"The bounty exchange is…" Tayuya stammered, struggling to say anything coherent, then defiantly retorted, "None of your business!"
"Heh."
Naruto jumped down the stairs and, using his height advantage, pinned Tayuya down on the sofa, then sneered, "You don't want your savings to be two hundred thousand less, do you?"
Tayuya tried to struggle but found herself unable to move. She felt both ashamed and frustrated. Things were taking a strange turn, completely different from the revenge scenario she had imagined.
'Wasn't it supposed to be the story of an underdog rising to wealth and ruthlessly humiliating her former boss with money?'
'What happened to the promise that heroes should not be judged by their origins?'
Now, here she was, pinned under her former boss, forced to reveal the source of her side hustle. It was utterly humiliating! It felt just like being caught secretly working a part-time job and having her boss confront her.
'Wasn't this also a form of…' (T/N: Domineering CEO.)
"I'm not paying you back!" Tayuya said with a nonchalant expression, "I don't have any money, and the money I earned was through my hard work."
"What good is that? Can't I just take it myself?" Naruto said jokingly, "I bet the money you earned isn't hidden too far away… maybe under your pillow or perhaps just under your bed?"
"How... You're talking nonsense!"
"Whether I am talking nonsense or not, we will know if I look for it." Naruto said with a chuckle.
"Woo woo!!" Tayuya was truly afraid of being broke. Although she wasn't short on spending money and was willing to spend it, spending her own hard-earned money was a different story.
If this guy were to take back all the money she owed, then wouldn't all the money she had spent extravagantly have been her own?
The thought was painful! It was more painful than death.
"No! Don't take my money!" Tayuya was on the verge of tears.
'My money! It was my money! I had earned every penny of it!'
Seeing her reaction, Naruto was a bit surprised. After a moment of silence, he said, "I won't take your money. I'll give you another 100,000 ryo if you tell me the whole story."
"Who wants to tell you, you bastard!" Tayuya gritted her teeth, 'Damn it, just a mere hundred thousand… Was he trying to insult me?'
She was no longer that poor girl from the slums. The fortune she had stashed under her bed had already skyrocketed to 1.5 million ryo. A mere 100,000 ryo was beneath her now.
"Five hundred thousand ryo!" Naruto didn't even blink as he quintupled the offer.
"Wuuu!! I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything!" Tayuya felt a tear of humiliation roll down her cheek. Five hundred thousand ryo, her bottom line was directly breached.
'Still, it was this bastard's money, it would be a waste not to take it.'
Naruto released Tayuya, who sat on the edge of the sofa, curling up slightly as she timidly confessed how she found the bounty exchange and how she got her first job.
"They were just small tasks, scattered here and there, and I managed to save a bit of money." Tayuya said softly.
"I can't do the bigger tasks by myself. Besides, not everyone can take on those jobs. They require skill."
"What else? Be honest. If I don't hear anything interesting today, you won't get any sleep tonight." Naruto said sternly.
"I-I'll tell you everything." Tayuya said, feeling a bit aggrieved.
And so, Tayuya continued to speak intermittently, while Naruto leaned against the other side of the sofa, occasionally responding with a nod. After about an hour, Tayuya's mouth was dry from talking.
Naruto glanced at her and suddenly asked, "What about that Bounty Shinobi who appeared out of nowhere? What was that all about?"
"I don't know!" Tayuya said as she gulped down some water. "They just appeared recently, taking on tasks worth tens of millions."
"This matter has nothing to do with me. I only heard about it, I don't know the details."
Hearing this, Naruto thought to himself, 'Has Kakuzu already started making money to support Konan so quickly? If that's the case, then doesn't it mean that the Akatsuki has already started to take action?'
'Crap, like a weed growing.'
Pain still deserves to die. Naruto is not afraid of the weaker Akatsuki's members like Kakuzu and Hidan anymore. Moving forward with the Kyubi on his side was enough. After all, he was essentially 73% of the Yin-Yang Kyubi, which roughly equal to one and a half of the Yang Kyubi.
All things considered, combined, he and Kurama were equivalent to about two and a half Yang Kyubi.
'I need to find a chance to talk with Tsunade and figure out how to hunt down those lunatics in Akatsuki. Instead of waiting for them to come to me, I might as well have Pervy Sage come back and hunt them down together.'
"Why are you spacing out?" Tayuya asked.
"It's nothing." Naruto got up, then pulled out 500,000 ryo right in front of Tayuya. "I'm leaving tomorrow. Don't take any dangerous tasks."
"Why do you care?" Tayuya shot back.
"Of course I care. I'm your creditor." Naruto said casually, slowly getting up and looking down at Tayuya, "Anyway, I won't restrict your freedom."
"Do whatever you want. I won't interfere. If you run into trouble, you can come to Konoha to find me."
"Anyway, with how you dress, as long as you tone it down a bit and change your appearance, no one will be able to recognize you."
"Tsk, like I'd ever look for you Tayuya grumbled in dissatisfaction, "Whatever, I'll handle it myself. I don't need you to care."
Of course Naruto didn't argue and headed upstairs.
...
Midnight.
Tayuya tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Thinking about her failed revenge filled her heart with bitterness and unwillingness. She had already worked so hard to earn money, but still couldn't…
'How much money does that guy even have?' Tayuya was so angry that she rolled over on the bed, from one end to the other. She screamed a few times and grabbed her head in exasperation.
Her chest rose and fell violently, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. As a result, Tayuya lost all desire to sleep.
It was a cold and damp spring night. After calming down, she felt a bit itchy all over her body and decided to get up, fumbling in the dark towards the bathroom for a bath.
With a click, she turned on the light and adjusted the water temperature, habitually tossing her clothes aside with each step she took.
Realizing that her hair towel wasn't in the bathroom, she instinctively went to the living room on the first floor to look for it.
The bathroom door swung open, and Tayuya, yawning, walked barefoot across the floor. As she passed Naruto's room, the door near the stairs suddenly opened.
Light spilled out from the room like a thread, directly illuminating half the corridor.
Tayuya was momentarily dazed by the sudden light. Naruto, who had opened the door, was also stunned. He intended to go to the restroom but instead found Tayuya, entirely bare, standing at the top of the stairs.
"Ah!!!" Tayuya screamed, and immediately squatted down and hugged herself.
Naruto instinctively turned his head away, and the atmosphere immediately became awkward. They were too close, and Tayuya reacted too slowly. It felt like watching a 404 VR movie… By the time it gets shut down, it's already too late.
"… I didn't expect you to be into this kind of thing." Naruto chuckled awkwardly.
"You're the one who's into that kind of thing! I just forgot you were still here!"
Tayuya's face flushed crimson, she was completely overwhelmed by shame. She had abandoned her plans for a bath. All she wanted now is to quickly got up, dashed back to her room, and continue to roll around in frustration!
'Uzumaki Naruto! Damn it!'
"Where were you planning to go?" Naruto did not leave, but squatted in front of her.
"Huh? What does it matter to you! Get lost!" Tayuya shouted, trying to back away, her arms flailing as she struggled to cover herself and maintain balance, utterly at a loss for where to place her hands.
Then, in the next moment, Tayuya felt herself being lifted.
"Just now it wasn't my business, but now it is." Naruto picked Tayuya up from the floor, then glanced briefly in the direction of the bathroom.
"Let me go." Tayuya wriggled around, but it was useless.
"Stop squirming, I'll let you go in a moment." Naruto brushed her off verbally while carrying her toward the bathroom, as if holding a kitten in his arms.
Tayuya felt herself growing hotter and hotter, watching his face partially hidden in the dim light. He would occasionally glance down at her, his gaze clear and unflinching.
'This guy is such a jerk.'
As she thought about this, her strength waned, and everything began to feel strange. She had never experienced anything like this before, it was as though jolts of electricity were coursing through her back intermittently.
Tayuya even wondered if this jerk had used some kind of weird Ninjutsu. As in his arms, from her tailbone to her heart, she felt a warm, tingling sensation.
Held in a princess carry, Tayuya watched as the warm, amber glow of the bathroom grew closer. She suddenly realized that this guy was about to see everything soon.
Her eyes widened as she used the last of her strength to struggle, trying to break free from Naruto's hold.
But it was impossible to do. Naruto held her firmly and walked into the bathroom, setting her down into the bathtub. He then clapped his hands, as if he had completed his work.
He didn't seem guilty at all, treating it as just a random accident and not thinking much of it.
"What were you planning to find just now?" He asked.
At this point, Tayuya's mind was in a mess. She curled up in the bathtub, answering in a muffled voice, "A hair towel."
"Oh, I took it." Naruto said calmly, then lightly tapped her on the head, "Go ahead and take your bath. I'll bring it to you in a bit."
"Okay." Tayuya didn't know what else to say, and her eyelashes fluttered.
The bathroom door then clicked shut. Tayuya, panicking, splashed the warm water around, taking a long breath in and exhaling deeply.
She wasn't sure how to describe what she was feeling just now, she felt powerless. Actually, she was usually quite clever, which was why she never ran, but now, she wasn't sure if she should run or not.
She had originally planned to stay here for a while when she had no money. Anyway, that guy was stupid and had a lot of money, so as long as she acted a little submissive, he would give her money.
Even if she couldn't earn her own money, she could take some from him and then run far away.
She never feared that he wanted anything from her. Orochimaru had already abandoned her, and going back would mean certain death. To her, it didn't matter whether her body was used or she was treated as a tool again.
In the past, Tayuya always thought that jerk was superficial, only wanting to use his money to get her body. Because of that, she wasn't scared at all.
She knew that most men, other than Orochimaru, had issues in their heads… They would try to turn every attractive thing into their possession.
So, even if he didn't show up for ten days or half a month, she felt no sense of loss. Essentially, it was a transaction. He desired her body, and she wanted his money.
It was a clear, straightforward relationship.
'But why did my heart beat so fast when he touched me just now?' Tayuya sank into the bathtub, her knuckles turning white from clenching.
The light in the bathroom was bright and clear, but it did nothing to clear up the chaos in her mind. Her heart burned, feeling like it would jump into her throat.
She was a little annoyed, and then she recalled Naruto's words that he'd be back.
'A hair towel, huh?'
Suddenly, Tayuya didn't want anything anymore. A sense of foreboding crept into her mind. She didn't want anything. She just wanted to take her two million ryo hidden under the bed and get out of there.