Outside the Door
"What? You're not...?" Naruto suddenly sat up.
"Sorry," Ino immediately bowed her head and apologized. "It got mixed with rainwater. I thought you wouldn't open it, but it's normal cooking, just doesn't taste that good."
"I was about to go to the Inuzuka clan today, so I prepared that food. I didn't expect rainwater to spill into it."
"Who would believe that?" Naruto had a face full of resentment. "That's too much! So what should we do?"
Ino's face turned red, and she looked down. "I don't know."
Seeing Ino so embarrassed, Naruto rubbed his chin and thought for a moment before speaking.
"What about a maid outfit?"
"You!" Ino stood up angrily, holding her bathrobe, but then she saw Naruto pointing at the empty food box on the table. Her face immediately showed guilt.
"Forget that, let's try something else." She said in a low voice.
"Then I have no other ideas." At that moment, he controlled himself and didn't say anything outrageous.
"Well... okay." Ino's face turned slightly red, her voice tinged with unease. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, glancing at Naruto with a slightly upset expression, her eyes moistening.
That expression, this guy is really good at this.
He already mastered the powerful look that controls a boy's heart—it's really terrifying.
The sound of the clothes dryer hums through the bathroom, but Naruto didn't move toward the couch. Instead, he walked toward the balcony.
The visibility outside the window was very low, and he could barely see the buildings even a few dozen meters away.
The thick clouds and sudden rain created a white mist that enveloped Konoha, and trees were violently breaking apart in the strong winds. As soon as he opened the balcony door, a red umbrella, seemingly flying from somewhere, spun in the air, quickly approached, and was then whipped away by the wind.
Naruto felt uneasy, his brows instinctively furrowing.
"Ino."
"Hmm? What is it?"
Ino was slightly panicked, worried that Naruto would suddenly pull out a maid outfit from somewhere. He was the kind of person who was unexpectedly persistent on certain things...
"Was it raining when you came?"
"Yeah, it suddenly started pouring." Ino complained. "I heard from my father that the village is facing some trouble. The advisors have been discussing countermeasures these days."
"Even the Daimyo came. If it keeps raining like this, the village's surveillance system will need to be repaired. My father doesn't spend much time at home anyway, and now he's probably going to be busy for another half month."
The Yamanaka clan handles the village's surveillance and intelligence work, working with the Ibiki interrogation department, which somewhat takes on the responsibility once held by the now-disbanded Konoha defense team.
Although the Third Hokage has passed, Jiraiya is still in the village. Konoha's Anbu has suffered heavy losses, and temporary replacements from the Root will step in, though only a few ninjas from both the main departments can be rotated.
Naruto didn't make any explosions or leave an explanation for the Anbu, as the village was in a leadership crisis. The issue with the Jinchuriki would become more sensitive at this moment.
After the Third Hokage's death, the elections for the Fifth Hokage were held without further accountability toward Sunagakure. The situation in Konoha was volatile.
The deaths of the Third Hokage and the general distrust of Naruto made the situation tense. Naruto could be used as an excuse to justify holding meetings and votes about him.
The Third Hokage's stance was that Jinchuriki potential development should stop. The two senior advisors didn't trust Naruto, but they didn't want to hand him over to Danzo, a person with too much ambition.
"Is Lord Hīchi very busy lately?" Naruto asked casually.
"Yeah." Ino relaxed a little, seeing Naruto didn't press the maid outfit issue. "My father has always been busy, but since the village was damaged, it's even worse."
"Ino, you'll probably take over your father's work in the future, right?" Naruto casually asked, slowly moving toward the living room door.
Ino, still wrapped in a bathrobe, didn't sense anything unusual. She frowned and thought for a moment before answering.
"Probably."
"Do you like this kind of work?" Naruto asked, his feet bare as he steadied Ino while his sharp gaze moved toward the wall.
There seemed to be something outside the door.
He grabbed a knife and moved toward the bathroom.
In the living room, Ino was left alone, but she seemed to zone out. After thinking for a long while, she finally mustered up the courage to say, "It's not like I have to take over my father's work…"
She suddenly turned her head, only to find that Naruto was no longer in the living room. She froze for a while, and before she could call out to him...
The bathroom door opened silently. Naruto, dressed in a thin casual T-shirt, held a knife in one hand and her clothes in the other.
The black lace panties and purple split skirt were hastily grabbed from the dryer. It was clear he had rushed through it, pulling them straight from the dryer.
Ino's mind went blank. The dryer had stopped, but it felt like it was still running inside her head.
Her face first turned crimson and then quickly inflated, but before she could speak, Naruto had already predicted what she was going to say.
Pervert?
That word didn't have much impact.
Normally, Naruto would've bickered with Ino, but this wasn't the right time for that.
Naruto, holding the knife, made a shushing gesture and silently walked over to the dazed Ino. He pointed at her clothes and then at her body, silently saying, "Put it on."
Without waiting for Ino, he turned his back to her, silently holding the knife, facing the closed room door.
Ino realized something was off and immediately began getting dressed in the living room.
*Knock, knock, knock.*
The knocking continued. This time, it was much slower.
No one answered in the living room. Even though it was still day, the light outside wasn't much brighter than at night.
There was no peephole in the door. To know who was outside, one would have to open the door.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed Naruto's arm. Ino's profile entered his view, showing a deep worry on her face.
Naruto glanced at her and showed a serious expression completely different from his usual self. He grabbed Ino's hand, squeezing it to indicate she should stay calm.
The door was suddenly kicked open with a bang. Dust and debris fell from the walls as Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki appeared in the doorway, their shadows stretching long into the living room.
"It looks like the Nine-Tails brat isn't home, Mr. Itachi," Kisame's mocking voice rang out in the living room. His gray face, hidden under a straw hat, was filled with bloodthirst.
Itachi Uchiha didn't speak but slowly walked into the room.
Outside the balcony, Naruto and Ino stood side by side on a small protruding stone on the wall, almost pressed against each other. Both of them were drenched from the rain and exchanged a tense glance.
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