Chapter 224
Gazing at how elated he is, Ino smiles with a sense of calm serenity as she answers, "of course. Anything I can do to help…"
"Thanks, Ino-chan," Naruto warmly expresses, and she can feel his appreciation. The rest of the visit was spent convincing Naruto not to sneak Iruka out of the hospital for the dinner as well as answering a few of Karin's questions.
MABUI
"You know," "I was so happy meeting you yesterday, I never introduced myself." Infiltration at its essence is simply fitting in within a community. Every aspect of fitting in is important to the overall success, and in this case, their shared interest in Fūinjutsu will help guide her decisions. So rather than remain formal, the beautiful secretary offers a friendlier mode of address. "Please, call me Mabui."
Chuckling, he responds, "okay, but you have to call me Naruto."
Mabui's mind fritzes at his name as he asks, "I've never seen you around here, and if I had, I'm sure I'd remember."
Smiling at the compliment, Mabui focuses on his name, asking, "may I know your surname?"
"Uzumaki," Naruto answers. "But you can call me Naruto."
Mabui is thrown for a loop, shocked and confused, wondering how it's possible this blond boy can be the same one that fought Momochi Zabuza just last night. Aside from looking completely fine, he has Kubikiribōchō. Mabui has never felt so fortuitous in her life. Not only is he a valuable tool to decipher the jutsu in her possession, but he's also in possession of the weapon they traveled to Konohagakure to purchase.
'Or is he,' she wonders. He doesn't look like he's been in a fierce contest that's left him near to the point of death. Two of her three mission objectives seem to have converged, however, she needs to verify he is the right person before formulating scenarios that will best complete her mission.
With a concerned voice and a forward gesture, Mabui leans over the desk to place her hand on his forehead, careful to make certain he can see enough cleavage as she asks, "are you well, Naruto-kun? You seem feverish. Did you sleep well?"
Mabui catches his gaze linger for a second shorter than she expected. With an underbust of thirty inches and a full bust of thirty-six inches, the caramel beauty expected more of a hypnotized gaze rather than his mere glance as she notes how toasty warm he feels.
Naruto's vision has less of the library backdrop and more of the tanned-skin, silver-haired beauty with a stirring set of knockers. He enjoys her scent and proximity as he blandly answers, "no. I feel fine."
"Oh," she voices as she leans back in her seat. Rather than push for certainty, Mabui decides to be patient for an opportune moment or speak with Samui later. The silver-haired Chūnin certainly has a better understanding of why it's so difficult to work with Samui. If the brilliant Jōnin didn't have such a hesitation to speak, Mabui would've made the connection last night that the boy she met in the library was the same one who fought Zabuza… 'and won,' her mind reminds her.
Though it's difficult to see how this young man can be so formidable, Mabui sets her mind to working him, starting with, "good. I wouldn't want you to get ill; not after we've only just met." He smiles happily before she asks, "would it be okay if we learned a bit about each other before we start? So we're more comfortable with each other?"
"Sure," he answers. "Ladies first."
Nodding her, 'thank you,' she starts by saying, "well, I've been into academics since I was a little girl, but recently, I've been more curious about Fūinjutsu." Playing at sad, she comments, "so even though I'm so old, I'm still a beginner in the Sealing Arts."
Mabui understands how most men are evolutionarily predisposed to acting as a protector, instinctively feeling an urge to come to the aid of the opposite sex or someone they're attracted to. It's why it's no surprise to hear an incredulous Naruto respond, "what are you talking about? You're so young though! What are you? Twenty? Twenty-one?" Though Mabui plays the flattered girl—dainty and cute as she tucks a strand of snowy hair behind her tan ear—for her goals, she would've preferred if he gushed about her looks a little more in order to gauge how susceptible he is to suggestion. Naruto, however, simply tells her, "don't let your age be a factor in learning something. My sensei always tells me if you're determined to learn, then nothing can stop you and she's one of the smartest people I know."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Considering how this boy figuratively fell on her lap when she needed to decipher the Fūin seals of her jutsu, Mabui couldn't agree more, answering, "I couldn't agree more." Allowing a frame of her deceased fiance to flash in her mind, she adds, "I absolutely love intelligence. And thank you for saying that. What about you?"
"Not much to say," Naruto bemoans. "I'm going to be the best Hokage in the history of Kages and nothing's going to stop me."
"The Hokage," she repeats with a respectful surprise.
"Yup," he says with a smile and a nod, before finishing, "other than that, I love my friends and training, so, pretty normal I'd say."
"What about your aptitude for Fūinjutsu," Mabui wonders aloud. "That seems beyond normal."
"Mmn," he hums before answering, "I didn't really know about that until recently. Like I said, I just get it."
"It's quite rare to, 'just get,' a skill like that," she comments with a smile. "Speaking of, where would you like to start?"
Mabui couldn't keep up where Naruto started and asked if they can look at something easier than recreating electromagnetic induction powerful enough to light entire city blocks. When he wondered if she might like to retrace complex Fūin modules that link multiple Fūin matrices, she, again, asked for something a little easier. When he suggests elemental seals, she balks by how little she knows while begrudgingly asking, "how do… beginners start learning Fūinjutsu?"
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