Nindō 0062: Helping an Old Friend

Back in Konoha. After spending the evening drinking with his buddies, Naruto stumbled home, maintaining a display of seeming slightly drunk but still conscious. It was all for the Anbu who were following him for his safety. There were teams assigned to Shikamaru, Chōji, and Kakashi as well.

Entering his home, he was met by his beautiful wife, who was already waiting for him at the entrance wearing a comfortable robe.

"You didn't sleep?" Naruto asked, kicking off his footwear at the entrance and embracing Hinata.

"You know I don't like to sleep without you by my side …" She mumbled tiredly, her body melting into Naruto's arms as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Come, let's get to bed. I want to lie down," Naruto pulled Hinata toward the stairs as she went along with his movements, sticking close to him.

"How was work?" Hinata asked Naruto as the two entered their bedroom and got rid of their clothes.

"The usual," Naruto said. "Shikamaru asked me out for some drinks since Temari is in Suna. Kakashi-sensei also joined us."

"I feel bad for Temari. She came by to bid me farewell yesterday. I could tell there was a lot going through her mind," Hinata snuggled up with Naruto after turning off the lights, enjoying the intimate cuddle with her husband.

"She's going through a hard time in her life. Her brother is completely unresponsive, and her home is going through a civil war. Anybody would be stressed out."

"I know you sent a clone with her, but take care of yourself, okay?" Hinata said. "You've been awake for two days now. I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"Don't worry, honey," Naruto planted a gentle kiss on her lips. "My body can take it."

"I know it can. Very intimately," She kissed him back with a cute yet sexy sly smile on her face. "But your mind can still get tired. Don't spend too much time awake, okay? For me and our kids."

"If you're going to try and guilt-trip me like that …" Naruto snorted, "Get ready for the repercussions that come with it." He squeezed his wife's ass, making her squirm in his arms.

"I'm willing to do anything for you, my husband~" She spoke with a quiver, "Just, if you could, try not to use those toys that you used last night. I'm still a little sore …"

It was hard to hold back your desires when your wife spoke such words to you in a tantalizing voice.

…

Hinata found herself exhausted to the point of being unconscious by the time morning came along. While she couldn't even gather the energy to move her arms, Naruto was still in peak shape. While the constant alertness was taking a toll on his body, he was able to take care of it with his Yin-Yang Release infused with the newly acquired divine authority. As for his mental exhaustion, that was nothing for him. Mentally, he could stay completely awake and alert for a whole year, and it wouldn't affect him.

This morning was the same as the previous one. The father made breakfast for his two children, who were just as astonished today as they had been on the previous day.

Soon enough, Naruto was in his office, dealing with mission assignments for the day, when he heard an unexpected knock on his door.

"This is a surprise," Naruto raised his brow, "Good morning, Sakura."

"Good morning, Hokage-sama," She smiled as Naruto gestured to have her sit down.

"What can I do for you? Everything all right?" He asked her.

"Not really," Sakura sighed, leaning back. "I don't know how much you'll be able to help me out with this, but I thought to ask you about it anyway."

"Tell me, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, addressing her casually. A small smile crept up her features at his address.

"You know how I had to change houses just a couple of months ago, right? After I … unfortunately destroyed it in a spur of heavy emotion."

"I remember. You were unconscious for a whole day after that."

"Yeah … Well, the guarantor for my current house is in prison right now, likely being taken care of by T&I after the allegation that was put forth. The vice-chairman of his company has suddenly decided to void my previous contract since it was made with the previous chairman as the guarantor, who is currently equivalent to a terrorist. They want me to sign a new mortgage agreement."

Naruto hummed, leaning back with a small frown on his face, "I assume that the terms are most definitely worse than before."

"That's an understatement," Sakura clenched her fist. "They are doubling the previous interest rate that I agreed upon and resetting the entire payment structure. While the previously paid amount will be counted, I will have to pay the difference as well for the seven months that I have spent in the home. I know that you can't do much to help me out with how bad Sasuke's reputation is in the council, but I still thought to ask. I can't afford to agree to their unrealistic terms."

"How about you bunk with me and Hinata?" Naruto asked jokingly.

"I'm not laughing at that, Naruto," Sakura said flatly. "Hell, it's an insensitive joke."

"I understand," Naruto said. "Then you don't need your house paid off completely under a new initiative that I'm rolling out in the next council meeting?"

"Wait, what?" Sakura had to do a double take. "Can you say that again?"

"I was already planning to roll out a new initiative for the veterans who participated in the Fourth War that will give them some very necessary benefits. I could exclude you if you so wish."

"I will bash your head through the window," Sakura clenched her teeth as Naruto showed an amused expression at her rattled state. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I'm dead serious," he said. "Though, in all honesty, I don't think that anyone will accept my proposal at the next meeting. I will have to roll things out slowly. But I can still take care of your house. Since your guarantor was the previous leader of the Civilian Council, I can pull some strings to force his company to relinquish some assets. Once I'm done with them, you will probably own your house without having to pay a single ryo to them."

"You're serious about this …" Sakura realized much too late. "I don't know how to thank you."

"You don't need to thank me. If anything, you can curse my incompetence from before. I'm the Hokage and one of my closest friends in the world was forced to live in a house that she doesn't even own completely."

"It's not your fault," Sakura said in a comforting tone. "It's all because of my stubborn desire to live in Sasuke's parents' old house, which I ultimately couldn't get anyway. In hindsight, it was a dumb and unachievable thought process. After the old Uchiha district's auction, the daimyo took control of half, while the rest was divided among the civilians. As for the remaining houses, the prices skyrocketed to the point that I could barely afford to live in one of the houses on the outskirts of the Uchiha district."

"It's all because of the plan to revamp the district … which hasn't come up in a single meeting for the past year," Naruto shook his head. "Forget it. What matters is that you don't need to worry about your debt. By the time the next council meeting comes along, you will own that house. You have my word."

"Then I'm relieved …" She smiled brightly as her pink hair shone under the sunlight. "Thank you, Naruto. Let me treat you to ramen sometime, okay? It's the least I can do."

"You bet."

…

The sun had already set completely when Naruto sent his cute disciple home after their evening meeting. He also packed up and left his office, making his way to a certain flower shop that was run by the head of one of the most influential clans in Konoha.

"Evening, Ino," Naruto entered Ino's shop as the blonde's eyes brightened upon seeing him.

"It is a good evening, especially since you're here, Hokage-sama," Ino smiled, making a beeline toward him. "Anything special you're looking for today?" She asked while coming close to him and grabbing his arm before pressing herself against him. She tilted her head up to meet his eyes.

"No, nothing of the sort today," Naruto said, glancing down at his arm that was interlocked with hers. "Instead, I'm here for some answers." He met her eyes with a calm expression on his face.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ino said, pressing herself further closer to him. "I'm just happy to be serving the leader of my village. You work so hard to fulfill your duties as the Hokage. I feel that I should at least help you … wind down a little." Her words got more and more desire-invoking as she continued speaking.

"Ino," Naruto said. "I think you should be aware that I won't cheat on Hinata. I won't comment on your relationship with Sai since that's your business, but I like to think that I'm familiar enough with your character. You wouldn't commit adultery beyond some initial seduction to gain someone's attention. You have now succeeded in gaining my attention. What's the deal? Is there something that you need from me that I wouldn't agree to under normal circumstances?"

Ino sighed in defeat, pulling her arms away from him. "I had expected that after your change, you would've been susceptible to this, but it seems that you are still the Naruto I knew …" Still speaking casually, she didn't realize how close to death's door she was at the moment. All it would take was a thought, and Naruto would have her skewered on multiple jutsu-negating Truth-Seeking Balls molded into spikes.

***

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