That Door

The next day.

Naruto opened his eyes from the sofa. The living room was dimly lit, and he couldn't sleep at all because of the High-level Meeting that was scheduled for dawn.

It would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous, but luckily he wasn't alone in the house.

He sat up and turned to look at the closed door. Inside lay a beautiful girl wrapped in a bath towel. It was early morning; the word "bath towel" was probably already gone.

My head is a little dizzy; I haven't had enough sleep.

Dragging my tired body to wash up, I figured it was just getting light and casually threw last night's clothes into the washing machine. Turning around, I saw Ino's clothes in two dryers, one large and one small.

After taking out Ino's completely dried clothes, I neatly folded them on the sofa, then slowly made breakfast while wearing indoor shoes, leaving a portion warm.

After breakfast, it was almost dawn. Once everything was ready, Naruto left a note for Ino, who was still asleep, in the living room.

I originally wanted to write some witty remarks, but then I thought of Ino's sleeping face yesterday, and I changed my mind. After leaving a heartwarming message, I slammed the door shut.

[Note: I've put the bathwater in the freezer. (*——*)]

The Hokage Building office.

Teuchi and, urged by her secretary Shizune, strolled to the door, only to find Naruto already asleep, leaning against the wall.

"What's wrong with this person?" Tsunade bent down and shook him awake. "Wake up."

The blinding light made Naruto feel like his soul was being shaken. Just as he was about to explode in anger, he looked up and saw a towering expanse of white, and immediately swallowed the words he was about to say.

"Good morning, Lord Tsunade," he said somewhat awkwardly.

"How did things go with your girlfriend yesterday?" Tsunade asked playfully, her full red lips slightly parted.

"As expected of Lord Tsunade, but I may have to disappoint you. I'm a good person."

"Who knows? You can go talk to the Yamanaka Clan." Tsunade grinned, completely lacking the demeanor of Hokage. "How about you strive to become Hokage? I can help you persuade the Hyuga Clan."

"They are quite traditional, so they probably won't mind if you have two wives."

"Sorry, becoming Hokage is absolutely impossible," Naruto refused again.

However, Tsunade didn't have high expectations; it was just her usual teasing. She herself didn't really want to be Hokage, and a Hokage who starts picking a successor as soon as he Hokage is a piece of Hokage.

"Hmm." Tsunade pinched his cheek, got up and walked into the office, leaving behind the words, "Come in."

"Okay." Naruto obediently followed him inside.

After sitting down, Tsunade ignored him and began reading the documents on her own.

"These documents come in every day, and if you don't look at them for a few days, they can pile up."

"I see." Naruto replied, seemingly unconcerned. "Is it because there aren't any available people right now? That's why the authority can't be delegated?"

Tsunade a tactical sip of water, glancing at Naruto.

"You know quite a lot, kid."

"You know a little bit. Lord Tsunade might as well just train Kakashi-sensei as her successor directly, and get it done in one go," Naruto suddenly said.

Tsunade coughed violently, and the cup fell into her chest. Fortunately, there was only a thin layer of water left in the cup, so no water spilled and soaked her clothes.

How did you know what I was thinking?

When Tsunade asked him a question, Naruto simply shrugged.

"Although it may be a bit much to say that, who else besides Kakashi-sensei can become a Kage? The Pervy Sage has no intention of staying in one place and wanders around outside all day."

Actually, he was just talking nonsense; the more you know, the more trouble you get. While that's true, Kakashi still needs a significant improvement in strength before becoming Hokage, and he also needs to accumulate some merit.

Both the Fourth Hokage and Fifth Hokage made outstanding contributions to Konohagakure.

In other words, Kakashi would only be able to unlock the Mangekyō Sharingan, achieve unprecedented victories in a large-scale war, and make outstanding contributions to Konohagakure.

It's too early to talk about a successor.

Even if Tsunade did have the intention of choosing Kakashi to be the Sixth Hokage, it was because Kakashi was undoubtedly the top-tier (T0) among the second-generation Kage in terms of both intellect and overall strength.

But things are not always that simple. If a better candidate comes along in the future, Tsunade will naturally recommend someone else.

In other words, Naruto was actually talking about the first level, Tsunade had already considered the second level, but she would still find Naruto's words novel.

"Since you don't aspire to be Hokage, you should refrain from interfering in such matters," Tsunade said.

"Oh."

Tsunade picked up a document, put it down again, and turned to look at Naruto, giving him some instructions.

"When we go into the High-level Meeting room later, follow me. If anyone asks you a question, don't answer randomly. You can only answer if I tell you to, understand?"

"I heard you, I'll do as Lord Tsunade." Naruto replied obediently, without any other thoughts.

Anyway, Tsunade should have a solution. As for the rest, we can deal with it if we can't reach an agreement. He's never attended High-level Meeting before, so he guesses this is Tsunade's first time attending as Hokage.

At 9:45 a. m., Tsunade put down her pen and tossed the document onto the table. After standing up, she gestured for Naruto to follow her with her eyes, and then left her seat alone.

Tsunade walked ahead, the crisp sound of her high-heeled sandals echoing in the corridor. Shizune, the head of the Medical Department and also the Hokage's secretary, walked alongside Naruto, following closely behind.

10 o'clock.

Golden sunlight pierced through the clouds, shining through the large floor-to-ceiling windows of the corridor onto the large wooden door of the old and enormous conference room.

"Lord Tsunade." The Chunin guarding the door Chunin respectfully and slowly pushed the door open.

A scream came from the conference room door, and the unique smell of the wooden door wafted out. Inside, it was brightly lit, like the most intense and merciless midday sun.

10 o'clock.

Ino stared at the unfamiliar ceiling for a long time before suddenly realizing that she hadn't gone home at all.

Yesterday, Lord Tsunade inexplicably talked to me about the gift, and then for some reason I felt very wronged, so wronged that I felt very depressed, and then I just took a walk.

I don't know why, but by the time I realized it, I was already at that bastard's doorstep.

Seeing the faint light inside the door, she assumed that Naruto had already brought the Sand Village Princess home. Feeling wronged and wanting to cry, she opened the door in a fit of anger.

Result

I don't know why, but I feel like getting angry whenever I see him, and I always end up saying things that are too vulgar. But I still care and listen to everything he says.

I don't know what came over me, but I took his key and moved into the same house, as if I had become attached to him.

She knew that such thoughts were dangerous and tried her best to extricate herself from them.

After getting out of bed, I suddenly felt a chill on my body. The bath towel was still on the bed. I looked down and my pupils dilated sharply.

I think I slept on the sofa last night?