章節 234: Chapter 234 No Wonder Tsunade-sama Is Always Angry
"Cough, cough, first of all, I'm definitely not a pervert." Naruto complained under his breath, "And she's not some naive girl either, damn it!"
Ding-ling!
The old man with poor hearing at the stall rang the bell, then looked up and said, "Customer, your takoyaki."
"Mmmph!" Sakura struggled to take the takoyaki in the paper bag. She didn't care that Naruto was covering her mouth and just stretched out her hand to grab it, creating a rather indecent scene.
Naruto couldn't stand it anymore. He grabbed the food and dragged Sakura away. After walking some distance, away from the crowd, he handed the food to Sakura with a bit of irritation.
"Here, is this stuff really that good?"
"It's delicious." Sakura carefully took the paper bag, switching it from hand to hand as the heat made her fingertips tingle. Her cheeks flushed as she blew on the hot takoyaki.
After a moment, she seemed to think of something and asked, "Do you want some?"
Naruto looked at her hesitantly and opened his mouth, but still no sound came out.
"It's not poisoned," Sakura blinked. "Tsunade-sama didn't teach me much about poisons. I couldn't possibly learn it bit by bit from books, right?"
Hearing this, Naruto completely abandoned the idea of trying a bite. After all, he had read too many stories and knew how scary a Yandere can be.
"I'm not hungry." Naruto coughed and said.
"Oh." Sakura turned her head and continued eating the takoyaki, slowly walking towards the lit area.
Naruto followed behind her, always maintaining a certain distance. Dark Sakura had a restrained desire that contrasted sharply, like a pure girl wearing old-fashioned black-rimmed glasses but with a hidden edge.
Though sharing the same face and body as Sakura, Dark Sakura always gave Naruto the impression of being a different person in front of him, perhaps in the way she ate, or the changes in her gaze when she spoke.
Naruto had seen how Sakura behaved in front of others. She speaks at a normal speed, and her expression is straightforward and natural. Most of the time, she wore a gentle smile, making her seem like a kind girl.
It was said that she was very popular at Konoha Hospital, especially in the medical department full of men. Even the most meticulous and gentle wound care couldn't compare to a girl telling you to 'bear with it, this might hurt'. And with Sakura's serious and careful attitude, she quickly earned the nickname 'Angel'.
Sakura stopped as if she had something to say. When Naruto caught up and stood beside her, she finally spoke, "Actually, I wanted to try seeing today as a date."
Hearing this, Naruto glanced at her, "Forget it, sounds like a hassle."
Night had fallen, and Konoha Street was sparsely lit. The summer breeze hadn't diminished the lingering heat. Sakura, in her sleeveless top, turned her head to look at him.
"Well, fine. Whether you pretend, lie, tell the truth, or just brush me off, I don't dislike it."
…
The next day, Naruto woke up.
He looked at the empty room and sighed. They had stayed out quite late last night. It wasn't anything particularly special… just wandering around aimlessly.
Sakura seemed very happy, and he didn't mind the feeling either. It was comfortable, as they had a date while maintaining some distance between them, so it feels safe.
However, Naruto sensed that something had changed. Not with him, but with Dark Sakura. It felt like she had been overly happy, as if she was having way too much fun.
Naruto even felt like he was just an accessory, just there as a presence.
'Oh well, maybe I'd find some time to ask her today.'
Naruto rolled out of bed and made his way to the Hokage Tower. Tsunade was still absent, and Naruto didn't know what she was busy with. After looking around, he found Shizune.
"You're here?" Shizue also raised her head, and her hands, which were processing documents, were so slow that they left afterimages, just like a four-clawed fish that often processes documents so slowly.
"Well, someone from the Anbu told me that Tsunade-sama was looking for me." Whenever Naruto had some free time, every few days, he'd run into Yugao.
With her purple hair and Anbu animal mask, Yugao was quite eye-catching. After Tsunade took control of the Anbu, Yugao seemed to have gained more responsibility.
'I wonder if it's related to Gekko Hayate? After all, her fiancé died in the line of duty, leaving her a widow.'
"Actually, I was the one looking for you. I asked the Anbu to send someone to call you over." Shizune stopped what she was doing and looked up at him. "Tsunade-sama has been quite busy lately, mostly with matters regarding Sunagakure."
"Sunagakure?" Naruto's eyelids twitched slightly, and he had a bad feeling.
"Yes, Gaara from Sunagakure is likely to become the Fifth Kazekage. Some of the higher-ups in Sunagakure can no longer stop him, so they resorted to despicable means to force him out of Sunagakure."
Shizune explained calmly, as if laying the groundwork for a bigger conversation.
"The village will provide Gaara with reasonable support as an ally, and the majority of Sunagakure's higher-ups also support him, so…"
"So?" Naruto asked.
"Gaara's succession as the Godaime Kazekage would be a good outcome for the village and even the Land of Fire," Shizune said while nodding.
"I don't care if the world is at peace or not. It doesn't matter even if there's a war." Naruto said, interrupting Shizune's words, "Anyway, I'm not doing any strange tasks, and I'm not doing troublesome missions either."
"Your character is really..." Shizune's expression became hard to maintain.
"Huh? There's nothing I can do about it. This village isn't that great either." Naruto turned around and said bluntly, not hiding his dislike for the village.
"People are shaped by the environment they live in. My personality was slowly developed here in Konoha. No matter how you look at it, Konoha should be the one to take responsibility. After all…"
Shizune was reaching her limit, and she gradually understood why Tsunade always got so angry whenever she saw Naruto. With such an infuriating personality, even she wanted to slam Naruto into the wall at this moment.
But she was not Tsunade after all. Facing this troublesome prince of Konoha, Shizune took a deep breath and suppressed her anger, then gently persuaded him.
"Well, it's not a strange mission. It's just to get you to interact more with the Sunagakure's Princess. Naruto, you know about the relationship between Konoha and Sunagakure. Although we are allies, our relationship has always been tense."
"A relationship based on shared interests will never be as strong as more intimate relationships, even friendships."
"What does that have to do with me?" Naruto asked with his hands in his pockets.
"It's definitely related. Tsunade-sama is particularly concerned about this matter. Don't you want to ease her worries?" Shizune stood up directly from the chair.
She would never bother with grand statements like doing it for the village or world peace. She knew Naruto too well and knew he was not interested in those ideals.
"I don't want to." Naruto shook his head like a rattle.
"Tsunade-sama, she..." Just as he was speaking, the crisp sound of footsteps echoed from the hallway outside. Those footsteps were all too familiar to him.
The rhythmic tapping felt like it was beating against his heart, amplifying the pressure to the extreme.
"Tsunade-sama has been overworked lately. If there's anything I can do to help, it would be my honor." Naruto quickly switched his tone after sensing the imminent danger.
創作者的想法 
Iampoorguy
Iampoorguy Support me at Pat reon
https://www.pat*reon.com/IamPoorGuyToo
remove the *
章節 235: Chapter 235 Open Your Eyes And See The Real World
The eldest princess of the Senju Clan stood outside the door, frowned and stared at Naruto's back, but said nothing. She came in, picked up a document, and left.
The green robe brushed past Naruto's side, making him tense up immediately. The imposing aura of Konoha's Empress was too overwhelming. It was mainly because Tsunade had been too busy lately and her temper wasn't the best.
Naruto basically hid and never made a sound, for fear of being noticed by Tsunade.
Halfway down the hall, Tsunade suddenly stopped. She turned around and looked at Naruto, then said, "I'll be waiting for you outside. Once you're done with your business, come out."
"Okay."
Shizune watched Naruto's sudden change in demeanor, and was slightly stunned. She then thought to herself, 'It truly was a case of one thing restraining another. Despite all my effort to persuade him, Naruto wouldn't budge, but he immediately changed his attitude the moment Tsunade-sama showed up.'
'Heh, men.'
Since Naruto had already agreed, Shizune had nothing more to add. She briefly outlined the details of the Sunagakure's matters and ended the discussion, urging Naruto to head out quickly so as not to keep Tsunade waiting.
Naruto, feeling somewhat reluctant, dragged his feet as he left.
Tsunade stood outside in the corridor, her green robe fluttering in the wind. She had been serving as the Godaime Hokage for almost a year now, and her earlier defiance had worn down significantly.
"If you're not fond of dealing with Sunagakure, just handle it however you want." She began, "Jiraiya sent a message. He has gathered some intel about the Akatsuki organization."
"They seem to be entrenched in the Land of Rain, where conflicts occur frequently. He plans to investigate on his own, but he wants to come back to take you to Mount Myoboku first."
"Is that a question for my opinion?" Naruto was slightly taken aback.
"Yeah." Tsunade let out a breath, then reached out to pinch Naruto's cheek, "He is your teacher after all. I'd like to hear your opinion."
Naruto pondered for a moment, then looked up and said, "We should let Pervy Sage come back first. The situation in the Land of Rain isn't urgent. Since someone like Uchiha Itachi can serve the Akatsuki organization, it proves that the Akatsuki organization is definitely not an ordinary organization."
"Rushing in with limited information could be dangerous, even for Pervy Sage."
"Hmm, I had similar concerns." Tsunade showed a relieved smile, "Since you said so, there's no reason to hesitate."
"You won't be assigned any missions for the time being. The reorganization of Team 7 will also be on hold until Jiraiya returns. Kakashi is no longer in charge of Team 7's missions. He has gone to further his studies."
Naruto thought for a while, carefully savoring the meaning of Tsunade's words. He then thought of another possibility, so he asked with a frown, "Are the higher-ups planning something with the Biju?"
"Yeah…" Tsunade said, " But that's not something you need to worry about. Whether it's the Advisors or the other higher-ups, they're all outdated. Their minds are rotten and stuck in the past, always thinking about conquest and war."
"Is it hard for you, Tsunade-sama? Arguing with the higher-ups and all?"
"What?" Tsunade was visibly stunned for a moment, and looked at Naruto with a look of surprise, "Hard? Why would you think that?"
"Well, they are the village's higher-ups after all. There's bound to be some trouble, right?" Naruto didn't understand why Tsunade reacted that way, and hesitantly said.
"Although Tsunade-sama is the Godaime Hokage, your foundation isn't solid. If there's a big conflict with the higher-ups within your first year in office, wouldn't that be problematic?"
"Even though Danzo and his gang are not good people and they even sent people to test me before, there is nothing we can do about him if he doesn't admit it."
Naruto spoke a lot in one breath, venting about what he found bothersome. Anything involving the village's higher-ups seemed like a headache to him.
Tsunade patted his shoulder and looked at him with a bemused expression, "Are you underestimating me?"
"Huh?" Naruto was at a loss for words.
His understanding of Konoha's higher-ups was mostly based on the original plot, and he definitely didn't have a deep comprehension of it.
Tsunade reached out again, this time pinching Naruto's cheeks with both hands, and asked with a smile, "What do you think the village is built on?"
"It's probably a coalition of clans coming together, forming a collective of mutual support, abandoning prejudice, and based on the foundation of forging the sign of reconciliation…" Naruto said intermittently.
"That was in the textbooks, but it's been so long, I've forgotten."
"You can't completely trust what's in books." Tsunade said with a smile, "The village was built by the Shodaime Hokage through force, whether it was the Uchiha Clan or other clans."
"It was power that allowed Konoha to emerge from the long wars."
"Wasn't the Shodaime Hokage a peace lover?" Naruto gulped and said with a wry smile.
"Loving peace and loving conflict, is that the same thing?" Tsunade asked back, "True peace has never existed in the Shinobi World. Wherever there are people, conflict will always continue."
"The old man's Will of Fire is certainly admirable. The land of Konoha is full of life and endless vitality."
"But at its core, Konoha was once a village established through power and maintained peace in the Shinobi World through strength. There's no reason that would change now."
"So why would you think I'd shy away from conflict with the higher-ups?"
"Tsunade-sama, aren't you the Hokage?" Naruto was dumbfounded, "Okay, it's not that I think you wouldn't dare, it's just that it seems troublesome. And arguing won't solve the problem."
"Arguing won't solve the problem, indeed." Tsunade nodded, agreeing with him, "And I don't intend to argue with those old fogies."
"Don't underestimate me, brat. I have a lot of people supporting me. What's so special about the higher-ups? Why do you think they can restrict me?"
"If they truly had the ability, why aren't they Hokage?"
"This…" Naruto felt a new realization sink into his mind, recognizing that Tsunade was reshaping his understanding of this world.
"Is it because of power?" He asked tentatively.
"Looks like you finally get it." Tsunade seemed satisfied, and let go of his slightly swollen cheeks, "The position of Hokage has never been earned by reputation alone, it's won through power."
"Within the framework of the village, we do need to be more cautious and be mindful to certain impacts. But on some matters, even if I disagree with them, the higher-ups can't do anything about it."
"Who do they think they are? Just a bunch of old geezers. Sandaime was too gentle and gave them too much respect. I don't agree. Why should they have a say over you?"
"They can keep dreaming!"
創作者的想法
Iampoorguy
Iampoorguy
Support me at Pat reon
https://www.pat*reon.com/IamPoorGuyToo
remove the *
每周推薦票狀態
200+ 推薦票
榜單 
21 推薦票 
段落評論