Welcome Home

Seeing is not always believing; sight can deceive, and sound can lie, but touch is real.

Through the water glass, Naruto vaguely saw a pair of eyes, the face extremely weak, yet there was a faint smile in them. The smile flashed by, like a water droplet sliding off the windshield.

"What's this?" Naruto asked.

Sakura seemed to have returned to normal, sat up, took a sip of water, and asked.

"What?"

"You bit me just now, didn't you?"

Naruto examined his finger under the light and indeed saw a ring of bite marks. The other person seemed to have used considerable force, leaving a faint mark.

He spoke calmly and slowly, indicating he wasn't easily swayed by emotions. He had a composed personality and wouldn't experience significant emotional fluctuations regardless of what happened.

"No," Sakura calmly drank her water. "I'm a little hungry."

"That's true, but it's the middle of the night, I'll try to find something to eat." Naruto gave her a strange look.

"Let me go to the Medical Unit to find someone to examine you first."

The situation isn't fully clear yet. The moment Sakura woke up, both her eyes and her verbal tics resembled Pink Sakura —it's all too familiar. However, the tone of her second sentence is somewhat like Black Sakura.

In short, let's get someone to come and check it out first.

He was about to leave when his clothes were tugged at again. Sakura stared intently at him, her gaze burning.

"Wait a moment."

"Um?"

"Shall we kiss?"

"Cough cough! Are you crazy, Sakura?" He swallowed hard, instinctively wanting to take a step back, but Sakura grabbed him.

"Hehe, did I scare you?" She smiled smugly.

Even though she was already so weak, she still insisted on being strong.

Naruto froze for a moment; he had already guessed the result. It really was just a false alarm; he had only fainted, and his personality hadn't disappeared?

"So you're alright?" he asked. "Um, that thing won't disappear?"

"I don't know." Sakura loosened her grip on his clothes, thought seriously for a while, and then continued, "It might be healed, or it might never be."

"What do you mean?" Naruto frowned.

Sakura didn't say it directly, but stared at Naruto for a while before speaking.

Give me your hand.

"Hand?"

Naruto extended his hand, but Sakura grabbed it, her fingers naturally intertwining with his, their ten fingers clasped together.

"Like this," Sakura said slowly, "I don't reject it; on the contrary, I'm very happy."

"If you go any further," she said, lowering her head to suck on her index finger, licking it like a cat, her silver teeth gently biting, "I'll get really excited."

"But she'll be very embarrassed, and I can feel her presence when she's doing this." Sakura released Naruto's hand and pointed to her head.

"I still control her body, but she's awake now, and she can feel it if it's too stimulating."

One soul, two personalities.

Slightly surprised, Naruto asked in a daze.

"So you two share one body, and she was the first to wake up, right?"

"Hmm," Sakura said, "But memories are shared, so if you want to talk to her, you can do that too, okay?"

"Well..." Naruto hesitated, then forced a smile, "You're still weak, let's do it next time."

"Great!" Sakura's smile widened. "Is Naruto concerned about me?"

"I guess so." He glanced at the door. "I'll find someone to check you out. I don't understand data about your physical condition."

"No need, I can understand it," Sakura said with a smile. "The seniors work very hard on duty, so why don't you help me check it?"

"Me?" Naruto swallowed hard. "I can't?"

"It's okay, I know the process, it's very simple," Sakura comforted her. "I'll teach you, just do as I say."

"There's nothing weird or strange about it, is there?" he asked suspiciously.

"No," Sakura shook her head in denial.

It was really just a simple procedure like listening to the heartbeat and taking body temperature. Even so, Naruto was still terrified.

"What was the result?" he asked.

Late at night, there were only two people in the quiet hospital room.

"I'm hungry," Sakura said.

"I mean the result." Naruto sighed; dealing with her would indeed take some effort.

"It's okay, everything's normal, but I'm hungry," Sakura said seriously. "I need to eat something, and in exchange, I'll tell you a secret."

"I'll get you something to eat now, and we'll keep it a secret." Naruto waved his hand, turned, and walked out of the ward.

Sakura remained calm until Naruto returned with food.

"That's all we have right now," he said somewhat embarrassedly. "It's the middle of the night and all the shops outside are closed, so please make do with this."

"Okay." Sakura nodded.

Hearing that familiar "Okay, "Naruto felt a tingling sensation in his heart, a strange sense of comfort. Having an obedient teammate felt really good.

After eating and drinking to our hearts' content, it was already four in the morning.

Outside the window, all was still dark and still. Naruto felt sleepy, his eyelids drooping as he watched Sakura slowly wiping her mouth, leaning against the hospital bed. She glanced at him and said gently.

"If you're tired, you can go back. I can manage on my own."

"Forget it." Naruto yawned. "Ah~, anyway, it'll be dawn soon, I can just hang in there a little longer."

"Okay, you're always like this anyway," Sakura said with a smile. "To be honest, I never really intended to do anything before; those words were just to scare you."

Naruto pointed at her, "You'd better be."

However, he laughed after saying it; he didn't care about those words at all, he wasn't a eunuch. He just roughly guessed that Sakura's words were half a joke, and he only thought it was troublesome at the time.

"And now?" he asked, usually bringing up the present before mentioning the past.

"Now," Sakura said, staring at Naruto for a long while, "I think I've really fallen for you."

"Really?" Naruto clearly didn't take it seriously, assuming Sakura was just putting on an act again. "That's an honor, but I'm really sorry that so many people like me."

I'm rejecting you.

"You can't handle it?" Sakura smiled, her eyes narrowed. She was quite pretty when she smiled.

"It's not that bad." Naruto leaned lazily against the wall.

"It's okay, I'm available anytime," Sakura said. "Besides, I have an advantage that no one else has: I don't mind if Naruto likes someone else."

"It doesn't matter how many there are, I'll be third in line."

Naruto was speechless. "It was all a joke. There's no such thing as a ranking. We're just closer friends. After all, we're all still young, and everyone's focused on getting stronger."

He gave a perfunctory reply, glossing over the matter lightly. But that was the truth; ninjas prioritized their missions and didn't have much time for romance.

Most of the time, we just happen to meet up during our free time to chat for a bit or have a meal together.

"So you're saying we're different now?" Sakura asked.

"Same here." Naruto was in a good mood and didn't stop the conversation. "I have to go on a mission tomorrow. It's a pity you're not here, otherwise we'd have an extra layer of security."

He was referring to the mission at the Fire Temple, which was already past midnight. He planned to intervene as a high-ranking member and force his way in after daybreak.

"Wouldn't it be even more exciting if it were with your companions?" Sakura asked, tilting her head. "Sneaking in behind everyone's back."

"No." Naruto interrupted Sakura's cheesy comment.

"Huh? Are you really not going to reconsider?" Sakura asked calmly, showing no emotion whatsoever. "She'll wake up during that time, won't that be exciting?"

Upon hearing this, Naruto glanced at her without any expression. He was now completely used to Sakura's sudden outrageous remarks; he was practically immune to them.

But once he understood Black Sakura's purpose, he didn't reject the feeling of talking. Black Sakura would tell him anything, which actually gave him a sense of freedom.

There's no need to care about the gains or losses in words; just be yourself.

The two chatted idly until dawn broke. Naruto, looking exhausted, got up, washed his face in the pool, yawned, and prepared to leave.

Sakura huddled under the covers, staring at him. They spent the night alone together, and even just chatting was quite pleasant.

The two had never talked so much before; in two or three hours, it seemed as if they had covered every topic. The ward only gradually quieted down when Sakura got tired.

Although it had only been eight or nine days since we last met, it felt like a reunion after a lifetime.

Naruto also looked exhausted; staying up all night chatting is the most mentally taxing thing.

Summer is hot, but it's full of life.

The cool morning breeze carried away countless dreams. Konoha Hospital slowly awoke, and noisy footsteps echoed in the corridors. Despite the noise, he was in a good mood.

After waiting for so long, a good result finally came. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, but a sense of exhaustion washed over him.

Just before leaving, as he closed the ward door, he exchanged a glance with Sakura and raised his voice.

Welcome back.

Click! The door closed, and Sakura shrank back under the covers, burying her head deep inside.

Yes, everything is back.

After returning home, Naruto took a long nap. When he woke up, it was already afternoon, and Nine-Tails, reeking of alcohol, was lying on the sofa taking a nap, which Naruto ignored.

After washing up, I quickly ate something to eat.

He dragged his unsteady steps to the Hokage Building, and the moment he stepped inside, the Nikko vanished. Instead, countless gazes focused on him, some filled with suspicion, others with shock.

Yesterday, Tsunade announced that Naruto Uzumaki would join the Konoha High Command as the head of the Uzumaki Clan Leader, becoming one of the youngest members of the leadership.

Naruto was dressed casually, wearing his ever-present summer slippers. Sensing something was amiss, he looked around but didn't think much of it.

Under everyone's gaze, he slowly climbed the stairs.

"Fifth Hokage, are you kidding me? Why would that brat join Konoha High Command?!" someone asked in a low voice. "He's clearly just a Genin, right? The Uzumaki Clan head thing is complete nonsense! Although Konohagakure used to be on good terms with the Uzumaki Clan, the Uzumaki Clan has been gone for years. You can't just say he's their descendant, that's too much."

"Who knows? You'd have to ask the Fifth Hokage for that. But he is Jinchuriki after all, and it could be a plan by higher-ups. In any case, this is a slippery slope that you absolutely cannot touch," a senior member of the Hokage Building solemnly warned.

"Alright, alright, if you want to chat, go ahead and chat privately after get off work!" Perhaps realizing the seriousness of the issue, they dispersed before the slide was even set up.

Naruto originally intended to intervene in the mission, but unfortunately, Tsunade instead.

"I understand. You can leave that kind of thing to Shizune," she said. "Anyway, there's a High-level Meeting right now, let's go together."

"Hey, Lord Tsunade, I..." Naruto didn't really want to go, but after being given a death stare by Tsunade, he became obedient.

"Stop talking nonsense. I've discovered that you're really something wrong with yourself." Tsunade dragged him forward by the hand, speaking in a tone of exasperation.

"I've been away from them for so long, and I haven't been able to see them. How can I give up this opportunity to deflate their morale? It's really worrying me."

"Fine," Naruto helplessly.

The higher-ups were also helpless, as it was the first time they had to attend a meeting with a kid at the same time.

With a bang, Tsunade pushed open the heavy wooden door with one hand and sat down in the Hokage's seat with a slightly excited air. Naruto staggered and found a place to sit.

He was a figurehead with no real power, but he had voting rights.

The Konoha High Command slowly entered, their gazes towards Naruto varying. Some were beaming with joy, some wore long faces, and others were gloating.

Naruto sat there calmly, occasionally glancing in Tsunade's direction.

The meeting began, and Danzo and the two advisors did not look pleased. The two advisors glanced at Naruto with slight dissatisfaction; the Fifth Hokage's behavior was too unconventional and completely inconsistent with the Third Hokage's ideals.

After discussing some trivial matters, we gradually got to the main topic.

Danzo was the first to express his dissatisfaction. "Fifth Hokage, the Jinchuriki are just figureheads, there is absolutely no need for them to attend daily meetings."

Tsunade wasn't intimidated. She tapped the table and said, "Since he's one of the higher-ups, he can attend whenever he wants. Being a figurehead is just a formality. If you weren't so insistent, we could have let him handle some specific tasks."

As she spoke, she smiled and said, "I think the Root look quite good."

"Fifth Hokage!" Utatane Koharu interrupted Tsunade, realizing that the conflict between Tsunade and Danzo had intensified again because of Naruto's entry into the upper echelons.

However, as one of the advisors, she still had a responsibility to mediate the conflict between her old friend and Tsunade in order to prevent the meeting from stalling.

"We've already made the biggest concessions, so let's not talk about things that aren't open to discussion anymore," said Utatane Koharu voice.

Tsunade didn't speak. It would indeed be very difficult to fight for that matter again. It took her a lot of effort to get even the empty title of the Uzumaki Clan Leader.

"As for the Jinchuriki," Danzo with a casual tone.

"What are you talking about Jinchuriki?" Naruto suddenly interrupted Danzo, "I'm not one anyway."

Besides,

The female character card is available. Give it a like if you have time.