In Konoha, Naruto lies down

"......Okay." Naruto was a little confused and saw Tenten out the door.

He stood on the third floor, watching Tenten leave, feeling a mixture of emotions, wondering what this was all about. Ever since the incident came to light, he hadn't had any contact with Choji and the others.

It wasn't for anything else, he just wanted some peace and quiet. He knew what they would say even with his eyes closed. It was useless to say anything, it wasn't like he was slowly turning bad.

He had been thinking about this for years. Apart from his emotional troubles, he didn't have any major flaws. He was very good to his girlfriend and his friends.

He himself had no intention of changing. After all, he had lived for decades, with no parents above him and no children below. At his stage, there was no need to worry too much. The most important thing was to live a happy life.

However, Tiantian's unusual attitude surprised him. He had originally thought she was here to give him some advice. Who knew she was actually trying to encourage him? Had she...changed her nature?

He didn't think too much about it, just thinking that the rich young woman was cheerful and optimistic by nature, and perhaps her thinking was different from that of ordinary people.

After breakfast, Naruto went downstairs and wandered around. He continued to wander aimlessly in the village, deliberately taking some secluded paths to avoid running into acquaintances.

It was almost lunchtime, so Naruto bought a few packs of good cigarettes and headed straight for the Hokage Building. Kakashi wasn't much of a smoker, and he wasn't looking for Kakashi.

Dong-dong-dong, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Shikamaru said without even looking up. The desk was piled with documents.

The door creaked open, and Naruto saw Konoha's think tank and military strategist Zhuge Shikamaru working tiredly with dark circles under his eyes. He couldn't help but smile and put a few cigarettes on his desk.

"So busy?"

"Naruto?" Shikamaru shook his head, thinking that he was too busy and his eyes were blurry.

The blurry image disappeared, leaving Naruto still standing there. Turning around, Shikamaru saw a few cartons of expensive cigarettes on the table, and his eyelids twitched.

I thought to myself, this is bad.

"How come you have time to come here? What's going on with this...this smoke, you...Naruto." He smiled bitterly and scratched his head.

"We are brothers, please don't push me into the fire pit."

"How could that be." Naruto smiled and moved a stool to place it opposite Shikamaru. "It's just that I haven't seen you for a long time. I missed you so much that I came to see you."

“…We had dinner there a few days ago.”

"I haven't seen you for a day, and I miss you a lot." Naruto didn't feel embarrassed. When asking someone to do something, you have to have a good attitude. If Shikamaru doesn't agree, he will talk to him later.

"This......." Shikamaru was very scared.

He closed his eyes and used his toes to guess what Naruto was thinking. He wanted him to go to the Yamanaka clan to gather information. If he was discovered, wouldn't that be courting death?

Naruto smiled politely, thinking about something else, and took out a cigarette and put it in Shikamaru's hand. Shikamaru couldn't resist, and while he was holding the cigarette in his mouth, the man lit it.

Seeing Shikamaru take a drag, Naruto finally spoke.

"Shikamaru, brother never asked you for anything."

"Stop!" Shikamaru put away the cigarette, exhaled a puff of white air, and said unhappily, "Don't come here, Ino has returned to the Yamanaka clan's residence, and it's not convenient for me to go there."

"The Ino, Deer, and Chou clans are of the same origin. Everyone knows that." Naruto sat down in front of him, folded his hands, and looked at Shikamaru with an expression that showed he was not going to fool him.

Shikamaru was helpless. He was in the office and troubles kept coming his way.

"Why don't you go find Choji? Choji looks harmless, so no one will suspect you if you go?"

"Chouji?" Naruto turned his head. "Chouji isn't very clever and can't lie. He'll be exposed after just a few words. Besides, Choji and I are too close. If he goes, the whole thing will be exposed."

Shikamaru: “….”

"Wouldn't it be similar if I went?" He had a headache. Naruto was a tough nut to crack. "Ino's parents would be able to guess what was going on just by looking at it."

"That's different. You're so smart, you'll definitely be able to find a legitimate reason." Naruto said without hesitation.

Shikamaru was even more speechless when he heard this. It was widely acknowledged in the village that he was smart. He had been praised by many people since he was a child, and he was tired of hearing it. But this was the first time he had heard someone praise him like this.

"Well... okay, I'll think of a way." Shikamaru saw that Naruto had praised him to such an extent that he couldn't refuse.

"Okay, let's have lunch together at noon." Naruto took a snack from Shikamaru's table. He didn't like smoking and was afraid that the smell of smoke in his mouth would be disliked by Ino.

"Okay." Although Shikamaru was reluctant to help Naruto do something that went against his conscience, it didn't affect their friendship. "Let's go to the same place as before. It's cheap and close."

"Ah! Refreshing!" Shikamaru put his glass down heavily, took a gulp of ice beer, and immediately a layer of fine sweat broke out on his body. "Summer is almost over."

"Yeah, the weather will get cold soon." Naruto agreed. It's nice to have a few friends to chat and talk nonsense with, which can relax you.

Nowadays, even the worst people have friends, let alone ordinary people. Naruto just wants to live an ordinary life and be with the people he likes.

"Asuma and Kurenai had a daughter named Mirai Sarutobi." Shikamaru lit a cigarette, squinted his eyes and looked into the distance, and said suddenly.

"When did this happen?" Naruto was stunned.

"It was quite a while ago. You were not in the village at that time, so it's normal that you didn't know about this." Shikamaru said, "But Ino gave you the gift money, so it can be considered a gift even though you didn't show up in person."

Hearing this, Naruto fell silent for a while.

"She didn't tell me."

"There are so many things Ino didn't tell you, and you didn't ask." Shikamaru squinted his eyes and exhaled a puff of smoke, then squinted his eyes and reached out to knock off the ash.

"Naruto, I won't say much now. I know you have your own ideas, and what happened between you and Ino is always your private matter."

"I'm just an outsider. There's no point in saying more. After all, you're the ones who will live your future lives. Whether it's good or bad is your business."

Naruto was silent, and his heart suddenly felt a little blocked.

"But I am a married woman after all, and I have seen some things. As a good friend of Ino and yours, I have to say a few words."

"You say." Naruto nodded and put down his chopsticks.

Shikamaru put out his half-smoked cigarette, threw it on the edge of the table, and said with narrowed eyes.

"I know your heart isn't in the village. The village has indeed been decaying over the years, and it won't necessarily get better in the future. Your ambitions aren't here, but would Ino think so?"

"You said that the Pig, Deer and Butterfly are of the same family. The Yamanaka Clan will always be rooted in Konoha. No woman in the world is willing to be separated from her beloved. They will stick together as much as possible and treat you well."

"Before Lady Tsunade returned to the village, everything went wrong for the villagers. They blamed you for all their misfortunes, and cursed and resented you. Ino heard it."

"Do you know what she did? She almost wanted to kill someone because of an argument. You know ninjas can't attack civilians in the village. Once blood is involved, it will become very troublesome."

"I'm not talking nonsense. Since you like Hinata, she's naturally very good. But as your mutual friend, I naturally have selfish motives. I just want you to know what Ino did for you."

"Those things you can see and can't see, those things that Ino did for you out of stupidity. Ino may not care, but you have to know."

"If you have other plans or better ideas after knowing this, I have nothing to say. I just hope you won't let her down."

"You are a capable person. Whether it's Hinata or Ino, they still like you even after this. They have good taste. This is their own choice."

"I'm done." Shikamaru poured himself a glass of wine and said everything he had wanted to say for a long time. He couldn't help but feel refreshed.

"I see." Naruto smiled and filled his glass. The two clinked their glasses. "Ino is really good. I know that."

Hearing this, Shikamaru didn't say much. They had their own decisions to make. By saying this, he had done justice to both Ino and Naruto.

In the afternoon, Shikamaru turned down his work and went to the mountain base.

At this time, I was far away in a foreign country.

Jiraiya was summoned and suddenly looked up at the sky. The originally clear sky became overcast with dark clouds, and soon there were lightning, thunder and heavy rain.

He fled in panic like a drowned dog, and finally found his way into a tavern. Dragging his wet body, he walked into the tavern, asked for a private room, and asked someone to bring him a set of clean clothes.

After he changed his clothes and handed the wet clothes to the waiter to be washed and dried, he closed the shoji door and his expression became serious.

Jiraiya clasped his hands together, formed a simple seal, and pressed them to the ground with a thud. A sealing seal appeared, followed by a large amount of white smoke.

A slender figure appeared, and the scroll toad made a brilliant appearance.

"Jiraiya-chan, long time no see."

"Toad Yin, why is the old man so anxious to see me? Has something happened?" Jiraiya poured himself a glass of wine, took a sip and asked.

"Yes, it seems to be about the Son of Prophecy." Toad Yin said truthfully.

Chapter 450: Ningci: "Don't come over here!!!"

I don't know why, but now when I hear the word "Child of Prophecy", I suddenly feel a little uncomfortable. I have been searching for more than ten years, but there is no trace of the Child of Prophecy.

In addition, what Naruto said in front of him some time ago really made Jiraiya's long-held beliefs waver a little.

What Naruto said seemed to make sense. This world is a human world. Wherever there are people, there will be conflict. The root cause of war is the imbalance of power.

The power of a ninja is so great that a person who suddenly acquires this power is like a child holding a knife. Unless the child of prophecy is perfect, he will be just a child with great power.

But how can humans be as perfect as gods? After all, it is hard to say whether the Son of Prophecy will save the world or destroy the world. We can only rely on the illusory prophecy.

"Should I go back to Myoboku Mountain?" Jiraiya asked.

Although he had other thoughts in mind, he still had to deal with it. After so many years of sunk costs, he couldn't give up the search for the Child of Prophecy just because of a single thought.

He had given up a lot for this mission, and whether or not he could find the Child of Prophecy, he would continue on this path.

"Yes!" Toad Yin said solemnly.

.........

The next day.

"Naruto, what you did is too... inhuman, isn't it?" Choji frowned and looked timid, as if he wanted to criticize but was afraid of getting himself implicated.

"You're talking like I'm a scumbag." Naruto rolled his eyes without any self-awareness. "I just asked Shikamaru to do me a small favor. It's not like I'm going to get into trouble."

"Is that any different from entering a fire pit?" Shikamaru muttered softly, but Naruto still heard it.

"I'm just trying to get some information from the side. How can this be considered as walking into a fire pit?" He said unhappily, "Shikamaru is very smart. He will definitely find a way."

Upon hearing this, Choji couldn't help but agree. Shikamaru was indeed very resourceful. He had been smarter than others since he was a child. He could easily accomplish things that others couldn't.

When Choji asked him why, Shikamaru simply said that he had thought about it a lot. He had considered every possible aspect and had made a backup plan, so he wouldn't fail.

"What are you going to do?" asked Shikamaru.

The most common phrase Naruto had heard in the past two days was, "What are you going to do?" It was as if things had reached a desperate situation, and everyone was waiting for him to make a choice or come up with a solution.

"Find out clearly and coax them back one by one." Naruto said lightly.

"You're awesome!" Shikamaru was convinced.

At noon, the sun was high in the sky, and the two of them sat on the stone steps outside the store. Above them was a lush green cypress tree, and outside the store was a long bluestone staircase.

The daylight is long and cannot penetrate the dense treetops.

The two of them sat in the shade of the trees, with a few dozen beers and snacks at their feet. Naruto and Choji were both idle and didn't have to work.

Choji occasionally helps out in the clan, as his father handles the main affairs. He only needs to eat and stay fat, and occasionally go out for training.

Naruto generally wasn't too idle, but time was like a woman's abyss, you could squeeze it in. He really had nothing to do these past few days, so he just hung out with Choji.

"Naruto, I have to give you some advice. Ino really cares about you, so don't let her down." Choji couldn't help but speak.

"Why are you so talkative?" Naruto patted him without getting angry.

"Naruto, I'm speaking from the heart."

"I know, you have a wife, right? Choji."

"Yes." Choji was a little confused, not knowing why Naruto suddenly brought this up, "What's wrong?"

"If you have time, have more children. Chatting with you is really tiring."

Chouji: “….”

This bastard really likes to burn bridges after crossing the river. It was clearly him who invited him out to drink, and now he is blaming himself on me. Choji took a few sips of wine and glanced at Naruto out of the corner of his eye.

"Who are you going to coax?"

"two."

"two?"

"Are you a repeater?" Naruto stood up, holding a can of wine, "No more talking, I still have things to do, you should hurry up and work on your farming and have children."

"Why don't you give birth yourself!" Shikamaru muttered as he watched his departing back.

Naruto actually heard it, but he didn't turn around, a smile playing on his lips. He thought to himself, "Not having a child? You underestimate me. Not only do I have to have one, I have to have two!"

After all, people never change. If Naruto could be moved by just a few words, he would have followed the orders of the old man Sandaime long ago.

From the beginning to the end, he never changed his mind. He felt that since his reputation wasn't very good anyway, he had to stick to his principles and not waver.

After all, this is his business. If he listens to others and starts to waver, then what does it matter what he did to Hinata and Ino before?

If he insisted on his own ideas, at most he would be criticized, and at most the fathers-in-law on both sides would dislike him. Even if they poured cold water on him or treated him coldly, it would not hurt him at all.