Solemn Vow: No Decision Yet on Future Children

The door opened, Nine-Tails, carrying a bottle of liquor, stood stealthily at the edge of the living room like an old Tom, pausing for a moment before glancing towards the sofa.

"That brat deserves to die. He went to play by himself and still had to order me around."

"To fawn over one's owner is truly despicable."

"There aren't many foxes with as much backbone as me in the entire Shinobi World anymore. Damn it, what does 'the world is going to the dogs' mean again? Never mind."

Nine-Tails, holding a bottle, walked to the sofa, poked Sakura's face with the bottle, and called out, "Wake up."

"Why isn't it reacting?" it muttered to itself. "Damn it, I've been drinking to build up my Chakra for years, and I really don't want to waste it."

Her body had started acting strangely a month or two ago, and she tried many remedies, all of which failed. So she secretly went to see that movie by herself, and afterwards she felt at peace.

She didn't want to struggle anymore and wanted to spend her last moments peacefully. Even though her consciousness as her Second Personality was about to fall asleep, she forced herself to calm down.

She stayed up until the early hours of yesterday morning to finish her work. She woke up before dawn this morning, suddenly craving eel rice, so she made it on a whim.

She knew it was a workday. Saying it was on her way was a lie to Naruto; she simply wanted to be with Naruto. Even though she tried to appear calm, she was still afraid inside.

In recent years, she hasn't relied too much on her parents. To her, Sakura's parents aren't her parents. They love the first personality she's had since birth, not the one who appeared later in life.

In her heart, Naruto was her only support, and only he knew her secret.

Thinking that "I won't be so scared if I'm with him," Sakura knocked on Naruto's door early in the morning. Everything went smoothly, and she fooled him.

But now that she's almost asleep, she's still a little scared.

A person slowly falls into a deep sleep, and may not wake up again for ten or twenty years. By then, she will probably be an old woman. What will she do then?

One confused thought after another popped into my mind, and the more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I felt.

Before long, as Black Sakura's consciousness sank, she vaguely heard someone speaking. Phrases like "lowly," "brat, "Naruto Uzumaki deserves to die" appeared frequently in her ears.

Until suddenly, my consciousness became warm and cozy, and a gap was torn open in the abyss of my fall.

She slowly opened her eyes, and what came into view was the familiar living room and sofa. The curtains on the balcony had been drawn open at some point, and the pale sunlight streamed in.

The only thing that caught her eye was Fox-dog with a somewhat goofy look, which was standing right in front of her, its eyes constantly scrutinizing her.

"Ah!!" Sakura suddenly sat up. She wasn't asleep, but what was going on? Could it be that a dog had saved her?

But she quickly calmed down. This was Naruto's house, and the dog in front of her was naturally Naruto's pet. She just didn't see it often, though she seemed to remember it.

However, at that time, this Fox-dog didn't seem to be so round.

When I last saw them, the Fox-dog looked quite imposing. But since I haven't seen them in so long, they've become quite rounder and have a rather goofy look.

Nine-Tails, of course, had no idea that Sakura viewed it this way. In its own mind, it still retained the perfect filter of its Tailed Beast big brother and tried to show off.

Unfortunately, his appearance was too goofy, and his attempt to show off failed.

"You're Naruto's pet, right?" Sakura reached out to pet Nine-Tails's head. "Did you save me?"

Nine-Tails dodged directly and spoke in a cold and aloof tone.

"You're the pet!"

"I am Nine," it began, then stopped mid-sentence, remembering the many enemies Konohagakure had to its name, and promptly changed its tune, "Nine brats are no match for me."

"In short, you are not worthy to know my name."

"You can talk? Are you Ninja Hound like Pakkun?" Sakura didn't seem to care about the dog's arrogance. She exhaled and asked with a smile.

"Heh, Ninja Hound?" Nine-Tails scoffed. "I'm not some kind of Ninja Hound."

"Okay, but thank you for saving me anyway," Sakura said with a smile, giving Kurama a kiss on its Nine-Tails cheek.

"Watch your behavior, human." Nine-Tails looked disgusted and wiped his paw. "If you want to thank someone, thank that brat. He's the one who told me to come up from downstairs."

"If he hadn't promised to buy me fine wine, I wouldn't have bothered with you."

Nine-Tails's arrogant tone didn't bother her; on the contrary, it made her especially happy. Sakura felt a little touched, thinking that Naruto still didn't trust her.

"In that case, I'll buy you a bar!" She stood up from the sofa.

The feeling of surviving a close call put her in a great mood, even though she didn't know how long she could keep it up. But for her, fate was already sealed, and staying a little longer was a huge bonus.

Some things should be done sooner rather than later, to avoid future regrets. She thought to herself, having already silently made a decision she had considered long ago.

"You? Buying alcohol?" Nine-Tails' ears perked up, instantly lighting up. "Really?"

Just now, seeing that Sakura was about to lose consciousness, it desperately transferred almost all the Chakra it had refined into Sakura's body into her body, which was a huge loss.

Sakura's awakening was somewhat accidental. Nine-Tails herself didn't know what had happened; it just randomly sent a burst of purified Chakra, and Sakura recovered.

Its true form is a ball of Chakra. It worked itself to the bone for years, and every time it finally managed to gather Chakra, Naruto used it for some inexplicable reason.

Last time, he used a bottle of fine wine to entice Nine-Tails to make a bet on shooting down a bird in the sky. As a result, Nine-Tails, unaware of the truth, shot down the Summoning Beast of the Root ninja with a small Tailed Beast Ball.

Naruto vanished in an instant, and the two of them hid in Konohagakure Street 404 for half a month without showing their faces.

Every time she thought about that incident, Nine-Tails gritted her teeth in hatred. That guy was a real scoundrel; he never did anything decent, always harboring a bellyful of evil schemes.

Another time, it was pouring rain outside. Naruto had nowhere to go, so he huddled on the sofa watching "Make-Out Paradise" while simultaneously trying to manipulate Kurama (the Nine-Tails). He kept telling him how poor he was and how hard it was to work every day to support Kurama.

Less than two days later, Nine-Tails saw Naruto on a street corner and bought a pond to fish in without even blinking, then forgot about it immediately.

There are many similar incidents, to the point that Nine-Tails) no longer comments on Naruto's character at all. When angry, he simply hurls insults like "lowly human brat" and a string of curses.

Without even lifting an eyelid, the opponent uttered a single sentence, "You're a dog," which immediately broke Nine-Tails's defenses.

Having struggled in this kind of environment, Kurama (the Nine-Tails) was still a little unaccustomed to Sakura's initiative in showing goodwill. Even though it knew that Sakura was being grateful, it still didn't completely trust her.

After all, Naruto had done similar things before, always tricking it.

"Yeah, it's just buying alcohol. I'm an adult now, I can buy it myself." Sakura smiled and patiently spoke to Nine-Tails.

Do you have money?

"How much money is considered rich?" Sakura asked with a smile.

"Compared to that brat?" Nine-Tails asked, a hint of seriousness in his expression. "Who has more money, you or him?"

Sakura was unaware that Nine-Tails) was already planning to have two relationships at once; it had done the same thing before, targeting Hinata. However, that connection ended after it was discovered.

"He probably has more money," Sakura said without hesitation.

She didn't actually know how much money Naruto had, and hadn't even thought about it. Even in front of a dog, she instinctively protected his dignity.

For no particular reason, because he truly deserved it.

Upon hearing this, Nine-Tails immediately lost interest. No money? No money? What's the point of talking about money? In its eyes, Naruto wasn't exactly a wealthy person.

They might have some money, but it's definitely not a lot of money.

Since Sakura isn't as wealthy Naruto, the matter of her being a traitor needs to be reconsidered. Hinata, still occasionally goes there to freeload.

Although Hinata was very obedient to Naruto and stopped secretly giving him alcohol after that incident, she still fed him.

Therefore, Sakura, who wasn't as wealthy as Naruto, was removed from the list. She thought to herself that getting a few bottles of wine would be good enough, better than nothing.

"Alright then, human, since you insist," Nine-Tails said, standing on the sofa, "I'll reluctantly accompany you."

Sakura was amused by Nine-Tails's condescending tone.

It wasn't until Sakura and Nine-Tails ordered dozens of cases of wine that Nine-Tails's expression turned serious. "That seems hasty," it thought, stroking its chin with its paw.

Good heavens, I'm really going to become a slave to three masters.

At that moment Naruto and Ino were sitting in a steam train carriage, unaware that Nine-Tails had inadvertently stabilized Sakura's condition. He had simply encountered the furtive Nine-Tails while going downstairs and asked him to go up and check on her.

To be honest, he didn't have any good solutions for Sakura's situation.

Konohagakure's Medical Ninjutsu has relatively little research on mental illnesses, so if a diagnosis were truly needed, they'd probably have to consult Orochimaru. However, Orochimaru was just killed by Sasuke, so he's probably still in a parasitic state.

Aside from Orochimaru, the only other person with a deep understanding of mental Ninjutsu is Kabuto. However, he and Kabuto had a feud, and Kabuto wanted nothing more than to get rid of him.

I don't know if that incident left any psychological scars on Kabuto, but the next time we meet, he'll still greet his mother the same way.

After all, Kabuto Orochimaru. Even if he were willing to help Naruto, he would most likely sabotage him behind the scenes. So for him, it makes no difference whether he offends him or befriends him.

This is an inevitable behavior resulting from differing stances, and it has nothing to do with evil.

Sakura's body is already in this state; she'll probably need to ask Tsunade for more information on potential breakthroughs. He's an adult now, and his status and position are roughly equivalent.

If it's just about gathering some confidential information, the problem shouldn't be too serious. There's still hope for a cure; after all, the world is so big, it's impossible that there aren't similar cases.

"This train is so outdated!" Naruto was so shocked that he swallowed his water in three gulps. "If you pee on this train, you can get it all over your face."

Ino, with a satisfied smile on her face, sat close to him, but frowned immediately upon hearing what he said.

"Don't use such vulgar language!"

"Fine, you're the young lady." Naruto leaned casually against the train, looking completely indifferent.

"Are you angry?" Ino's attitude softened again, and she said, half explaining and half coaxing, "I heard from others that children are influenced by their parents' words and actions."

"A child?" Naruto's eyelids twitched slightly. Amidst the clanging of the train, he turned to look at Ino in surprise. "Your mother is lying to you. A kiss won't result in a child."

"I know." Ino glanced at him with a look that seemed to say she was an idiot, her face flushing slightly, and hurriedly said, "I meant later."

"Hmm? You know how children come about, right?" He stared at Ino for a few seconds, Ino immediately gave in, turning her head away and whispering that she didn't know.

"Then let me give you some background knowledge."

"Hey! Are you trying to kill me?!" Ino punched him in the stomach in embarrassment and anger. "Don't say things like that! Otherwise... otherwise I'll beat you up."

"You said you didn't know, and you were the one who brought up the child first," he said, his eyes wide. "I know more, so what's wrong with sharing knowledge selflessly?"

"Anyway, you're not allowed to say it!" Ino said in a cute but fierce way.

"Fine, I won't say then." Naruto turned around, then seemed to remember something, "What did you mean by the child you just mentioned?"

"You're already planning to have it?"

"Pah, dream on! I'm not giving it to you!" Ino said haughtily. "Aren't you and Hinata on good terms? Let her give it to you."

Seeing that Naruto had stopped talking, Ino was first stunned, and then she went crazy.

"You're not really thinking about it, are you?"

"No." Naruto shook his head in denial. He really didn't mean to let Hinata remind him of someone else, the new queen of the Land of Snow, Kazahana Koyuki.

He seemed to have promised her he'd go back to visit her when she came of age, but he probably wouldn't have time recently. However, Naruto understood what Kazahana Koyuki meant: she wanted a descendant.

The situation isn't stable right now, so he can't just walk away. As for the taxes on Geothermal Generator, he doesn't actually need them; it's just a system requirement.

But since the taxes have been collected, it doesn't seem so bad. At least he has some real control over the Land of Snow.

"Liar! You definitely thought about it just now!" Ino grabbed his arm and wouldn't let go, and in a fit of anger, she bit him lightly on the shoulder.

Naruto pulled her close, staring at her intently.

"What are you trying to do?" After a brief, symbolic struggle, Ino was unable to break free.

"Anyway, it's not about giving birth," Naruto said shamelessly. "Last time, you were drunk and your breath reeked of alcohol, so I couldn't taste anything."

"That's not fair," he said seriously.

"No, impossible! I don't reek of alcohol, you..." Ino seemed to have guessed something, her body turning hot. "Don't do this, there are still people around."

"Where is anyone?" he said, somewhat speechless, Solemn Vow, "I'll teach you how to kiss."

I'm writing this on my way home, rushing to catch the train. There will probably be more today, but I'll definitely resume large-scale updates tomorrow.