In Konoha, Naruto lies down

He curled his lips and said with a little dissatisfaction.

"When the time comes, what will I choose? I'll probably be forced to do something I don't want to do. Like being a container, a weapon, or something like that."

"No! That kind of thing will never happen." Choji said seriously, "The current Sixth Hokage is Kakashi-sensei, right? With Kakashi-sensei around, that kind of thing will definitely..."

"Chouji, wasn't what I said clear enough?" Naruto interrupted his friend, turned around and looked at him quietly, and said seriously.

"I-don't-want-to-die."

With a humming sound, Choji was stunned. He stared at Naruto for a long time before he began to explain helplessly.

"No, that's not what I meant. I just think the village is pretty good now. Why is it connected to death? That's... that's too..."

"Good? How good?" Naruto folded his arms and laid back in his chair. "Kakashi's personality won't keep him as the Sixth Hokage forever. He has no ambitions. He's just filling in for Tsunade-sama temporarily. He'll have to step down sooner or later."

"Who will be the next Hokage? What kind of personality will he have? How will he view the issue of Jinchūriki? Can you figure it out?"

"I..." Shikamaru was speechless.

"Even if the next Hokage is a good person, who can be sure that Konoha won't be attacked? What will I do in the village then?"

"I clearly don't like this village, and I don't want to risk my life for those people. But staying in the village is the beginning of disaster. They will naturally think that I am a weapon."

"If the village was attacked, it's my responsibility. If the village loses the war, it will also be my responsibility. Even if I risked my life to protect them, what about the damaged houses? What about the villagers who were accidentally injured?"

Naruto was unusually serious and said a lot of honest words to Choji. Choji was a little confused for a moment, but from Naruto's perspective, these words made more and more sense when he thought about it carefully.

"this........"

"You don't have to answer. I've thought about those things countless times." Naruto waved his hand, then pointed at himself, "The answer is obvious. In the end, it's all my damn fault."

"From now on, whenever a dog dies in the village, everyone will suspect that I killed it in the middle of the night."

"So, now you understand why I've always acted so recklessly in the village, right? There's no need to be restrained. The more aggressive I am, the safer I am. The more afraid they are of me, the less likely they are to blame me."

Dingci was silent. He hadn't expected the explanation to be so complicated. He had been oversimplifying the issue, simply wishing his friends could get together more often.

But in fact, the best thing is for everyone to be safe and sound.

"So is it going to keep going like this?" Choji sighed, "If I only come back occasionally, then wouldn't the number of times we meet be very few?"

"Tsk, Choji, Ino isn't in a hurry, why are you in a hurry?" Naruto said.

"I'm just sighing. It's certainly boring to stay in the village all the time." Choji said angrily, "Shikamaru is very busy. Even Kiba is getting married soon."

"That guy, getting married?" Naruto was stunned. "But it will be normal for us to be apart from each other in the future. You will get used to it slowly. Staying out all year round like the lecherous sage and Tsunade-sama is the safest way."

"Who made me so strong? I won't have any peace in the village, so I'd rather go on a journey. Whatever happens in the village, it naturally has nothing to do with me."

Chouji: “….”

This person's words are not unreasonable, but they just don't sound very pleasant.

After chatting for a while, Shikamaru finally accepted the reality. Wanting to be together with friends after growing up was simply too much of a luxury.

At the end, Choji asked Naruto a question.

"Didn't they look for you?"

"I did." He held up two fingers. "They both came looking for me at the same time when I got back, but I chose to prioritize basking in the sun, drinking, and chatting with you here."

"How's it going? Touched?"

"I'm so touched... There's something wrong with you. There must be an explanation!" Dingci knew this grandson's character too well. "I was wondering why it felt strange. You seemed so relaxed."

"I say, why are you still sitting here? Are you really not going to see him?"

"See you, I'll be there soon."

Naruto calmly took off his sunglasses and chuckled at Choji, "I told Hinata and Ino that you had something to talk to me about today. I've been busy all day."

"So... after you go back, it's best not to go out today. Remember, it's for the whole day. Don't let me know anything."

Upon hearing this, Choji was stunned and his CPU was about to burn out.

"What on earth do you want to do?"

"Nothing, I'm going to go find Ino later and say I sneaked out to see her." He grinned, revealing his white teeth, "Then I'll go find Hinata. That way we can create a time difference."

"And you, my friend, you can help me be happy all day just by relaxing at home. How's that? Perfect, right?"

"Damn you! Naruto, you're such a ......" Choji wanted to curse but stopped himself. For the first time in his life, he was speechless. "Can't you just meet them one by one?"

"Are you stupid?" Naruto rolled his eyes at him. "Isn't it obvious that someone could have guessed it? Forget it, I can't reason with you. Just go home."

With that, Naruto stood up and pushed Choji directly out of the store.

"Hey, wait, I don't quite understand." Choji turned around and asked unwillingly, "Ino and Hinata should know each other's existence, right? Even we know, so what's the point of you doing this?"

"Don't ask, save your breath." Naruto was too lazy to answer.

........

Meaning? Does meaning matter? As long as that layer of window paper is not broken, the triangle relationship can continue. Ino and Hinata's relationship is no longer as tense as before, and now I have to be more careful.

This is indeed a case of covering one's ears and stealing the bell, so what does it matter? In the current situation, there is no good solution for the time being, so we can only maintain it for the time being.

To be honest, this situation is beneficial to Naruto.

Ino and Hinata's relationship had already been resolved, and they were already good friends, just in love with the same person. If they avoided that issue, their relationship could continue.

Even if it is just a false appearance and not the real thing.

But the truth without any falsehood or deception is as sharp as a knife. Both Ino and Hinata know this in their hearts.

Whoever grabs the knife first will be injured.

Pandora's box contains lies, love, honesty and fear. Any one of the three can open it at any time, but no one does so.

If you open it, one of you will lose both friendship and love.

A false sense of harmony enveloped the three of them from the very beginning. Six years ago, at the Ninja Academy summer camp, a scar had already been opened.

The two women poured out their hearts in the bathroom, but in the end, they were met with six years of silence.

Now, both Ino and Hinata were merely accepting the false calm Naruto was trying to maintain. Lovers and friends, they held hands simultaneously.

In the mountain flower shop, Ino sat bored at the counter.

There was a ding-bell sound, and suddenly there was a sound at the door. She looked up subconsciously, but saw a tall figure blocking the door, standing there and smiling at her.

He looked just like when he was a teenager, standing under the big green tree and waving at her.

"Why are you here?" Ino asked in surprise.

"I sneaked out from Choji's place. You know, that guy is always idle." Naruto reached out and pinched her face. "As soon as he heard I was back, he insisted on dragging me to his place."

"That's indeed the case with Choji." Ino covered her mouth and smiled, her eyes curved into crescents.

Suddenly, Naruto seemed to have thought of something. He first glanced in the direction of the stairs, then looked at Ino again and asked cautiously.

"Are uncle and aunt here?"

"No, my father is working in the intelligence department, and my mother is with a friend." Ino said with a smile, "Why? Do you really want to see them?"

"Not really, I just brought some gifts for my uncle and aunt, and this is for you." Naruto took out a few boxes of gifts skillfully, almost practicing it like muscle memory.

Although he had selected the gifts in bulk to save trouble and to prepare for emergencies, his feelings were indeed genuine.

"Thank you, I'll leave it there for now." She pulled Naruto to sit down, and the two of them sat close to each other around the counter. "Is everything okay outside?"

"It's fine, I've always wanted to see you, but things kept delaying me." Naruto smiled at her, their eyes met and they smiled in tacit understanding.

The two of them already had a tacit understanding. Sometimes, even without speaking, just a glance would allow the other person to understand what they meant. Therefore, the two of them could understand each other without any worries, and even tolerate each other.

Ino's tolerance for Naruto is almost unlimited, like Hinata, she never really let Naruto make a choice. She understands, so she has always tolerated Naruto.

She has always been a person with a strong sense of boundaries and considerate of others, so she doesn't want to do something bad before there is no way to change the situation.

Hyuga Station.

Hinata sat on the porch in the backyard, looking at the treetops on the other side of the white wall, her expression unusually calm. However, her mind was filled with a tangled mess of thoughts.

Hinata Hanabi stood behind the shoji door, looking at her sister curiously, and called out weakly.

"What's wrong?" Hinata turned around and gave a warm smile.

Seeing her sister still smiling, Hanabi felt relieved. Seeing Hinata just shook her head, she asked.

"Sister, were you thinking about something just now?"

Chapter 438: Dingci, I will eat your secret for the rest of my life

The sunlight split the lush branches and leaves of the big blue tree and fell into the Hyuga family's courtyard.

Hinata sat there, her brows relaxed, looking calmly at her sister Hanabi. She had long black hair hanging down to her chest, fair skin, and a small, delicate nose.

Her eyes are beautiful, like a piece of transparent white glass.

"What are you thinking about, sister?" Hanabi asked again, tilting her head and looking at Hinata with a smile.

Facing Hanabi's question, Hinata slowly shook her head. She wouldn't let anyone know her thoughts because it was meaningless, meaningless.

The girl's eyes were clear, and half of the yard was reflected in the depths of her pale white pupils.

"No."

"Waiting for someone?" Hua Huo thought for a moment and asked.

A yellow-haired figure suddenly appeared in her mind, with droopy eyelids. He glanced at people lazily, as if he had never woken up.

He was wearing a loose white short-sleeved shirt and shorts, and slippers. His dazzling blond hair stood out in the crowd, and his thin face was not particularly delicate.

His features are pleasing to the eye, but he is definitely not a handsome guy.

She had run into him a few times, and the yellow-haired cat would always stare at the top of her head, as if wanting to touch it. Actually, Hua Huo wasn't that averse to having her head rubbed, as she often did the same with the stray cats in her clan.

Her father didn't like cats, so she could only occasionally find stray kittens in the clan territory to satisfy her petting urge. She really enjoyed petting cats, so she could understand the urge to pet cute things when she saw them.

"Is that Brother Naruto?" She tilted her head and looked at her sister.

When asking this question, Hinata Hanabi stared at her sister. Since she was a child, she knew that Hinata was the most gentle and perfect person.

Everything was perfect except for the fact that he could not inherit the burden of the Hyuga clan.

Later, it was proven that the burden of the Hyuga clan did not necessarily fall on the shoulders of the daughter of the main family. Now, it is even simpler. The caged bird system has been abolished. There is no longer a main family or branch family.

Hanabi had no conscious awareness of the main family branching out. Instead, she felt relieved that her cousin, Neji Hyuga, had become the head of the Hyuga clan.

Not every head of a clan likes to hold onto power, and she doesn't think she has much talent. Even if she becomes the head of the Hyuga clan, she will definitely have a lot of headaches.

"You, stop guessing." Hinata glanced at her, "You've been asking questions non-stop since just now. Why do you want to know everything?"

"Then tell me first, are you waiting for someone?"

"Yes." Hinata nodded.

Hanabi was a little surprised by her sister's frankness. Under normal circumstances, she would never admit it so straightforwardly. She didn't know why, but seeing Hinata like this, she felt a little worried.

In the hot summer, all the burning thoughts are rubbed into the green leaves.

"Sister, is that guy really back?" Hanabi asked tentatively, "He seems to be away from the village often. I haven't seen Brother Naruto for a long time."

"Well, he just came back not long ago."

"Then why didn't you come to find your sister first? Could it be..." Huahu frowned, seeming a little dissatisfied.

"He's so busy, of course he has something to do." Hinata smiled and defended him, "He contacted me. Choji wants to see him. He'll come over when he's done."

"That fat... brother from the Akimichi clan?" Hanabi suddenly changed her words mid-sentence, suddenly remembering that Choji hated being called fat the most.

She wasn't willing to do that even just in front of her sister.

"Ah."

..........

"jingle."

"anyone there?"

There was a wind chime hanging on the door, the kind that would ring non-stop when a customer pushed the door open, and as customers walked into the store, the heat from outside would be drawn in as well.

It was the middle of the day, so the flower shop was unlikely to have many customers. But that wasn't always the case. The visitor was a young man, and he scratched his head at the empty flower shop.

Under the counter not far from the man, Ino and Naruto looked at each other, their bodies almost touching. Ino blinked and signaled that she wanted to get up.