"I swear on the name of the Legendary Sannin, absolutely not." Naruto said with a serious expression, sacrificing the reputation of the Sannin without hesitation to protect his apron fetish.
Having a cute girl personally cook for him was something to be grateful for. But seeing Ino moving around in an apron, even though Naruto was doing his best not to let his mind wander...
'As expected, aprons are great, aren't they?'
The sound of running water filled the room as Naruto's hands were fully submerged under the stream, but his eyes seemed distant.
'Ino had been acting a bit strange lately, but she did look good in that apron.'
'If one were to compare a maid outfit with an apron, it would be hard to choose, as both have their unique charm. A pretty girl with flawless skin, just looking at her was a feast for the eyes.'
'Damn it, I really should be thanking the heavens for sending such an angel.'
When she saw Naruto nonchalantly walked out of the kitchen, Ino frowned slightly. She always felt that this boy in front of her suddenly became strange. She wondered why did his previously perverted gaze suddenly become pious, as if he was looking at a Miko.
At the dining table.
"It's delicious." Naruto praised without reservation, " The eggs have a hint of honey, and the soup is really tasty too…"
Hearing Naruto's words, Ino's eyes narrowed slightly, as if she was extremely satisfied. Then, as if something crossed her mind, she suddenly asked, "Where did you get that wound?"
"Oh, that? I took it for Tsunade-sama."
'Tsunade-sama?' Ino immediately tensed up.
She recalled seeing Tsunade on the platform outside the Hokage Tower earlier in the day and noticed Naruto standing beside her, looking rather listless.
During the Godaime Hokage's inauguration ceremony, usually, only the high-level Advisors and Elders were allowed to stand behind the new Hokage.
Still, the mention of Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin, made Ino feel a bit awed.
"Tsunade-sama must be very amazing, right?"
"No." Naruto's expression turned resentful, "That woman doesn't act like a Hokage at all. She has a bad temper and doesn't keep her word. She completely relies on her status as a woman to shirk responsibility."
"In short, I can't even imagine what it's like to have someone like her as Hokage."
"Huh?" Ino was a little confused. Although she didn't know exactly what had happened, she still said, "Naruto, don't speak ill of Tsunade-sama. If it weren't for Tsunade-sama, the village wouldn't have stabilized so quickly."
Seeing Ino's serious expression, Naruto pouted and responded with 'I know'.
"Geez, you'd better listen to me, you know!"
"Alright."
The sunset was a warm yellow.
The two walked side by side down Konoha's main street, blending in with the crowd of people heading home after a long day.
"You really didn't have to walk me home." Ino said, stealing a quick glance at Naruto before quickly looking away.
"It's nothing, I just felt like taking a stroll."
"I heard that starting tomorrow, the village will begin assigning all the missions that have piled up. After a brief break, things are going to get busy again." Ino said with a sigh.
"Stay safe." Naruto replied absentmindedly, his gaze wandering through the lively crowd.
It seemed that after Tsunade returned to the village, the oppressive atmosphere hovering over Konoha instantly dissipated. The damaged buildings were mostly repaired, and more and more people were coming out of their sorrow.
After the Konoha Crush, Naruto lost an old apartment, but for him, it was a negligible loss.
What pained him more was losing the Kusanagi Sword, considering that Orochimaru's weapons wouldn't be handed over so easily, it made sense. He could only find an opportunity to get his hands on it in the future.
Naruto pondered for a moment about Temari's fan, which was still stored in his seal space, 'Given that the relationship between Sunagakure and Konoha had softened, should I return it?'
"What are you thinking about?" Ino asked, frowning as she leaned into his line of sight with a slight pout, clearly displeased, "It's very rude to space out when you're talking to someone."
"Sorry, I was thinking about maid outfits. Could you maybe try one on again?"
"You better wipe that thought out before I completely wipe you out."
"Do you mean that in the literal sense?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Ino."
"What?"
"We're here." Naruto pointed towards the Yamanaka Flower Shop not far away. Before they knew it, they were standing on the street in front of the Yamanaka Flower Shop.
"Oh." Ino took a few steps forward, ready to say her goodbyes.
But then Naruto furrowed his brows and suddenly asked, "Ino, if you accidentally took something from a rather temperamental girl, what's the best way to return it?"
"Girl?" Ino's expression turned strange, "What did you take from Sakura?"
"It's not Sakura."
There was no point for Naruto to keep the fan, and he would have to return it sooner or later. If it came to the point where Konoha's higher-ups had to negotiate, who knows how angry Tsunade would be.
'So it's not Sakura!'
'Sure enough, he has another woman outside!'
Although Ino felt a little hurt, she still patiently tried to find a solution for him.
"If things are really tense, you could ask a third party to return it on your behalf without meeting face-to-face."
'A third party, huh?'
Naruto recalled carefully and realized that the Chunin Exams ended before Temari and Shikamaru could fight, so they still didn't know each other right now.
As for Gaara, Naruto did beat him up once. He wasn't sure if his 'Personality Adjustment Punch' had worked.
'It would be too dangerous to approach him rashly now, and I might end up beating him up again.'
'But Gaara's identity is now different from before, and he is no longer just a Genin from the Sand Village.'
'The Kazekage was dead, and Gaara, as the Jinchuriki and the crown prince, was naturally next in line for the position. If I beat up the new Kazekage, it could easily lead to a diplomatic dispute.'
'Kankuro is too sinister, and Sasuke had already smashed his figurine. Now if I went there myself, I might have to fight with that little prince of Sunagakure again.'
'What a headache. There are too many grudges, and with Konoha and Sunagakure re-establishing the diplomatic relations, things had become more complicated.'
'Forget it, let's just wait for the Konoha's higher-ups to approach me.'
'Anyway, those old geezers can't do anything to me now. With Jiraiya and Tsunade here, any proposal concerning me would need their approval to take effect.'
Thinking of this, Naruto immediately relaxed.
'The right way is to get more for less work, gain something for nothing, and make those old geezers die of rage.'
"Never mind, I'll just ignore this for now." Naruto said, "You should head home. Be careful when you're out on missions."
"Okay."
Ino took a few steps toward the Yamanaka Flower Shop, but then remembered Naruto's earlier mention of the girl and suddenly stormed back, "What's wrong? What else do you want?"
"Ah!!!"
Ino reached out and pinched Naruto's waist hard, not giving him a chance to explain. Then, she huffed angrily, "Greedy pervert!!!"
"Uh, actually that's not..."