Chapter 80 The Injured Hinata

The next day.

Naruto opened his eyes, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling for a moment before remembering that he had moved into a new apartment.

He sat up groggily, surveying the dim room in silence. The apartment was eerily quiet, with no sound of knocking at the door.

For reasons unknown, the higher-ups seemed to have refrained from restarting the Anbu's supervision procedures for the Jinchuriki.

It felt as though someone had intentionally intervened.

Kakashi didn't have the influence for something like this, and there was only one person left, who was closely related to him, who could have pulled this off.

…

"I am the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku. You little brat, what's with calling me a pervy sage all the time?"

Jiraiya was lying on the rooftop, putting away his binoculars as he grumbled. He stood up and looked at Naruto with a slightly displeased expression.

"I heard that you released the Kyubi a few days ago?"

"Yeah."

Naruto, wearing an orange hoodie with the hood up, stood on the rooftop, gazing into the distance as he casually responded.

"I did."

"You've really got some nerve." Jiraiya said with interest, "Are you really that confident in yourself?"

"But the higher-ups really can't do anything about you. Konoha has never had a perfect Jinchuriki before. You've given them hope. So even if you do something excessive, the higher-ups are willing to tolerate it."

"Someone like me can be tolerated?" Naruto yawned, hands in his pockets, his eyes half-lidded as he looked at Jiraiya, "Pervy Sage, stop trying to fool kids."

"I'm curious about how you did it. You've already met the Kyubi, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, how was it?" Jiraiya asked.

"Nothing special, just an ordinary Biju." Naruto replied.

"You're the only kid who could say something like that..." Jiraiya was speechless, then stared at Naruto for a few seconds before saying, "What do you mean by 'ordinary Biju'?"

Naruto didn't answer, staying silent for half a minute before asking, "Did you send the Anbu to find me just to ask about this?"

"Not entirely." Jiraiya's gaze focused on Naruto, "Naruto, follow me and train."

"Don't wanna."

"What?" Jiraiya didn't expect Naruto to refuse so straightforwardly, "Don't you want to become stronger?"

"I do."

"I am the Toad Sage, one of the legendary Sannin!"

"Don't wanna."

"Why not?"

"No reason, I just don't want to train."

Jiraiya was stunned by the response, blinking at Naruto in disbelief. He stared at him for a few seconds before saying, "How can you become stronger if you are so lazy?"

"I don't know." Naruto replied bluntly, "I have no interest in such a troublesome thing as training. I'd rather stay home, sleep, and read books."

"Besides, if I become too strong, people will start to distrust me, or I'll be sent on some strange, dangerous missions."

"That's quite the twisted logic…" Jiraiya sighed, "It's okay for you to say it in front of me, but it's best not to say such nonsense at the upcoming high-level meeting."

"Since you don't want to train, fine. But you still need to come with me to find someone. Once we find them, I won't force you to train anymore."

"Whether we find them or not, I'm not training."

"I hold your surveillance rights." Jiraiya said.

"Who are we looking for?"

Seeing Naruto compromise, Jiraiya's expression softened a bit as he answered, "Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin and the future Godaime Hokage."

"I've heard of her." Naruto nodded, " Why don't you become the Godaime Hokage, Pervy Sage? You're definitely capable."

"You sure know a lot, kid." Jiraiya narrowed his eyes, "I heard you've been getting close to the Yamanaka Clan recently? Did you hear this from them?"

"Something like that." Naruto said perfunctorily.

"My destiny has long been determined." Jiraiya patted Naruto's shoulder and turned around, striking a pose he thought was cool.

"Kid, a true hero doesn't stay in one place for long."

"This is my Ninja Way!"

"Uh-huh." Naruto replied, still wearing his deadpan expression.

"Your attitude is so indifferent. Naruto, what's your Ninja Way?" Jiraiya asked.

"Living."

"Don't say such depressing things, kid. You're really a downer." Jiraiya clapped Naruto on the shoulder a few times, "Forget it, the most important thing now is to find Tsunade."

"The meeting to decide your fate is coming up soon, and the Godaime Hokage will have a significant vote. Finding Tsunade is in your best interest."

"Got it."

"But you don't have to worry too much. Although I don't know how you got involved with the Yamanaka Clan, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio is always united, and the attitudes of the two Advisors are acceptable."

"Besides, I also have the voting right, hehe."

Jiraiya set the departure for tomorrow morning.

It was still early, so Naruto slowly wandered into an alley, planning to buy a few things. His new apartment was too empty, and there were many things he hadn't had time to purchase.

Most of the furniture from the old apartment had been ruined by rainwater, and Naruto was too lazy to move them.

Halfway through the journey, something came to his mind.

'That girl Tayuya is probably still holed up in the abandoned building. Since I'll be leaving tomorrow, I'd better take some time to go see her in the evening.'

The path was shadowed by trees and somewhat deserted. This road led either to a dead-end alley off Konoha's main street or to the Hyuga Clan's compound via another fork.

As Naruto wandered, he discovered the dead-end alley, which just happened to be close to 404 Konoha Street.

He was lost in thought when he looked up and saw the back of a girl limping in the distance. She was a small figure with short hair, wearing long sleeves and pants. Naruto glanced at her and quickly walked up, "What happened to you?"

"…Nothing."

Hinata was startled, but when she realized it was Naruto, her face instantly turned red. She stood frozen in place, unable to move, with an embarrassed and anxious expression.

"Did you sprain your ankle?"

"No." Hinata quickly shook her head, not daring to look up at Naruto. Her voice dropped to a whisper, "I can manage on my own, Naruto-kun, you don't need to worry about something like this."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto squatted down and gently rolled up Hinata's trouser legs, "You always try to be strong in the strangest situations."

"Naruto-kun" Hinata's face flushed crimson, and her entire body trembled slightly, "No."

"One of your legs is almost entirely bruised, and there's a five-centimeter scratch. Aren't you going to take care of it?" Naruto, still squatting, looked up, meeting Hinata's uneasy gaze.

Hinata kept her head down, her face filled with worry.

Naruto lightly touched the bruise and Hinata immediately let out a soft gasp.

"Does it hurt?"

"Huh? I..." Hinata nervously rubbed her hands together, her thumbs twisting around each other anxiously, "I can take care of it myself."

"Um... Hinata."

"What?"

Naruto didn't stand up. He still remained crouched, then pointed upward at Hinata's fidgeting fingers.

"Are you planning to form a hand seal against me?"

"Ah, no!" Hinata quickly released her intertwined hands, awkwardly placing them behind her back.