In Konoha, Naruto lies down

"Get a stamp." Naruto nervously took out the application form.

Tsunade glanced at it, thought for a moment, and then reached out to cover it. Without giving him a cold look, she gave him a few words of advice and let him go.

Return to the mission center and slap the stamped application form directly on the table.

"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 deal with Naruto. She looked so flustered that she looked like a hostage being threatened.

The matter was not complicated. I don’t know what the old man said, but the little girl was quite scared.

Naruto curled his lips but said nothing. He waited for the formalities to be completed, then took the mission sheet and went to report to Asuma.

These days, even high-ranking officials have to do their jobs. He's a lonely man, so he's just sitting around doing nothing.

Asma smoked a cigarette, staring at the task list in his hand, which was covered with formalities stamps, turning it over and over again. Hmm... procedural justice, there is no problem.

But he couldn't figure out whether this person had any other purpose?

Sparks flickered, and the cigarette was already finished.

He looked up at Naruto, "Naruto, can you please go out for a while? I'm not very comfortable right now. This is the men's restroom after all. Although you are also a man, but..."

"Ahem." Naruto backed out.

When Asuma came out, the first thing he said was, "Let's go, Uzumaki Naruto-chan, let's go meet them together."

Asuma had clearly heard about the high-level meeting that morning, so he addressed him as a joke and patted him on the shoulder. He was a direct descendant of the Hokage and was pleased with this outcome.

"Who are you meeting?" Naruto was stunned for a moment.

afternoon.

Choji devoured the barbecue in big mouthfuls, his pea-sized eyes swept around and fixed on Naruto and Ino opposite him.

"I say, Naruto, you are so mean."

"What's not nice about that?"

Naruto spread his hands. The table was filled with friends he knew well. His body had grown, and he leaned comfortably on the long sofa with his long arms and legs. Ino sat next to him.

"Such a big thing, why don't you tell us?" Shikamaru was also lying on the sofa, holding a glass of watermelon juice in his hand.

"How can I explain this? I don't know myself." Naruto curled his lips and said, "Besides, it happened suddenly, and nothing has happened yet, right?"

"However, it may not be a bad thing now. At least we don't have to worry so much." Shikamaru said ambiguously, deliberately avoiding the topic of Jinchūriki.

Ino seemed unusually quiet, preparing the sauce on the side.

Obviously, the incident had just happened, and the few people did not talk much about the morning topic, and quickly turned to the task.

"Something's wrong. Why did you suddenly want to join our mission?" Shikamaru glanced at Naruto suspiciously, then glanced at Ino and asked.

"what's the situation?"

"Ah?" Ino blushed for a moment, feeling a little guilty.

She knew why Naruto had to interfere, but the more she understood, the hotter her face became. At that moment, she tried her best to distract herself and dismiss the thought.

"Your mission is too dangerous. I'm worried about Ino..." Naruto was about to say something to Ino when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his waist which was blocked by the table, which made him tongue-tied.

"I'm worried about Master Di Lu's safety. I have a good relationship with him, so I want to join in."

Shikamaru and Choji didn't notice Ino's little move, but Asuma, who was sitting at the outermost corner, noticed it. He just smiled, then stood up and said with a slightly melancholy tone.

"I'm going outside to smoke a cigarette."

"Hmm?" Ino turned her head, as if realizing something.

Shikamaru frowned, "Asuma-sensei, didn't I tell you to smoke less? Why are you smoking again?"

"This..." Asuma already had the cigarette in his mouth, "This is the last one of the day."

Naruto also noticed that Shikamaru and Asuma had a deeper relationship. Ino liked flowers, while Choji cared more about food. Shikamaru, who had excess intelligence, got along better with Asuma.

Just watching Asuma leave the shop, Naruto felt a little desolate. Did he backstab the old bachelor? But wasn't he pretty close to Kurenai Yuhi?

Forget it, I'm still a herbivorous teenager, there's no reason for me to pay attention to the love secrets of these old men.

"Naruto, do you know Master Ji Lu of the Fire Temple?" Choji put down his chopsticks and asked suddenly.

"We're pretty familiar with each other." Naruto said after hesitating for a moment, "Master Jilu and Sensei Asuma both worked in the Twelve Guardian Ninjas, so they have an even deeper friendship."

After eating and drinking, Asma paid the bill. He really had plenty of money. He was a complete second-generation rich kid. Apart from not having a wife and looking old, his life was almost perfect.

Born into the family of the Sandaime Hokage, he had everything he wanted at a young age. However, the Sandaime's words that the Hokage was not the most important person in Konoha made Asuma, a bad boy, feel that the Hokage was too low-class.

He resolutely quit being a fan and rebelled against the group. He left Konoha and went to work as a personal bodyguard for the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. It was a story of a young man leaving home and returning ten years later as the Dragon King.

Dragon King.....Pah, the delinquent boy Asuma has had enough and returned to Konoha wearing all the villain's clothes.

The third Hokage, his father, forgave him with a smile, and he inherited the Sarutobi clan's business. He also had his childhood sweetheart, Kurenai Yuhi, waiting for him. He was a perfect second-generation winner in life.

However, this time the timeline has moved forward a bit, and Dilu has narrowly escaped disaster. Therefore, this time the mission is mainly about investigation and search, not chasing the undead duo.

The main content of the mission is to investigate in the Fire Temple, follow the clues for a period of time, and protect the land 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 else took this mission too seriously. After all, it was just a simple investigation and search centered around the Fire Temple, so it was generally safe.

Asuma left for something, Shikamaru and Choji also went back together, and suddenly only Ino and Naruto were left at the table. Naruto was about to say something when the person outside the door glanced at them and left.

It was a look of great fear. He glanced at her, stopped, and turned away.

Naruto was speechless. He was so unlucky that he ran into those people from the Hokage Building even when having a meal.

"Let's go, let me take you back?" Naruto turned to look at Ino.

Ino thought for a moment and said, "Let's go to your place."

Naruto was flattered for a moment. Ino hadn't visited him for a while, and he almost thought that she was traumatized by his excessive force.

"Okay!" He agreed first.

"Don't think too much." Ino glanced at him and skillfully tied up her golden ponytail. "I just have something to ask you, but it's not convenient to do it in the store."

"what's up?"

"Well, nothing much. Let's talk about it when we get there." Ino said.

When Naruto heard this, he felt a little uneasy. Tsunade was in front of him, and Ino was behind him, and each of them had different reactions. Did he stir up a hornet's nest?

However, the Nine-Tailed Fox's escape is indeed a little more dangerous than stirring up a hornet's nest. At least the latter is a tailed beast that eats people without blinking an eye or even feeling sick, but Naruto doesn't think so.

No matter how brutal the tailed beast is, it will have to hold its head and act like a chicken in the face of power, but women are obviously much more complicated.

The distance wasn't too long, and they soon reached the end. Ino walked in front, and Naruto followed slowly behind, occasionally taking a few quick steps to get ahead of her.

However, Ino didn't seem to react, and chose to ignore it as if she didn't see it.

Ino went upstairs in silence, took out her key, inserted it into the keyhole with practiced precision, and opened the door with a creak. Naruto followed her, and the door was not locked.

When I opened the door, Ino was squatting at the entrance, not saying a word.

She huddled up, hugged her knees with her hands, her dazzling blonde hair seemed to have lost its luster, and she tilted her head down, burying her entire face in her knees.

The afternoon sunlight slanted in through the crack in the door and hit his feet.

The smile that was about to make a joke disappeared, and Naruto was a little at a loss. The hot summer wind blew in from outside the door, carrying with it the fishy smell of dried green leaves.

"Ino?" Naruto suddenly became clumsy. After calling out the name, he didn't know what to say. He stood there with his mouth open, but couldn't say anything.

Ino is very good at reading the atmosphere, so it is natural that it is easier for her to detect clues from all kinds of true and false rumors and get the answers she wants.

In fact, she could see the awkward situation Naruto was facing. Having been with him for so long, she naturally knew his character well. It was impossible for him to want to enter the upper echelons for no reason.

It was just that things had come to this point and it was a move that had to be made. Others thought Naruto was very impressive, but she didn't think so.

The so-called majesty was only due to his status as a Jinchūriki, and he had no choice but to do so. But now Naruto is suddenly no longer a Jinchūriki, which should be a good thing, but Ino always feels uncomfortable.

Perhaps she felt that the whole thing had nothing to do with her, and even though Naruto was no longer a Jinchūriki, nothing seemed to have changed, and she could only watch helplessly.

He pulled Ino's arm away, trying to pull her up, but was startled by her raised face. Her face was wet with tears, and her eyes were red and swollen as if they were inflamed.

Why can some people cry without making any sound? It's strange.

As he thought this, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Chapter 223 Late

"I want to go back." She hurriedly wiped her tears with the back of her hand, stood up and was about to go back.

"Hey! Wait a minute..." Naruto stopped her.

Ino looked a bit stunned when she was pulled away, but tears just kept flowing out of her eyes. She couldn't immediately retract her emotions, they were just temporarily interrupted.

He thought about it and hugged Ino directly.

Although he didn't quite understand why Ino was crying, he didn't care. He would comfort her first and then ask. He wasn't a god, so he couldn't guess everything.

After a while, Ino sat on the sofa, feeling a little restless. After the girl's emotions subsided, perhaps she realized that she had been too impulsive and felt a little embarrassed.

Naruto got a glass of water from the kitchen and placed it in front of her.

"Thank you." She blushed for a moment and said softly with her head down.

It was so embarrassing that she dug her fingers into the sofa, so embarrassed that she could have dug out a three-bedroom apartment. She had only been feeling low on the way there, but once she got here, she couldn't help herself.

"Just now..." Naruto did not sit down, but stood aside and looked at Ino, "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing... nothing." She held the water cup and drank it hurriedly to hide her panic. "Maybe I have too many worries recently, so..."

Ino remembered the hug she had just received at the entrance and immediately stopped talking. She didn't know why her mood had improved. It turns out a hug really could make things feel better.

She opened her eyes wide and thought about all sorts of things, staring blankly at the water cup.

"I'm fine, I...I want to go back." Ino suddenly stood up with a red face, glanced at the door, and stammered, "We have a mission tomorrow, I have to go back to prepare."

"Isn't it still early?" Naruto walked to the balcony and turned back to look at Ino on the sofa. "Stay a little longer, I'll take you back."

Ino opened her mouth, but the words of refusal still remained unsaid.

It didn't seem to matter if she stayed a little longer, she thought, and nodded. Then, not knowing where to look, her eyes lingered on the rim of the water glass.

Subconsciously, I opened my lips slightly, and then pressed it down with a depressed look.

With a loud bang, the balcony window was opened from the outside. Tom tiptoed in... Pah. Nine Tails heard the noise and poked his head in from outside, seeing the two people on the other side of the sofa.

"Damn it." Kyuubi muttered softly, crawling in on all fours in an awkward position.

"It's back?" Ino stood up.

"Yeah." Naruto met the Nine-Tails' eyes, saw the disdain in the Nine-Tails' eyes, moved his mouth and said, "Maybe he went to see his old lover."

Kyuubi was startled and was about to jump up and slap him when he was suddenly picked up by someone.

"Does it have a favorite...of its kind?" Ino was a little hesitant, but curiosity overshadowed her shyness, and she looked at Naruto with a gossipy look.

What the hell! Humph, I just found another idiotic human slave. But that woman is also an idiot, she gave me dinner.

I told her to get some wine, so she went to get it. However, the place was a bit big, and I almost got lost. Although it was a bit troublesome, I still had to go down there. After all, the wine there was much better than what the kid bought.

Ninetails raised his head proudly, without any sense of guilt. As if playing two-timing was natural, the scumbag fox smiled sweetly, no longer looking down on this former owner.

"Probably not. Even a dog would find it hard to be attracted to that guy." Naruto picked up the water cup and took a sip, then realized he had drunk the wrong one and put it down awkwardly.

Fortunately, Ino didn't look in this direction, she was still teasing Kyuubi. Kyuubi looked completely forced, with a dull look in his eyes, as he played with Ino.

"It can even raise its hands?" Ino was having a lot of fun.

Naruto had no expression on his face. He thought that the Nine-Tailed Fox could do more than just raise his hand. If Ino saw the Nine-Tailed Fox opening a bottle and drinking tons of wine smoothly, she would definitely doubt her life.

After playing for a while, Ino let the Nine-Tailed Fox go, and the two changed their shoes and went out.

A split second before the door closed, Naruto saw Kyuubi leap onto the sofa and pull out a bottle of wine from underneath. The sound of the bottle opening was drowned out by the sound of the door closing, and the bang was isolated inside.

"Let's go." He turned and said.

He didn't know what Ino was thinking from beginning to end. She was in a bad mood and went to her house to cry for a while, and then she felt better after playing with the Nine-Tails?

Perhaps this is the biggest benefit of raising the Nine-Tailed Fox, right? After all, the Nine-Tailed Fox is so weak that it doesn't seem to have much use. It's just a tailed beast.

"Today...actually I don't have anything to do. I just feel that I can't help you with anything, so..." Ino said in a low voice when she saw that there was no one around.