Whether You Say Yes or No, I Still Like You, So You're Not Getting Away Today

Some things, when you're busy, you don't think about them, you just let them sink to the bottom of your heart. But one day, they suddenly resurface and you can't stop thinking about them.

Ino was pinned down on the sofa, and the two kissed passionately.

The rustling sounds could be heard even from the kitchen. Nine-Tails- Tailed Fox, who had just climbed back from the balcony, cautiously poked its head out and peeked inside through the glass.

Huh! Even the dog isn't looking.

Nine-Tails- Tailed Fox trembled and cautiously retreated from the balcony, then leaped directly from the second floor. With a whoosh, it hopped and jumped a few times and disappeared around the street corner.

They came back at the worst possible time; if they're discovered, they'll probably get their legs broken.

My life is more important, I'm outta here.

Naruto, unaware that Nine-Tails had returned, was discussing studies with Ino on the sofa. They were snuggling together,... no, in a very intimate atmosphere.

They kissed for a while, Ino became somewhat confused and infatuated. She pushed him away, straightened her disheveled clothes, and blushed as she bit her lower lip and complained.

"Can't your claws behave themselves?"

"Sure, go ahead and *****." Naruto slowly got up, standing there like a stick, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, and smiled with ease.

"Hey! Go to hell! Naruto Uzumaki!" Ino threw a cushion at him, dusted off her clothes, and stood up. "I'm going back."

"Are we just going back like this?" he asked.

"Otherwise what?" Ino stood up and stood in front of him, looking up at him. "Then what do you want?"

Naruto really didn't want to argue with Ino, especially since they had just kissed and she had given him a little bonus.

Forget it, considering Ino's personality, today is already the limit. If we keep arguing, she might really get angry.

"How about I take you home?"

"No need, I can go back by myself." She skipped to the entrance, quickly changed her shoes, made a face at Naruto, and said, "Hehe! Bye!"

With a bang, the door slammed shut, leaving Naruto stunned.

He stood there stunned for a long time before finally snapping out of his daze. Oh, the girl was still youthful and radiant, still only eighteen years old after all.

Ino the fire, but no one dared to chase after her. She's good in every way, except she's fast at running, and now she's even showing off her cunning side.

Damn it, I'm getting tough.

He stood in the living room for a while, then slowly walked to the kitchen to get a glass of ice water. He wondered what Jiraiya, and thought that he should probably finish up his business and go check on the Land of Rain.

He carried his water glass to the balcony, squinting as he looked at the lush trees.

Having finally ended a long period of overseas assignment, Ino naturally wanted to stay in Konohagakure for a while longer. There were two main things to address right now: one was the communication system, which required keeping Ino busy.

The second is Danzo and Root. Things have dragged on until now, slowly eroding each other. Root is now ripe for complete disintegration, and I'm almost ready to act as the trigger.

However, this matter is rather troublesome. Killing Danzo is not too difficult. The difficulty lies in eliminating his influence, which requires framing him.

Root 're pretty much familiar with this tactic. But they never dreamed someone would use it on them, and that blond guy would hold a grudge for six or seven years.

It's said that a gentleman takes revenge even after ten years, and Naruto wasn't worried about enduring for another two years. However, Tsunade couldn't take it anymore. She wasn't going to play along anymore and wanted to take down Danzo immediately.

Even if she, Danzo were all dismissed, Tsunade wouldn't care. Being Hokage wasn't her ambition; she was more interested in having fun.

Naruto didn't intend to provoke her; whatever Tsunade said, went along with it.

After settling things in the village, I still need to smooth things over between Ino and Hinata. At least a balance needs to be found, and other necessary tasks should be put on the agenda.

Get on the train first, buy the ticket later, and then try to mediate. If all else fails, stick to the old method: keep them far apart so they can't touch each other, and then take whoever is away from Konohagakure.

However, this method also has many drawbacks, which we'll discuss later.

Next, there are matters outside; it's time to make a trip to the Land of Snow and the Land of Whirlpools. The Land of Snow is his final destination; maintaining stability in the rear is still crucial.

If something happens in the future, there will be a stable way out.

The Land of Whirlpools, hmm. Let's take a look and see what's hidden beneath that altar. A thief never leaves empty-handed; if there's anything good, we'll use it first.

My thoughts were a jumbled mess, so I picked out some useful ones to write down first.

Meanwhile, Jiraiya was still on his way to gather intelligence.

In a dimly Love Hotel in a small market town on the border of the Land of Demons, a blonde woman in a light pink dress, tears welling in her eyes, spoke to Jiraiya with a wronged expression.

"Uncle, stop touching me, have a drink."

"What kind of talk is that?" Jiraiya coughed and said seriously, "Aren't we just having a drink? Where are you going?"

"Could you add a little more money, sir? Please?"

"Add money? How can you talk to a customer like that?" Jiraiya was half-drunk, but his hands were really busy even though he had paid. While having fun, he inadvertently inquired about information.

His strategy for gathering intelligence was always the same: in the raucous, Love Hotel, he'd act like a regular customer, asking around. After all, it was all drunken ramblings; nobody would care.

Once a clear message is received, the location will be moved to another place immediately.

Jiraiya was a seasoned veteran, appearing and disappearing without a trace, even though his appearance was too obvious. But this slippery method of gathering intelligence made it difficult for even those with the intention to investigate.

He's been running around lately, and he actually managed to find out something.

Since the incident in the Land of Rain, one of his three precious disciples died while two others survived, saving him a lot of trouble. The Akatsuki Organization automatically disbanded.

Itachi Uchiha seemed to have ulterior motives, as he traveled among the island nations with Kisame Hoshigaki. Jiraiya deduced from this that Itachi Uchiha's target was likely Sasuke Uchiha.

He relayed the message back to Konohagakure. Tsunade at it, raised an eyebrow, and handed it to the relevant high-ranking officials. Everyone read it and wrote "I have reviewed it."

This is the monotonous daily routine of Jiraiya, the master of intelligence: delivering all sorts of random news from the outside world to Konohagakure, categorized by importance.

Konohagakure distributed more funds for the event, Jiraiya used the public money to go and gather intelligence. As a mobile spy for the Land of Fire, he dedicated his life to the Will of Fire.

After all, he was the Third Hokage's disciple, and the Will of Fire had deeply permeated his being. Even though Jiraiya, deep down he still put the village first.

Naruto is different. In his heart, the village is ranked last. As for its status, well... even lower than that damned Nine-Tails.

As he pondered this, he unknowingly finished the glass of water.

Suddenly, the memory of Ino came back; the feeling of kissing was intoxicating. He frowned, thinking for a moment, a burning anger rising within him. Today was probably ruined.

I figured I couldn't do anything else today, so I might as well meet them one more time. Even just a quick meeting would be nice; summer is over and autumn is coming, and after the New Year, I might not even be where I'll be.

No one knows how much time is left, so there's no need to be reserved. With that thought, Naruto turned and went downstairs, heading alone towards the Yamanaka Flower Shop.

After Ino returned home alone with her ears red, she rushed straight to her room from the first floor. Mrs. Yamanaka at the shop, looked on with utter bewilderment, completely baffled.

Back in her room, Ino stared at the documents and various communicators she had left behind a few days ago, blinking her eyes. Now that there was hope, she decided to keep working on it, plopping down at her desk.

The girl had red lips and white teeth, and her blonde hair hung down; she simply clipped it all up. It was much cleaner now, and it wouldn't get in the way of her thoughts, so she opened the documents.

After reading one line, I feel a bit thirsty again.

She got up, slipped on her pink slippers, and walked to the living room. She poured herself a glass of water and gulped it down. She pursed her lips, looked down, and saw that her belly had bulged out again.

I don't seem very thirsty; a glass of water is enough to fill me up.

She stomped back into her room, sat down at her desk again, and this time really intended to calm down and work properly. She read another line of text, then realized she was hungry.

She got up and walked around the room, feeling that nothing was right. She remembered that she had just drunk water, so she probably couldn't eat anything.

She collapsed onto the bed with a thud, staring at the ceiling. Ino pursed her lips, unconsciously recalling the feeling of kissing, and that...

She recalled Naruto's gaze and suddenly felt a little distracted. She rolled over, buried her head in the blanket, and shook herself violently, trying to shake away her wandering thoughts.

The communicator project had gone through a dark period, but finally saw a glimmer of hope. What she should be doing now is sitting at her desk working without distractions, instead of thinking about random things.

"It's all that guy's fault for being dishonest!" Ino muttered.

She stood up, patted her cheeks, which were flushed, and her heart pounded. She sighed and thought to herself, "It's over."

After struggling on the table for a while, Ino finally straightened up, gritted her teeth, and decided she had to go and reason with that bastard.

"Hey, where are you going?" Yamanaka Rino called out to Ino from behind the counter, looking up at her. "You just got back to change your clothes and you're going out again? What are you doing?"

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm feeling down, so I'll just take a walk," Ino replied.

Upon hearing this, Yamanaka Rino sighed, assuming Ino was still upset about what had happened a few days ago. She opened her mouth and spoke to comfort her.

"There's nothing we can do about the communicator; your father has already mentioned it. The village doesn't have the funds, but don't be too discouraged. Maybe it will work out in the future."

"It's good for you to go out and clear your head. We can talk about it again when you're better."

"Hmm." Ino didn't argue, nor did she say that the communicator project was still viable.

She wouldn't casually talk about something that was still far from certain; she was a person of principle. After thinking about it, she found it somewhat intriguing.

It's like having a secret, creating an information gap between me and my family and friends. I feel a mix of trepidation and a strange sense of anticipation.

The two went outside and awkwardly bumped into each other in the middle.

She changed her clothes, revealing her white midriff, and her eyes, brimming with tears, reflected the summer's greenery. Naruto saw himself reflected in her eyes, looking a little silly.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

Ino tossed her hair; naturally, she wouldn't say she was coming to find you, she'd have to go around in circles.

"There's something I need to discuss at the Hokage Building."

"Oh, I see." Naruto nodded, thinking to himself that he had important business to attend to, so he decided not to do anything irrelevant and simply said so.

"Shall I go with you?"

Upon hearing this, Ino panicked a little. What important matter did she have? What was she supposed to do at the Hokage Building? She knew perfectly well that if she went there, she would be exposed.

"Mmm." She didn't refuse, almost as if possessed.

The two walked along the road, each carrying their own regrets and preoccupied with their own thoughts. They didn't speak much, just walked slowly. Ino would occasionally glance at him, then quickly turn her head away.

Naruto was completely bewildered; what was going on?

"Where are you going? You can't just wander around aimlessly, can you?" Ino suddenly remembered something. "There aren't many places to go along that road. Are you going to..."

"I missed you, so I couldn't help but come to see you," he said first.

"Oh." Ino's heart was slightly burned, but her face remained indifferent.

"You're so boring."

"Boring?" Naruto laughed, reaching out to grab her, preventing her from leaving, seemingly a little angry. "How am I bored? Is thinking of you boring?"

Ino, still carrying an air of arrogance. Bathed in the sun, she felt scorching hot, and she looked up at him without saying a word, just staring.

Her doe-like eyes stared at him with a Naruto Uzumaki, as if to say, "Naruto Uzumaki, are you crazy? Let go of me, or I'm really going to get angry."

Normally, he would have stopped short of saying anything and let go in time.

But not now; he was seething with anger. She had set it off, and there was no reason for him to run away after setting it on fire, especially since they hadn't seen each other for so long.

Although only half a month has passed in reality, several months have actually passed in another time and space. Once the longing that was suppressed resurfaces, it is difficult to suppress it again.

"Let go!" Ino said.

"No, how am I bored?" Naruto said.

"I'm not telling you, guess for yourself!" Ino turned her head away, her face turning red to the roots of her ears.

Looking at Ino's reaction, a thought suddenly occurred to him. She didn't seem to have anything important to do at the Hokage Building; she was probably just messing with me again.

Once the thought took hold, it spread like wildfire. Naruto pulled her over and quickly led her to Kishita by the street.

"What are you doing?" Ino shouted, but her voice grew softer and softer, as if she was afraid of being discovered.

Even in broad daylight, there were still pedestrians on the road.

Naruto ignored her and lowered his head to kiss her. Ino was somewhat reluctant, but in the end, she was kissed until she was breathless. Her face was even redder than before, and her hands were weak.

"Come to my place?" He spoke with a slightly heavy breath, close to Ino's ear, "Hmm? You rejected me once, you can't refuse a second time, so why not just say yes?"

"Pah, I... I won't agree." Ino looked up at him, smiling, but her eyes were already somewhat confused, as if she were drunk.

"I'll like you whether you say yes or no." Naruto glanced at her. "Anyway, this time..."

Ino tightened instantly, her mind a jumble of thoughts. She racked her brains for words of refusal before finally managing to squeeze out a single "okay."