Chapter 150: Chapter 150 Hiding
In front of the big green tree, the light from the streetlamp is dim and weak.
An old couple who had just returned from visiting a friend stopped in front of the big green tree. Inoichi turned his head toward the direction of the tree, pointing to the area behind it, and asked curiously, "Rino, did you hear someone crying?"
Rino turned her head and looked at the green tree for a few seconds, then said with her eyes slightly shifting, "Really? Inoichi, why don't you go take a look?"
"Alright." Inoichi responded and walked over there.
Behind the big green tree, when Ino heard her father's voice, her mind went blank.
She quickly let go of Naruto, causing her sobbing to stop abruptly. However, the sudden silence made her body start trembling, and the tears continued to flow.
Listening to the increasingly clear footsteps of her father, Ino's heart was beating wildly. She was so nervous that she clung tightly to Naruto's neck. Leaning close to his ear, she whispered urgently, "What should we do?"
Naruto didn't respond with words. Instead, he gently pulled Ino to the side, trying to move them out of sight. He could feel Ino's rapid heartbeat and noticed how agitated she was, breathing heavily.
Sensing her distress, he held onto her hand, and the warmth from his palm helped Ino regain a bit of composure. And at this moment, Inoichi's footsteps were approaching. The two of them knew that if Inoichi took just two more steps, they'd be discovered with nowhere to hide.
Just then, Rino's voice called out from a short distance away, "Inoichi, I think Ino might still be in the shop."
"Hmm?" Hearing this, Inoichi turned his head to look at his wife, "Ino was still napping this afternoon. Is she already awake?"
Behind the big green tree, Ino covered her mouth tightly. At this time, her father's voice was only two meters away from them, with the tree providing just enough cover for them to hide.
"Let's go back and check on her. She's been working too hard on her missions." Rino said with a light chuckle.
"Okay."
After Inoichi said that, he turned around and walked back, and the sound of his footsteps slowly faded away.
"I need to get home right now!" Ino, as if jolted by electricity, quickly pulled her hand away from Naruto's, stammering as she backed out from the shadow of the tree, "You, you, you..."
Naruto was speechless at how quickly Ino's demeanor had changed. She stammered out a few 'you's, but ultimately couldn't find the words to express herself, her face flushing red before she spun around and dashed off.
Half a minute later, Naruto also stepped out from behind the tree. He stood under the tree for a moment, looking at the brightly lit Yamanaka Flower Shop, then turned and left.
Taking advantage of the night, he walked along Konoha Street to buy something to eat before heading home. The street, lined with shops and bustling like a string of lights, was crowded with people. Naruto blended into the crowd, casually scanning the food stalls along the way.
The sizzle of hot oil and the bright lights of the stalls were accompanied by the noisy chatter of people.
"Yes, I'll have some takoyaki and that one." He pointed at the golden food, but for a moment he couldn't remember the name, and he stood there without speaking.
"Tempura." Someone behind him reminded.
"Yeah, that." Naruto echoed, but when he turned around, he froze.
"What's with that look on your face? Surprised to see me?" Sakura asked with a smile.
Her eyes curved into crescent moons, her pink short hair and dark blue eyes reflecting the bright lights of the street and Naruto's astonished face.
Her skin was as white as snow, with bare arms that resembled lotus roots, naturally hanging at her sides.
"No, nothing, Sakura. Weren't you training at the Konoha Hospital under Tsunade-sama?" Naruto, recalling the awkward situation in the duty room last month, felt a bit embarrassed.
Her 'Who is Sasuke?' remark had truly shaken him. After that, with the heavy load of missions, he had simply avoided seeing her. Without Sasuke, Team 7 existed in name only. Kakashi had been handpicked by Tsunade as her successor, so he was busy training and completing missions to build up his experience, leaving little time to manage them.
Sakura had entered Tsunade's medical training program for further studies, while Naruto, serving as Konoha's temp worker, flexibly joined various Genin Teams for missions.
In general, the situation of Team 7 is like this: The rebellious Sasuke dropped out to seek revenge, Sakura took the initiative to take the postgraduate entrance examination and was admitted, the former mentor Kakashi was forced to pursue a doctorate, and only Naruto, the street drifter, remained stuck in limbo, unable to graduate as a Genin.
"Today happens to be my day off, so I decided to go out for a stroll." Sakura smiled naturally, as if she didn't remember what happened some time ago at all.
"But Naruto, you seem to have been quite busy lately. I haven't seen you or Kakashi-sensei in a while now."
"After the Chunin Exams, the village accumulated a lot of missions, so being busy was unavoidable." Naruto scratched his face and chatted calmly.
"Customer, your takoyaki and tempura are ready!"
"Oh, oh, thank you."
Naruto reached out to pay and took the food from the vendor. He turned to Sakura, intending to find an excuse to leave, but she quickly grabbed his sleeve and said, "Mine will be ready soon. Just wait for me a moment."
"Uh…"
With his attempt to escape preempted by Sakura, Naruto had no choice but to stand aside and wait. A few minutes later, Sakura emerged from the crowd, blowing on her steaming takoyaki.
"Come walk with me." She said with a smile.
"Okay." After a moment's thought, Naruto agreed.
The nighttime scenery of Konoha Street wasn't particularly impressive, even somewhat monotonous, with uniformly dim streetlights that seemed to be on the verge of flickering out. The sky was overcast, with neither stars nor a moon visible, just a dull gray.
Naruto walked ahead with the food in his hand, and his other hand in his pocket. Sakura followed a step behind, leisurely blowing on her takoyaki before taking a bite.
"Aren't you going to eat?" Sakura's voice came from behind.
"I've got a dog at home. I'll share it with him when I get back." Naruto replied lazily.
"Is it cute?"
"Not really, more like scary." He answered after thinking for a moment.
Sakura chuckled when she heard this, "Scary? What kind of strange creature have you adopted this time?"
"I found him by the roadside. He's a bit shy."
"Naruto." Suddenly, Sakura stopped walking, calling his name in a serious tone.
"Hmm?" Naruto, now four or five meters ahead of her, stopped as well. Then, he looked back at her, "What's up?"
"Are you avoiding me?"
"No." Naruto denied, but the extremely long distance between the two of them spoke volumes, "I just don't want any trouble. Do you still remember Sasuke?"
"Well…" Sakura frowned, "Are you asking me, or are you asking her?"
"What do you mean?" Naruto's eyelids twitched slightly.
"The Sakura you know is hiding." Sakura's eyebrows were curved as she smiled. She pointed at her head and said, "I still remember Sasuke-kun."
"Oh, that's too bad." Naruto said, and immediately turned to leave.
Hurried footsteps followed, and Sakura immediately ran in front of him to block his way, "Why are you reacting like that?"
"I'm not close to you, so there's nothing to talk about." Naruto replied, his tone completely indifferent.
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Chapter 151: Chapter 151 I Don’t Want to Know Anything
"Not close?" Sakura's smile was beginning to falter.
"Why are you telling me all this?" Naruto glanced at her sideways, "Wouldn't it be better for everyone to just pretend nothing's wrong and continue with our missions?"
"I thought you've already figured it out." Sakura replied.
"So what? I can pretend I don't know." Naruto sighed and said, "But now that you've suddenly decided to confess, you've made things really difficult for me."
"Can't there be a bit of mutual understanding between us? Or perhaps a shared secret? If I don't say anything, and you don't say anything, and with Sasuke far away, who would know your secret?"
"I'm surprised by your thinking." Sakura said, still smiling.
"There's nothing surprising about it." Naruto spread his hands, revealing a somewhat unfriendly smile, "The so-called companions are those who accompany each other through life and death."
"But if Sakura's heart has gone with Sasuke, it puts me in a tough spot. I just need a companion. It makes no difference to me whether it's you or Sakura, right?"
"Well, have you convinced yourself with that?" Sakura asked with a bit of amusement, tilting her head slightly, "I thought you might be angry or even have a breakdown."
"If you'd like, I can act that out for you now."
"No need." Sakura replied with a smile.
"Then can we start over? Let's forget everything that happened tonight, and pretend that nothing happened." Naruto's face showed a trace of unhappiness.
'I had carefully played dumb, but this idiot turned around and lay everything out in the open.'
"No, I want to tell you, Naruto." Sakura shook her head.
Naruto closed his eyes in despair and sighed deeply, "I don't want to see anything, I don't want to hear anything, I don't want to know anything. Why do you have to tell me?"
Under the dim streetlight, Sakura remained silent for a long time before lifting her head, and said seriously, "I want to be remembered. In case I disappear one day, I might not even leave a trace of my existence. Everyone would only remember her, not me."
"My memory isn't that great, and I tend to forget a lot of people and things." Naruto scratched his face, looking up at the dark sky, "I might even forget by tomorrow after a good night's sleep."
Upon hearing this, Sakura stepped forward and picked up a takoyaki with a bamboo skewer, offering it to Naruto.
"Here."
Naruto stared at the takoyaki for a moment but didn't reach out to take it.
"What's wrong? Afraid I poisoned it?"
"Tsunade-sama once did. You're her student…" Naruto said with a look of disbelief, "What if you're trying to silence someone who knows your secret?"
"Then, do I need to take such a big risk and go through so much trouble?"
"Maybe you just enjoy the process of committing the crime." Naruto stroked his chin and mused, "Or maybe you want to satisfy some twisted desire, like killing someone with lies, watching them drown in endless hatred before they die."
Sakura: "… You are obviously the more twisted one here."
"Don't worry, I know you won't tell anyone about this secret between us." She handed over the takoyaki and said, "You can think of this as me trying to win your favor."
"Huh? Why?" Naruto narrowed his eyes.
"Naruto-kun, you're the only one who knows that I exist. If you forget about me, then I will really cease to exist." Sakura said with a smile.
"I want you to remember me, Naruto. Even if I disappear one day, I want to still live on in your memories."
"So, there's no way I would harm you!"
Naruto glanced at Sakura sideways and said disdainfully, "I don't believe a single word women say."
Sakura's face twitched slightly and her smile froze on her face.
Back at home, he opened the door.
In the end, he still didn't eat the takoyaki. After saying something that shattered Sakura's composure, he turned around and left. Just thinking about Sakura now gave him chills, so there was no way he was going to get close to her.
Today, he got caught, and there was nothing he could do about it.
But Sakura wouldn't usually be on missions with him unless there were special circumstances. Whether it was the old Sakura or the inner Sakura, Naruto felt that it was best to stay away from a yandere with a dual personality.
Sakura's situation was indeed rare, but he didn't really care. He didn't want to deal with the old Sakura, who was obsessed with Sasuke, nor the inner Sakura.
If he has such free time, he'd rather spend it lying around.
With a click, the lights came on, filling the living room with brightness.
"Kurama, get out here!" Naruto called out as he walked, placing the food he had brought on the dining table, "Hurry up, I brought you something to eat. Next time, you need to help me buy things."
As soon as the words fell, there was movement in the room where Kurama was. Due to the absence of 'certain part', Kurama usually walked upright when no one was around.
The way he swaggered out and opened the door was reminiscent of Tom the Cat.
"You're the real dog here." Kurama grumbled as he deftly jumped onto the sofa, lying down while complaining, "How am I supposed to buy you food? Walk around with money in my mouth like a dumb dog?"
"You could."
"Get lost." Kurama scoffed, "Now hurry up and present your offering to the great me!"
Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, Kurama jumped off the sofa and hurried to the kitchen, grabbing some alcohol from the fridge. With a practiced motion, he popped it open.
"Hey, Kurama, how about coming with me on a mission next time?" Naruto suddenly suggested.
"Another mission with those pet-loving idiots? No thanks!" After saying that, Kurama picked up the bottle of alcohol with his paws and started complaining.
"It probably won't be with them." Naruto ate the fried tempura, frowned, and swallowed it with difficulty, "You should get out and stretch your legs. Staying cooped up at home all the time will make you rusty."
"As if the great me could ever be weakened by mere indulgence." Kyuubi mumbled, taking another swig, "I can go, but you have to bring the booze with you."
Naruto thought for a moment. Since he had a seal space, carrying a few things wouldn't be a problem. So, he readily agreed, and the matter was settled.
Since the arrival of autumn, the weather in Konoha had become increasingly strange.
Faced with the embarrassing situation of only having one day left of vacation, Naruto calmly devised a plan to pass the time, intending to quietly enjoy this hard-earned vacation time alone.
He no longer expected anyone to be free to spend time with him at this time, after all, all Shinobi had different schedules for their time off.
He just happened to meet Ino today. He guesses that she was probably already out on another mission tomorrow, likely under Asuma's lead.
…
The next day.
"Anyway." Naruto said, curled up in his thin blanket, only his head peeking out as he grinned at Kurama, "As long as I'm home sleeping, no one will bother me."
"You're the real lazy one." Kurama muttered, taking a swig of alcohol, "It's so quiet. But I have a feeling you won't be getting any sleep today."
"You better shut your trap." Naruto retorted. His room was wide open, and his sword was placed near the room's door. He did that so that he could draw his sword and rush to the entrance the moment there was a knock on the door.
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