Ino, Ino, Round and Round, Still Ino!

The wedding officially began, but Naruto lost all interest in watching.

He waited for the best man to come on stage before hurriedly changing his clothes and going up. He also saw Kiba Inuzuka, who looked much more haggard than he had seen in some time.

"Why are you looking like this?" Naruto asked Kiba Inuzuka during a break in the wedding.

"It's a long story." Kiba Inuzuka, not wanting to speak.

Seeing this, Naruto didn't ask any more questions and focused on being his best man. He was already familiar with the process, and there weren't any particularly difficult formalities.

It was just to make up the numbers, while Shikamaru, who got married first, didn't have to go through all that trouble. This time, he could simply stand in the crowd, lazily drinking and watching the show.

Naruto on the stage was incredibly envious; only half a month had passed, and he had already been a groomsman twice.

The fact that Shikamaru and Choji were paired up for marriage didn't surprise him too much. After all, they were a large clan, and what they sought was stability and prosperity.

In their eyes, marriage and having children are inevitable steps that must be taken sooner or later. The sooner they get it over with, the sooner they can settle down, and the younger their wives will be.

Once you're really thirty, things will be hard to say.

As for Naruto, who has no scruples, marriage or not makes no difference to him. He doesn't have many constraints; he can stay in Konohagakure if he wants, and leave if he doesn't.

After the event, Naruto walked off the stage. He happened to run into Ino, who glared at him, didn't speak to him, and just walked off the stage on her own.

Naruto followed, and Ino naturally slowed down. The two walked side by side through the bustling crowd, slowly heading towards the outskirts of the village.

He glanced ahead and recognized the direction as roughly where his house was, and was momentarily stunned. Since that incident, Ino had rarely visited Naruto.

Today, however, it all happened without warning. Could it be that he has something to say? Or perhaps he's been attending weddings lately and it's made him want to get married too?

The further they went, the slower Ino walked.

Naruto didn't know what was going on; it seemed everything had changed since he returned from the Rōran Ruins. Many things had happened in the past two weeks, some as he had expected, others...

"Are we going to my house?" he asked.

"Mm." Ino nodded.

"Why do you suddenly want to come to my house?" Naruto asked, somewhat puzzled. "Didn't you say you didn't really want to go?"

"Go if you want, I have the key." Ino walked ahead with her head down, seemingly not wanting to look at Naruto again, for some unknown reason.

But at least Ino was willing to get angry, so Naruto wasn't too panicked.

I arrived home and went upstairs.

The footsteps were hurried and chaotic. Nikko shone on their shadows, casting two figures, one large and one small, in the corridor. Ino fumbled for her key, trying to insert it several times without success.

One last time, the door opened with a series of sharp, resounding thuds.

The entryway was still the same as before. Naruto stood behind Ino, turned around, and closed the door. Turning his head, he saw Ino already changing her shoes, her fair toes clearly visible.

He made no attempt to hide his attraction to Ino, and after a quick glance, he saw the complex expression on her Ino. She stood barefoot on the floor, looking at him with disdain.

"Abnormal!"

Suddenly, Naruto felt a strange sense of time travel, many years ago. After the Third Hokage's funeral, Ino had also rushed to her house in the same way.

Back then, in that old-fashioned apartment in the center of the village, Ino, still an innocent young girl, stood on one foot, taking off her shoes, holding onto the shoe cabinet, her blonde hair falling loose.

Her jade-like calves were naturally perfect, making it impossible to look away. Her charming black dress further emphasized that to look pretty, one must wear something elegant.

The person is still the same; after many years of wandering, he has returned to a familiar place.

"Yes, that's me." Naruto kept his eyes fixed on Ino and loosened the buttons on his best man uniform.

At that moment, Ino was also wearing a bridesmaid dress, and even with only a few touches of light makeup, she still looked radiant. She had a stunning figure and a slightly curved swan neck.

"Hmph." Ino ignored him and went to the living room on her own, slipping on her slippers.

Naruto quickly changed his shoes and followed her, clearly wanting to say something. But Ino unexpectedly entered the kitchen, flung open the refrigerator, and stared blankly at a fridge full of chilled beer.

Naruto saw it too, and felt slightly embarrassed.

"Why did you drink so much?" Ino asked, frowning, her words full of displeasure.

He does drink, but he never drinks at home. All that alcohol belongs to that silly dog, Fox, but it's not home right now, so it's hard to explain.

If I couldn't explain it clearly, I could only nod.

"I don't usually drink it, I just store it."

"We can't store this much, there's no food at home." Ino slammed the refrigerator door shut and turned to look at him. "Hey, where do you usually eat?"

"Just find any restaurant downstairs. It's all the same whether you eat there or not, so just grab something to eat," he replied.

"How can this be allowed?"

"Well, actually I'm not in the village most of the time," Naruto said. "When I come back, I don't stay for long. Last time I was away on a mission, it took me half a month."

"Food can't stay fresh in the refrigerator, and the house is left unattended, so it spoils as soon as I get back, so I simply don't put it in the refrigerator."

Ino rolled her eyes when she heard him deliberately act pitiful.

"Serves you right, you brought this on yourself."

He understood perfectly well that Ino was referring to the incident from before. Ever since Hinata appeared, their relationship remained the same, but Ino didn't visit him as often anymore.

Saying Hinata appeared isn't quite accurate; Hinata has always been there. The relationships have always been complicated, and Naruto hasn't made a choice; things have just dragged on until now.

Ino wasn't completely clueless; she wasn't as naive and easily fooled as Hinata. She simply willingly allowed herself to be deceived, without giving it any thought, letting things drag on.

"Haha, right?" Naruto was a little embarrassed and could only change the subject. "Please sit down, I'll get you a glass of water."

Naruto slipped into the kitchen, pouring water and pondering. Ino's acting strange today; she doesn't seem like she's here to confront him.

As I carried the water out, Ino was sitting on the sofa, looking perfectly normal.

"Drink water," he said.

"Hmm." Ino suddenly looked up and said, "I heard from my father that the communicator project is short of money, and the village is at a critical juncture."

"I think we're done with it, I can rest now."

"Are you short of money?" Naruto paused for a moment, then glanced at Ino and finally understood the crux of the problem.

"Well, that's fine too. I was exhausted long ago." Ino smiled and pursed her lips. "Yesterday I rested all day. I didn't have to draw diagrams or keep testing or looking for information."

"It just feels pretty good."

"The funding gap won't be so easy to fill, will it?" Naruto leaned back on the edge of the sofa, took a sip of water, and asked.

He had long planned to independently fund the communicator project, but he hadn't said he would cover the shortfall himself. The money he had was ill-gotten; it could only come from Tsunade.

He hadn't Tsunade yet. Besides, he couldn't let Ino know that he had paid that money. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to strip Ino of her privileges, in case she investigated him.

Although Ino wouldn't do something like that given her personality, it's just in case.

"The gap is too big to be filled at all." Ino said calmly, holding her cup. "My parents are urging me to get married and have children as soon as possible."

"Enter Konoha Intelligence Division and take over my father's work."

"Ah, pressuring me to get married," Naruto glanced at her. "And what about you? What are your thoughts?"

"Shikamaru Choji got married, so I guess it's about time for me to get married too," Ino said. "Before, I still had this idea in my mind: to finish the communication system first."

"I don't want to get married so early, and I've never thought about marriage or anything like that."

Hearing this, Naruto finally understood. Ino didn't want to get married; she was just confused. All the effort she had put in for so many years had vanished in an instant.

My career was effectively over, and I watched as my friends got married one by one. I attended two weddings in half a month—a classic case of Ino-Shika-Cho all in one branch.

Perhaps soon, Shikamaru and Choji's child will be born.

Following Ino's parents' advice, the idea was to help Ino pull her focus away from her failed career and concentrate on her life's journey.

Ninjas are human too, and it's only natural for parents to want what their children want.

Now that Ino has brought it up, Naruto can't just brush it off. Since things have come to this point, Naruto has no choice but to state his position firmly.

He knew that Ino needed right now wasn't to think about marriage, but rather comfort.

At this moment, she was simply confused and needed Naruto's comfort and reassurance. In other words, she had suffered a setback and came back to her husband for a hug.

If you really ask Ino to marry you, she'll hesitate.

Of course, Naruto can't get married now, otherwise he won't be able to explain himself to Hinata and Sakura later, wouldn't that be cheating? Ino is completely unaware of this, and if she gets married rashly, he can't just cut ties completely.

Back then, doing even the slightest thing would be harmful to Ino.

Before marriage, it didn't matter how much he spent; he hasn't even defined a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship yet. At most, it's just ambiguous, earning him the label of a womanizer.

If there's really no other way and he has to get married now, he'll definitely have to settle down. At most, he'll be with Hinata. Of course, he won't let that happen!

He sat down next to Ino, took her hand, thought for a moment, looked up at her, and said.

"I have no parents or relatives in this village, I'm like a rootless duckweed. Most of the time, I'm just drifting along, dealing with one problem after another."

"Then I met you, and that summer was something I painstakingly pieced together and woven into my memory. I like you a lot, I've liked you for many years, to the point that I'd like you so much I could marry you right now."

"I know you've been through a setback, and I don't want you to get married just for the sake of getting married. Marriage should only happen when you've thought about it, are fully prepared, and have thought it through."

"Who wants to marry you!" Ino glanced at him, pouted, and turned her head away.

A smile finally appeared in his eyes, and he regained his spirit, no longer appearing numb and calm.

"I see. You don't like me? Then I can only..." Naruto didn't dwell on the topic of marriage, afraid that Ino might suddenly change her mind.

"You're not allowed to say it!" Ino knew perfectly well what he was going to say.

As expected, she became extremely jealous, but Naruto diverted her attention. She reached out and pinched the flesh on Naruto's waist, twisting it sharply, and only when she heard Naruto gasp in surprise was she satisfied.

"Hey, your Communicator Project might not be a complete failure after all," Naruto said at the right moment. "I talked to Lord Tsunade last time, and she said there's a way to get the funding."

"Hmm?" Ino immediately perked up and turned to look at Naruto. "What did Lord Tsunade say?"

"There is some undisclosed funding that could roughly cover this shortfall," Naruto said. "We've just been too busy lately to discuss it formally."

"Real?"

"Why would I lie to you?" Naruto thought to himself. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained. You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub."

With all the money poured in, this multi-billion dollar project will keep Ino busy for at least a year or two. Meanwhile, Naruto will get a break; a year or two will be enough.

"That's good." Ino in her heart was finally untied, and she thought to herself that she should go back and pick up what she had left behind.

Just as he was about to get up, he suddenly noticed a pair of burning eyes staring intently at him. He belatedly realized he had stumbled into a wolf's den.

An eighteen-year-old boy's fists are hard enough to smash iron. At this age, when both his body and mind are passionate and restless, even the smallest spark can ignite a raging fire.

"You"

"Hasn't the matter been resolved? Where are you going?" Naruto asked with a smile, pressing her down.

Ino was speechless. She swallowed hard and shrank back behind the sofa. "What do you want to do?"

"I didn't mean to do anything. Why do you look like you're about to run away? Are you that scary?" Naruto moved closer and leaned heavily on her.

"Choji's wedding just ended, and I was planning to take you somewhere fun. Why did you have to bring me here? You have to take responsibility for that, right?"

"What responsibility?" Ino tried to push him away, but her hands were weak and powerless.

"What do you think? You haven't come here much since that incident." He leaned down and looked at Ino. "I gave you the key, but you've never come even once."

"I've been here," she argued.

"You left after only a short time, and you call that a visit?" He was determined not to let Ino off the Ino today, his eyes gleaming with eagerness.

Ino's neck was tense, her jawline clearly defined. Her face was flushed red all the way to the roots of her neck, even her earlobes were red, her eyes blinked, and she turned her head away.

". Can't."

"What's wrong with that?" He sniffed Ino's neck lightly, his voice as hot as red-hot iron. "What's wrong with us? It's not like we haven't touched each other before."

Ino's low spirits vanished instantly, as if she had risen from the depths to the heights, her whole body burning with excitement. The ambiguous fuse burned fiercely, like a red-hot coal thrown into water.

Her mind was hazy, but her emotions were surging. A restless urge to try was rising within her, and her blood was slowly boiling. She hugged Naruto, feeling as if she were holding a smoldering fire within her.

Suddenly, a small fire began to burn, spreading warmth from his body in all directions. Ino felt a suffocating tightness in her chest, like a deer hitting a wall.