In Konoha, Naruto lies down

He knew that Yamanaka Inichi had returned from the front, and that the battle on the defense line was not too intense. Given how much Yamanaka Inichi cared about his daughter, it was not surprising that he chose to return to the village to report on his work during the New Year's Festival.

"Hmph, you dare?"

"She's upstairs, probably busy preparing gifts. She has to go out to visit someone later." Ino peeled a lollipop and put it in her mouth, squinting her eyes comfortably.

"It's only been a short time now, and your belly doesn't show at all, look."

As she spoke, she lifted her clothes to reveal the outline of her slightly bulging belly. Ever since she became pregnant, Ino hadn't worn clothes that exposed her waist, and only wore loose casual clothes.

Today she was wearing a pink home pajamas, wrapped in thick cotton flannel, and a kitten-style hat.

The warm winter sun streamed in from the other side of the glass door. Ino seemed completely wrapped in her pajamas, with a sweet and innocent look on her face. Naruto reached out and rubbed her face, then pulled the lollipop out of her mouth.

"Eat less of these, it's unhealthy." He put the lollipop into his mouth with his backhand, and it was unexpectedly sweet.

"How shameless! You stole my candy!" Ino became more and more like a girl, lazy, and her tone became more and more childish. "Give it back to me! Otherwise..."

She pointed to her belly and said fiercely.

"Otherwise I won't eat today!"

Helplessly, Naruto could only return the candy to Ino, who was very proud of herself. She had never lost to Naruto and always had the upper hand.

She has family, friends, and a lover. She enjoys the feeling of being loved unscrupulously, and even Naruto is willing to pamper her because she is worth it.

"Stop making trouble. You're so old and still fighting over candy." Yamanaka Rino walked down the stairs slowly with graceful steps and glanced at the two people at the counter speechlessly.

"Come over to breakfast, Ino! Spit out the candy!"

"Omitted." Ino was still a little afraid of her mother, so she could only spit out the candy obediently. She hid behind Naruto and pushed him, motioning him to move forward.

"Auntie." Naruto took out a bunch of gifts like a magic trick and handed them to Yamanaka Rino, "These are picked from the Snow Country..."

Naruto was never stingy with gifts, even though he was really broke for a while and always liked to skip out on paying. But during festivals and holidays, there was nothing he couldn't give out.

It was because Naruto gave gifts so frequently that Yamanaka Rino had become accustomed to Naruto giving her some rare beauty and health products whenever he had the chance.

Gifts are always rewarded, and it was too late to reject the son-in-law. Over time, Yamanaka Rino actually had a good impression of Naruto, at least the gifts he gave her touched her heart.

"Okay, stop joking here and go upstairs to have breakfast first. Haiyi is waiting for you."

"Okay." Naruto was about to move forward when he suddenly felt his hand being held.

Looking back, Ino was calm and composed, coughing. Instead, she pretended to say, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Naruto smiled and pulled Ino upstairs.

Yamanaka Rino looked at her daughter's useless appearance and couldn't help rolling her eyes in her heart, thinking that she should be loving and affectionate at home, are you trying to piss off your father to death?

Yamanaka Ino's reaction was not as big as Ino had imagined. He just stared at their holding hands and quickly looked away. He muttered a few words in his heart, saying that Ino was pregnant with his child, and then he suppressed his murderous intent.

"Please take a seat. We will go visit some elders with you later." Yamanaka Inoichi said calmly, "Although it is wartime now, we must not abandon the proper procedures."

"Okay, I'll follow my uncle's arrangements." Naruto has always been very obedient. He just does whatever Yamanaka Inoichi says. It's just some unimportant matters anyway.

Taking advantage of the break from visiting the elders of the Yamanaka clan, Naruto found an excuse to go out, and the next second he passed through the Yellow Springs Gate and stepped into the capital of the Snow Country.

"How is Hinata lately?" Naruto asked as they walked.

"You've already brought me here, what could possibly go wrong?" Fenghua Xiaoxue followed behind him, saying with a somewhat resentful tone, "Why don't you take the time to check on me?"

"Oh." Naruto said smoothly, "How are you?"

"Not very good? Unless I can give birth to a child." Fenghua Xiaoxue snorted. The Queen of the Snow Country also seemed a little childish at this moment.

"Don't make a fuss. I'm busy now. I'll definitely do it next time."

"Scumbag." Fenghua Xiaoxue was a little dissatisfied and muttered softly.

Who would have thought that he ran away during the break of tea? Fifteen minutes later he had to return to Konoha and face Hinata, and he had to find a suitable reason.

The excuse he just made was to go out for a walk, and he sternly refused Ino's company, asking her to finish the soup made by Yamanaka Rino first.

Chapter 525 New Year's Auspicious Snow, Next Year

"Go back, I'll find you later." Naruto stopped and turned to Fenghua Xiaoxue.

"Hmph." Fenghua Xiaoxue looked resentful and finally left.

"There are only ten minutes left. The coordinates can't be any more precise." He muttered to himself, a hint of regret in his tone. "Time is too tight. It's really too tight."

Naruto has absolute say in the Snow Country, even though most people don't know him, haven't even heard of his name, and don't know what he has done.

But the top leaders of the Snow Country knew that there was a man standing behind their queen, and it was because of this man that the Snow Country had returned to its four seasons of spring.

Not only that, the first batch of funds injected into the economy also belonged to that person. In other words, the Snow Country has been privatized to some extent.

It's just that Naruto came too quickly today and the senior management didn't have time to lick him, otherwise someone would have opened the door for him by now.

Before entering, he deliberately ruffled his hair, as if thinking of something. He took some cosmetics from the sealed space that he had intended to give to someone, and gently dabbed some blue under his eyes.

She looked extremely haggard, with a layer of bluish-gray eyeshadow under her eyes. Naruto seemed unsatisfied and took off her clothes, throwing them on the ground and stomping on them.

After doing all this, he finally felt relieved and reached forward.

He gently pushed open the door and saw Hinata sitting on the sofa near the French window, reading a book. The fireplace in the room was burning brightly. Actually, it didn't need to be so bright, as it wasn't that cold outside.

The maids in the room had already left in advance. Hinata also knew that Naruto had arrived and turned around when she heard the noise. Seeing Naruto's haggard appearance, she couldn't help but startled.

"Naruto! What...what's wrong with you?"

"I'm fine." He waved his hand, pretending to be tired. Knowing that Hinata would be worried, he deliberately said, "It's just a small matter, don't worry."

"Are you bored here?" Naruto walked over and took Hinata's book, then leaned over and hugged her. "Are you not used to living here?"

After not seeing each other for a while, physical contact is the fastest way to get closer.

"No." Hinata shook her head, her expression still gentle, "I'm fine here, but I'm a little worried about the village. I don't know what's going on with my father and the others..."

"They're fine." Naruto knew for sure, "Ningji and Rock Lee were slightly injured, but luckily nothing serious. The village is almost safe now."

"That's good." Hinata looked up, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated, "I think..."

"If you're bored, how about I bring Hanabi over to keep you company?" Naruto interrupted her. He knew what Hinata wanted to say, which was to go back to the village.

It is impossible to go back to the village, at least not now. Just wait a little longer... It won't be too long. As long as he finds that sinister Kabuto Yakushi, Konoha will be safe.

After the incident with Uchiha Obito, Naruto understood that when facing a strong enemy, especially a shameless enemy, he must not put his weak points together, but must separate them.

Pharmacist Dou has no mother, so naturally he doesn't know what it means that misfortune does not affect his wife and children.

Facing such an unethical person, Naruto had to be cautious on the one hand, and on the other hand, he had to be more extreme than Kabuto Yakushi, so that Kabuto Yakushi would be terrified and would never dare to attack Naruto again.

"No, it's too troublesome." Hinata shook her head and no longer insisted.

Seeing that Naruto was already exhausted from the battle, she didn't want to cause him any more trouble. Besides, Hanabi might not like it here, and bringing her here would alarm her father.

"Why would it be troublesome?" He pinched Hinata's face and said with a smile, "Hanabi will be free in the village anyway, and Lord Hiashi will be able to take care of the clan affairs."

"Won't that be very tiring for father?" Hinata asked worriedly.

Tired? Tired is the right thing to do, as it saves Hinata Hiashi from daydreaming. In times of war, wouldn't it be nice for people to have more trust in each other? Naruto was eager for Hinata Hiashi to be busy, preferably the kind that kept him busy.

"It shouldn't be. Lord Hiashi is still very capable. You don't have to worry so much." He touched Hinata's head and said with a smile.

"It's good that Hanabi is here. At least you have someone to talk to."

"Ah."

Ten minutes passed quickly, and Naruto naturally shifted the conversation to Hinata's daily supplements, speaking without leaving any trace.

"By the way, I know there's a place in the Snow Country that sells tonics that will be very beneficial to your health. Wait, I'll bring them back and we'll have dinner together."

"I'll go with you. It's a good opportunity to go out for a walk." Hinata was about to get up, but was held down by Naruto.

"Don't worry, let's go for a walk after dinner. That place is too far." He said, "Wait here for me, I'll be back soon, be good."

"Okay...okay." Hinata agreed.

Watching Naruto's figure disappear behind the door, Hinata frowned little by little, and couldn't help but wonder if Naruto was going to take the opportunity to go somewhere.

It seemed like he wasn't going to buy any supplements, so I must have been overthinking it.

After going out, Naruto turned over and jumped down from the outer wall of the palace, found a servant arranged by Fenghua Xiaoxue there, and arranged some things for him.

Half a minute later, his figure appeared again in the clan's territory in the mountains of Konoha.

Seeing that it was not too late, Naruto changed his dirty clothes and did not forget to wash the blue dust from under his eyes. He walked into the yard as if nothing had happened.

Ino was eating snacks on the second floor. When she turned around and saw him walk in, she immediately waved to him.

"Where did you go?"

"I was just walking around and almost fell." Naruto said naturally. Without waiting for Ino to ask anything else, he sat next to her and took the snacks from her hand.

"Where's your father?"

"What's wrong?" Ino was indeed distracted and asked dissatisfiedly, "You ask me where my father is every day, but I don't see you care about him that much?"

"You're not afraid of getting scolded. Knowing where your father is will at least give you a heads-up and help you find your way when you run away."

"Okay! You want to run away and abandon us mother and son, right? Wuuuuu."

"How do you know it's mother and child? Did the baby tell you in advance?"

"Intuition, my intuition." Ino raised her head and snorted, "What about you? Do you want a son or a daughter more?"

"My daughter."

"why?"

"Um...I can't really put it into words, just intuition."

The two chatted quietly for a while, and lunch had already started. The elder of the Yamanaka clan did not have a good impression of Naruto, and only greeted him and did not look at him again.

The banquet was a bit boring, and he was not in high spirits, just chatting with Ino. Fortunately, no one jumped out to criticize Naruto until the end of the meal, so it was considered a smooth journey.

Taking advantage of Ino's rest, Naruto returned to the Snow Country again.

He changed back into his dirty clothes and rubbed them against the wall, only then did he feel satisfied. He looked around, called the servant he had arranged earlier, and asked.

"Are everything ready?"

"Everything is ready, Naruto-sama."

"Okay, we can start as soon as I get in." He glanced at the attendant, but then felt a little uneasy. "What time is it now? Is it past lunch?"

The Snow Country was thousands of miles away from Konoha, with a two-hour time difference. Although he was a little full now, he was still worried about missing dinner time, after all, he had promised Hinata.

"Not yet. There's still some time before lunch," the attendant replied.

"Ah."

Walking to the door, Naruto put a little gray under his eyes, adjusted his expression and took out the supplements from the sealed space.

Similar supplements were piled high in his sealed space, so there was no need to buy them. The Snow Country's supplements were so valuable because he had taken most of them, artificially hoarding them and making them more valuable.

"I'm back." Naruto pushed open the door, carrying supplements as if he had hurried back. "You must be hungry. Let's go have lunch together?"

"Okay." Hinata stood up and took the supplements. Seeing Naruto's tired look, she felt a little sorry. "Actually, I don't need those things. It's too troublesome to run around."

"It's okay, I don't feel tired, let's go."

When the two of them went out, Hinata suddenly saw roses all over the corridor...and the last trace of doubt in her heart disappeared.

~~

"Shikamaru, leave some for me!" Choji picked up a piece of barbecue and swallowed it in one gulp. "Where are Neji and the others? Why are there only two of us?"

"They've returned to the village." Shikamaru said unhappily, "It's the New Year Festival this year, and we're the only ones left on guard in this damn place."

"You said this was a hellish place, so I told you so." Choji ate the barbecue with big mouthfuls, mumbling, "And being watched by my father and the others, it's really restrictive."

"It's not like you can't find a reason. Why don't you just go back to the village?" Shikamaru glanced at him sideways, as if asking why don't you leave during the New Year?

"I'm just worried about you. If I go back, Shikamaru will be left here alone." Choji chuckled.

Shikamaru sighed, turned around, took out a map, and spread it out on the table, deliberately moving away from the barbecue. He pointed to several marked locations on the map and spoke with confidence.

"Those White Zetsu are controlled by someone. They appear in different places and at different times. When Konoha is in turmoil, the other four nations stop. Perhaps the person behind this is unable to fully control the White Zetsu."

"And then?" Shikamaru was still eating barbecue and didn't care much about White Zetsu.

After fighting for so long, he was already a little tired. What about White Zetsu, Black Zetsu, Purple Zetsu, and Blue Zetsu? Who cares? Anyway, there are smart people like Shikamaru to think about it. He just needs to fight.

"The person behind the scenes seems to be constantly on the move. If we mark the times and locations of White Zetsu's activities and connect them with the maps of the five major nations..."