Do You Have a Thing for Princesses?

Upon hearing this, Tsunade paused for a couple of seconds before speaking.

"Orochimaru is operating in the Land of Rice, an S-rank mission, Jiraiya has gone to investigate."

"Oh, Orochimaru." Naruto was relieved. At least Jiraiya's best friend Orochimaru was only thinking about immortality and didn't have time to fight Jiraiya to the death.

"That's alright then," he said.

"Why are you so concerned about Jiraiya's whereabouts? It's like you're worried about him." Tsunade tapped the table, her beautiful eyes narrowing as she looked at him. "Shouldn't you be worried about yourself?"

Naruto laughed, sitting there with his long arms and legs, leaning back in his chair, and said with great pride.

"Evil people live for a thousand years."

Tsunade smiled, her face beaming, her chest revealing an unfathomable abyss.

"Your heart is indeed a bit dirty, I'm relieved to hear that. But, about the Nine-Tails... you don't seem to have explained it clearly to me, do you?"

"This..." Naruto couldn't explain.

Seeing this, Tsunade didn't press him, but rubbed her forehead and asked.

"Never mind, knowing would only give me a headache. Tell me about the Sand Village Princess incident, does it have anything to do with you?"

"I don't know." Naruto looked confused, which was true. "I only heard about it when I got back. It really has nothing to do with me. I didn't do anything."

"Didn't do anything? You must have a special relationship with that Sand Village princess." Tsunade glanced at him. "Otherwise, why would she back you up for no reason?"

"I don't know about that, since I was on a mission at the time," Naruto explained. "Besides, even if we take a step back, maybe they were after my potential."

"They're interested in you as a person," Tsunade said. "They probably want to recruit you because you're no longer the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

"I won't go. I will always be loyal to Lord Tsunade." Naruto's survival instinct kicked in, and he stood up with a thud. "I won't go anywhere unless Lord Tsunade leaves."

Tsunade rolled her eyes, completely disbelieving his dishonest lies. But she didn't want to delve into it further, so she sat up straight, picked up her wine glass, and took a sip.

"Besides the princess of Sand, there's also Princess Toki of the Land of Birds, and now Princess Kazahana Koyuki of the Land of Snow." She frowned, looking at Naruto with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Do you have a particular fascination with princesses?"

"No! Absolutely not!" Naruto denied it, lowering his voice as he said, "Ino isn't some princess, I just like her."

"The princess of the Yamanaka Clan, I suppose. The Ino-Shika-Cho clan of Konohagakure is also very famous in the Shinobi World. Don't underestimate the Yamanaka Clan."

"Where's Hinata?" Tsunade crossed, with amusement. "Princess Hinata, don't you like her?"

"Well," Naruto turned to look out the window, "the Tenten."

"Is that so?" Tsunade looked at him with a smile. "I don't mind that you're a womanizer, nor do I expect you to stay in Konohagakure, but there's one thing."

"I'll stay in Konohagakure," Naruto said with a forced smile.

Tsunade sat there, raised an eyebrow, and gave him a look that said, "Do you really believe me?"

"Who can compare to you, Naruto Uzumaki? You won't even learn Senjutsu. A Hokage position can't keep you here. Even if I bring you all the fame and fortune in the world, you'll still leave."

"That's not necessary. I can't bear to see Lord Tsunade sad, so I won't just run away," Naruto said with a grin.

"You're quite the smooth talker, but when you're hiding something from me, you hardly say a word." Tsunade's golden eyes glanced at him indifferently. "Is that so?"

Well, we can't avoid that topic now.

"Lord Tsunade, isn't Konohagakure's technology a bit too outdated?" he asked, changing the subject.

"After all, the Shinobi World hasn't been very peaceful lately, and the village's resources are all focused on defense and training ninjas," Tsunade said, her attention diverted. She frowned.

"In the future, the Shinobi World may experience a major upheaval, Konohagakure will be the first to bear the brunt."

"Is this... Lord Tsunade's guess?" Naruto asked, somewhat surprised.

"No, it's a prophecy that Jiraiya brought from Mount Myōboku." Tsunade told him everything she knew, "Including Jiraiya's mission to the Land of Rice this time, it's also related to that prophecy."

"The Toad Sage's prophecy?"

"Um."

"About what?" Naruto, somewhat puzzled. He had already visited Mount Myōboku and paid his respects. Logically, if there was any prophecy, it should have been told by then.

"Child of Prophecy," she said.

"Strange, where did this Child of Prophecy come from?" Naruto was slightly taken aback. "Lord Tsunade, is the information reliable?"

"I can't guarantee it." Tsunade crossed her arms over her chest, her white skin swaying slightly. "Jiraiya said he'd go check it out, but we don't know the specifics yet."

"Let's get back to the topic of Shinobi World technology. Even communicators are common in the Land of Snow now," Naruto said seriously. "Shouldn't Konohagakure also start developing technology, Lord Tsunade?"

"The current situation." She frowned.

"They won't fight," Naruto said confidently. "At least not for the next few years."

"How do you know?" Tsunade asked. "Kumogakure has always had designs on Konohagakure. Now that Konohagakure's Tailed Beast are gone, it would be strange if Kumogakure didn't make any moves."

He knew, of course, that Kumogakure currently severely weakened and that news of his defeat had not yet reached him.

After Tsunade finished speaking, Naruto shifted uncomfortably in his chair and looked at Tsunade with some hesitation, asking her a question.

What about the investigation mission in Amegakure? Should we really prioritize the Five Kage Summit?

"Otherwise what?" Tsunade calmly took a sip of her drink. "Since you've spoken up, Konohagakure naturally has to respond. Don't you want to come with me?"

"No, that's not it." Naruto gave his signature fake smile. "I'm just worried about the mission in the Land of Rain."

"He should be back in about a month, by which time Jiraiya have almost finished his mission," Tsunade said. "You'll have plenty of time to do missions in the Land of Rain."

A few days later, the date of the Five Kage Summit drew ever closer.

However, not all the Kage of the various ninja villages were idle; each had their own affairs to attend to. From the time the message was sent out to the time the ninja villages responded and coordinated, it would take at least half a month.

Especially in Konohagakure's situation, Tsunade is going to be away for a while, Jiraiya is out on a mission, which means that Konohagakure has almost no one who can keep Danzo in check.

So Tsunade was incredibly busy during this time, spending almost all her time in the office handling official business, except for avoiding staying up all night. Naruto, on the other hand, was quite idle and took several days off in a row.

Hinata stood him up halfway through; they had agreed to go pick out gifts together, but Team Eight got a last-minute mission and had to cancel again. Hinata blushed and bowed to him several times, making even someone as thick-skinned as him feel a little embarrassed.

It wasn't until the Team 10 finished their mission and returned to the village that his lonely days found some solace.

Roadside stalls.

This place is always crowded, especially after nightfall, when it becomes shoulder to shoulder.

Ino touched her lips uncomfortably, looking at the crowd with a sense of trepidation. Just as she was lost in thought, she saw Naruto appear under a streetlamp across the street, through the crowd.

He was dressed all in black, a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, typical summer attire. Ino watched him push through the crowd, slowly making his way towards her. Tall and imposing, he strode confidently.

His height and demeanor were somewhat unusual; his disheveled blond hair exuded an indescribable languor, yet he was also very tall and imposing, giving him a masculine and charismatic presence.

As she grew older, the girl's thoughts became more complex, and she became more sensitive to matters of the heart. She saw Naruto squeeze through a group of people, and someone turned to look at him.

When she came to her senses, Naruto was already standing in front of her.

"You've grown a little taller?" Ino reached out and measured his height. "You should have grown a bit, right?"

"No way." Naruto glanced at her. "It seems like it wasn't long ago when we last met. How could you have grown so tall? Like a bamboo pole?"

"The last time was a month ago." Ino rolled her eyes at him; she remembered.

"That's been quite a while," he said, touching his face somewhat awkwardly.

"It's alright, everyone's been busy with missions lately." Ino walked up to him, turned around and said with a smile, "I'm Chunin now."

The Barbecue restaurant was still the one near the Akimichi Clan's camp. Both the taste and the portions were generous, and it was always packed with people.

However, given the time and the remote location, there weren't many people when Naruto and Ino arrived. They still couldn't get a spot inside, so they had to set up a large, drafty tent outside.

Shikamaru and Choji didn't get up; they simply waved to Naruto and Ino as a greeting.

A dim lamp hung overhead, barely illuminating the few people at the table. The owner bowed several times, expressing his shame at the inadequacy of the conditions.

Team 10 are regulars here; they and Asuma often book meals here when they have nothing else to do. After comforting the owner, they received several plates of free meat slices.

The rich kids weren't short of money, so they readily accepted everything. After accepting the food, they ordered some more, since Choji could eat it all anyway.

Naruto sat lazily next to Ino, making no attempt to avoid suspicion. Ino tried to get up and sit on the other side, but Naruto casually pulled her back.

"What? Are you planning to isolate me the moment we meet?" he said with a smile.

Choji grinned so hard his small eyes almost disappeared as he slurped up a plate of grilled meat and said to Naruto, "Then you can sit with me."

"No, I can't beat you." Naruto said slowly, one leg slung across the bench. "I'm Konoha High Command now."

"Look at how smug you are," Shikamaru couldn't stand it anymore. "What's the point of hanging out with those people? They're all old men, such a pain in the neck."

"What do you know?" Naruto exuded youthful spirit.

Ino was somewhat speechless and patted his leg. He silently pulled his leg back and sat properly, but his mouth was still running.

"Hey, you guys know what? The Land of Snow even has communicators now, so why is Konohagakure still such a mess?"

"What communicator?" Shikamaru glanced at him. "Don't we have one in the village?"

"No way, that bulky thing doesn't deserve to be called a communicator, it's just a piece of iron." Naruto couldn't stop talking when it came to technology.

But then he saw Shikamaru winking at him, and realized something was wrong.

"Ino's father is in charge of the village's communications," Choji added at the opportune moment, sending a chill down Naruto's spine. He had inadvertently delivered a critical hit to his father-in-law.

"I also think it's cumbersome." Ino wasn't angry; instead, she frowned. "But the village doesn't seem to care about modernization."

"There are small, palm-sized communicators available outside, for individual use," he said, gesturing as he secretly squeezed Ino's hand under the table.

Besides