In Konoha, Naruto lies down

Everyone expresses love in different ways. Hinata lives in a relatively closed environment. The main family will not easily carry out dangerous missions, nor will they easily leave the Hyuga base.

Her sky is a small, narrow well, where she sits in a dry well called Hyuga and gazes at the sky. Tradition can only trap the body, not the soul.

Perhaps this is Hinata's way of expressing her love. What others consider to be priceless and precious is, in her eyes, just a gadget that can make her smile.

"Are you leaving the village again soon?" she asked cautiously.

"Hmm? No, maybe I'll stay for a while." Naruto drank the rare tea, feeling relaxed and happy. "I'm not sure how long, but I will definitely be at Neji's wedding the day after tomorrow."

"Naruto...is it because you have a mission that you can't stay in the village?" Hinata asked hesitantly, biting her lower lip. "Because I see that you seem...very busy."

"It's not that I'm very busy, I just don't want to go back to the village." He rested one hand on the table, leaned his head sideways, and looked at Hinata with a smile.

"Why?" Hinata was a little upset.

The sunlight streaming in through the window made her look delicately pale. Her collarbone was hidden by the plain neckline of her short-sleeved shirt, and her chest bulged out like a deer hidden in the wild.

"This village and I are not compatible." He said perfunctorily.

Hinata didn't understand what Bazi was, but she could hear from Naruto's tone that he was dissatisfied with Konoha. As expected, he had something against the village.

Naruto finished speaking, looking down at the little girl who was still staring at him stubbornly without saying a word. He couldn't help but feel a little amused, so he moved forward to meet her gaze.

"Okay, I'm going to tell you the truth. Are you sure you want to listen?"

She hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said.

"want!"

"Naruto, do you hate the village?"

"I wouldn't say I hate them, I just don't like them." Naruto paused and organized his words before saying, "This village doesn't respect heroes. They want me to risk my life without paying anything in return."

"Huh?" Hinata was a little confused, obviously not understanding what he said, "The current Kage of the village is Kakashi-sensei, and you are his disciple, so you definitely won't do that."

"Kakashi won't, but the others may not," he interrupted. "Kakashi told me privately that he will leave after only a few years."

"Although I'm not a Jinchūriki anymore, I'm still pretty strong within the village. If anything were to happen, I'd probably be the one to handle it."

"I don't have to worry about anyone tripping me up while Kakashi is in office, but what about after that? Unless the next Hokage is Shikamaru, I don't want to gamble with the future. After all, this village has a bad reputation."

"Kakashi's father died by suicide, and the Sannin disbanded and refused to return to the village. Hinata, honestly, I'd be safer and freer staying out there."

Hearing this, Hinata fell silent.

She roughly understood that Naruto had his own difficulties and did not completely trust the village. Instead, he wanted to maintain an equal relationship with the village, just like Master Jiraiya and Master Tsunade.

Naruto is very powerful, and with two of the three ninjas as his backers and the background of Hokage, he is completely capable of being on par with the village.

"Okay, I understand." She nodded and forced a smile.

"I don't want to come back. You can leave the village." Naruto added, "Won't it be boring to stay in this village all the time?"

"Leave the village?" Hinata stammered, lowering her head, "But...where can I go? Father said it's not safe outside. All the Hyuga clan members are..."

"There will be no danger as long as I'm here. Besides, this world is very vast, and it's much more interesting out there." Naruto tapped his fingers on the table.

Seeing Hinata's conflicted look, he stopped talking and changed the subject.

For the entire afternoon, due to the lack of privacy in this place, the two of them just drank tea, chatted, and played a game of billiards, but that was all.

Except for the last ball, all the others were scored.

.........

At night, something like a garlic head emerged from the Hokage Rock. The night wind whistled, and the flickering light could not illuminate the dim corner.

The half-black, half-white humanoid creature was observing its surroundings with half of its body exposed, and the white half was muttering to itself.

"Isn't it here? All the land belongs to me, so it's not difficult to enter Konoha. I just don't want to waste time to figure out whether the Nine-Tails is in Konoha."

"......I see. I smelled the Kyuubi's chakra. Everything was a lie. The Kyuubi has been hiding in Konoha. Uzumaki Naruto?"

After saying that, Black Zetsu's body sank into the ground and disappeared.

In Konoha Forest, Uchiha Obito rested on the trunk of a giant tree. He seemed to hear something and suddenly opened his eyes. Half of Black Zetsu's body appeared on the trunk, staring at him silently.

"Did you find it?" he asked.

"The Nine-Tails is in Konoha, and Uzumaki Naruto is also there." War correspondent Black Zetsu said, "All we need to do is capture the people he cares about, and then threaten him to force the Nine-Tails to show up."

This is the usual style of these two people, just like what they did to Yahiko and Nagato on the battlefield of Rain Country many years ago, just set up the game.

Although the routine is old, it has been tried and tested.

"Well, let's find out more clearly. It would be best if we don't have to show up." Obito was already used to being in the dark, and said while looking at the brightly lit Konoha.

He has done this countless times over the years.

In the Land of Rain, Obito calls himself Uchiha Madara and plots to make Nagato hate the world. He then establishes the Akatsuki organization and manipulates it from behind the scenes.

During the Third Shinobi World War, he controlled the Fourth Mizukage and launched the Blood Mist Village, causing the Hidden Mist Village to fall into internal strife among the Genin and almost causing the Hidden Mist Ninja to cease.

He then took advantage of Kushina's weakness after giving birth and orchestrated the Night of the Nine-Tails, forcing the Minato couple to their deaths.

On the night of the Uchiha clan genocide, he participated in the whole process and reached a deal with Uchiha Itachi, helping Uchiha Itachi to massacre the entire clan on the condition of not harming Sasuke and Konoha.

After so many years, he had become accustomed to using schemes and tricks to defeat his opponents, and he had never failed once. He numbly watched those people being manipulated by him, watching them struggle and suffer, and die unwillingly.

"The person has been found, but... it seems there are two of them." Black Zetsu said, "One is the eldest daughter of the Hyuga clan, and the other is the eldest daughter of the Yamanaka clan."

Hearing this, Obito thought for a moment, then looked up and said.

"Then catch them both."

"Hehe." The White Zetsu on the Black Zetsu side suddenly laughed and said to Obito, "Then let's each catch one. I'll go find the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

late at night.

Naruto was dining outdoors with Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba Inuzuka, each sitting on either side of a small table. Moths fluttered aimlessly around the chandelier overhead, looking rather silly.

Midsummer has passed, and the last trace of sultry heat has dissipated in the night breeze with the arrival of early autumn.

The place where they ate wasn't a fancy shop, but a simple food stall. The owner, a middle-aged man, brought in a few bottles of wine with a clang of his hands.

In front and behind the stalls is the endless Konoha Street, with bright and dim lights extending into the distance, and the stars seem to be connected to the sky.

"cheers!!!"

The four figures stretched out long under the light, swaying as they clinked glasses. The sporadic clinking of glasses echoed as they chatted, gulping down their drinks.

Naruto pinched the bottle's mouth with two fingers, squinting his eyes as he watched Shikamaru and the others chattering away. When you drink too much, you start to talk a lot.

Shikamaru complained about the tediousness of life, how ordinary and messy his married life was. He lowered his head and picked up candy from the trivial chatter, complaining but feeling like he was showing off.

Choji said something sour, and Shikamaru pushed him away with a smirk. During the noisy chatter, they drank dozens of glasses of wine, and all four of them were a little drunk.

The more Naruto drank, the more uneasy he felt. In the end, he felt a little drunk and simply stopped drinking. Choji looked at Naruto in a daze and asked curiously.

"Naruto, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Don't drink if you don't feel well." Shikamaru, who was lying on the table, muttered in a daze. He was the drunkest among the four.

"What happened?" Inuzuka Kiba looked at him and asked with a smile.

Chapter 440: Uchiha Obito is not a human being, so he turns the table

"I feel a little uneasy. Let's drink here for now." Naruto shook his body, stood up and said, "I have something to confirm. I'll drink next time."

"Want to join us?" Shikamaru was confused and wanted to stand up, but he was already a little drunk.

"No need, I'm just taking a walk!" Naruto waved his hand and left without looking back.

Shikamaru was still fast asleep on the table. Choji and Inuzuka Kiba looked at each other awkwardly. It was then they remembered that they had never been alone together before.

Choji lowered his head and took a sip of his wine, wondering how he could talk to Inuzuka Kiba without being awkward. Across from him, Inuzuka Kiba thought the same thing, so he raised his glass.

The awkwardness disappeared silently, and the two raised their cups and continued drinking.

"Are you getting married?" Choji asked dryly.

"That kind of thing... No, besides, Naruto is not in a hurry, so I am even less anxious." Inuzuka Kiba said a little embarrassedly.

"That guy..." Shikamaru was suddenly speechless, thinking to himself, you are not even a hair's breadth of his level, your child can't even help out with the cooking now.

"Take my advice, don't compare yourself to that idiot Naruto."

In the Yamanaka Flower Shop, the lights in Ino's room were still on.

After the incident in the Fire Nation's capital, no noble dared to block the Intelligence Department's communications plan. After more than six months of hard work, half of the Fire Nation's major towns had begun construction of communications towers.

Communication within Konoha has basically become very convenient, and most of the ninja nobles also use communicators, which were renamed mobile phones at Naruto's insistence.

Just like a range hood or a TV, a mobile phone fits its role perfectly. It's a palm-sized device with only a few extra features besides making calls.

For example, time, date, and then... nothing.

Currently, the technology of communicators is not mature yet, and without external technical support, it is already remarkable that Ino was able to single-handedly bring the communicator from paper to reality.

You can’t become fat in one bite, and technological development cannot be achieved overnight.

After all, the Fire Nation is too conservative. If they could get help from the Lightning Nation or other technologically advanced countries, it would be like a dream. How could they possibly leak the secrets of the Fire Nation's technology?

Sometimes Ino couldn't hold on any longer, and occasionally she could only fantasize. It would be great if confidential technology fell from the sky, like picking up a peerless secret manual.

buzzing.

The cell phone rang. Ino picked up the simple communicator and opened it. The voice of her mother, Yamanaka Rino, came out from it with clear sound quality.

"Ino? I have something to do with your father, so I won't be coming home today."

"Okay, got it, got it."

Under the desk lamp, Ino tilted her head to hold her cell phone, while writing and drawing on paper with a pen.

"Then I'll lock the door later. Yeah, be careful."

"Oh, I know, I know. I'm not a child anymore. I've locked the door countless times. Don't worry, I can lock it even with my eyes closed."

"Mother! What are you talking about? I won't..."

Even though there was no one on the second floor except her, she still covered the microphone tightly and spoke in a low voice with a red face.

"I wouldn't bring anyone... to do that kind of thing at home, absolutely not!"

"Ah? Last time?"

In a moment of buzzing, Ino's face turned even redder and she stammered.

"Does father know too? He knows...how much does he know?"

"what?"

"I...at that time, the situation was not like that."

Yamanaka Rino hung up the phone amidst gentle teasing, and jokingly guessed that her beloved daughter was probably tossing and turning and couldn't sleep tonight.

"Youth is so beautiful." The corners of her mouth curled up slightly, and the unclear crow's feet left by the years stretched out.

Late at night, Ino was still sitting by the window, working on the plans for the communicator. Whenever she encountered a problem, she would stop, frown, and chew her pen, looking even more adorable.

Her mother's goodnight call had indeed made her panic, but she quickly recovered. She looked back at the documents and began to think hard again.

"here......."

She stared at the document, lost in thought. The room was silent, save for the sound of a pen spinning. The click-click-click sound continued in a steady rhythm.

Suddenly, the pen in Ino's hand stopped for no apparent reason. Her pupils dilated slightly as if she had discovered something. Just as she was about to move, a huge black hole suddenly appeared in front of her.

Looking up, she saw only an orange vortex mask. Her Mangekyō Sharingan glowed blood red, causing her mind to go blank. They were clearly in the village, so why was there... an Uchiha?

Ino had no time to react and was sucked into the Kamui space.

With a click, the room returned to silence. Uchiha Obito looked down and saw the pink communicator that had fallen to the ground, and he bent down to pick it up.

After looking through it, he didn't notice anything unusual, so he picked up the communicator and left.

On the other side, the Hyuga clan.

Black Zetsu quietly sneaked into the Hyuga clan's residence and emerged from the corner. He took a look at the neatly arranged Hyuga buildings and a look of confusion appeared in his eyes.

After a moment's hesitation, his gaze fell on the clan leader's residence not far away. Neji happened to be working at his desk and subconsciously noticed something unusual. He looked up and saw Black Zetsu on the wall.

"Wrong way!" Black Zetsu immediately dived into the ground and ran away.

"Who is it!" Neji would never let Black Zetsu leave so easily. He stood up suddenly, took two steps instead of three, and went out to chase after him. However, Black Zetsu disappeared directly into the wall.