Naruto Uzumaki, Friends with Everyone

She glanced at Ino and said, "If you're with someone you like, you'll become addicted to everything you do. Over time, the relationship will become so strong that you won't be able to separate."

Upon hearing this, Ino's cheeks flushed, and she whispered.

"Sakura, what are you saying?!"

"I'm talking about Hinata," she said.

"Huh?" Ino's expression visibly fell; her jealousy was all too easy to show.

Seeing this, Sakura's lips curled into a slightly amused smile. Ino's reaction was always strong whenever Naruto was mentioned, and no amount of arguing could change her mind.

"This is just my guess, you don't need to take it to heart." Sakura said casually, as if it were an unintentional remark. "Ino."

"What?"

"It's nothing, we're about to lose them." Sakura pointed to the figure that was about to disappear ahead.

Konohagakure Street is brightly lit.

"I have another mission in a few days." Naruto said lazily, his hands in his pockets. "I was thinking of taking the Chunin Ninja Exams, but I don't know if I'll be able to make it."

Shikamaru rolled his dead fish eyes. "Who's going to be your opponent? The mission is obviously more important, isn't it?"

"Genin get low pay for missions, isn't that like working for free?" Naruto said soberly. "It's a huge loss, how can anyone continue being a ninja?"

"Are you short of money? I'll give you some," Choji said.

"Damn it! You bunch of rich dogs!" Naruto was devastated. Shikamaru and Choji had more money than they could spend, while he could only humbly rely on Gato's inheritance.

Lord Gato was such a kind man, I 'Gato so sad, I wonder if flowers are blooming at his grave now.

The three of them, arms around each other's shoulders, entered a yakitori restaurant. Even before stepping inside, they were greeted by the aroma of grilled meat. The summer night air was equally scorching. The boys, laughing and joking, escorted the aloof Neji inside.

He walked with Hinata Tenten, shrugged, and showed a helpless expression.

"Those boys are really energetic."

Hinata smiled, and after greeting Sakura and Ino as they approached from a distance, the four girls went inside together. The sorrows of youth come and go quickly, and when they gathered together, they were all harmonious and friendly.

Laughter filled the long table that had been put together. Before anyone knew it, Kurenai Yuhi arrived, followed by Anko.

"It's so lively!" Anko stood at the edge of the long table, her eyes meeting Naruto's. Her brows furrowed immediately. "Naruto Uzumaki!"

Naruto's reaction was more direct; he shoved a mouthful into the trash can.

"You wretched brat!"

"You old woman," Naruto retorted.

"You deserve to die! Naruto Uzumaki!" Anko leaped over two seats, pounced on Naruto, and grabbed him, causing chaos in the air.

Ino turned her head and glanced in that direction, while Hinata gave a soft "Eh." Sakura's gaze darted back and forth between Ino and Hinata's faces, and she smiled subtly as she looked down.

Anko simply sat down next to Naruto, effectively taking up half of Naruto and Shikamaru's seats.

"Teacher Kurenai, please sit here." Hinata stood up and made room for her.

"Why isn't Asuma here?" Shikamaru suddenly turned and asked.

"This..." Kurenai Yuhi was immediately embarrassed, but fortunately Ino spoke up to help her out.

"Really, Shikamaru, Teacher Asuma must have something to take care of," she said, then paused and added, "Otherwise, if Teacher Kurenai came, Teacher Asuma would definitely come too."

"Hey, you guys in Team 10, don't bully Teacher Kurenai," Kiba Inuzuka said, since Kurenai Yuhi was the Jonin of Team Eight.

Her Kurenai Yuhi group. Anko looked up, exclaimed "Eh?", and belatedly asked, "What's wrong with Asuma?"

With a whoosh, the door to the private room was pulled open, Asuma appeared with a smile.

"Something came up, that's why I'm late."

There was a moment of silence, then everyone erupted in excited shouts. Shikamaru, Choji, and the other guys, in particular, seemed to enjoy the spectacle even more, clapping and yelling.

"Not too late! There's a seat next to Teacher Kurenai!" Shikamaru was the most excited. He had been saying all along that he wasn't interested in women, but he was really into Asuma's lovey-dovey display.

Asuma, not one to shy away from Kurenai Yuhi. Shikamaru got up and had some drinks brought in; Asuma, Kurenai Yuhi Anko n't be drinking juice like them.

"Hinata, Teacher Kurenai and the others are so wonderful," Tenten said, resting her elbows on the table and cupping her face in her hands.

"Ah, I guess so. Actually, I don't understand those things either," she said softly.

"Huh? Isn't that simple? It's love. Who would have thought that Teacher Kurenai, who is so beautiful, would like someone like Teacher Asuma?" Tenten muttered like an old man.

"But it is indeed hard to understand. Love makes people blind. Anyway, I don't like Teacher Asuma's type, although it's not like you have to like a certain type of man."

"Hello? Hinata, are you listening?"

"Oh, yes, I am," she replied abruptly. "Tenten, please continue."

"Ah! I'm still so envious!" Tenten, I hold a juice bottle, eat lemonade, and cry.

Hinata seemed a little distracted, her gaze drifting to a corner where Naruto was sitting quite far away. Shikamaru and Anko both rushed out of their seats and started teasing Asuma and Kurenai, chatting and laughing together.

The table was bustling with activity, Naruto, carrying a juice, watched the spectacle. He had a smile on his face, but didn't join in the fun. Hinata wasn't used to the lively atmosphere either, but being in a position of public opinion, she was bound to be affected.

"Those two are such a good match, how come I never noticed before?"

After a while of cheering, Anko shook her head and sat back down in her original spot, muttering to herself. After eating a skewer of dumplings, she turned to Naruto and asked him a question.

Why don't you go up and say a few words?

"What did you say?" Naruto asked, squinting his eyes. He huddled together with his long arms and legs, feeling extremely uncomfortable sitting cross-legged like everyone else.

"I don't like to join in the fun, unlike you, a mediocre Jonin."

"You're really strange. Everyone else is having a great time, but you're just sitting here talking to me," Anko said. "Are you like this all the time?"

"That's about right, let's just stay home and sleep."

"Don't you cultivate?" Anko asked in surprise, as if she had heard someone who was ranked first in the grade say that she slept in class and played games when she got home.

"What is cultivation?" Naruto chuckled, reverting to his usual smug expression. "Nobody actually cultivates, right? Even with diligent cultivation, Jonin still just a useless Jonin."

"Don't you dare laugh at my efforts! Damn it!" Anko pinched him, then hiccuped and muttered, "It's too hard for ordinary people like us. Geniuses should just explode!"

"Indeed," he nodded.

"You have no right to say such things!" Anko, slightly drunk, gently nudged Naruto. "By the way, have you found any clues about that thing we saw in the Land of Whirlpools last time?"

Anko was asking about the underground palace in the Land of Land of Whirlpools, where a crack likely held even more strange secrets. However, to be on the safe side, the two didn't choose to continue the adventure.

Naruto picked up the bright red juice, took a sip, and said, "No."

"That's a pity, it'll be hard to go back," said Anko, a faint smell of alcohol lingering in the air. She put one hand on Naruto's shoulder and whispered closer.

"I said, I know you'll go back sooner or later, and I'll keep it a secret for you. But as your former Jonin, I still have to remind you, don't take risks if you're not sure you can handle it."

Naruto was stunned for a moment; he hadn't expected Anko to say something like that.

"Okay, I understand."

"Good to know." Anko patted Naruto's shoulder, took a big gulp of sake, and said, "How was that? Did I look like a Jonin just now?"

Naruto's lips twitched. That old woman.

"Sorry, not at all. He's just a useless Jonin." He said, picking up a piece of grilled meat, his gaze casually shifting to the center of the crowd.

Asuma and Kurenai Yuhi sat together, while Shikamaru and the other two from Team 10 were egging them on. Kiba Inuzuka was arguing with the group. Tenten was trying to mediate, Neji sat calmly to the side watching, Rock Lee had a look of bewilderment but also amusement on his face.

Half an hour later, Asuma and Kurenai were egged on to drink a toast together, and they both seemed a little embarrassed. Asuma blushed, but he enjoyed it nonetheless.

After all, disciples from both sides had gathered together, which could be considered a matchmaking effort for them. It was just a pity that Kakashi wasn't there, Might Guy also had a mission. These two best friends always appeared together.

"How was it? Pretty interesting, right?" Anko nudged Naruto gently.

"What?"

"Love, huh? I never realized Asuma and Kurenai were this close," Anko said drunkenly, with seven or eight empty bottles on the table.

All eyes in the private room were on Asuma and Kurenai; no one looked at the former partners in the corner, a drunkard and a sharp-tongued monster, locked in a love-hate relationship.

"What do you know about love?" Naruto retorted mercilessly.

Anko was stunned for a moment, her face flushing red and then turning pale, speechless for a long time like Kong Yiji. She opened her mouth wide, and pointed a trembling finger at Naruto.

How could you say such vicious things?

"Isn't it true?" Naruto glanced at her.

"That's true, but it's really hurtful to say it like that!" Anko complained childishly when she was drunk. "It's so rude."

Konohagakure does value senior-junior relationships, except for geniuses. Neji, Shikamaru, Sasuke all addressed their Jonin Daimyo by their daimyo during their rebellious phases.

"All you do all day is make dumplings and drink. How could anyone like a chuunibyou old woman like you?" Naruto calmly added, "Besides, your reactions are too slow."

"Why are you so slow?" Anko automatically ignored Naruto's previous words.

"Asuma and Kurenai's relationship," Naruto said in a low voice, "They're probably already dead by now, and they might need to rest after a while."

"Huh?" The Anko person was dumbfounded. After receiving strange knowledge, his eyes immediately turned into bean-like eyes.

"You just said ****? What does that mean?" Anko asked.

Naruto spoke cryptically, not using vulgar language to express what was unspeakable. As a result, Anko received the shocking words, but her mind didn't immediately process them.

He glanced into the private room to make sure no one was looking their way. Thinking he had nothing better to do, the old driver's mischievous side kicked in, and he decided to play a trick on Anko.

"That means..." He leaned in and carefully explained, word by word.

Anko's drunken eyes slowly opened, widening as she gasped for breath. She instantly sobered up, her mouth opening and closing repeatedly.

He glanced at Naruto, then at Asuma and Kurenai, looking completely dazed, unable to utter a single word.

"Damn it, how do you know so much?!" she asked in a low voice, her face flushed, it was hard to tell whether it was from being drunk or shy.

"I read it in a book." Naruto immediately shifted the blame to Jiraiya, saying with a smile, "I read the works of some unscrupulous author and learned it all by myself."

He glanced at Anko and suddenly remembered that Anko seemed to have erased some of Orochimaru memories with Forbidden Jutsu. He wondered if she had remembered them now.

"Your teacher is Orochimaru, right?" he suddenly asked without any hesitation.

Anko knows his secret about the Land of Whirlpools, Sakura will keep it a secret for him, but Anko isn't sure how much Naruto can keep secret. Given this situation, he's more inclined to have a mutually beneficial relationship with Anko.

Even though Anko was simple-minded and somewhat naive throughout her life, she had a past that was unknown to others. Although Orochimaru, that snake-skinned monster, had already passed away, he left behind the seed of Anko.

In his early years, Orochimaru was relatively gentle, aside from being devoid of emotion. His relationship with his female disciple Anko was more like that of a child, often taking Anko on missions as a mere bystander.

She not only refrained from blaming Anko when she made mistakes, but also showered her with praise when she made progress. Her unique personal charm was already evident from that time.

If Orochimaru's research experiments hadn't been exposed, Anko would still have admired the snake-skinned monster from the bottom of her heart. So much so that now, Orochimaru has become a slippery slope in Anko's heart that she absolutely cannot touch.

"What do you want to say?" Anko regained her composure, as if she had sobered up.

"I learned some things about you from elsewhere, including those sealed memories," Naruto said. "I can help you."

"Help me? How can you help me? Don't be ridiculous," Anko said. "Even the Torture and Interrogation Force couldn't do anything, so how can you possibly help me?"

"Of course I have a way. Don't forget that my teacher is Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin." Naruto said with considerable weight.

"But why are you helping me?"

"As a thank you for keeping my secret, I will help you recover that memory," he said. "I may not have time right now, but I will contact you when it's more appropriate."

Anko narrowed her eyes. "Although I don't know why you did this, it's fine. I'll wait for you."

The two whispered to each other for a long time, completely unaware that two or three pairs of eyes were silently glancing at Naruto and Anko many times.

Ino withdrew her gaze, glanced at Hinata again, her brows furrowed, and muttered under her breath, somewhat dissatisfied.

"That guy, why is he so familiar with everyone?"