Back to Konohagakure, Finally Settled, Choji's Wedding

"She must be having a hard time staying here in this state," Nohara Nao said. "Besides, if I went there alone, I probably wouldn't be able to adapt either."

"It's good to have someone with you, so you can find something to do together. Actually, when you think about it, it's quite amazing that we've been able to get through twenty years."

"If there is no witness, even if you tell others, they may not believe you."

"Huh? That makes some sense, but..." Naruto glanced down at Princess Sara, who looked like a walking corpse, huddled in her gray, dirty robe.

"They might not agree. What if she recovers someday and wants to restore her kingdom? If we just take her away like this, won't we have even less of a chance later?"

Nohara Nao frowned and glared at him.

"When did you become so kind?"

"What kind of talk is that? I've always said this."

"Oh, I wonder who tricked me into having their body and then coaxed me into going to the future." Nohara Nao squatted down, showing how girls can throw tantrums without any instruction.

Well, Naruto had nothing to say.

"What did you say your name was again, Beihiko?" she said irritably, tilting her head back. "How can you be so good at lying? You even gave me a wristband, you clearly had ulterior motives."

Naruto pursed his lips. Can you call this life experience?

"Can you call that a lie? It was something I did willingly. Cough cough, don't talk nonsense. Just bring it along, it's not that much trouble anyway. Go ask around, don't be stupid."

"You're the idiot." Nohara Nao stood up, and before she even reached Sara, she smelled a pungent odor. She didn't know how long she had been stunned; this was really filthy.

However, she didn't mind. She had heard that the other party was a pampered princess, and she couldn't help but feel pity for her when she saw her in such a sorry state.

They say it's hard to leave one's homeland. When Nohara Nao arrived, she was bewildered, knowing it would be a long journey, and didn't bring anything with her. Now, it suddenly occurred to her that she should find a companion.

Nothing could be more suitable than Sara in front of me; in a different time and space, there's someone to talk to.

"Is there anywhere nearby where we can wash up? I'll take her to wash up. Oh, is there anything to eat?" Nohara Nao busied herself, and the last bit of anxiety in her heart disappeared.

"Yes, it should be underground." Naruto was relieved. Thinking about it carefully, it wasn't a bad deal. Bringing the two back would give them company and save him a lot of trouble.

You can't really be like Jia Baoyu, wandering around among women.

Occasionally, he would want to sleep alone at home, lying around in various positions. After lying down, he would bask in the sun, grab an ice pop and slurp it down, just staying there like that.

Thinking further ahead, Naruto led the two women deeper underground and found a flowing water source beneath Rōran. Nohara Nao was comforting Sara and helping her wash up.

She had learned how to care for patients in her Medical Unit, so her movements were gentle and her tone did not upset Sara.

Naruto waited outside for the two girls to come out.

About an hour later, Nohara Nao brought Sara out, all cleaned up. Naruto glanced at her; she looked quite different from the Princess Sara he had seen two months ago.

Back then, Sara was innocent and carefree, hiding behind the Queen of Roran. Her eyes seemed to speak volumes, darting around with curiosity about everything in the world.

Now, when Sara looks up at him, her eyes are so rough they've lost their shine. They look as if she's been scrambled in mud, her gaze unfocused.

This was a severe shock; the delicate flower in the greenhouse was shattered by the sudden war. The Fugitive Princess no longer needs to run; she's physically gone.

The people, the kingdom, the Queen —all vanished into the depths of the desert.

Thanks to the fact that the Queen of Roran was deeply loved and died for Rōran, the survivors hid her away and protected her well, ensuring her safety.

Naruto didn't seem to care much. Looking at the two who had finished getting ready, he pointed to a spot and said...

"Ask her if the Dragon Vein is right there underneath?"

"Oh, okay." Nohara Nao did indeed ask, speaking softly.

Sara looked up at Nohara Nao; she didn't recognize her, but she had just given her a bath. Looking further to the side, she saw the blond-haired girl—oh, she recognized her.

"Mmm." Princess Sara nodded, letting herself be led away.

Having found the Dragon Vein, things became much simpler. Naruto could activate Dragon Vein by himself. He pulled the two girls to stand beside him, placing his hand on the cleared Dragon Vein.

A purple Chakra storm spun wildly, Naruto timely unleashed the Ido Prophecy. Time and space were twisted, rules were broken, and Nohara Nao and Sara were taken back twenty years to the future.

Naruto managed to stay conscious even as the river of time flowed backward, but the two girls beside him couldn't. Their eyes were closed, as if they were dreaming.

Looking down at the translucent blue river of time beneath his feet, the dazzling scenery, like a starry sky, made him feel a sudden urge to slash at it.

Time travel is such a ridiculous idea. I might travel through time myself, but I definitely don't want anyone else to have the chance to go back. The best solution is to cut ties completely and dismantle any connections made with them.

He pondered for a moment, thinking that time should be under the control of Death Reaper, and he could always brush against it somehow. He'd try to summon Death Reaper, even if it was just a phantom.

With a thought in mind, Naruto attempted to Hand Seals Reaper Death Seal. A chilling wind howled, and a gigantic phantom of the Death Reaper was actually summoned, hanging behind him.

The illusory figures followed him across the river of time.

With a blue face and fangs, and draped in a white robe, he naturally sensed the presence of the Death Reaper's phantom. He frowned, preparing to try and see if he could manipulate the Death Reaper to draw the white dagger it was biting in its mouth.

Whether it works or not, let's try it first and see what happens later.

"It moved?" Naruto wanted to turn around, but he was overwhelmed by the river of time and couldn't look back at all.

What he didn't see was that behind the phantom of Death Reaper stood a black shadow dozens of times taller, holding a long sword as black as ink.

Rather than saying that Naruto was controlling the Death Reaper phantom to draw his sword and slash at the River of Time behind him, it would be more accurate to say that the huge black shadow behind him was coercing the Death Reaper phantom to make that move.

As the phantom of Death Reaper brought down its blade, Naruto strained his ears to listen, but heard nothing.

"Hmm?" It's a pity I can't turn around to look.

Just as he was wondering, he suddenly heard an even louder explosion behind him. Naruto's eyes lit up, and he thought to himself, "Damn, there's a delay?"

Behind what he could not see, a jet-black sword severed the flow of time, tearing apart the colorful starry sky and leaving only an endless river of darkness.

The phantom of Death Reaper trembled as it put the white dagger into its mouth and bit down.

Just before he was about to return to his original position, Naruto casually lifted his hand and sucked Nohara Nao and Princess Sara of Rōran into the Sealing Space. The next second, he opened his eyes in Sakura's arms.

In that instant, Naruto broke out in a cold sweat, thinking to himself how close he had come to disaster.

If Sakura found out about those two girls, things would get complicated, and he didn't want Sakura to have any leverage over him. The fewer people who knew about this, the better.

Inside the Sealing Space, the Yugito Nii were slightly surprised to see two more people in the adjacent cell. Outwardly, they showed no expression, but their disgust for the newcomer intensified.

This guy is a complete scumbag! To satisfy his own selfish desires, he actually...

Sakura patted the sand off Naruto, a worried look on her face. She circled him, checking on him, and asked questions as she did so.

"Is everything going smoothly?"

"Uh, it went pretty smoothly." Naruto thought for a moment, making sure he had memorized all the text in the top-secret document, before nodding and saying that.

"Some things happened in the middle, but it was all alright in the end."

"Mmm." Sakura didn't really feel anything, because only a minute had passed between Naruto activating his Dragon Vein and waking up, and it seemed like nothing had changed.

That was only because Naruto was quick enough to put the two girls into the Sealing Space for temporary shelter. If the three of them were suddenly lying together, Sakura wouldn't be so calm.

The mission is complete, so there's no need to stay in this desert anymore.

Naruto and Sakura discussed it and immediately withdrew from the desert. They headed back along the same route they had come from, set up camp for the night, and inevitably spent the night studying by lamplight.

What "Maple Forest Evening" and "Black Silk February Flowers"? Just kidding.

After two days and two nights of travel, Naruto remained energetic throughout, while Sakura was somewhat exhausted. They finally managed to return to Konohagakure in about five days, where Naruto went to deliver the mission.

Sakura went home to rest. She's been missing for so many days, she's probably going to get a scolding.

Shikamaru's wedding is over, and Choji's wedding is almost here. Hearing that Naruto has returned, Choji even wrote a letter and pretended to present it to Naruto.

Naruto looked down at the extremely flashy wedding invitation, then glanced at Choji, and was speechless.

"I will go, you don't need to specially order this kind of eye-searing stuff for me."

"How do you know it was specially made?" Choji's eyes widened, blinking rapidly as if he had stumbled upon one of the ten greatest unsolved mysteries of the Shinobi World.

He glanced down at the invitation; the red and green color scheme was an eyesore.

"Who else has received an invitation like this?"

"Shikamaru, Ino, Neji, Hinata, and..." Choji said, counting on his chubby fingers, then looked up and asked, "What's wrong with the invitations? I made them myself, is there a problem?"

"No, you did a great job. Don't do it again next time." Naruto patted him on the shoulder and said earnestly.

After accepting the invitation, Naruto didn't linger in the village. He made up an excuse and left immediately. He hurried towards Tanzaku Town, and while he was in a rush, he bought a small house.

It was right on the other side of Tanzaku Town, far from where he and Tayuya had lived—almost at opposite ends of the spectrum. Although Tayuya wouldn't be coming back for the time being, just in case...

In short, Naruto felt like he was starting to use his brain.

Nohara Nao, holding Sara's hand, stood in front of the small building, then looked at Naruto beside her, blinked, and asked.

"Where is this? Konohagakure?"

"No, this is Tanzaku Town," he explained.

"Oh, oh." Sara turned to look at the bustling street, where she could faintly hear the clamor of voices. "Tanzaku Town has become so prosperous. It used to be just a few supply stations."

"This is a market town, a bit far from Konohagakure." He pointed to the two-story wooden building. "Let's stay here for a while and get used to it."

"I will come regularly. Communicators will probably be more common soon, and I'll bring you one so you can stay in touch even when I'm not around."

"The situation in Konohagakure is a bit complicated, so let's avoid going there for now if we can."

"Complex?" Nohara Nao gave him a deep look. "Oh~, okay then, I'll listen to you."

Naruto scratched his head, feeling a little guilty, and chuckled awkwardly without saying anything.

Nohara Nao didn't mind, glancing at him before pulling Sara inside. Naruto followed behind her, listening to her mutter to herself as she went upstairs.

"Hmph, I won't argue with a junior."

Well... perhaps in some ways, Nohara Nao is indeed an elder. But the more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed. He pondered for a while but couldn't come up with anything.

"You know how to use that bathroom, right? It's not that different. I'll teach you how to use it." Naruto reached out to pull her, but she dodged him.

Nohara Nao rolled her eyes at him. "Wait a minute, let me settle Sara in first."

"Alright." Naruto simply waited on the side.

Sara remained in the same state, somewhat lost in thought. However, she now trusted Nohara Nao and wouldn't resist, letting Nohara Nao.

Occasionally, they will respond and say a few simple words.

She wasn't really stupid; she had just suffered a major upheaval and was struggling to accept it, which made her quiet and withdrawn. Now, the change of environment is actually a good thing for Sara.

"Raise your hand, yes." Nohara Nao was about to help Sara change her clothes when she suddenly remembered something. She turned around and found that Naruto had already left sometime earlier.

She paused for a moment, then a gentle smile appeared on her face.

"The other hand, hmm." Nohara Nao helped Sara change her clothes, then walked a few steps to the door, opened it a crack with a click, and poked her head out.

"Um... how do I use the bathroom?"

"It's very simple, it's just..." He was about to speak when he suddenly saw Nohara Nao's mischievous eyes, and his eyebrows immediately rose as he understood something.

Oh, the bathroom.

"This is the shower head, got it?"

"Hmm~"

"This is, uh, a bathtub."

"Oh."

This is

It took Nohara Nao two hours to memorize all the instructions for using the bathroom. She came out blushing, barely daring to meet Naruto's gaze.

Her talent wasn't particularly good, and her memory was steadily declining. She'd been taught countless times, but she still couldn't concentrate on learning.

"I"

"No need to say anything, it's nothing." Naruto waved his hand. "The living room downstairs has everything, and we can go for a stroll around the streets tonight. It's not much different from twenty years ago."

"Okay." Nohara Nao's face turned red.

After spending two days in Tanzaku Town, Naruto returned to Konohagakure.

Choji's wedding was about to take place, and he figured he still had some time, so he slept at home all day and went to the banquet fully refreshed the next day.

This means that everything has been temporarily settled, and there's a solution for Sakura's situation.

Now, his most pressing issues are Danzo and Root.