In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

Chapter 254 The Kind-Hearted Ino

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"I’m going back." Ino hurriedly wiped her tears with the back of her hand and stood up to leave.

"Hey! Wait a minute." Naruto quickly grabbed her.

Ino looked shocked for a moment when he held her back, but her tears continued to flow uncontrollably. Her emotions couldn’t be calmed so quickly, though they were momentarily interrupted.

Naruto thought for a second and then pulled Ino into a hug.

Even though he didn’t fully understand why Ino was crying, he figured it didn’t matter for now. It’s better to comfort her first and ask questions later. He wasn’t a god, so he couldn't know everything.

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After a while, Ino sat on the sofa, fidgeting uncomfortably. Now that her emotions had calmed down, she realized she might’ve overreacted and was feeling a little embarrassed.

Naruto walked out of the kitchen with a glass of water and placed it in front of her.

"Thank you." She murmured softly, her face flushing as she lowered her head.

‘So embarrassing!!!’ Ino couldn’t help but thought. Her fingers fidgeted with the sofa, feeling awkward to the point she could scratch holes into it. On the way here, she had just felt low, but once she arrived, she couldn’t hold back her emotions.

"Just now…" Naruto did not sit down, but stood nearby and looked at Ino, "What's wrong with you?"

"N-nothing." She quickly took a sip from the glass, trying to hide her flustered feelings. "I guess I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately, so..."

Ino remembered the hug she had just received at the entrance, and immediately stopped talking. She didn't know why her mood improved a lot by just a hug.

‘Who knew that a simple hug could be so comforting?’

Ino’s mind started drifting as she stared blankly at the glass.

"I'm now. I… I think I’ll head back." Ino stammered, standing up abruptly, her eyes darting toward the door, "We have a mission tomorrow. I should go home and get ready."

"It’s still early, though." Naruto said and walked to the balcony, then turned back to look at Ino on the sofa, "Why don’t you stay a bit longer? I’ll walk you home later."

Ino opened her mouth but found herself unable to refuse.

‘Staying a little longer didn’t seem like a big deal.’ Ino thought like this, and nodded. Then, she didn't know where to look, and her eyes stayed on the edge of the glass.

Her lips parted unconsciously as she pressed them against the rim, feeling a bit frustrated.

Suddenly, there was a rustling noise as the balcony window slid open. Quiet as a mouse, Kurama poked his head in from outside, his ears twitching at the sounds inside. The moment he saw Naruto and Ino on the couch, he muttered to himself, ‘Damn it.’

Then, he awkwardly crawled inside on all fours.

"He’s back?" Ino stood up.

"Yeah." Naruto exchanged a glance with Kurama. Noticing the fox’s look of disdain, he smirked and said, "Probably went to see his old lover."

Kurama was startled and was about to jump up and smack Naruto with his paw when he was suddenly picked up by someone.

"Does he really have a mate?" Ino asked curiously, her embarrassment temporarily replaced by curiosity as she looked at Naruto with wide, inquisitive eyes.

‘Like hell I do! Hmph, I just found another foolish human servant. But that woman is also an idiot, she gave me her entire dinner.’

‘When I asked for wine, she went to get it without question. Sure, that place was huge, and I nearly got lost, but the wine was definitely worth it. Way better than the stuff this brat gets for me.’

Kurama raised his head haughtily, feeling no guilt whatsoever. As if it was natural for him to have two relationships at the same time, he flashed a sly grin. At this time, he no longer saw Naruto as his master.

"Probably not. Even a dog would have a hard time being attracted to that guy." Naruto picked up the glass and took a sip, then realized he had made a mistake as it was Ino’s and put it down awkwardly.

Luckily, Ino wasn’t paying attention to him. She was too busy playing with Kurama, who looked completely defeated as he let her pet him, his eyes glazed over.

"He can even raise his hands?" Ino was having a lot of fun.

Naruto had no expression on his face. He couldn’t help but think, ‘Kurama could do more than just raise his paws. Well, if Ino saw Kurama opening a bottle and chug down the alcohol, she’d probably question her entire reality.’

After playing with Kurama for a while, Ino finally let the fox go, and the two of them changed shoes and stepped outside.

Just before closing the door, Naruto caught a glimpse of Kurama jumping onto the sofa, pulling out a bottle of sake from underneath. The sound of the bottle popping open was drowned out by the door closing with a soft thud.

"Let's go." He turned to face Ino and said.

He had no idea what was going through Ino’s mind from start to finish, ‘She felt bad, came over to cry, played with Kurama, and now she seemed fine?’

‘Maybe Kurama’s biggest use was just that… being a plaything to lift spirits. After all, Kurama wasn't exactly the most useful, just a Biju after all.’

"I don't actually have anything to do today, but I just feel like I can't help you in any way, so..." Ino said in a low voice when she saw that there was no one around.

"Eh?" Naruto came back to his senses and looked at Ino in surprise, "You don’t need to think like that. I can handle things on my own."

He wracked his brain, trying to convince her he didn’t need any help. After all, the only person who was truly against him was Danzo, and the two old Advisors were just trying to maintain Konoha’s balance of power.

With Tsunade and Jiraiya here, as well as the Hokage's loyal followers, he wouldn't suffer any loss unless something unexpected happened.

Taking a step back, at Ino's age, this kind of thing is not something she should consider. She was too mature for her years, aware of issues she didn’t need to be involved with. That naturally weighed on her.

"But I want to help you." Ino said in a muffled voice.

"The problem is, this isn’t something you can help with. It’s far beyond what a Genin should be worrying about. You don’t need to carry this burden." Naruto explained.

"I think I know why you're unhappy." He sighed.

"I already told you." Ino mumbled.

"No, I mean the deeper issue." Naruto said. "When you learned about something you can’t solve, you’ll feel powerless but still thinking about it, then you will feel uncomfortable."

"Next time, try not to think about it too much. Really, it’s not a big deal. A few years down the line, when you’re a Jonin, you’ll have the power to make a difference. You’ll also worry less."

"How many years will that take?" Ino sighed as well.

"Don’t worry, time flies. Isn’t the Chunin Exams starting soon? After that, you’ll be a Chunin, and soon after that, a Jonin. You’ll be so busy you won’t even notice the time passing."

He was starting to feel parched after all the talking. He had to give Ino psychological counseling, which made him feel a little depressed. He, the person involved, wasn’t even upset, yet Ino was the one carrying the emotional burden.

‘Ino was just too kind-hearted… She’s always thinking about others, which made it hard for her to be happy. It was normal for her to occasionally get stuck in her own head.’