Love War with Impure Motives, Winning Without a Sound, Nohara Nao's Quiet Defeat

"What?"

Nohara Nao froze, staring at the purple wristband in Naruto's hand, speechless for a moment. A complex mix of emotions welled up inside her.

She initially thought Naruto was waiting there to strike up a conversation, and didn't suspect he had any good intentions. She cursed him inwardly, intending to brush him off.

Who knew he would pull out a wristband and neatly place it in his palm.

Only then did she have the mind to carefully examine Naruto, or more accurately, Beihiko's appearance. His ordinary face suddenly seemed more pleasing to the eye, and he was quite tall.

That's the allure of spending money—the added bonus. When people don't have much to praise, they usually just think of height to evaluate it, "Hmm, not bad, quite tall."

Naruto didn't seem to mind. When he saw Nohara Nao looking him up and down, he knew in his heart that the money he spent hadn't been a complete loss. He didn't show it on his face, though, and remained completely sincere.

"You haven't replaced your wristband even though it's torn. I guess you're just sentimental," he said with a smile. "Wristbands aren't anything expensive, but they'll wear out eventually."

"I remember that Medical Unit medical-nin are not allowed to wear wrist guards unless there are special circumstances. This wrist guard meets medical standards, so you can ask around; it should be safe to wear for a long time."

"Thank you, thank you." Nohara Nao a little, not because she was moved.

She's not stupid. If a wristband could sway her, she'd already have a whole group of people following her. She just thought this guy was a bit interesting.

At least he wasn't the kind of person who would try to figure her out after just a few words; she'd seen far too many people like that. If it weren't for her parents' influence, she'd probably be surrounded by suitors long ago.

However, the person in front of me looked cleaner than in the afternoon, and there was no ulterior motive in his eyes. He was someone I could have a normal conversation with.

"That's all for now, I'll head back first." Naruto smiled. "My house is a bit far and run-down, so it's probably not in the same direction as yours."

"Okay, sure." Nohara Nao was wondering what to say when she suddenly heard the farewell. She responded and looked up, unable to resist asking.

"Hey, where do you live?"

"South, over there in Kagein Alley," Naruto answered honestly.

"It's on the way, my house is in that direction too." Nohara Nao's mood suddenly improved, her voice filled with emotion, and a happy expression appeared on her face.

That's just how people are; they have a rebellious streak.

Nohara Nao was already suppressing her feelings, and the gentler she acted, the worse it became. Every day she encountered people who wanted to see through her, so she couldn't hide her true intentions at all.

She already had preconceived notions, so when she suddenly saw someone who seemed to have designs on her, she immediately felt relieved. Since they were going the same way anyway, she thought about continuing the conversation.

In her eyes, Naruto had an ordinary face and no malicious intentions. She could control Naruto through her charm.

But when everything was under her control, she wasn't so resistant. It wasn't that she liked it, but she just felt that this opportunity was rare and that she could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Naruto was immediately ruled out by her; in Nohara Nao's mind, he belonged to the impossible category. Precisely because of this, when Naruto showed no interest, she felt a strong urge to confide in him.

Human nature is inherently base. Naruto looked up at her for a second, and in that split second, Nohara Nao felt a momentary unease. She worried that Naruto would awkwardly reject her and then turn away.

Bang bang.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she felt a little thirsty.

Fortunately, Naruto quickly put on a gentle smile, touched his face, and said, "Okay."

Hunters always appear as prey. Naruto silently thought about the indifference in Nohara Nao's eyes at noon, and after some probing, he had a third of his grasp on her temper.

"Is working at the hospital tiring?" Naruto and Sakura had spent a lot of time together, so they knew a bit about the Konoha Hospital and had heard all sorts of troubles they had.

After finishing one topic, he could immediately move on to the next without feeling awkward. When Nohara Nao spoke, he listened silently.

Back and forth they went, and before long, Nohara Nao started talking more and more. Sometimes a topic only needed one sentence, and then Nohara Nao was left rambling on and on.

After saying all that, she suddenly felt much better. It felt much better than being self-sufficient; she was completely relaxed, and her whole body felt lighter.

"Yes, that's how it is at the hospital." Naruto agreed, his gaze slowly sweeping over the surroundings.

"Hey, how come you're so familiar with Konoha Hospital? Were you medical-nin before?" Nohara Nao finally couldn't help but ask, starting to show a bit of curiosity about Naruto.

Although he hadn't said much along the way, except at the beginning, every question he raised resonated with her, and he always managed to steer the conversation well.

It's as if... as if he used to work at Konoha Hospital. He knows everything about it, only occasionally making minor mistakes in details, but nothing serious.

"Oh, I have a friend who used to be medical-nin," Naruto blurted out.

"Who is it? Do I know them?" she asked curiously.

"He died on the battlefield," Naruto said calmly, leaving no room for proof, and no one would bother to investigate such a matter.

"Feel sorry."

"No need," he said.

Usually, the conversation would fall into an awkward silence at this point, but Naruto didn't. After all, he had just told a lie, and he casually changed the subject.

As they chatted, the conversation naturally turned to the future.

"Do you think the village will go to war?" Nohara Nao asked with a worried expression.

"It's hard to say, but you're medical-nin," Naruto paused and said. "Under normal circumstances, you don't need to go to the front lines, so it's relatively safe."

"That's true." Nohara Nao was actually a little embarrassed. She really didn't want to go to the battlefield again. The annihilation of her entire team had left her with a huge psychological scar.

If it weren't for her teammates risking their lives to hold her back, and if she hadn't been lucky enough to escape death with only a knife scar on her body, she probably would have...

The image of her teammate covered in blood was still vivid in her mind, Nohara Nao's face instantly paled several shades.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Fine."

After a while, her complexion did improve, and she kindly asked again.

"And what about you?"

"Me?" Naruto stopped and turned to look at her. "Me what?"

"medical-nin are relatively safer, what about you?" Nohara Nao bit her lower lip, feeling more relaxed being with Naruto.

There were many things she couldn't say before, but now she could say a little bit more. This feeling made her feel very comfortable, and it released her suppressed emotions.

Naturally, she didn't want to see Naruto's corpse tomorrow or the next time.

Emotional value is irreplaceable; emotions are almost an unsolvable problem. If no one understands, she can only keep it all bottled up inside, just like before.

It's been accumulating little by little, accumulating, and it can't be released.

Having experienced the joy of emotional release, Nohara Nao naturally didn't want to return to that kind of life. In her eyes, Naruto was her stress reliever.

"I guess that's just how I am, what else can I do?" Naruto gave a bitter smile. "I was lucky last time, who knows next time? I'll just leave it to fate."

"Anyway, everyone has to die eventually. I'm just an ordinary Chunin. The village issued a mission, so naturally I went with them."

"How about we ask them to take better care of you?" She frowned, naturally treating Naruto as her own, and stood aside to consider.

"Yamashiro Nobiyori seems to be quite strong. If he's willing to help you, your chances of survival might be better if you encounter danger."

"It's useless." Naruto's face showed no trace of acting. "In a life-or-death situation, who would want to do that kind of thing? They're all people who have just escaped death."

Upon hearing this, Nohara Nao fell silent.

It may be unpleasant to hear, but it's the truth. When people experience life and death for the first time, they might feel fear, react impulsively, or even become angry, willing to die to save their teammates.

However, after surviving a near-death experience, most people hesitate when faced with death again. This is human nature; no one wants to die.

The two parted ways at the crossroads and remained silent throughout the night.

Since he was already there, Naruto decided to make the best of it and, not being picky about beds, managed to get a good night's sleep. There was no opportunity to shower in the morning, so he simply washed up and left.

These past few days, he hasn't had any other tasks but to work on Nohara Nao. He's gradually increasing her favorability with her, and he estimates that the Cannon Fodder Unit will be going on a mission soon.

Although he was penniless, he had free ramen vouchers for almost half a month, so he didn't need to worry about food.

He only has two sets of clothes, which he'll alternate wearing for now. He hasn't asked about the price of the clothes yet; if he gets ripped off, the shop owner can just quit.

He set aside nearly two thousand taels of the remaining money for bathing. He would bathe once every noon; aside from anything else, he still had to pay attention to personal hygiene.

Secondly, he didn't want to go back to that damp house unless he had something to do, and spent most of his time wandering around outside. He was waiting for Nohara Nao to get off work, and today his excuse was to borrow a book from her.

He cultivated an image of being enthusiastic about medical knowledge beforehand, even though he would turn the pages with his hands instead of looking at the books he borrowed. But the devil is in the details.

Two or three more days passed uneventfully. Starting with the icebreaker of giving her the wristband, their relationship had progressed rapidly. Nohara Nao even started looking forward to seeing him before she got off work, a feeling she couldn't quite describe.

In the past, she would leave work feeling like she was going to a funeral, but these past few days, a smile has slowly returned to her face. She's started to look forward to the relaxed atmosphere after get off work, and even thinks about what to talk about in advance.

The Medical Unit also noticed something amiss and jokingly said to the little girl who had cut in line halfway through.

"What good thing has happened?"

"Hey, I saw him on my way home from get off work last time. Was that your boyfriend?"

"Probably, how many times has this happened? I've seen that person wait for Nao several times, and the sentry post also said that he's been waiting here all along."

At first, she didn't think much of the jokes, and even joked along with them. Because she didn't care and didn't think of Naruto in that way.

But over time, even the best banana trees can't withstand the erosion of torrential rain.

She gradually became a little embarrassed, and occasionally when she heard the Medical Unit joking about her, Nohara Nao would tell her sisters to stop talking.

Meanwhile, while she saw Naruto every single day without fail, she also had a question in her mind.

What was that person really thinking?

She didn't like Naruto, but she didn't dislike Naruto either. She wasn't really interested in that kind of thing; she just needed Naruto by her side.

But her colleagues' talk over the past few days made her a little panicked. What if he heard these words one day and never came back?

Should I go find him myself? I definitely can't do that, but if it really comes to that, do I really want things to go back to normal?

Just recalling the oppressive feeling of being alone made Nohara Nao feel a tightness in her chest. Unconsciously, he led her out of the darkness, and she never wanted to go back.

Instead of passively facing the situation, it's better to take the initiative and ask. At the very least, even if he has some ideas, if we can maintain the current situation, it would be acceptable to give them to him.

She gritted her teeth, having already made up her mind. She wasn't a rigid person who insisted on meeting the "right person," and at this time, she wouldn't even think about matters of the heart.

The initial attraction is a thing of the past; only aristocratic young ladies would pursue love and find someone they like to be with at such a time.

All she wanted was for someone to stay with her, someone to wait for her every day. Even though she had never been attracted to that person, she simply couldn't live without him.

On the way, Naruto noticed that Nohara Nao was distracted, so he asked her a question.

What's wrong with you?

"I almost lost focus." She smiled, lowered her head to think for a moment, then looked up and said half-jokingly, "They saw us walking together like this."

"Who are they?"

"You've probably seen some of the sisters from the Medical Unit before, they just haven't come up to say hello."

"Oh, what's wrong?" Naruto feigned ignorance.

"They... they're always making fun of us," Nohara Nao said nervously. "I was thinking, there are rumors between us... that you want to pursue me."

She had barely finished speaking when she heard a chuckle beside her, as if someone had been holding it in for a long time. Nohara Nao felt instantly embarrassed, thinking, "What right do you have to laugh at me!"

"Why are you laughing!!"

She turned her head sharply, only to see Naruto looking into the darkness ahead, speaking softly.

"You just realized that?"

With a thud, Nohara Nao turned her head away, feeling somewhat embarrassed. For some reason, for a fleeting moment just now, she had actually found Beihiko's ordinary appearance rather handsome.

"What... what is this?" Nohara Nao was a little embarrassed, and kicked a pebble. "A confession? It's not romantic at all."

"Besides, there's no way I could like you. I... I didn't mean anything by it. I just don't have any feelings for that kind of thing, not just you, but for anyone else too."

"I like you." Naruto stopped and said in a voice she could hear clearly, enunciating each word distinctly.

As soon as she finished speaking, only the night wind whistled past her ears. It was so quiet that she could hear her heart pounding. Nohara Nao looked up in surprise, then quickly turned away again.

"There's nothing wrong with liking someone. Anyway, it's wrong of you to like me. You can't like me, but you can like someone else."

"There's a really good-looking girl in our Medical Unit, and she has a great personality. You should think about it again; you'll definitely like her."

When only Nohara Nao's incessant chatter filled the road, Naruto smiled silently.

He knew he had won.