84: Chapter 84 Philosophical AficNaruto woke up to a familiar, warm scent of wine and herbs in the early morning.
He found himself lying sprawled on the bed, one arm still under Tsunade's head, her hair scattered across his chest, making him feel a little itchy.
He carefully tried to pull his hand away, but before he could even begin, Tsunade mumbled something with her eyes closed and hugged him even tighter, as if she were holding a large body pillow.
"Don't move.sleep a little longer."
Her voice was languid, completely lacking her usual domineering tone.
Naruto stared at the ceiling, a sly smile creeping onto his face.
He leaned down, close to Tsunade's ear, and whispered, "Hey, old lady, is the sun getting too strong?"
Tsunade didn't even open her eyes, but precisely raised her hand and flicked Naruto's forehead with her knuckles.
"Shut up, say 'old woman' again and I'll let you experience a vertical fall from here."
Despite saying that, she showed no intention of letting go.Instead, she adjusted to a more comfortable position, almost completely nestled in Naruto's arms.
Naruto rubbed his forehead in pain.
Okay, this super-strong woman's fists are still as hard as ever.
He lay there resignedly, watching the sunlight slowly move across the room, listening to the even breathing of the person beside him, and feeling this sense of peace.
It wasn't until Shizune, holding Ton-Ton, knocked on the door from outside and reported that the ransom and handover personnel from Kirigakure had arrived that the situation was resolved.
Tsunade reluctantly opened her eyes, stretched, and revealed her beautiful curves.
She glanced at Naruto, who was staring at her, her face flushed slightly, then she glared back fiercely: "What are you looking at!Get up and get to work!"
A reception room.
Qing was "invited" in by two guards.
He changed into clean clothes, and the purplish discoloration around his eyes had faded considerably, but the resentment and wariness in his eyes remained undiminished.
The person sitting in the main seat was not Naruto Uzumaki, but the Minister of Armed Forces, Tesshu.
This taciturn man was like an iron tower; just sitting there, he exuded an aura that kept strangers at bay.
Standing beside him was Kabuto, the Pharmacist, with a gentle smile.
"Mr.Qing, did you rest well?" Dou rubbed the tip of his nose, his tone as friendly as if he were greeting an old friend.
Qing snorted coldly, too lazy to answer such an insulting question.
He looked directly at Tie Zhou: "Where's Naruto Uzumaki?I need to see him."
Tie Zhou's voice was low and emotionless: "The chairman is busy.The ransom has been counted and the formalities have been completed.You can leave now."
He waved his hand, and a guard placed a sealing scroll on the table in front of Qing.
"These are your personal belongings.Please take inventory."
Qing stared at the scroll, then looked at the two men in front of her, one cold and hard and the other with a fake smile, and the feeling of suffocation intensified.
He hesitated for a long time, but finally couldn't hold back and asked in a low voice, "What.exactly do you want to do to the Land of Water?"
Dou smiled and said in a relaxed tone, "Mr.Qing, I think you've misunderstood something."
"It's not about what we want to do, but what you did first."
"If Kirigakure is willing to treat us with the same sincerity as Sunagakure, we would very much welcome new partners."
These words sounded grand and dignified, but Qing sensed a blatant threat in them.
He recalled the bustling scene at the Wave Country docks he had seen through the iron bars of his cell during his imprisonment, and the magnificent fireworks display that had illuminated almost half the night sky the previous night…
The organization's strength far exceeded his expectations.
"Partners?"
Ao sneered, "Detaining ninjas from other countries and seizing tailed beasts, is this your way of cooperating?"
Tie Zhou finally looked up at him, his eyes sharp as knives: "You have no right to question me."
With just one sentence, all of Qing's resentment and anger were silenced.
How can a defeated general speak of bravery?
His face was ashen.He grabbed the sealing scroll and followed the guards out without looking back.
As he reached the door, he paused, but ultimately left with the words, "Lord Mizukage.will not let this go."
Kabuto maintained his perfect smile: "Please give our regards to Lady Terumi Mei."
"By the way, remind her that next time she sends someone to visit, it would be best to send a visiting card first."
Qing's figure disappeared outside the door.
Tie Zhou looked at Dou: "How long do you think that she-wolf will endure?"
His eyes flickered behind his glasses: "It won't be long.So, we need to speed up the construction of the defenses in the Land of Fields."
Having gotten rid of Ao, this hot potato, Naruto felt much relieved.He was about to stroll to the kitchen to see if there were any leftover mochi when he saw an unexpected figure as he passed by the training grounds.
Ah Fei didn't make any exaggerated or comical movements as usual, nor did he make any frivolous or noisy noises.
He simply stood quietly at the edge of the field, watching Mizuki and Karin engage in their usual."friendly" conversation.
"Idiot Suigetsu!Control your chakra!You're going to wet the floor again!"
"Enough with the nonsense!I call this adapting to local conditions!If you're so capable, then don't hide!"
"Go to hell!"
Naruto, hands in his pockets, slowly walked over and gently nudged Tobi with his shoulder: "Hey, a diligent employee coming to inspect the work on the first day of the new year?Shouldn't you get a perfect attendance bonus?"
Afei paused slightly, then slowly turned his head.
The mask concealed his expression, but his eyes, peering through the holes, had lost their usual flamboyance and gained a deeper, unfathomable quality.
"President."
His voice was soft, and he wasn't trying to be funny.
"I was just thinking, if the world could have been like this from the beginning.although there is noise, at least.we wouldn't have to wallow in blood and hatred, how wonderful that would be."
Naruto raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised that this seasoned mental patient had started taking a philosophical approach.
He followed Afei's gaze to the playful Shuiyue and Karin, and shrugged:"Nothing ever goes smoothly from the beginning.People make their own way through life."
"If you think the old road is shit, then just pave a new one yourself.It might be a bit of a hassle, but it's better than keeping stepping in shit, right?"
The metaphor was incredibly vulgar, but Ah Fei seemed to have taken it to heart.
He paused for a few seconds, then asked in a low voice, "If.if there were a ready-made path, a path that leads to a perfect world without pain or sorrow.would the president think it's fake?"
Naruto picked at his ear, giving him a look that said, "What nonsense are you spouting?"
"Perfect?Even Deidara's fireworks last night had a few duds.You're telling me it's perfect?"
"Eating something hard and hurting your teeth, stepping in dog poop while walking, getting dumped by a girl – that's what it's like to be alive."
"No pain whatsoever, finding money on the street?Everything is perfect?Even in a dream, that would leave you feeling fragmented and numb."
He patted Afei on the shoulder, quite forcefully: "Hey Afei, don't think about these trivial things during the New Year."
Instead of dreaming, let's think about how to organize and optimize the logistics warehouse.Last time I went looking for something, I almost got drowned – this is reality!
After saying that, he ignored Ah Fei, who was deep in thought, and continued walking towards the kitchen while whistling.
Discussing philosophy with a mentally ill person?You'd be better off sneaking a couple of pieces of rice cake.
Afei stood alone in place, the noise of the training ground seemingly far away from him.
He looked down at his hands and murmured to himself, ".Lin.if it were you."
No one answered.
Only the scream of Suigetsu being punched and blasted into a puddle of water in the distance could be heard.
Relaxed times always seem short for Naruto.In the afternoon, he managed to sneak a plate of red bean glutinous rice cakes from the kitchen and was about to share them with Tsunade when Hibari appeared silently in front of him again, his face serious.
"President."
Hibari bowed first, then cut straight to the point, "Urgent intelligence.It concerns 'Akatsuki'."
Naruto shoved the plate into Tsunade's hand, wiped the crumbs from the corner of his mouth, and said with a more serious expression, "Speak."
"Our spies around the Land of Rain have reported that several rogue ninjas with special bloodline limits or secret techniques have recently been recruited or forcibly taken away by unknown forces."
"Indications suggest that 'Akatsuki' is active, and it appears to be expanding its manpower."
Prev Next