Afternoon, 1:20.

"Eh? So today is Hinata's birthday?"

Naruto just got up from bed in the afternoon and had just finished washing when Sakura and Sai came over to visit him.

Hearing from Sakura that today is Hinata's birthday, Naruto couldn't help but open his mouth wide with a confused expression of not knowing.

"Yes, otherwise what do you think? Why, didn't Master Jiraiya tell you?"

In the living room on the first floor, Sakura asked Naruto who had just walked out of the bathroom.

"No, after the lustful immortal sent me back yesterday, he left in a hurry and I don't know where he went. And since I came back yesterday, I have been sleeping at home and just woke up."

Naruto thought about what happened yesterday and made sure that Jiraiya had not told him anything about Hinata's birthday.

Moreover, now that he went to seek confirmation from Jiraiya, he had no idea where to look for Jiraiya.

"Really? Forget it, I know you don't have any preparations. There is still a little time before the birthday party in the evening, and there is still time to choose gifts. Afterwards, Sao and I will help you choose them together."

Sakura smiled and said.

"Does this guy want to come too?"

Naruto squinted his eyes at Saai, his expression a little depressed, and he felt that his body was not energetic.

"There's nothing we can do about it. After all, Sai is now a member of Team 7. Moreover, Shikamaru also invited Sai to attend the birthday party tonight on behalf of Hinata, so don't say these words."

"I understand. Since it is your request, Sakura, I will cooperate well with this guy."

As he said that, Naruto secretly glanced at Sai, and found that the other person was still smiling, with an expression of not knowing what he was smiling about, so he felt that the other person's smiling face was very flat, and he cut it in displeasure.

"Speaking of which, is there no problem with Miaomushan's training? Seeing how tired you are, you must have achieved some results, right?"

Sakura asked curiously.

While keeping a smile on her face, Sai quietly pricked up her ears.

He is always paying close attention to the affairs of the Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki. This is a task entrusted to him by Danzo.

Especially the fact that Naruto went to Mt. Myoboku to practice celestial arts, even Danzo took it very seriously.

"Ah, are you talking about magic? I have just mastered a little bit of the trick. However, even if I have just mastered a little bit of the trick, I feel that my current strength has changed dramatically from the past. I will have the opportunity in the future.

Come on, let me perform for you, Sakura!"

Naruto clenched his fists, suddenly feeling the desire to show off.

"Well, that's not necessary. As long as you can practice smoothly, that's better than anything else."

Sakura declined Naruto's performance plan.

"Oh, that's how it is."

A little disappointed, but Naruto quickly cheered up and walked to the bedroom upstairs to get dressed. Then he came down and took out a few slices of bread and a carton of milk from the refrigerator, which he treated as today's lunch.

After eating a simple lunch and feeling a little full, Naruto locked the door, left the house with Sakura and Sai, and walked towards Konoha's commercial street.

"Well, Sakura, are the ninjas on the street a little deserted recently? They seem to be missing a lot."

Naruto looked around and found that the proportion of ninjas in the crowd was much lower than before, which made him confused.

"You are observing very carefully, Naruto. It seems that the raid training arranged for you was not a waste of time. Your attention to the surrounding environment has obviously improved a lot."

She didn't expect Naruto to see these problems at a glance, and Sakura smiled in surprise.

"That's of course. Now I, even Captain Yamato, will be shocked when I see it!"

Naruto who said this clearly felt confident in his current strength.

Sakura smiled and said nothing. Naruto was always so happy, as if he didn't know what sadness was. Being by his side, she really relaxed a lot.

"It's best not to mention this kind of thing in front of Captain Yamato." Sakura paused and glanced at the crowd around her, "However, there have been some changes in the village recently, but I remember that two days ago, there were so many people in the crowd.

There aren’t that few ninjas yet, is it because there have been more people coming to ask for tasks recently?”

"But isn't it almost the New Year now?"

"Maybe this year is special."

Sakura thought for a while but couldn't figure it out, so she could only give this ambiguous answer.

But Sai, who was following the two of them like an invisible man, narrowed his eyes carefully.

His intuition told him that the reason why there were fewer ninjas in the village was definitely not what Sakura said, but because there were more mission clients.

"Okay, let's go pick out gifts quickly. We will gather at the designated place at five o'clock in the afternoon. By the way, Naruto, have you thought about what gifts to pick?"

Sakura asked as she walked on the road.

"Well..." Naruto stopped in the middle of the road, tilted his head and began to think hard, frowning in distress, "I have no experience in giving gifts to girls. As for Hinata, what will she like?"

You just need to pack yourself up and send it there. Although Sakura thinks so in her heart, she doesn't say it with her mouth.

"As for that, I don't know. Besides, you and Hinata are probably closer than me and Hinata."

Sakura said this.

She really didn't know much about Hinata. Before graduating from the ninja school, her impression was that she was a distinguished lady who was shy and came from a wealthy family.

We rarely play together, and even after graduating from school, we don't meet frequently.

The most in-depth contact was only during the Chunin Examination.

Naruto nodded in approval and began to think about it.

"I think it's better for gifts to be more practical. If you don't use the gift often, it doesn't mean much."

I think a more romantic gift would make Hinata happier. Sakura sighed.

But he also knew that if someone with a brain like Naruto gave a gift to a girl, it would be impossible for him to choose a romantic gift.

"So, have you decided what to give me, Naruto?"

"That's the one!"

Naruto pointed to the shop opposite and blurted out.

◎

Unlike Konoha Village, which is still at peace, due to the raid by Konoha ninja troops, the towns and military fortresses in the Bear Country have begun to be completely closed, and a war is inevitable.

The Konoha ninja troops that successfully overthrew a military fortress in the Kingdom of Demons in the east, under the command of Jiraiya, one of the three ninjas, gradually turned this fortress into Konoha's own camp stronghold, which is closely related to the Demon Kingdom in the Kingdom of Bears.

The National Ninja Troops engage in a confrontation.

While both sides were standing still and monitoring the movements of their troops, a ninja force of three thousand people broke through the obstacles of ice and snow at extremely fast speeds and began to run wildly within the Kingdom of Birds.

Three thousand ninjas are divided into thirty hundred-man squadrons, and the captain of each squadron is a jounin, or a special jonin.

The rest of the squadron is composed of Chuunin and Genin.

They trampled on the thick branches of the big tree, which were strong enough to withstand the trampling of the human body. They kept shaking under the ninja's trampling without stopping.

The snow on top has long since fallen off, exposing the bare bark.

Then a series of afterimages passed by. Except for the sound of stepping on branches, no one made a sound during the period. Therefore, this ninja troop advancing at an extremely fast speed seemed quiet and did not attract anyone's attention.

On the forehead protectors tied to their foreheads,

Wearing Konoha's ninja forehead protector, revealing the forehead protector mark that only belongs to Konoha ninjas.

The affiliation of this ninja force is obvious, they come from Konoha Ninja Village.

Judging from the direction in which this army was heading, it was heading straight towards the country of bears.

The sky is dark, the cold wind is howling in the forest, the white snow is flying, and occasionally the howling of wolves can be heard from the distance.

"There are only thirty kilometers left to the destination. Teams should not relax, sense ninjas and ninjas from the Hyuga clan, and be on guard!"

The leading Jounin of Konoha wears the Jounin uniform of Konoha. In addition to the family crest of the Uzumaki clan printed on the uniform, there is also another family crest on the shoulders.

That is the family crest belonging to the Sarutobi clan.

This Konoha Jonin was born in the Sarutobi clan, a clan member of the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen.

He is about forty years old, with a tall body and a scar under his lip, which makes his already tall body look even more fierce.

"yes!"

The radio in my ear heard the enthusiastic responses from the captains of each squadron.

Although they knew that during this period of time, as reinforcements, they would not be attacked by any attack, they still maintained a high degree of vigilance between the teams.

The team continued to move forward. Except for the squadron leaders who occasionally communicated via radio, other than that, it was just a boring journey.

——The end of the forest.

The waterfall washed away the snow, and the pool below condensed into ice.

On the mountain rock, eleven figures stood.

Except for the girl who led the team, everyone else was wearing pitch black trench coats, with the chakra armor underneath vaguely exposed, reflecting the metallic luster.

Different from the color of ordinary chakra armor, which is mostly silver-white, the chakra armors they wear are jet black armor that looks thicker in appearance.
To be continued...