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Choji's chubby face twisted with frustration, but Naruto just smiled, patting him on the shoulder.
"Ino said she made this special communication device, and I thought, how could I forget you for such a good thing? We’re brothers who've been through thick and thin!"
Choji had a million things he wanted to say, but he had no idea where to start.
Ti continued to pass, and the ti for Tsunade to leave was getting closer and closer. The people in the village were busy preparing for the Rokudai Hokage’s inauguration, making for busy but peaceful days.
In the bamboo forest…
"Hey, how many people are there?" Naruto suddenly looked up and asked Neji.
In the dense bamboo grove, Neji sat off to the side, watching a few branch family’s mbers who had just been freed from the Caged Bird leave. When he heard Naruto's question, he couldn’t help but hesitated.
He felt like he was walking further and further down a path that went against his original intentions, a road he couldn't turn back from.
"Twelve." He replied.
"That’s about right. Twelve… just a few more people, and we’ll be set." Naruto said, standing up and stretching. Shafts of golden sunlight filtered through the bamboo leaves, casting dappled light on him.
"Why do you look so gloomy?" Naruto asked in surprise, glancing at Neji again, "Look at the joy on their faces. We’re doing a good thing."
Neji remained silent, his expression complicated.
"Alright, alright, if you want to achieve great things, don't be too picky about minor details." Naruto said, giving Neji a light push, "Neji, you don’t want the Hyuga Clan to remain unchanged, do you?"
"Be honest with yourself… do you really think the elders from the main family will voluntarily remove the Caged Bird? After being used to a life of having everything provided for them, who would want to fall from the heavens to the mortal world?"
Hearing this, Neji was finally moved. He looked up at the dense bamboo overhead and sighed, "I know, I'm just hesitant. How will I face Hiashi-sama when that day cos? And I have a feeling that day will co soon."
"What's there to hesitate about? It's just a Clan Head’s position." Naruto said, trying to console him, "Even if you do nothing, Hyuga Hiashi won’t be able to change anything."
"He’s just dragging it out, playing along with the other main family’s mbers. Neji, whether this works out or not, your resolve must be clear, and your conviction must be firm."
"Yeah." Neji muttered quietly.
Naruto’s words were blunt, but they weren’t wrong. And Neji knew Naruto’s personality all too well. From the first ti they were on a team together, when Naruto knocked out the mission’s client… Neji realized just how devious Naruto could be.
As long as it is sothing he wants to do, Naruto won’t be bound by any rules. As long as it wasn’t sothing truly immoral, there was nothing he wouldn’t dare to do.
Neji, on the other hand, was bound by morality, guilty conscience, and even family ties. But Naruto clearly wasn’t constrained by these things, and he didn’t even seem to have any sense of sha left.
From the fact that he was clearly eating from the bowl but looking at the pot, it was obvious Naruto was a complex character. (T/N: Eating from the bowl but looking at the pot ans already having a girlfriend, but is still looking at other girls.)
In fact, Naruto was sowhat frustrated with Neji’s lack of ambition. If he also had a pair of Byakugan, things wouldn't be so complicated. Unfortunately, he wasn’t part of the Hyuga Clan, so he couldn’t pull off any of those flashy moves.
As for Neji, he was too proper to pull off any slick sches.
Oh, right, Naruto wasn’t just looking at the pot while holding the bowl. No way would he do sothing so indecisive. The truth was, he was holding the whole pot in his hands!
The more capable soone is, the more they have to take on. So what if he could handle a bigger workload?
anwhile...
In the Hokage Tower, Tsunade is reviewing a report.
The investigation into Danzo had been delayed and would probably be dealt with after Kakashi beca the Rokudai Hokage. After all, the two old Advisors are already in semi-retirent.
Shizune walked in briskly, and seeing the empty cup on the table, she habitually filled it up for Tsunade. As she glanced down at the report Tsunade was reading, she froze for a mont, "Tsunade-sama, is Naruto causing trouble again?"
"No, it’s actually because he’s been too quiet that I think it's abnormal. This is unlike him." Tsunade said, putting down the report, "I know him too well… That brat would die if he wasn’t stirring up so mischief."
"Hasn't he been focused on the Hyuga Clan lately?" Shizune said. She was one of the people who knew about it.
"The Hyuga Clan… If only he were truly that idle." Tsunade muttered to herself, "With Danzo in the state he’s in, why hasn’t Naruto retaliated yet?"
"Could he have forgiven and forgotten?" Shizune wondered.
“That’s not like him. Now I’m a bit worried he’s up to sothing far beyond what I’ve anticipated."
Tsunade was about to leave soon, so she wasn’t too concerned about Naruto causing trouble in her final days as Hokage. At the very least, she could cover for him while she was still around.
But if Naruto waited until after she left to make his move… that was entirely possible. Especially since, after their last conversation, Naruto had been visiting far less frequently.
Though he hadn’t been a frequent visitor before, he used to drop by occasionally with or without reason. Now, if he ca, it was for sothing important, otherwise, he was nowhere to be found.
Tsunade is not a little girl, so she naturally doesn't think that Naruto is throwing a tantrum. He was soone who had everything but a temper. Now that he was behaving himself, it was clear he had sothing up his sleeve.
‘What exactly was he waiting for? Was it love?’
"That Sasuke really is sothing. Losing to that dog… Is he an idiot?" Naruto muttered to himself, ranting as he often did.
Before, when Dark Sakura wasn’t dormant, he could at least vent his thoughts to her. But now, it was no longer possible, as the little pink thing had taken over the body again.
‘How does this even make sense? A change in personality, and suddenly it's like we don't know each other anymore!’ Naruto thought to himself, ‘Good thing I'm a decent person and don't hold grudges against Pink Sakura. If it were anyone else, the entire place would’ve been shaken down by now.’
The more he thought about it, the more he convinced himself he was a rule-abiding, principled guy. After all, he hadn't used any of the leverage he had over Pink Sakura to blackmail her, spouting off lines like, "You wouldn't want that, would you?"
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