After lying around doing nothing for two days, Naruto asked Tsunade for a simple C-Rank mission. Leaving Kurama at home, he headed out of the village alone.
"So you finally remembered me?"
Tayuya sat on the rooftop of the inn, having changed all of her previous attire from Otogakure. Now, her red hair flowed down her back, her skin was fair, and she wore a floral dress.
She looked like a girl-next-door, stretching her pale legs on the roof to bask under the sun.
"Ah, after all, I'm your only creditor. How could I possibly forget you?" Naruto did not have any intention of hiding it, "I just happened to have some free time, so I found an excuse to come out."
"You really are shameless!"
Tayuya, a little annoyed, stood up from the roof and approached Naruto. She had planned to use her height to overwhelm him, but to her surprise, the blond guy in front of her had grown taller.
After just a few months, he had already surpassed her in height. The red-haired girl, feeling a bit unsatisfied, pushed him.
Naruto didn't get angry though, instead, he smiled smugly and asked, "Do you need more money?"
"You!!" Tayuya grabbed Naruto by the collar, "You tricked me into coming here. I've been thinking about it over and over again for the past few months and finally figured it out. Things are not what you said."
"But you've already sold your soul to me."
"Who cares about that kind of thing!" Tayuya retorted shamelessly, " There's nothing to prove it anyway, and for just a mere hundred thousand ryo. You're basically scamming me!"
"Anyway, I've changed my mind now."
Hearing this, Naruto found it somewhat amusing, "You could have left at any time. So why are you still waiting for me here?"
"Of course, I'm not someone who keeps promises. I'm just a little pissed off." Tayuya frowned and said, "If I just left quietly like this, people like you would probably just think that your pet ran away, and you wouldn't feel any regret at all."
"I waited until now to tell you face-to-face because I want you to feel the deep regret of losing something!"
The autumn wind swept across the rooftop.
Naruto blinked and said, "Although I really want to regret it and make you a bit happier, there is absolutely no way I can do it."
"Even if you run away, I'll only lose 200,000 ryo."
"Damn it, 200,000 ryo is already a lot!" Tayuya was a bit exasperated, leaning closer to Naruto and gritting her teeth, "How can you not feel bad about that?"
Naruto didn't reply. Instead, he took out another 200,000 ryo, and placed the neat pile of money directly in front of Tayuya.
"Here's another two hundred thousand. Maybe if you spend all this, I might start to feel some pain."
"Money???" Tayuya gulped. The visual impact of two hundred thousand ryo was too overwhelming for her, "Do you think I will be tempted by this?"
"Dream on!"
"If you don't need it, I'll just throw it away." The blond troublemaker said this and then pretended to toss the money off the roof.
"You're crazyTayuya stopped him. She knew that this guy was definitely capable of doing something like that, "Who said I didn't want it? What I meant is…"
Inside the room, Tayuya stared at the pile of money with a headache.
'That guy had gone out to buy food, completely confident like he'd won!'
'Damn it!'
'How can I make him regret it… Like, wanting to bang his head against a wall kind of regret!'
Tayuya stared at the pile of money, sinking into deep thought. At first, she just wanted to wait for Naruto to come see her again and then make it clear she was determined to leave.
The situation wasn't supposed to turn out like this. Originally, Tayuya had envisioned Naruto pleading desperately for her to stay, while she would mock him, then leave gracefully. From then on, she'd be free to go wherever she wanted.
But now, things seemed to have gotten more complicated.
'Damn it, just how much money does he have?'
'No matter how much money he has, I'm going to confront him! Of course, I'm definitely taking this two hundred thousand ryo with me. After all, it's mine now.'
The door creaked open as Naruto walked in, carrying food. Tanzaku Town was unusually bustling, with food stalls and shops everywhere downstairs.
As soon as Naruto entered, Tayuya had planned to make her intentions clear, but before she could, Naruto spoke first, casually saying, "Have some food. Afterward, I'll help you find a place to stay. Living here isn't a long-term solution."
Seeing Tayuya in a daze, Naruto looked at her in confusion, "What's wrong?"
The speech she had prepared got stuck in her throat again at this moment. Tayuya hesitated for a long time, and in the end, her face turned red, but she couldn't say anything coherent.
"… Nothing."
This time, Naruto had specifically taken on a C-rank mission within the Land of Fire, collecting rare medicinal herbs. The quest had long deadline, enough for him to go back and forth to Tanzaku Town.
Midway through eating, Naruto suddenly looked up and asked, "Can I have some of what's in your bowl?"
They were both eating the same food, with no difference between their dishes. Tayuya frowned and then pushed her bowl over to him, "What's the difference?"
"There doesn't seem to be any difference. Never mind."
"You're so weird." Tayuya muttered coldly, pulling her bowl back. She ate a few more bites before stopping and asking, "Am I supposed to stay here forever?"
"Not at all. You can go wherever you want. I just thought you needed a place to settle down." Naruto paused and then added, "I also need a place to stay. It's nice to stay in the village, but I occasionally also want to get out and take a breath of fresh air."
"Oh, I thought it was all mine." Tayuya said, poking the char siu in her bowl with her chopsticks, "So it turns out I have to share it with someone like you."
"That's not necessary. If you want a house to yourself, I can just buy another one next door."
"That's such a waste!" Tayuya suddenly said angrily.
"What's the big deal?"
" Of course, it's a big deal! Even though... even though it's not my money, ever since I found out what a hundred thousand ryo can buy, I can't stand people like you who spend money so lavishly!"
"Alright, then I'll get just one." Naruto agreed smoothly. Then he added, "I have a few nice dresses…"
By nightfall, they finally bought the house, which was a small two-story house.
Once everything was settled, Naruto realized that half of the time for the mission had passed. Without a proper goodbye, he left in a hurry, saying he'd be back in a while.
Then, he hurried out the door and disappeared into the pitch-black night without a trace.
Naruto spent three days in the mountains before finally finding the herbs. After reporting back to the village, he was immediately summoned by Tsunade.
"An external assignment with Team 3?" Naruto squinted as he sat in the rocking chair in front of the Hokage's desk. Pouring himself a cup of tea, he looked at Tsunade, who was standing by the window, and complained, "I've completely become a temporary worker now!"
"Complaining about your missions? Do you want to get beaten up?" Tsunade, who was already on the verge of exploding from the stress of work, turned around and glared at Naruto fiercely.
"If you say one more word, I'll throw you out of here!"