptiness in her heart at that moment, actually allowing her to temporarily break free from her sorrowful emotions a little.
She nodded and led Naruto through the familiar corridor to a traditional Japanese-style room. In the center of the room was the hearth Naruto had mentioned.
It was a shallow square pit dug into the middle of the tatami, lined with a thick layer of charcoal ash, with a height-adjustable hook hanging from the ceiling above it.
Naruto squatted down and inspected the hearth. He found that although the charcoal blocks below were cold, they still seemed very dry and not damp. Without further delay, he quickly formed a simple hand sign, leaned close to the charcoal pile, and gently blew—
Whoosh!
A small, precisely controlled stream of Fire Release Chakra shot out from his mouth, instantly igniting the dry charcoal blocks.
The flames danced merrily, emitting soft crackling sounds.
The once-silent room was finally broken by the sound of the burning charcoal, shattering the suffocating silence.
Satsuki sat beside him, hugging her knees, staring blankly at the flickering flames.
The firelight flickered on her pale face. She knew very well that if she were alone in this empty residence at this moment, she would definitely fall into complete despair, perhaps curling up in a cold corner, letting sadness and cold consume her, doing nothing at all.
Just then, Naruto's voice sounded again, interrupting her thoughts.
"Sorry, I just rummaged through the closet… You should get some good rest with this."
Satsuki looked up and saw Naruto holding two thick-looking blankets, handing one of them to her.
"Rest for a while and warm yourself up," Naruto continued. "I'll make lunch later. What do you want to eat?"
However, Satsuki seemed to have completely missed Naruto's subsequent words. Her attention was entirely drawn to the two blankets, and a tense expression suddenly appeared on her face, even her posture unconsciously stiffening.
"Um… Wait!" She stammered, interrupting Naruto, "This… Which room did you find this in?"
Her sudden, strange reaction left Naruto a bit puzzled, but he still answered honestly. "It was in the closet in the largest-looking room at the very end of the corridor. What's wrong? Can't we use it?"
Hearing this, Satsuki let out a huge sigh of relief, quickly shaking her head and looking away evasively: "No… Nothing! We can use it… It's perfectly fine…"
Although Naruto was somewhat confused by Satsuki's sudden nervousness and guilt, he considerately didn't press the matter, simply suppressing his curiosity for now.
He picked up the iron kettle hanging on the hook, walked to the faucet in the corner of the room, filled it with water, and prepared to boil some hot water for tea to dispel their chill.
In the time that followed, there wasn't much verbal communication in the room. Satsuki simply curled up quietly in the blanket, holding the gradually warming teacup in her hands.
Her gaze silently followed Naruto's busy figure before her—watching him carefully tend to the hearth, watching him pour scalding hot water into the teacup, watching the swirling steam blur his serious profile.
Then watching him gently and steadily place the steaming cup of subtly fragrant tea in front of her.
"Careful, it's hot," he would always whisper a reminder.
Satsuki's lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something, perhaps thank you, perhaps something else, but ultimately those words melted on her tongue and remained unspoken.
She just wrapped the blanket tighter, watching Naruto also drape the other blanket over himself, naturally sitting beside her, holding his own cup of hot tea, and together they stared blankly at the dancing flames in the hearth.
The sound of rain and the crackling of firewood intertwined, forming a comforting white noise.
Soon, it was noon. The downpour outside showed no signs of stopping, instead raining even more heavily.
Naruto looked at the small refrigerator in the corner of the room, and after getting Satsuki's approval with his eyes, he got up and walked over.
Opening the refrigerator door, it was surprisingly well-stocked with fresh ingredients; the vegetables were crisp, and the meats were all properly prepared. This was clearly a reserve carefully prepared by Aunt Mikoto for her family.
Naruto even found several fish that had already been cleaned and marinated with sauce, carefully wrapped in plastic wrap.
Aunt Mikoto was truly so thoughtful…
Ultimately, Naruto decided to use what was available and utilize the existing hearth. He skewered the marinated fish onto clean iron skewers and then carefully slanted them into the edge of the hearth, at a suitable distance from the charcoal fire, slowly roasting them.
Soon, the oil from the fish was forced out by the high heat, dripping onto the charcoal fire, and the rich aroma of roasted fish, accompanied by light smoke, quickly permeated the room, mixing with the scent of tea and charcoal, creating an extremely homey and warm atmosphere.
Enveloped by this aroma, Satsuki's previously tense and sad emotions seemed to have been soothed a little without her realizing it.
Hugging her knees, she watched Naruto's focused profile as he turned the fish, illuminated by the flickering flames, and felt a strange, post-calamity sense of tranquility, even feeling a little drowsy.
When the fish was roasted until its skin was golden and crispy and the inside was tender and juicy, Naruto handed the first and best-looking one to Satsuki.
"Careful, it's hot. Eat slowly."
Satsuki took the skewer of roasted fish, still sizzling and emitting the aroma of oil, feeling the tangible warmth in her palm.
It was hot… freshly made food…
A strong, complex emotion, mixed with gratitude, sadness, and a hint of warmth, surged in her throat, making her want to cry again, and even more, making her want to say something.
But she looked up and saw that Naruto opposite her had already unceremoniously picked up another skewer of roasted fish, blew on it, then took a big bite, looking completely satisfied.
Seeing this, the words on Satsuki's lips were swallowed back. She lowered her head slightly, hiding her slightly reddened eyes, and also carefully blew on the steaming food in her hand before gently taking a small bite.
The savory, fresh, and tender flavor melted in her mouth…
For now… let's just eat.