How many had he messed with? Naruto probably doesn't have this concept in his mind.
He feels more and more regretful when he wakes up, 'If only he had acted before Uchiha Obito made his move.'
Now, the family heads were alerted, and he couldn't reach either of the girls.
While he could still find a way to get some information if he really wanted to, any move he made now would likely backfire. It was better to stay still and wait.
Before leaving, Sakura had mentioned that she would be in the lab late into the night, so he didn't need to wait for her. If he needed anything, he could just go to the lab.
But Naruto wasn't the type to cling to just one person. Sakura was genuinely busy with work, and he didn't want to appear anxious or desperate. There was no need to add to the tension.
Naruto quietly left the office and found a secluded path to go home. The sun was slanting downward, casting a warm glow over the red walls and green trees.
As he turned a corner, he unexpectedly ran into someone he hadn't expected to see. Tenten, who was dressed in a light green top, turned at the sound of footsteps and was equally surprised to see Naruto.
"Naruto? What are you doing here?" Tenten asked.
"Heading home." Naruto replied calmly, not in the mood for banter, "But, Tenten, what's with the outfit? Where are you going?"
Hearing this, Tenten's face turned red.
Her appearance was quite different from usual, as if she had dressed up on purpose. Normally, she wore a cheongsam or that white top, but today…
"Is it that obvious?" Tenten glanced around and whispered.
"Yeah."
"Alright, don't tell anyone." Tenten said shyly, "Kakashi-sensei asked me to lead a Genin Team, and I didn't know how to refuse, so I just accepted it."
"Leading a Genin Team?"
It suddenly dawned on Naruto that his peers were now fully-fledged Jonin, and perhaps in the eyes of the Genin, they were already cool, capable adults.
"Yeah!" She held her forehead and said in distress, "Guy-sensei recommended me. He didn't even listen to my opinion!"
"He even insisted on saying something weird like 'burning Youth'. Passersby looked at me with strange eyes for a long time. Although it's not nice to say it like that, it's really too embarrassing."
"It's fine. You'll get used to it." Naruto reassured her. He was about to say goodbye and leave but decided to ask one more question, "Who are the students you're leading?"
Then Tenten listed three names, which Naruto had never heard of. One was a Genin from the Hyuga Clan, and the other two were probably civilian Shinobi.
However, this tradition had been around for a while, to reduce the influence of clan's Shinobi and making them more loyal to the village.
Unfortunately, after the Uchiha Clan's Rebellion, this approach had clearly failed.
It can be said that the Uchiha Clan is unruly, but it cannot be said that all Shinobi Clans are idiots. Efforts to diminish clan's influence and strengthen the village's identity had been ongoing but with little success.
There were many reasons for this, but they weren't worth delving into.
As the saying goes, dynasties may rise and fall, but noble families remain forever.
Since Hashirama proposed the concept of the village, there had been some progress. At least more civilian Shinobi were stepping onto the stage, competing with the once-unreachable clans' Shinobi.
But even today, Shinobi Clans still held significant power in the village, and there were reasons for their continued existence. It wasn't far off to call it a hereditary system.
After all, Shinobi Clans had both people and resources. Even if you picked the best among the average, they'd still outshine civilian Shinobi. You couldn't argue with that.
"Well, you go ahead and do your thing." Naruto said, preparing to leave.
"Hey, Naruto! Don't tell anyone about what happened today." Tenten felt a little embarrassed. She had taken this secluded path to avoid running into anyone she knew.
But little did she know, even the back roads could be tricky.
"Got it." Naruto waved and walked away.
"Ugh, I can't believe I ran into him. This is so embarrassing." Tenten looked at Naruto's departing back, her face getting hot. She stomped her feet and headed towards the training ground.
…
At noon, in the Yamanaka Clan's compound, the family sat around the dining table.
Ino sat silently in her seat, eating her meal at a leisurely pace. She could clearly feel two pairs of eyes on her, staring at her and making her feel uncomfortable.
"What's wrong?" She put down her bowl and chopsticks and looked up at her parents.
"Ino, you and Naruto...are you?" Inoichi started but couldn't finish the question. He didn't know how to ask, and could only look at his wife beside him.
Rino smiled gently, sat elegantly at the dining table, and asked, "How are things between you two?"
The older generation was indeed wiser. Ino suddenly didn't know how to answer such question. Were things good or bad? There was no doubt about their relationship, but how good could it really be?
The other party is not even willing to give all his heart to her. He likes her, but his heart still had room for another girl.
Hinata is so gentle, so what guy wouldn't like her?
Of course, Ino was hurt, but what could she do? Love was a matter of mutual consent. She couldn't force him to be devoted to her alone.
The secret technique of the Yamanaka Clan is the Mind Body Switch Technique. After using the Ninjutsu, even if the other party does not speak, they could still understand their feelings.
Yet, in this situation, she couldn't bring herself to use it.
The couple exchanged glances across the table, hesitating. Last night, they had seen their daughter secretly crying, and it broke their hearts.
"It's… fine, I guess." Ino replied vaguely, then suddenly stood up, "I'm full. I'm going upstairs first."
"Ino…" Inoichi was about to speak, but was stopped by his wife, so he could only to swallow back what he wanted to say.
Once Ino was upstairs, he looked at his wife and asked in confusion, "Why did you stop me? We need to get to the bottom of this!"
"Of course I know we need to figure it out, but we also have to consider Ino's feelings." Rino advised patiently, "Ino's a sensible girl. I'll go upstairs later and talk to her alone."
"Okay." Inoichi picked up his chopsticks and was about to pick up some food but stopped. He turned to look at his wife and said, "What do you think happened to Uzumaki Naruto? Weren't they doing well before?"
"You know that was in the past, many years ago. It's normal for kids to have conflicts. They'll make up after a fight." Rino said.
"This isn't just a fight. I remember that kid taking advantage of our absence to play dress-up with Ino in the shop. Back then, I thought they were just kids and didn't think much of it."
Inoichi had a regretful look on his face. He fiddled with his chopsticks, then looked at Rino and said, "If they really like each other, it doesn't matter if they're from different backgrounds. As long as Ino is happy, that's what matters. But who would've thought that guy would also get involved with the girl from the Hyuga Clan?"
"If I had known they'd end up like this, I should've thrown Naruto out back then. At least Ino wouldn't have gotten hurt. Ugh!"
Listening to her husband's complaints, Rino couldn't help but say, "We don't know the full story yet. It might not be what we think. What if it's just a misunderstanding? Don't jump to conclusions."
"Isn't it clear enough? Remnants of the Akatsuki infiltrated the village, kidnapped Hinata and Ino, and tried to threaten Naruto." He said angrily.
"It's good that our daughter came back safely, but why two?"
Rino was also helpless. Strange things happened every year, but today seemed especially chaotic. She thought about it and still didn't respond, then turned around and went upstairs.