As the minutes passed, the two remained still, meditating, until Naruto stood up. He was surprised to see that the girl was still motionless. That was until he heard a soft snore. The girl had fallen asleep. Smiling somewhat wickedly, the blond lifted the rock the girl was sitting on. He walked to the river and, without a second thought, threw it in.
"Hey!" Diana shouted as she quickly emerged from the water and glared at the blond, who only laughed loudly. Annoyed, she picked up a small rock and threw it at the blond's head, but he caught it with a quick movement. Surprised, she watched him with admiration. "Cool..."
"I know... Now, we've played enough. I need a few things. Where's the nearest store?" he asked the girl, who thought for a moment. A few minutes later, the two were walking through the town, where the women continued with their activities. They arrived at a kind of shop and entered. They were quickly greeted by a smiling young brown-haired woman, whose smile became a little forced when she saw the blond.
"What do you need?" she asked kindly.
"Hello, I need all of this, please," the blond said, handing the woman a list that she carefully checked. Nodding, she made a few quick calculations.
"That would be about 100 gold pieces..." Before she could finish, a large block of gold landed on her counter. Surprised, she examined the precious material. It must have weighed more than eight kilograms and appeared to be of good quality. The two girls looked at the smiling blond, who only shrugged. "W-well, your order will be delivered to your location. Your change is—"
"Nah, that's your tip. Come on, Diana-chan, we still have more things to look for," the blond said as the girl nodded and followed him, leaving behind a surprised woman who shook her head. Smiling, she looked at the list.
………….
"Alright, these are from apples and oranges," the little black-haired girl said happily as she ate an apple. She carefully took out the seeds and placed them in a small bag along with the other seeds before running toward the blond, who was carrying some logs. Her task was to collect seeds from various plants while the blond continued cutting logs for his home. Picking up a shovel, which was part of his long shopping list, he began digging what would become the foundations of his new home.
"Good job. Now just plant the seeds nearby, and in the meantime, I'll keep working," he said as he continued digging. Happy to help, the girl obeyed and picked up a small gardening shovel. After several minutes, she finally finished.
"I'm done..." she said, standing up, only to stare in surprise as the blond dug with great force, removing a large amount of dirt. Within seconds, he had already prepared about thirty square meters of firm ground, ready to be worked on. "Wow, Aunt Antiope told me that we Amazons were naturally strong, but I didn't know men were too," she said excitedly as she walked across the newly prepared ground.
"Well, let's just say I'm special," the Uzumaki commented, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Setting the shovel aside, he picked up the wood and began building his home, with little Diana helping him by handing him nails and small pieces of wood. The blond glanced at the black-haired girl, who was carrying a large piece of wood that would become part of the roof. (They're strong... I wonder just how strong these women are.) The question crossed the blond's mind.
Hours passed, and it was already night. We could now see the blond's finished cabin. He was sitting on a log, roasting some fish over a campfire. Beside him sat a tired Diana, who watched the nearly cooked fish hungrily. However, she then felt her hair being ruffled by the smiling blond.
"Thank you for all your help, Diana-chan... I'm glad to have some company," he said calmly as he looked back at the fire. A peaceful expression appeared on his face as he stoked the flames to keep them from going out.
"You're welcome. That's what friends are for," the girl replied happily as she received her fish. She quickly began eating, while the blond did the same, though he ate calmly. "What were you, Naruto? You know, in the past?" she asked curiously. At her question, the blond tensed up. Sighing, he placed two more fish over the fire.
"Well... I was a shinobi," he said somewhat gloomily as he took a metal band from his pocket, with the familiar Leaf symbol engraved on it. He carefully placed it in the girl's hands. She looked at the band curiously, but then remembered what she had read about shinobi.
"You're a killer... You've killed people," she whispered quietly. This made the Uzumaki feel a heaviness in his chest. Hearing those words from a little girl was hard.
"Yes... I did it to protect my friends and those I considered my family," he admitted as he looked at the girl, who looked back at him. "Sometimes we find ourselves in situations where we have to choose between killing someone who is hurting others or letting them continue hurting innocent people," he said, this time with a more serious expression. The girl lowered her gaze toward the fire.
"There must be another way..." the little girl whispered as she stood up and looked at the Uzumaki, who watched the little black-haired girl with interest. "I'll save people and fight those who want to hurt them, but I won't kill. That wouldn't make me any better than them," she said with conviction, slightly surprising the shinobi, who could only smile weakly.
"That's a great goal... I hope you achieve it. Come on, I'll take you home," he said, picking up the girl, who climbed onto his back. Running at great speed, he leaped through the trees and across the hills to reach the castle. Once he arrived, he saw the guards, who let him pass without even looking at him. In a large hall, Diana was greeted by Hippolyta, who had a serious expression on her face. Beside her stood Antiope, who approached the blond, took Diana from him, and led her away.
"She's a good girl," the blond said to the Queen, who nodded.
"She is... I need to talk to you."
"So do I. Ever since I arrived, everyone has wanted me dead."
"And ever since you arrived, the gods have been exhausted. Tell me your entire story, and I'll tell you ours." With that, the blond nodded, and the two walked toward a room where they could speak more privately.