This immediately heightened Ino's curiosity.
She began mentally sifting through who among her old friends could do something so indecent.
Suddenly, a name popped into her mind—
Ever since Sakura was discharged from the hospital, she hadn't seen her.
Realization struck, and Ino gasped.
"Don't tell me… Sakura?"
Naruto shrugged.
"Mhm."
"But… Sakura wouldn't go that far, would she?"
Ino was puzzled.
Why would Sakura be following them?
"Maybe not in the past.
But didn't you notice? Ever since your mental shock, her mental state hasn't been right."
Ino nodded slowly.
She had visited Sakura a couple of times during her hospital stay.
Each time, Sakura seemed… off.
Her demeanor, her expressions—they were completely different from before.
Even the slightest movement startled her.
If she had to put it into one word…
Unhinged.
Thinking about it like that, Sakura stalking someone didn't seem so surprising anymore.
As for Sakura's change, Naruto honestly welcomed it.
Compared to the manipulative Sakura of old, this unstable version was far less irritating.
He casually curled his finger.
Universal Pull.
A sudden tug ripped Sakura from her hiding spot, yanking her out from the alley and tossing her to the ground in front of the three of them.
Sakura, realizing she had been caught, showed no shame.
She grinned brightly, even giving them a playful wink.
"Hehe, hiding so well, and you still found me~"
Sakura was no longer wearing her signature sleeveless red outfit.
Instead, she sported a black bikini top, red fashion jacket, and ultra-short shorts.
The look was reminiscent of an idol outfit from a video game girl group.
Combined with her carefree smirk, she looked oddly appealing.
Ino's mouth twitched.
"Sakura… why would you do this?
Don't you feel even a little embarrassed?"
Sakura tapped her red lips with one finger, clearly unfazed.
"Huh? Why should I be embarrassed? Isn't it normal?"
"I wanted to see Naruto, so I followed him. What's so shameful about that?"
Her expression and matter-of-fact tone made it clear that, in Sakura's current mindset, this kind of behavior was completely normal.
Sakura's words made Hinata blush.
She suddenly remembered that there was a time when she had also secretly watched Naruto from afar.
This completely shameless Sakura had even Ino at a loss.
"Why would you want to see Naruto?
You used to tell me you hated him.
What are you even trying to pull now?"
Sakura glanced at Naruto and waved her hands in panic.
"That was the old me!
I want to slap my past self for saying those things.
The current me has nothing to do with her!"
Ino stared at her, completely unable to follow her logic.
"Then what? You're stalking Naruto now because you like him?
Do you even know what that's called?"
Finally, Ino's words seemed to strike a chord.
Sakura's eyes welled up with tears.
"Do you know how much I envied you two while watching from behind?"
"I know Naruto hates me for what I said before…
So the only thing I can do is watch from afar…"
Her soft, sorrowful voice and teary expression seemed genuine.
Even Ino couldn't help but feel a tiny bit of sympathy.
Naruto, too, looked at Sakura.
This… didn't seem like an act.
Sakura crawled forward on her knees, stopping before Naruto.
She looked up with a deeply sincere expression.
"Naruto, can you forgive me for being such a fool back then?"
"You can scold me every day, even whip me—
As long as you forgive me…
you can do anything to me!"
She spoke of punishment—
But only she knew that this was her true desire.
If Naruto were to punish her with various methods, in various locations…
Just the thought made her heart race.
Even Hinata was stunned by Sakura's madness, covering her mouth in disbelief.
She had thought her own feelings for Naruto ran deep—
but this… this was another level.
In the end, Sakura didn't get what she wanted.
She could only watch with slight disappointment as Naruto, Hinata, and Ino walked away.
But judging by her expression, she wasn't planning on giving up.
After a while longer with the girls, Naruto returned home.
As soon as he stepped inside, he caught the aroma of something delicious coming from the kitchen.
He walked in—
And saw Kaguya standing there in a pink apron, awkwardly stir-frying.
That wasn't the problem.
The problem was…
She was only wearing the apron.
Naruto took a deep breath.
'Did I wake up wrong today?
Everything's been way too weird…'
Noticing him walk in, Kaguya looked over and lowered her head slightly.
"Welcome home… Master. Dinner will be ready in just a bit."
"What… did you just call me?" Naruto raised a brow.
Kaguya quickly put down the spatula, looking flustered.
"Master.
Don't you like that name?
Black Zetsu told me you would."
Naruto raised a brow, thinking to himself:
'Black Zetsu, you old schemer…
Not bad at all.'
He coughed.
"Ahem… It's not that I don't like it. I guess it's fine."
Kaguya finally breathed a sigh of relief and continued cooking.
Ever since returning to the world, Black Zetsu—after getting slapped back by Naruto—had managed to find Kaguya again.
These past few days, he'd taught her quite a lot.
The maid outfit and that title?
Just the tip of the iceberg.
"Survival first," he had said.
"Pride won't save you."
Soon, dinner was served.
It looked… surprisingly good.
Turns out, while Kaguya was hopeless at ninjutsu, she had some talent as a housewife.
Both in figure and in cooking.
Sitting on the couch, being hand-fed by Kaguya, Naruto silently contemplated his next steps.
Should he enjoy life for a bit?
Or absorb all the energy in the ninja world?
Just then, Kaguya gently fed him a piece of sushi.
"Master, there's something troublesome in the ninja world.
You might want to handle it—
or it could become a danger to you."
Naruto swallowed and turned to her.
"What kind of trouble?"
Kaguya's tone turned serious.
"I came from another world—the Ōtsutsuki Clan's home planet."
"Back then, I wasn't alone.
There was another: Ōtsutsuki Isshiki."
"Originally, I was supposed to be offered as a sacrifice to the Ten-Tails to serve as nourishment.
But at the last moment, I attacked him.
I injured him and stole the God Tree."
"But he didn't die.
He's been hiding somewhere in the ninja world, recovering."
"After all these years, I suspect his power has returned.
Which means…"
She trailed off.
Naruto furrowed his brows, deep in thought.
'Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, huh…'
In his mind, fragments of information about that name began to surface.