Chapter 21: A New Life Begins with Self-Indulgence
BANG BANG BANG...
Winter weather changed without warning.
Heavy snow began falling before dawn, and by morning the world outside had transformed into a pure white landscape.
For the first time in years, Gojo Yoru slept in rather than waking early for training.
Just as he indulged in this rare moment of laziness, violent pounding on the front door yanked him from sleep.
A girl's shouts echoed through the entire manor, impossible to ignore.
"Yoru, you jerk! You stood me up! Open this door right now!"
Suppressing the urge to dump cold water on whoever was outside, Yoru dragged himself downstairs to answer.
But the moment he opened the door, his irritation vanished completely.
Staring at the girl before him, Yoru's expression turned amused. "Why are you dressed like that?"
"If you laugh, I'll punch you!" Kushina Uzumaki raised a gloved fist threateningly, her face crimson—whether from cold or embarrassment, Yoru couldn't tell.
Her red hair was styled in an adorable bun today, and her heavy winter clothes were entirely red from head to toe.
Combined with her round, flushed cheeks, she looked exactly like a walking, talking tomato.
Yoru genuinely couldn't tell if Tsunade had pranked her student, or if Kushina had deliberately chosen this outfit.
After all, without the canonical bullying, Kushina didn't hate being called "tomato." Yoru had used the nickname multiple times, and had even mentioned tomatoes were among his favorite foods.
Watching Yoru's playful gaze sweep over her, Kushina's eyes flickered with uncertainty. But refusing to lose ground, she jutted out her chin defiantly. "You still haven't answered me! Why did you stand me up today?"
"Stand you up?" Yoru looked genuinely confused. "Did we have some agreement I forgot about?"
"You jerk! Yesterday you let me train with you, so why weren't you at our usual spot this morning?" Kushina's teeth clenched. "I waited there like an idiot for two hours! I nearly turned into an ice sculpture!"
Yoru: "(⊙ˍ⊙)"
Staring at Kushina—who clearly wasn't lying—Yoru stood frozen for several seconds before managing a single response: "Are you stupid?"
"What did you just say?!"
Looking at the girl baring her teeth like an angry puppy, Yoru became one hundred percent certain that the original series' Naruto Uzumaki had inherited his mother's idiot genes.
"Just come inside."
Giving up on any further commentary, Yoru grabbed Kushina's arm and pulled her into the house.
He retrieved a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet and tossed them on the floor. "Change your shoes and come upstairs."
"Huh?"
Kushina brushed snow from her clothes and switched into the slippers, then immediately noticed something odd.
Looking down at the perfectly fitting shoes, her eyes widened. She opened the shoe cabinet.
Inside were only two pairs of adult-sized slippers remaining.
Her lips curved upward uncontrollably, and the lingering resentment in her heart evaporated instantly.
In its place bloomed a warmth sweeter than honey.
"He prepared slippers specifically for me but never said a word about it. What a stubborn person." Kushina muttered in mock superiority. "Only someone like me could put up with his personality. You should be secretly grateful, you know."
With that, she practically bounced up the stairs.
When she reached the living room and saw Yoru boiling water, her mood improved even more.
"Sit down and wait. I need to wash up." Leaving that brief instruction, Yoru disappeared into his room.
Kushina settled onto the sofa, her curious gaze sweeping across the interior. The manor's Western-style design fascinated her.
Both her home in the Land of Whirlpools and her current lodgings in Konoha were traditional buildings that symbolized high social status.
In this world, only nobility and those with exceptional standing could build or inhabit such prestigious traditional architecture.
Common people could only afford ordinary houses.
Western-style manors like this represented the absolute peak of what civilians could achieve.
This alone confirmed the true worth of Yoru's jonin parents.
Yoru didn't keep Kushina waiting long. He emerged from his room quickly.
After placing a cup of hot water before Kushina, Yoru sat across from her. "In the future, if you don't see me at our training spot, just come straight to my house. Don't stand around waiting like an idiot."
He paused, his expression turning amused again. "Besides, even children know not to go outside during a snowstorm. What were you thinking?"
"Obviously I know that." Kushina's eyes held a trace of disdain. "I just never expected that you—the training maniac who thinks about nothing but getting stronger—would actually sleep in for once."
Yoru's smile froze slightly, and rare embarrassment colored his features.
Put that way, this really was his fault.
After officially closing the book on his past yesterday, Yoru had decided to stop living like a machine following a rigid schedule.
His record of unbroken dawn training—maintained since age three regardless of weather—had ended this morning.
And with that record went Kushina's fixed impression of him.
"Ahem..."
Yoru cleared his throat, then deliberately changed the subject. "Training doesn't require going outside. You can practice just as effectively at home."
Rising again, he returned to his room.
Moments later, he emerged carrying several bags.
All of them contained balloons.
"Why'd you bring out so many balloons?" Kushina's confusion was evident. "Don't tell me you're planning to use these for training?"
"Exactly."
Yoru's smile widened as he looked at Kushina meaningfully. "This winter break, I'm going to teach you a technique I developed myself."
On the first day of his new life, Yoru made a willfully self-indulgent decision.
He was done carefully calculating every move and waiting for the perfect opportunity. He would act on impulse now.
He was going to teach Kushina the Rasengan.
Whatever consequences arose, Yoru didn't care anymore.
Nothing that happened would harm him anyway.
Several months had passed. Mito Uzumaki hadn't sent any Senju clan members integrated into Konoha to warn Yoru away. Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't dispatched anyone to prevent him from approaching Kushina.
This meant Yoru had earned their approval.
Even if he remained under observation, they had already become his invisible backing.
With those two mountains supporting him, Danzo Shimura—who hadn't yet built his full power base—could only feel envious and covetous even if he noticed this civilian genius. He had no ability to interfere.
Therefore, aside from temporarily concealing his Space-Time abilities, Yoru could train openly in all other areas. Including developing Kushina's potential.