Things Would Always Turn Around, and Everything Was Heading in a Better Direction

In the living room, the silly dog on the sofa got up and looked out when it heard the door open.

The long, narrow, orange light from the entryway cast a neat, beveled shadow on the wall. A rustling sound came from behind; Naruto returned, yawning.

"Why are you back so late?"

"Late? How late can it be?" He turned to look at the clock on the wall; it was close to midnight, and it was indeed quite late.

"Why do you care so much?" Naruto was too lazy to explain to Nine-Tails. It was just a stupid dog. If it suddenly cared about him like this, it probably didn't have any good intentions.

"Just asking, nothing serious." Nine-Tails shrank back again.

While on his way, Naruto remembered what he had forgotten. However, the thought of Sakura keeping it from him made him lose interest, so he decided to leave it hanging for a few more days.

"I'm not a savior, damn it," he muttered under his breath, then went straight into the bathroom to take a shower.

Knock, knock, knock—there was a knock on the bathroom door.

"What are you doing?"

Naruto was getting impatient; he was washing his hair when shampoo got into his eyes. He wanted nothing more than to kick that idiot dog a couple of times. Why did he have to cause so much trouble today?

"Um," Nine-Tails said cautiously through the glass bathroom door, "That pink-haired woman said she'd bring me some wine, but she didn't come today."

Even though he was somewhat speechless, Naruto calmed down and suppressed the slight irritation in his heart.

"If he didn't come, he didn't come. Maybe tomorrow."

"Oh." Nine-Tails turned around and went back to the living room, jumped onto the sofa with a thud, and looked up at the ceiling.

Knock knock knock!

"What is it now?" He was taking a shower.

"What if they don't come tomorrow?" Nine-Tails asked with a worried look.

"That idiot is an idiot," Naruto, no longer wanting to acknowledge him, and remained silent. But Nine-Tails was still knocking on the glass, his voice tinged with urgency.

"What if it doesn't come the day after tomorrow?" It's even starting to extrapolate from this, well, it's not a stupid dog anymore.

"I don't know," Naruto replied.

"What if you never come again! My wine, isn't that..." Nine-Tails' desperate voice came. This was the first time the silly dog had been stood up, and he was completely out of his mind.

"If you're not coming, then you're not coming. Don't make a fuss!" Naruto, still covered in sweat, opened the door and went straight back to his room.

With a click, the door slammed shut, and the living room fell silent once more.

Not long after, the door opened again.

Naruto, wearing slippers and with his hair still wet, walked towards the door, muttering curses under his breath.

"I can't stand you, you stupid dog! Stop bothering me, damn it, I can't even sleep! I'll give you to her, none of them will be easy to deal with."

With a bang, the door slammed shut.

Konoha Hospital.

Sakura sat in her seat, her hair still a little wet at the ends. Her eyes were somewhat vacant, and she couldn't make a sound. It wasn't that she had cried herself hoarse; it was just that the pressure in her heart was so intense that she couldn't utter a sound.

She planned to sit here and process her emotions slowly; everything would be fine once it got light. It wasn't a big deal, just that she had been suppressing too many emotions, and she still had to do what needed to be done.

Go to work, then get off work.

The clock on the wall ticked away, its ticking a steady thud. The silence of the duty room was broken only by a rapid knock on the door, and Sakura snapped back to reality.

The oppressive atmosphere was instantly shattered, as if someone had pulled it out of the river.

She coldly opened the door and saw a lazy face, with dead fish eyes looking at her with a hint of helplessness. He was standing quite upright, but he always gave off a slouching feeling.

"The patient needs emergency care, and you're just huddled here all by yourself?"

Sakura paused, looking at Naruto's slippers and wet hair. She opened her mouth, uttered a single syllable, then remained silent, unsure what to say next.

What kind of divine line is this? The patient needs emergency care?

The hospital corridor was empty and silent. Where could there be a patient? Besides, she shouldn't have been called in for emergency care; it's not her area of expertise.

"Where did this patient come from?" She opened her mouth, but her voice was low.

"You've been crying?" Naruto frowned, reaching out to poke Sakura's forehead with his signature Itachi-style head-poking technique. "You're only a few hours late, what are you crying about?"

"No." Sakura turned her head away, her eyes reddening.

He wasn't really in the mood to comfort anyone; the "gentle and kind" persona didn't quite fit him. Naruto turned his head and looked around; the small duty room still held many ambiguous memories.

There was nothing pleasant about it; my memories are filled with lewd talk and black stockings.

Thinking about it this way, his heart didn't seem so hard anymore. He waved his hand and spoke.

"Let me in first."

"Okay." Sakura obediently moved aside, but she didn't seem to be in a good mood.

Seeing that Sakura was still acting coy, Naruto didn't react much. He skillfully sat down in the spot where Sakura had been sitting and touched the teacup on the table.

With a clatter, the pink teacup slid across the table, making an abrupt sound.

"Pour me a hot cup."

Sakura nodded, obediently took the cup, went to the corner to fill it with hot water, and reluctantly handed it to Naruto.

No matter how sullen Sakura was, once he saw Sakura go to get water, he already had a general idea of what was going on.

Naruto didn't take the water, pretending not to see it. He seemed to have forgotten that he was the one who asked her to fetch the water, and immediately changed the subject.

Have you thought it through?

"What?" Sakura's attention was indeed distracted. Her hand, which was holding the cup of hot water, was getting a little sore, so she switched to gripping it.

The warmth of the cup seeped into her body little by little from her palm, and her mind gradually Qingming Festival, easily recalling what he had said yesterday.

I don't have time to guess what you're thinking right now. Let's talk again when you've made up your mind.

"Have you thought it through?" Naruto asked again, his tone less than friendly.

He has now become the domineering Naruto Uzumaki again, impatient, fearless, and ruthless. Five or six years ago, he dared to overturn the table at High-level Meeting.

A large part of the reason is due to his personality, and another part is that he genuinely doesn't care about many things. He can abandon the higher-ups and Konohagakure.

Aside from his life, there's nothing he can't lose. This is his flexible moral bottom line—somewhat low, but very real.

Now his life has more to offer, but it hasn't reached the point of cleansing his soul. He's not the kind of womanizer who can't resist a woman's advances; if Black Sakura doesn't listen, he simply gives up.

Nobody likes having trouble around them, and as for the nurse in black stockings who talks dirty, he can find someone to replace her whenever he wants.

"I've thought it through. I won't hide it from you anymore." Sakura lowered her head and admitted her mistake.

She was indeed feeling down just now. If Naruto had stood at the door and confronted her directly, Sakura might have remained silent or said something in anger.

But Naruto asked her to pour a glass of water, a small test of obedience. That task of pouring the water essentially distracted her from most of her attention.

Most importantly, Black Sakura woke up halfway through and didn't have many tantrums. She was already very obedient and would accept the order to pour water, and she held the cup obediently even though Naruto didn't take it.

It was based on these details that Naruto was able to get straight to the point. If she had been cold or continued to act coy, Naruto would have simply turned and left.

If you can't speak properly, calm down first. Time will make people compromise. She'll figure it out: it's her who needs Naruto, not the Naruto.

Reality can be harsh, but this isn't a fairy tale. Redemption and being redeemed are mutual; those who rush to join in are fools, even more foolish than the Nine-Tails.

"It's good that you've figured it out. It wasn't for nothing that I ran around for half a month for you and lost twenty years of my life." Naruto slammed a document onto the table.

Those were top-secret documents he obtained from Kakashi, experimental records left behind by Orochimaru.

"Twenty years?" Sakura exclaimed in shock, nearly dropping the cup in her hand. "What did you do? You..."

"I can't just watch you disappear. Konohagakure can't do anything about it, but the world is so big, someone will always find a way." He leaned back in his chair, squinting his eyes, and said slowly.

"I gave some Chakra to someone else; it's an exchange of benefits."

"I didn't do much, just asked Orochimaru about the situation, and then that guy from the Land of Rain... cough cough, anyway, we've got some leads now."

Naruto said without batting an eye, and it was indeed true; he wasn't lying. It was just that the order had been reversed; his twenty years of lifespan were given to Nagato.

Moreover, he doesn't need the concept of lifespan at all; its upper limit is unknown. As long as he doesn't die, he can recover in a few days and become a vigorous scourge of the Shinobi World again.

He finally understood what peace in the Shinobi World meant. The more murky the waters of the Shinobi World were, the safer he was. As long as the world didn't explode, everything would be calm and peaceful.

"What about your body?" Sakura was anxious, and the word "no" was already on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed it back down after thinking about it.

"Will it cause strain?"

"I should be fine. If you stop making me angry a few times, I might live past forty."

He's decisive in handling things. If he feels that Black Sakura isn't without merit, he'll genuinely try to help her. He has no intention of engaging in any silly, melodramatic love story.

After all, it might feel good to torment your secretary for a while, but if you keep chasing after her, it'll be a nightmare.

"I won't." She leaned closer, glanced at him, and pondered how to make it up to him.

"You're not thinking about how to make it up to me now, are you?" he asked.

"How did you know?" Sakura was startled, but then she realized that she was usually like this, and he guessed her too easily.

However, that only applies to him; in other people's eyes, Sakura is still the beauty of the Medical Unit. Gentle, generous, and patient, she inherited Lord Tsunade's true skills and is also very capable.

"Let it go this time, we'll talk about it next time when we're in uniform." He waved his hand. "No need for words of thanks, let your actions speak for themselves."

"Here? Okay, that's fine too." Sakura pursed her lips. "Do you prefer the door open or ajar?"

"???" Naruto was immediately puzzled, thinking to himself, "Is your wardrobe Pinru's?"

"Next time, that's not what I meant." Naruto coughed, suppressing his restless thoughts. At this age, full of youthful vigor, he still needed to abstain from alcohol.

I drank too much at the dinner party last night and I'm still a little tipsy.

"I've had contact with Orochimaru, but I don't trust him. It's better to rely on yourself than on others. I plan to have you continue along the path Orochimaru has researched."

"Lord Tsunade would definitely not agree to this, so it can only be done secretly. But don't worry, the subjects of the experiment are another kind of highly intelligent alien life form."

"You can call them the Otsutsuki Clan."

"So, can studying extraterrestrial life cure diseases?" Sakura was a little confused, but that's normal, since the knowledge Tsunade taught her was far less incredible than Orochimaru's.

Orochimaru may not be the strongest in the Shinobi World, but his vast knowledge and abnormal scientific spirit are absolutely unique in the entire Shinobi World.

The difference is that Orochimaru took many detours and engaged in all sorts of random research, mainly focusing on the path to immortality.

But Naruto doesn't need to go through all that trouble; he can see the correct path clearly.

"Of course it can cure illness. Let me correct you, what you have isn't an illness," he explained. "You may not understand now, but you can remember what I'm saying."

"Personality and soul are different, but they can both be converted into the same kind of spiritual energy. This energy serves as a distinguishing mark of an individual, and even if you change your body, you are still you."

"Theoretically, both people could be free if we could find a way to quantify and separate their personalities."

"Moreover! Even if we can't separate them, we can at least find a way to share a body. As long as they don't disappear, there's still room for negotiation."

"Okay, I'll listen to you," Sakura said with a smile.

In the time it takes to eat a meal, he has lured the Hokage's female disciple onto his treacherous path.

Late at night, Naruto walked home, suddenly feeling a sense of emptiness in his life. If he hadn't been resolute enough to leave earlier, his will would have been corrupted by Sakura's sweet talk.

Taking advantage of Sakura's emotional state to do that kind of thing would really ruin the atmosphere. A girl's emotions also have a beginning, a peak, and an aftertaste; throwing out that line about living twenty years less was already the peak.

Taking advantage of the situation is not unreasonable, but after things have calmed down, Sakura is so smart that she will be able to figure out the meaning behind her actions.

The biggest mistake of a person without principles is that they should be virtuous and innocent, but instead of being virtuous and innocent, they talk about life, art, and lofty sentiments.

When we got home, the silly dog came up to us.

"How's it going?"

"Oh, she said she didn't have time and asked you to wait a little longer," Naruto said casually.

"She!!! How could she do this!" Nine-Tails' eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief, as if he were a heartbroken simp who had been toyed with by a goddess.

"Stop talking nonsense, go wash up and go to bed." Naruto yawned, turned around and went into the bathroom.

The next day.

Naruto got up very early; he planned to meet with Tsunade. He wondered what Tsunade was up to now, and wanted to get her opinion to avoid any mishaps.

A small tavern.

"How did you find me?" Tsunade's face was slightly flushed, and she held a small sake cup in her hand, the clear sake reflecting her full, fair skin.

"Let's go door to door." Naruto snatched the wine glass from her hand, tilted his head back, and downed it in one gulp.

Tsunade glanced at the sweat on Naruto's temples, her eyelids twitching slightly. She thought to herself that this kid really had a ruthless streak; it was a wonder he had managed to persevere through all the attacks.

"Drink slowly, don't worry about choking," she said.

"Give me another cup, I'm dying of thirst," Naruto said urgently. Actually, the sweat on his temples wasn't sweat, but just some water he had temporarily splashed on his face.

He didn't go door-to-door to look for information, as he was too embarrassed to admit that he had spent money to buy intelligence.

Konohagakure isn't particularly big, but it's not small either.

Finding out Tsunade's whereabouts wasn't easy; after all, aside from Danzo, no one dared to follow her. But it's normal for people to have seen her, and those who frequent the streets and alleys to have some information.

Having narrowed down the search area, he easily found the place after searching a few times; it wasn't difficult at all. The sweat on his temples was also feigned, and it seemed to be working quite well.