章節 252: Chapter 252 This Is Men's Bathroom
Kyubi had indeed disappeared, and as for the fact that it was hidden in a foxhound, he could just pretend that he didn't know. Even if he was accidentally exposed, he could just blame Kurama.
He knew Tsunade didn't like beating around the bush, so he apologized honestly.
"I should have told you earlier, not dragged it out until now."
Upon hearing this, Tsunade frowned slightly, her figure half-sunken into the soft chair. She wasn't entirely satisfied with Naruto's answer, but she still restrained her temper and said, "Don't keep things from me. If you think you can handle it, that's fine. But if not, don't push yourself too hard."
After saying this, without waiting for Naruto to answer, Tsunade turned and walked away, her heels clicking crisply against the floor.
Suddenly, Naruto was the only one left in the vast conference room. Thinking about Tsunade's words, he raised his eyebrows, feeling that he's really in trouble. As Tsunade was genuinely upset this time.
Fortunately, he didn't dwell on it too much and shamelessly carried on with his plans.
With a loud smack, he slapped his mission application on the desk at the mission assignment center and cleared his throat before saying, "I want to insert myself into this mission."
The person in charge of the mission management department was a little old man wearing glasses as thick as the bottom of a beer bottle. He was so angry at Naruto's arrogant behavior that he almost had a fit.
"This is a mission that will begin tomorrow. It's against the rules," The old man said.
Naruto frowned, staring at the old man, and said with some displeasure, "Rules are made by people. Can't they be changed?"
"They can't be changed."
"Hmm?"
"No, I mean, these rules were set by the Godaime Hokage-sama." The old man had obviously also participated in the meeting just now, and was obviously a little scared.
The Jinchuriki in front of him is no longer an ordinary Jinchuriki. He can still use his power without the Biju. In short, Naruto had become something too formidable to ignore.
Having mere authority wasn't frightening, what was truly intimidating were those higher-ups with overwhelming power, standing at the pinnacle, like Konoha's four top leaders who looked down on everything.
Naruto was now practically halfway into the ranks of the four top leaders. Why only halfway? Because his strength was already there, but his reputation wasn't enough. Unless he saved the entire world, even becoming Hokage was very unlikely.
Luckily, his ambitions didn't lie in becoming Hokage, but more about enjoying life and indulging in pleasures.
To put it simply, the fact that he lives in this body is a tragedy, as a symbol of righteousness forced upon him. While admirable qualities were imposed on him, he was ultimately not the real Naruto, and these noble traits weighed heavily on him, filling him with disdain.
Tsunade hoped Naruto would face the world positively, aiming to lead him down a lively path filled with people, involving more and more individuals and intertwining their lives with him.
The higher-ups, on the other hand, wanted him to be devoid of independent thought, utterly loyal to the village, crushing all other Shinobi Villages, and becoming a human weapon of immense deterrence.
But what Naruto desired was to sweep through the Shinobi Villages, not in battle but among the villages' women, intimidating the Kunoichi of the Shinobi World. His ideals had already deviated from the start, so it was destined that it would be impossible for Naruto to align with the higher-ups' vision.
Although it was just a joke, as he really hadn't thought about choosing a specific life to live. His journey had been full of unexpected turns, surprising everyone, even Tsunade.
He had his own way of living. If there were obstacles too difficult to overcome, he'd simply resort to brute force!
"The rules set by the Godaime Hokage-sama, they do not allow sudden changes to missions. If adjustments must be made, they must be personally reviewed by her." The old man nervously added.
"Wait here." Naruto left a sentence, snatched up the mission application form, and set off to go through the proper channels.
Naruto took three steps at a time up the staircase, reaching the top floor of the Hokage Tower in no time. Once there, he slowed his pace, cautiously approaching the door to the Hokage's Office and peeking inside.
Tsunade was working, and judging by her expression, she wasn't in a good mood.
At the doorway, Naruto hesitated, unsure if he should enter. Shizune, walking down the hallway, noticed Naruto crouched and spying through the door, so she couldn't help but ask, "Naruto, what are you…?"
'Well, now I had no choice but to go in.'
In the Hokage's Office, Shizune came in and delivered some documents before promptly left. Tsunade lifted her head and frowned at Naruto, then asked unhappily, "What do you need?"
"I just need your stamp." Naruto nervously took out the application form.
Tsunade glanced at it, thought for a moment, and then stamped it. She didn't give him much attitude and, after a few words of advice, sent him on his way.
Back at the mission admission center, Naruto slapped the approved form onto the desk.
"Hurry up, don't dawdle." Naruto said unhappily, completely different from his humble appearance in the Hokage's Office just now.
"Right away… Right away."
The old man had already left, leaving a girl in her early twenties to handle Naruto. She looked so flustered, as if she were a hostage being threatened.
The process wasn't complicated, though Naruto didn't know what the old man had told her to make her so scared.
Naruto curled his lips but said nothing. Once the paperwork was complete, he grabbed the mission assignment and headed off to report to Asuma.
'Nowadays, even the higher-ups have to do missions…'
What else was Naruto supposed to do? He was single and bored.
Asuma, puffing on a cigarette, glanced repeatedly at the mission form, which was covered in approval stamps, 'Everything seemed in order. And there's no problem with the procedure.'
Still, Asuma couldn't help but wonder if Naruto had another motive for this.
The cigarette embers glowed as Asuma took the final drag, then he looked up at Naruto, and said, "Naruto, could you please step out for a moment? This is a men's bathroom after all, and though you're a guy too, it's just..."
"Cough cough." Naruto quickly backed out.
When Asuma finally came out, the first thing he said was, "Come on, Uzumaki Naruto-sama, let's go meet them together."
Clearly, Asuma had heard about the meeting that morning. His playful tone was matched with a friendly pat on Naruto's shoulder. As the son of Sandaime, Asuma was loyal to the Hokage's faction, so he didn't mind seeing Naruto rise in rank.
"Meet who?" Naruto blinked in confusion.
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章節 253: Chapter 253 Ino's Tears
Afternoon.
Choji was stuffing the barbecue into his mouth, his tiny, beady eyes scanning the room before fixing on Naruto and Ino, who were seated across from him.
"Seriously, Naruto, that was pretty uncool of you."
"What do you mean uncool?"
Naruto spread his hands in mock innocence. The table was surrounded by his close friends, Naruto was sprawled out comfortably on the long sofa, his lanky frame relaxed. Ino sat beside him.
"Why didn't you tell us about something that big?" Shikamaru chimed in, reclining on the sofa as well, sipping on a glass of watermelon juice.
"How can I explain this? I didn't even know what was happening myself." Naruto pouted and said, "Besides, it happened suddenly, and nothing bad came of it, right?"
"Well, maybe it's not all bad now. At least we don't have to worry so much." Shikamaru said ambiguously, deliberately avoiding the topic of Jinchuriki.
Ino remained unusually quiet, focused on mixing the sauces beside her.
Clearly, the recent event was still fresh in their minds, but the group didn't linger on the topic from that morning and quickly shifted the conversation to their mission.
"Something's off. Why did you suddenly want to join this mission?" Shikamaru shot Naruto a suspicious glance, then shifted his gaze to Ino, asking with a hint of curiosity, "What's going on?"
"Huh?" Ino's face flushed briefly, feeling a little guilty.
She knew exactly why Naruto insisted on joining their mission, and the more she understood, the hotter her face became. In that moment, she tried hard to shift her thoughts away and dismiss her feelings.
"This mission is too dangerous, and I'm worried about I…" Naruto was about to mention Ino's name when a sharp pain shot through his side, where Ino had covertly jabbed him, causing him to stumble over his words.
"I'm worried about Chiriku-san's safety. We've got a decent relationship, so I figured I'd tag along."
Shikamaru and Choji didn't notice Ino's subtle move, but Asuma, sitting on the outside, did. He just chuckled lightly, then stood up and said with a slightly melancholy tone, "I'm going to step outside for a smoke."
"Hmm?" Ino turned her head, seemingly realizing something.
Shikamaru frowned and said, "Asuma-sensei, weren't you told to cut back on smoking? Why are you smoking again?"
"This…" Asuma already had the cigarette between his lips, "This is the last one for today."
Naruto also noticed that Shikamaru and Asuma had a deeper relationship. Ino was into flowers, Choji was all about food, but Shikamaru's intellectual nature made him more compatible with Asuma.
Watching Asuma's back as he left the restaurant, Naruto couldn't help but feel a bit downcast, 'Did I backstab an old single guy? But wasn't he close to Kurenai?'
'Forget it.' Naruto thought. After all, he was still a 'herbivorous' youth and had no reason to care about an older man's romantic history.
"Naruto, do you know Chiriku-san from the Fire Temple?" Choji put down his chopsticks and suddenly asked.
"We are fairly acquainted." Naruto hesitated for a moment before responding, "Chiriku-san and Asuma-sensei both served in the Twelve Guardian Ninja. They're closer to each other."
After they had eaten and drank their fill, Asma paid the bill. He really had no shortage of money. He was a second-generation young master, and except for not having a wife and looking a bit older than his age, he was practically living the dream.
Born into the prestigious Sarutobi Clan, Asuma had everything he could want at a young age. But when Sandaime once said that the Hokage wasn't the most important person in the village, it made Asuma, who had rebelled in his youth, feel like the Hokage's role was too low-tier.
In an act of rebellion, he left Konoha and became the personal bodyguard for the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. It's a classic tale of a young man striking out on his own. Ten years later, he returned as a different man.
No longer the rebelling youth, Asuma returned as a reformed delinquent, but still wearing his rebellious fashion sense.
His father, Sandaime, welcomed him back with open arms. He then inherited the Sarutobi Clan's legacy, and he even had a childhood friend, Kurenai, waiting for him. He was a classic example of a second-generation young master success story.
It's just that this time the timeline has moved forward a bit, and Chiriku had luckily avoided a tragic fate. So, the mission this time was mainly about investigating and searching, not chasing after the Immortal Duo.
The primary goal of the mission was to go to the Fire Temple, investigate any clues, and protect Chiriku for a while until the end of the mission.
If there is still no result after investigating for a period of time, the mission will most likely be cancelled.
So, apart from Naruto and Ino, no one really took this mission too seriously. After all, it was just a simple investigation and search centered on the Fire Temple, nothing too dangerous.
Asuma had to leave for something, and Shikamaru and Choji left together, which meant only Naruto and Ino were left sitting at the table. Naruto was about to say something when someone outside glanced at them briefly before walking away.
It was a look of fear, and after pausing for a second, the person quickly turned and left.
Naruto was a bit speechless when he saw this, 'Even while eating, I still couldn't avoid running into people from the Hokage's Office.'
"Shall I walk you home?" Naruto turned to look at Ino and asked.
Ino thought for a moment and said, "Let's go to your place."
Naruto was flattered for a moment. Ino hadn't been to his place in a while, and he was starting to think maybe he'd been too intense and scared her off.
"Sure!" He agreed quickly.
"Don't think too much." Ino glanced at him and skillfully tied up her golden ponytail. "I just have something to ask you, and it's not convenient to talk here."
"What is it?"
"Well, nothing for now. Let's talk when we get there." Ino replied.
When Naruto heard this, he felt a little uneasy, 'First Tsunade, and now Ino… everyone's reactions were different. Was he really in that much trouble?'
However, Kyubi's escape was indeed a bigger deal than any other issue. After all, Kyubi is a Biju capable of destroying everything without blinking an eye, but Naruto didn't think so.
'No matter how violent a Biju was, even they had to cower in the face of power, but women? They were a whole different level of complexity.'
The walk wasn't too long, though it felt like forever. Ino walked ahead while Naruto lagged behind, sometimes picking up his pace to catch up with her.
However, Ino didn't seem to react, almost as if she didn't notice. She simply chose to ignore him.
In silence, they went upstairs. Ino pulled out a key, slid it into the lock with practiced ease, and opened the door with a creak. Naruto followed behind her.
As the door swung open, Ino squatted by the entrance, not saying a word.
She curled up, wrapping her arms around her knees, her once radiant golden hair dull and hanging low as she buried her face into her knees.
Afternoon sunlight streamed through the crack in the door, casting light at Naruto's feet.
Naruto's usual cheeky grin faded. He was at a loss. The summer breeze blew in from outside, carrying the scent of sun-dried leaves.
"Ino?" Naruto called out awkwardly, unsure of what to say after that. He stood there, mouth half-open, unable to form any words.
Ino had always been good at reading the room. She could easily pick up on the little details from various bits of gossip and rumors to find the truth she was looking for.
In fact, she could sense the awkward situation Naruto was in. After spending so much time with him, she knew his personality well. Naruto wouldn't just suddenly seek a higher position in the village without reason.
It was just that things had come to this point and he had no choice but to make this move. Others thought Naruto was very impressive, but she didn't think so.
Naruto's perceived power and authority were largely due to his identity as a Jinchuriki, a role forced upon him. Now that he was no longer a Jinchuriki, it should've been a relief, a good thing. Yet, Ino felt an unshakable sense of discomfort.
Perhaps it was because the entire situation felt unrelated to her. Even though Naruto was no longer a Jinchuriki, nothing seemed to change, and all she could do was watch helplessly.
Naruto reached out, trying to pull Ino to her feet, but when she lifted her face, it shocked him Her face was streaked with tears, her eyes red and swollen as if inflamed.
'How was it that someone could cry so silently? It was bizarre.'
Naruto thought to himself, but then his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
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