122: Chapter 122 ThoughtsDeidara dropped the clay goat from his hand with a thud, his expression pained.
Hei Tu stood with his hands on his hips blocking the doorway, scanning him from head to toe, a smug smile creeping onto his face.
"Yo~!Deidara~ brother!" she said in a sarcastic, drawn-out tone.
Deidara made a gurgling sound in his throat and subconsciously took half a step back, his back pressing against the cold laboratory door frame.
Sakura leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, quietly serving as a backdrop.
"Run?Why did you stop running?"
Hei Tu took a step forward, his heels clicking crisply on the ground.
Deidara stiffened his neck, trying hard to raise his imposing manner.
"Who, who ran away!I had.I had an important creative inspiration that I urgently needed to record!"
"Artistic creation?Creation has taken you all the way to the Land of Waves?And you've even become.a specially appointed researcher?"
Hei Tu looked him up and down in his white coat."He looks quite professional."
Deidara felt his face getting hot.
Seeing his junior sister in this reformed state was more painful than being beaten up by Naruto.
He cleared his throat and straightened his back again.
"What do you know!" he shouted, raising his voice."This is.this is a higher level of artistic pursuit!Naruto Uzumaki, he.he understands me!"
He suddenly felt he had found his way, and his tone became smoother: "You have no idea how long he begged me to join the Chamber of Commerce!His attitude was so sincere!He said that my explosive art was unique in the ninja world, and without me, the Chamber of Commerce would lack its soul!"
He glanced around furtively, then grew bolder: "I saw how sincere he was, and I couldn't refuse, so I reluctantly agreed to come and give him some guidance."
"Yes!That's exactly what happened!"
Hei Tu squinted and didn't say anything.
Sakura let out a soft "heh" from the side.
She remembered clearly that on the day Naruto brought Deidara back to the merchant guild, he was bruised and swollen, listless, and couldn't open his eyes for many days.
"Really?" Heitu asked, tilting his head.
"Of course it's true!"
Deidara patted his chest confidently, "Would I lie to you?"
Hei Tu stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled.
"Alright, I'll trust you this time."
She didn't ask any more questions, but instead curiously looked around the research institute.
"Your place is quite decent."
Deidara breathed a sigh of relief and felt relieved.
Sakura stepped forward at the right moment: "Ms.Kurotsuchi, the research institute involves classified information, so it's not convenient to continue the tour."
Heitu readily agreed: "Okay, let's go explore somewhere else then."
She moved closer to Sakura, smiling as she put her arm around Sakura's shoulder, acting very familiar with her.
Sakura's body trembled slightly, and the rich, angry fragrance of cherry blossom sauce spread uncontrollably.
Kurotsuchi leaned closer to Sakura and sniffed, asking curiously, "Huh?You smell so good!What kind of perfume do you use?"
Sakura: ".It's innate."
She silently moved Heitu's arm away from her shoulder, maintaining a safe distance.
How come this woman from Iwagakure has absolutely no sense of boundaries!
As the two walked along the corridor of the Chamber of Commerce headquarters, the staff they encountered along the way all greeted Sakura respectfully, addressing her as "Minister Sakura".
Kurotsuchi, seeing this, couldn't help but say, "Pink hair.no, Sakura, you seem to have a pretty high status here."
Sakura replied haughtily, "I'm only in charge of some medical research and development."
A female clerk carrying documents hurried by, stopped when she saw Kurotsuchi, and said to Sakura with a smile, "Minister Sakura, this must be Miss Kurotsuchi, the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage, right?She certainly has an extraordinary air about her."
She then turned to Heitu, "The president just instructed us that Miss Heitu is a distinguished guest and that we must treat her with the utmost hospitality."
Heitu casually said thank you.
The female clerk smiled and left.After a few steps, she met up with another colleague, and the sound of their conversation drifted over.
".It was specially left behind by Lord Tsuchikage."
".I'm afraid that's really the intention."
".Arranged marriages are common."
Hei Tu abruptly stopped, his smile vanishing.
Sakura heard it too.Without looking at Kurotsuchi, she continued to introduce, "This way, the beauty street is ahead."
Heitu didn't move.She remembered the meaningful look in her grandfather's eyes before he left, and his repeated instructions to "look around more and play more." Could "relax" really mean that?
A marriage alliance?
She's Kurotsuchi, the young lady of Iwagakure, and a potential future Tsuchikage successor.Is she going to be treated like a decorative vase to maintain the relationship?
She felt a tightness in her chest, and an inexplicable sense of unease welled up inside her.
Naruto Uzumaki.
The image of him casually glancing at her when she bumped into him on the training field flashed through her mind.
"Hey, Pink Sakura," Kurotsuchi suddenly spoke up.
Sakura turned around and looked at her.
"What kind of person does your student council president like?"
After asking the question, Heitu felt a little awkward and immediately looked at the potted plant next to him, pretending to be very casual.
Sakura's lips twitched slightly.
"I don't know, his tastes.are rather eclectic."
Hei Tu simply said "oh" and stopped asking.
The turmoil in my heart only got worse.
On one hand, she resisted the possibility of a conscious attempt to befriend him, but on the other hand, she couldn't help but think about what it would be like with that guy.She shook her head, banishing the chaotic thoughts.
No, I can't think like that, it's too shameful!
During the rest of the trip, Heitu was noticeably distracted.
Sakura was happy to have some peace and quiet and mechanically introduced each area.
In the afternoon, Naruto was in the technical department debugging the newly dispatched remote communication equipment.
The thing looked like a small black brick with an extendable antenna.
He picked one up, pressed it a few times, and put it to his ear.
"Calling Raikage, calling Raikage, please reply upon receipt, over."
After a few seconds of silence from the small brick, Ai's somewhat stiff and confused voice came through: ".I'm Ai, over?"
He was clearly not used to the unfamiliar pronunciation.
Naruto's lips curled into a smile, and he changed to another one.
"Calling Jiraiya"Calling Jiraiya, please reply upon receipt.Over.
This time the response was quicker, and Jiraiya's voice carried a hint of curiosity: "I can hear you, over?"
"Calling the Tsuchikage, calling the Tsuchikage, please reply upon receipt, over."
Onoki's aged yet cautious voice rang out: "I am here.Over."
As Naruto listened to the Kage from the major ninja villages, each with varying degrees of confusion and awkwardness, he mimicked their mannerisms and said "over," making Naruto's mouth twitch with laughter.
The art style of the ninja world seems to have gone a bit off track.
There was a knock on the door of the technical department, and Samyi came in carrying tea.
She was still wearing that gleaming armor, the metal scraping against each other as she moved, making a soft, rustling sound.
She placed the tea beside Naruto, then stepped aside, standing ramrod straight, fulfilling her duty as a protector.
However, the fine beads of sweat on his forehead and his slightly rapid breathing indicated that this outfit was not easy to wear.
Naruto picked up his teacup and took a sip, his gaze sweeping over Samui's tense profile.
"If the armor is uncomfortable, you can change it."
"No need, President, I can adapt."
Naruto didn't say anything more.
Meanwhile, Kurotsuchi and Sakura wandered over to the vicinity of the medical department.
Just then, Tsunade came out of there, followed by several medical ninjas carrying documents.
Tsunade merely glanced at them casually, her gaze lingering on Kurotsuchi for less than half a second, before heading straight towards Naruto's direction.
Kurotsuchi watched Tsunade's departing figure.The woman didn't even need to say or do anything; she just walked past, and Kurotsuchi clearly felt a powerful confidence emanating from her.
"Want to continue shopping?" Sakura asked.
Hei Tu let out a sigh of relief, feeling both discouraged and resentful.
"Go shopping!Why not go shopping!" She wanted to see what else this chamber of commerce had to offer.
Tsunade walked into the office and saw Naruto fiddling with the communication devices.
"Have you had enough fun?"
Tsunade walked over to him, casually picked up a mobile phone and looked at it."This thing is quite interesting."
"It's alright, it'll make it easier to contact you in the future."
Naruto put down the equipment and asked, "Is everything alright at the medical department?"
"Routine tasks are being handled quietly."
Tsunade didn't linger and turned to leave.
Naruto watched her leave, tapped his fingers on the table, then picked up the device he had used to contact the Tsuchikage and pressed the call button again.
"Lord Tsuchikage, how was the equipment test?Over."
This time, Onoki responded much faster and in a more natural tone: "Clear and stable, very good, over."
He paused, then casually remarked, "That girl, Heitu, didn't cause any trouble for your Chamber of Commerce, did she?Over."
Naruto glanced out the window and saw Sakura and Kurotsuchi walking past in the corridor.
"Miss Kurotsuchi is lively and cheerful, and very popular.Over."
On the other end of the communicator, Onoki seemed to chuckle: "That's good, young man.It's good to communicate more.Over."
On the other side, Kurotsuchi and Sakura were walking on the street leading to the residential area.
Heitu suddenly stopped and looked in the direction of the training field.
"Hey, Pink-haired Sakura, what does your student council president usually like to do?"
Sakura followed her gaze and bit her lip.
"Cultivation, tinkering with new things, and…"
She paused, then added, "To provoke women."
Black Soil: .
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