Lost Tower Prelude, Shikamaru's Wedding Begins, Hinata and Ino Finally Meet

Upon hearing that it was Tsunade was looking for him, Naruto stopped complaining.

I got up obediently, quickly washed up, ran to the entryway to change my shoes, opened the bedroom door and rushed out. I stomped down the stairs, then suddenly looked back.

Why are you following me?

Uzuki Yugao, dressed in her Anbu uniform, carrying a short sword and holding a white animal mask, stood at the top of the stairs, looking at him with a helpless expression.

"This is the Lord Hokage's order."

"Is Lord Tsunade this bored? Or have you fallen out of favor?"

"You're the one who's fallen out of favor!" Uzuki Yugao's lips twitched, but she quickly realized, "What do you mean by favor? I don't understand what you're saying."

"I've been suspended from my duties and am unable to carry out Anbu missions. The Lord Hokage has ordered me to personally take you there."

"Suspended from duty?" Naruto was slightly taken aback, then looked at the widow again. "What are you suspended from duty for? Did you offend Lord Tsunade?"

"How could that be?" Uzuki Yugao rolled her eyes. The two had known each other for many years, so she didn't hold back when speaking. "Root."

"Oh, so it's a frame-up, I see."

Hearing this, Uzuki Yugao felt a little comforted. At least Naruto didn't ask any questions and unconditionally believed that she had been framed.

Although the Lord Hokage knew this, no one was as fast as him.

Uzuki Yugao didn't know was that it wasn't unconditional trust at all; it was just Naruto's habit. It was probably an instinctive reaction, a desire to avoid harm.

Whether Uzuki Yugao is innocent or not is irrelevant to him. He doesn't need the truth; if Tsunade is willing to let her continue being a carrier pigeon, then Naruto can believe her unconditionally.

Ultimately, losing a bet doesn't mean you're at a loss, but winning means you've made a fortune.

Under normal circumstances, Uzuki Yugao could understand her cunning and shrewd nature. But at this moment, she was facing the darkest moment when her career, which she had painstakingly built over six years, was on the verge of collapse.

Seeing Naruto's actions, she couldn't help but feel a warmth in her heart. In her mind, Naruto's image as a scoundrel and despicable scumbag had become a little more upright.

Although Uzuki Yugao was never interested in Naruto's personal affairs, after working together for many years, she inevitably knew some things. Afterwards, Naruto always existed in her mind as a scumbag.

For someone like Uzuki Yugao, who is obsessed with love, love is the most sacred and inviolable emotion in the world; it is great, pure, and a form of salvation!

Those so-called "husbands" and "ox-headed bastards" are all heretics among heretics and should be tied up and severely whipped.

Naruto's two-timing behavior is utterly despicable. Privately, Uzuki Yugao utterly despises this blond-haired guy.

However, from a professional standpoint, Uzuki Yugao had to admit that Naruto was a genius ninja. He was also a very good colleague, quiet and efficient.

"Thank you," she said demurely.

Naruto was taken aback for a moment, thinking, "What's with the thanks? This woman..." But he still smiled and replied, "It's nothing."

Hokage Building.

Tsunade had gotten used to hiding in her Shizune office, where she lounged in a recliner like a shameless woman. She'd somehow gotten hold of a table and spent her time drinking.

Knock knock knock.

A knock sounded on the door. If it were Tsunade's office, Naruto would never knock. But out of respect for Shizune, he reluctantly knocked.

"Go in," Tsunade said casually.

With a bang, the door was pushed open forcefully from the outside.

"What do you want?" Naruto didn't even bother to call out to Lord Tsunade. He glanced around and casually sat down in the Shizune seat.

Shizune wasn't there; the empty office was only occupied by Tsunade and Naruto.

"Is Shikamaru getting married today?" she asked.

"Hmm." Naruto looked down and saw an exquisite invitation on Tsunade's desk, probably a gift from the Nara Clan. "Doesn't Lord Tsunade already know?"

"It's still early, we only need to go there briefly." Tsunade dismissively. "There's no need to go so early and put pressure on the newcomers."

"That's true." Naruto slumped in his chair, his legs dangling.

For Tsunade's status, arriving too early or too late would be inappropriate. Arriving too early would only put pressure on the Nara Clan, and even well-intentioned attempts to express closeness might backfire.

Konohagakure is a village comprised of numerous clans, large and small. The Hinata been a mainstay of the village, but they are somewhat mediocre.

The Ino-Shika-Cho have very clear stances; they're practically the three starter families of Hokage.

"Choji is getting married soon too," he suddenly said. "I'm afraid Lord Tsunade will have to go again."

"These two got married really early. Young people are always in such a rush when it comes to love." Tsunade glanced at him sideways. "But as for the Yamanaka Clan, I think we should just forget about it."

"Hehe." Naruto chuckled insincerely, thinking to himself that this woman was always bringing up things she shouldn't be talking about, meddling in other people's business.

"I don't really care about them, I can go or not." Tsunade seemed a little persistent, or perhaps she was just bored and wanted to kill time.

When are you getting married?

"Pah, don't mention that word to me." Naruto, too lazy to Teuchi with Tsunade, rolled his eyes and said, "Do I look like someone who's about to get married?"

"It doesn't seem like it at all." Tsunade touched the wine glass, took a sip with a smile, and said, "You're quite bold to provoke both the Hinata and Yamanaka Clan at the same time."

"I was just too young before, but now that I'm of marriageable age, things won't go as smoothly as they used to."

"It wasn't that smooth, but there's still a way." Naruto was too lazy to hide it from Tsunade, mainly because he couldn't, and he was also afraid that Tsunade would trip him up if she was in a bad mood.

A chaotic situation that is accidentally triggered can be calmed down, but if it is brought to light by the elders, it is simply not worth the trouble. There is no need to court death.

He also understood that with his abilities, he could only fool the two naive girls Ino and Hinata. But he couldn't handle both the Yamanaka Clan and Hinata clan leaders at the same time.

If he only chooses one of them, whether it's Yamanaka Clan or Hinata, they will acknowledge him and call him their son-in-law out of respect for Tsunade, Jiraiya, and even Kakashi.

But if he tries to continue operating on both fronts simultaneously, no one will give him a friendly look. To avoid disaster, he especially needs Tsunade's support at this time.

Her identity is special; she is both the granddaughter of the First Hokage and the first female Hokage. Tsuna's character is not ideal, but her status is extremely illustrious.

"Does Lord Tsunade have any instructions?" he asked.

In situations like this, Tsunade has definitely found something for you to do. Is she subtly fishing for your attention? She's just waiting for you to ask and take the bait.

When it comes to shameless tricks, he might not be able to outmaneuver Tsunade.

"It's nothing, just checking in on your important life event." Tsunade remained calm and composed, continuing with a smile, "But it seems you've run into some trouble. Shikamaru is getting married today, and Ino and Hinata will be there, right?"

"Um."

Aren't you worried?

"What are you worried about?" Naruto asked back.

Now it was Tsunade's turn to frown, thinking to herself that this kid's reaction was a bit off. His two girlfriends were almost bumping into each other, why was he reacting like this? Hmm? Something's not right.

She was still thinking about fishing, but now that thought has faded a bit.

"Ino and Hinata meet, what good will come of it for you?"

"Hehe." Naruto smiled without answering, thinking to himself that he had already treated Hinata equally, so even if they met, there wouldn't be any dramatic scene.

Naruto's silence annoyed Tsunade. But she was also curious about why this bastard seemed so confident.

Frowning, Tsunade decided to skip the topic; the fishing attempt had failed. She figured she'd find out soon enough.

"Alright, I actually called you here for a mission." Tsunade said seriously, her fingers interlaced.

"What mission?"

"Sunagakure has requested assistance from Konohagakure. The rogue Puppet Master Mukade has fled to the heart of the desert in the Land of Wind. According to the alliance agreement, we need to send people to support Sand."

"Catch a rogue ninja?" Naruto was taken aback. "Just a rogue ninja, is it really necessary to make such a fuss? Did he steal some top-secret information?"

Though he said this, he knew perfectly well what was going on in his mind. There was an Rōran Ruins deep within the Land of Wind —wasn't that part of the Lost Tower's storyline?

"Mukade's goal is to open the Rōran Ruins in the heart of the desert of the Land of Wind, where a Dragon Vein lies hidden beneath the ruins. He wants to seize the Dragon Vein for himself and awaken the puppet army."

"What is Dragon Vein?" he asked.

"A wild, infinite Chakra pool contains immense energy. Some speculate that there is more than one Dragon Vein, but currently only the Rōran Ruins in the Land of Wind are known."

Tsunade answered, paused, and then continued.

"However, some people speculate that there may be a miniature dragon Dragon Vein underground in the Land of Rain. Hanzo of the Land of Rain once used Forbidden Jutsu on the battlefield to repel the Iwagakure troops, and the nature of his Chakra is very similar to that of the Dragon Vein's Chakra."

"One last question, why me?" He sat up straight and stared at Tsunade.

"It's not just you, Sakura will be with you too," Tsunade said, feigning ignorance. "The mission isn't that urgent, you can wait until tomorrow to carry it out."

Naruto: "."

He was speechless. This old woman, Que Shi, was just like him, shameless. Typical of you, fat sheep. A master at changing the subject, and a genius at playing dumb.

Seeing that Naruto didn't respond, Tsunade couldn't keep up the act any longer and coughed before speaking.

"Alright, the last time the Dragon Vein manifested, it was sealed by the Fourth Hokage. And you are skilled in Sealing Jutsu, and the Fourth Hokage's seal only applied to you."

Halfway through her sentence, Tsunade didn't know what to say next.

"Okay, okay." Naruto also felt it was a bit troublesome. If they really had to carry out this mission, they might actually have to meet the Fourth Hokage.

Sealing the Dragon Vein would be pointless, and following the principle that a thief shouldn't leave empty-handed, he would have to ask this wild world for some interest. But if he were to target the Dragon Vein, he would inevitably have to travel through time and space with his own special background music.

This is really...

Since Naruto deliberately avoided the topic, Tsunade naturally didn't continue the conversation. Checking the time, and estimating it was almost time to leave, she got up.

"Wait, I can do the task, but I have a condition," he suddenly said.

"Hmm? What are your requirements?" Tsunade turned to look at him, her face full of collagen showing confusion, her golden hair cascading down her cheeks.

"Kick Sakura out of the way, I can handle this alone." Naruto said dismissively, snapping his fingers.

"Ha?"

"Did he really say that?" Sakura's face instantly turned red with anger, her fists clenched tightly. "How dare he say that?! What do you mean, 'Sakura is in the way'?!"

Tsunade looked at Sakura with a smile, as if she was enjoying the show, and said in an exaggerated tone.

"He also said that medical-nin were just a burden to him and had no meaning. He could heal himself from minor injuries and didn't need them at all."

"Naruto Uzumaki!!!" Sakura gritted her teeth.

She was genuinely furious. Last time, that scumbag lied to her, saying he had forgiven her and told her to focus on her research. But then he turned around and betrayed her. Men's words are truly deceitful!

However, Sakura wasn't the type to keep her grievances to herself. She frowned, and an idea immediately came to her mind.

On the other side.

Shikamaru's wedding was a lively affair, with cherry blossoms in full bloom and crowds thronging the venue.

On the lawn, Naruto looked at the many unfamiliar faces with little interest, then turned his head and saw a strawberry cake that looked delicious among the pile of cakes on the table.

So he simply walked over, reached out to take it, but bumped into another chubby hand.

Choji looked up, perhaps afraid that Naruto would gossip about whether he had used the techniques Naruto had taught him that day, and his expression immediately became somewhat awkward.

"What a coincidence."

Naruto, oblivious to everything, grabbed the cake and broke it in half with his bare hands. He handed one half to Choji, saying fiercely.

"That rich bastard who ate all the destitute Shikamaru, let him get married so young!"

Choji nervously accepted the cake, wondering where Naruto's resentment came from. Thinking of his own upcoming wedding, a wave of melancholy washed over him.

"If it's inconvenient for you, my wedding can be postponed," he offered.

"No need, no need!" Naruto waved his hand, feeling somewhat touched, but Choji's wedding might just be another chaotic scene.

If I hadn't reassured Hinata yesterday, things might have really gone wrong today. I haven't seen Hinata or Ino yet; they've probably come with the elders.

He and Choji arrived early, purely for the food. The groom, Shikamaru, would be incredibly busy all day, while the two of them, as groomsmen, only needed to attend for a short while.

"Naruto, eat slowly, be careful not to choke." Choji was genuinely scared. This guy was eating so wildly, he felt like Shikamaru would eat him up if he were there.

"Life is all about eating! I'm going to eat, eat, eat!!!" Naruto took a bite of cake and swallowed it whole. "Later I'll eat all the food, and nobody's going to get away. I'm going to eat, eat, eat, eat!!"

Choji trembled, hesitating whether to just skip the wedding altogether. Naruto's resentment was so intense, he might just bite himself.

A commotion erupted from the crowd in the distance as Tsunade was ushered into the venue, accompanied by members of various clans. Naruto spotted Hinata and Ino entering with their patriarchs.