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  Afternoon.

  Choji was stuffing the barbecue into his mouth, his tiny, beady eyes scanning the room before fixing on Naruto and Ino, who were seated across from him.

  "Seriously, Naruto, that was pretty uncool of you."

  "What do you mean uncool?"

  Naruto spread his hands in mock innocence. The table was surrounded by his close friends, Naruto was sprawled out comfortably on the long sofa, his nky frame rexed. Ino sat beside him.

  "Why didn’t you tell us about something that big?" Shikamaru chimed in, reclining on the sofa as well, sipping on a gss of watermelon juice.

  "How can I expin this? I didn’t even know what was happening myself." Naruto pouted and said, "Besides, it happened suddenly, and nothing bad came of it, right?"

  "Well, maybe it’s not all bad now. At least we don't have to worry so much." Shikamaru said ambiguously, deliberately avoiding the topic of Jinchuriki.

  Ino remained unusually quiet, focused on mixing the sauces beside her.

  Clearly, the recent event was still fresh in their minds, but the group didn’t linger on the topic from that morning and quickly shifted the conversation to their mission.

  "Something’s off. Why did you suddenly want to join this mission?" Shikamaru shot Naruto a suspicious gnce, then shifted his gaze to Ino, asking with a hint of curiosity, "What's going on?"

  "Huh?" Ino’s face flushed briefly, feeling a little guilty.

  She knew exactly why Naruto insisted on joining their mission, and the more she understood, the hotter her face became. In that moment, she tried hard to shift her thoughts away and dismiss her feelings.

  "This mission is too dangerous, and I’m worried about I…" Naruto was about to mention Ino’s name when a sharp pain shot through his side, where Ino had covertly jabbed him, causing him to stumble over his words.

  "I’m worried about Chiriku-san’s safety. We’ve got a decent retionship, so I figured I’d tag along."

  Shikamaru and Choji didn’t notice Ino’s subtle move, but Asuma, sitting on the outside, did. He just chuckled lightly, then stood up and said with a slightly mencholy tone, "I'm going to step outside for a smoke."

  "Hmm?" Ino turned her head, seemingly realizing something.

  Shikamaru frowned and said, "Asuma-sensei, weren’t you told to cut back on smoking? Why are you smoking again?"

  "This…" Asuma already had the cigarette between his lips, "This is the st one for today."

  Naruto also noticed that Shikamaru and Asuma had a deeper retionship. Ino was into flowers, Choji was all about food, but Shikamaru’s intellectual nature made him more compatible with Asuma.

  Watching Asuma’s back as he left the restaurant, Naruto couldn’t help but feel a bit downcast, ‘Did I backstab an old single guy? But wasn't he close to Kurenai?’

  ‘Forget it.’ Naruto thought. After all, he was still a ‘herbivorous’ youth and had no reason to care about an older man’s romantic history.

  "Naruto, do you know Chiriku-san from the Fire Temple?" Choji put down his chopsticks and suddenly asked.

  "We are fairly acquainted." Naruto hesitated for a moment before responding, "Chiriku-san and Asuma-sensei both served in the Twelve Guardian Ninja. They’re closer to each other."

  After they had eaten and drank their fill, Asma paid the bill. He really had no shortage of money. He was a second-generation young master, and except for not having a wife and looking a bit older than his age, he was practically living the dream.

  Born into the prestigious Sarutobi Cn, Asuma had everything he could want at a young age. But when Sandaime once said that the Hokage wasn’t the most important person in the vilge, it made Asuma, who had rebelled in his youth, feel like the Hokage’s role was too low-tier.

  In an act of rebellion, he left Konoha and became the personal bodyguard for the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. It’s a cssic tale of a young man striking out on his own. Ten years ter, he returned as a different man.

  No longer the rebelling youth, Asuma returned as a reformed delinquent, but still wearing his rebellious fashion sense.

  His father, Sandaime, welcomed him back with open arms. He then inherited the Sarutobi Cn's legacy, and he even had a childhood friend, Kurenai, waiting for him. He was a cssic example of a second-generation young master success story.

  It's just that this time the timeline has moved forward a bit, and Chiriku had luckily avoided a tragic fate. So, the mission this time was mainly about investigating and searching, not chasing after the Immortal Duo.

  The primary goal of the mission was to go to the Fire Temple, investigate any clues, and protect Chiriku for a while until the end of the mission.

  If there is still no result after investigating for a period of time, the mission will most likely be cancelled.

  So, apart from Naruto and Ino, no one really took this mission too seriously. After all, it was just a simple investigation and search centered on the Fire Temple, nothing too dangerous.

  Asuma had to leave for something, and Shikamaru and Choji left together, which meant only Naruto and Ino were left sitting at the table. Naruto was about to say something when someone outside gnced at them briefly before walking away.

  It was a look of fear, and after pausing for a second, the person quickly turned and left.

  Naruto was a bit speechless when he saw this, ‘Even while eating, I still couldn’t avoid running into people from the Hokage’s Office.’

  "Shall I walk you home?" Naruto turned to look at Ino and asked.

  Ino thought for a moment and said, "Let's go to your pce."

  Naruto was fttered for a moment. Ino hadn’t been to his pce in a while, and he was starting to think maybe he’d been too intense and scared her off.

  "Sure!" He agreed quickly.

  "Don't think too much." Ino gnced at him and skillfully tied up her golden ponytail. "I just have something to ask you, and it’s not convenient to talk here."

  "What is it?"

  "Well, nothing for now. Let’s talk when we get there." Ino replied.

  When Naruto heard this, he felt a little uneasy, ‘First Tsunade, and now Ino… everyone’s reactions were different. Was he really in that much trouble?’

  However, Kyubi’s escape was indeed a bigger deal than any other issue. After all, Kyubi is a Biju capable of destroying everything without blinking an eye, but Naruto didn't think so.

  ‘No matter how violent a Biju was, even they had to cower in the face of power, but women? They were a whole different level of complexity.’

  The walk wasn’t too long, though it felt like forever. Ino walked ahead while Naruto gged behind, sometimes picking up his pace to catch up with her.

  However, Ino didn’t seem to react, almost as if she didn’t notice. She simply chose to ignore him.

  In silence, they went upstairs. Ino pulled out a key, slid it into the lock with practiced ease, and opened the door with a creak. Naruto followed behind her.

  As the door swung open, Ino squatted by the entrance, not saying a word.

  She curled up, wrapping her arms around her knees, her once radiant golden hair dull and hanging low as she buried her face into her knees.

  Afternoon sunlight streamed through the crack in the door, casting light at Naruto’s feet.

  Naruto’s usual cheeky grin faded. He was at a loss. The summer breeze blew in from outside, carrying the scent of sun-dried leaves.

  "Ino?" Naruto called out awkwardly, unsure of what to say after that. He stood there, mouth half-open, unable to form any words.

  Ino had always been good at reading the room. She could easily pick up on the little details from various bits of gossip and rumors to find the truth she was looking for.

  In fact, she could sense the awkward situation Naruto was in. After spending so much time with him, she knew his personality well. Naruto wouldn’t just suddenly seek a higher position in the vilge without reason.

  It was just that things had come to this point and he had no choice but to make this move. Others thought Naruto was very impressive, but she didn't think so.

  Naruto’s perceived power and authority were rgely due to his identity as a Jinchuriki, a role forced upon him. Now that he was no longer a Jinchuriki, it should’ve been a relief, a good thing. Yet, Ino felt an unshakable sense of discomfort.

  Perhaps it was because the entire situation felt unreted to her. Even though Naruto was no longer a Jinchuriki, nothing seemed to change, and all she could do was watch helplessly.

  Naruto reached out, trying to pull Ino to her feet, but when she lifted her face, it shocked him Her face was streaked with tears, her eyes red and swollen as if infmed.

  ‘How was it that someone could cry so silently? It was bizarre.’

  Naruto thought to himself, but then his heart suddenly skipped a beat.