You're Still the Best Dog, Naruto Uzumaki

An inn on the border of Land of the Falls no Kuni.

Steam rose from the room, and the fiery red chili oil churned in the pot. The Yugito Nii stared at the pot of red chili oil, their expressions somewhat grim.

"Do you really want to eat it?"

Naruto sat on the tatami mat, with various hot pot ingredients laid out on the table. The small stove glowed red, the charcoal fire flickering as if breathing, and the window was wide open.

The rich aroma filled the air, whetting Naruto's appetite.

"Of course we have to eat it. These are the ingredients I managed to gather with great difficulty." He looked up at his catgirl subordinate with her prominent breasts and buttocks, slightly dissatisfied.

"What? This isn't considered a grand meal? Do you know how difficult it is to gather these ingredients? This is a reward for you, a blessing for you."

"But..." The Yugito Nii looked at the boiling red pot and swallowed. It wasn't that she had never seen hot pot before, but she had never seen one this spicy.

If you actually eat it, your butt will suffer terribly; that must be the mark of a truly kind-hearted person.

Two days ago, after Naruto obtained the Great Sword Samehada, he suddenly proposed to speed up his journey. He promised that if Yugito Nii accompanied him and traveled quickly, he would treat them to a grand meal upon reaching the Land of the Falls.

The Yugito Nii didn't have any money on them, so Naruto would have to cover all their expenses. Although they weren't short of food, they figured they didn't have the right to refuse, so they agreed.

The non-stop journey was incredibly arduous, and even as a Jinchuriki of a Tailed Beast, she nearly couldn't withstand it. Naruto, on the other hand, seemed completely unaffected, managing to endure for two whole days before finally reaching the border of the Land of Waterfall.

She thought she could finally get some rest, and that was indeed the case, but to her surprise, a pre-promised feast awaited her.

"Is it too spicy?" The Yugito Nii sat down, resting their hands on the edge of the table, unable to bear looking at the boiling red pot. "I'll just eat a little bit."

"Whatever you want." Naruto was just trying to save money, and besides, this was indeed the cheapest meal available, and he wanted to eat it anyway. As for Yugito Nii, as long as she didn't object, that was fine with him.

Hot pot is a common way to eat in the Shinobi World, but generally, the broth isn't too spicy. This red broth was something Naruto himself made, taking it out of the Sealing Space.

"I'll just eat a little bit, that's enough." The Yugito Nii reluctantly reached out their chopsticks to pick up some food, and after taking the first bite, their foreheads were covered in sweat.

Sigh~ Sigh, the two of them ate their hot pot in silence without saying a word. Accompanied by the bubbling sound, they slurped down mouthfuls of hot pot while enduring the spiciness.

Click! Two pairs of chopsticks stuck into a piece of tofu. Naruto glanced at Naruto Yugito a slightly reserved expression, then subtly looked away without moving her chopsticks.

"Didn't you say you were only going to eat a little?" he said, sounding a bit annoyed.

"I didn't eat much, it was just a little bit." The Yugito Nii were a little unsure of themselves, but they hadn't expected the hot pot to be so delicious.

The food in Kumogakure tends to be mild, consisting mainly of either very sweet dishes or large chunks of grilled meat. Hot pot is actually quite rare, and even light mushroom broth hot pot is uncommon.

Since she was already a villain's lackey, she might as well let loose and do whatever she wanted. Why not eat when she could? Restraint wouldn't bring pleasure; only eating, eating, eating.

"Never mind, never mind." Naruto, somewhat speechless, and put down his chopsticks.

Since they had almost finished eating, there was no point in arguing over a piece of tofu. Watching Yugito carefully scoop the tofu into the bowl, he stood up and snatched the bowl away.

The Yugito Nii: "."

Naruto finished the last piece of tofu, raised an eyebrow at Yugito, and suddenly asked a question.

"What do you think about me opening a shop like this in Kumogakure?"

"When?" Yugito, somewhat expectantly.

"That goes without saying, naturally it'll be after you become the Raikage." Naruto put down his chopsticks, a smile appearing on his face. "When someone with eyes comes to cause trouble, then I'll reveal my Raikage background."

"Then... hehehe, he did whatever he wanted, smeared the bottom of a pot on that man's face, and threatened his wife to come and apologize. Madam, you don't want your husband either."

"Wait!" Yugito Nii couldn't stand it anymore and interrupted Naruto's fantasy. "I didn't mean to deny your idea, but do you really think this will work?"

"Opening a shop? That should be possible, right? You eat a lot, don't you?" He paused for a moment and said, "I didn't realize you were so thin, yet you eat so much."

"That's not what I meant." Yugito blushed for a moment. "I don't eat much either, about the same as you, so let's not talk about that. What I meant was, Raikage, don't you think this is a bit too far-fetched?"

"Ah, the Raikage." Naruto pondered for a moment. "Well, you don't need to worry about that. Kumogakure had no choice. Didn't I tell you that?"

"I'm not going to build up Kumogakure; Kumogakure will eventually agree."

Naruto's words were vague, so the Yugito Nii didn't press him further. Staring at the boiling hot pot, a sense of unease rose in their hearts; the future of Kumogakure was unpredictable.

She's already a lackey, so she shouldn't worry about Kumogakure. But it's still her village, and she still has feelings for it, even if the village may have abandoned her.

While Yugito Nii were lost in thought, Naruto had already silently chosen his targets. Zabuza was dead, Raiga Kurosuki was dead, and Kisame Hoshigaki was dead.

The other four of the Seven Ninja Swords are the Twin Swords Hiramekarei, which are in the hands of Chojuro, a follower of the Mizukage Mei Terumi. He is weak-willed and like a gay man. However, the other swords can be obtained by digging up graves.

Aside from the Twin Blades of Hiramekarei being difficult to obtain, the rest are not a problem. I don't plan to visit Hidden Mist for now; I'll consider it after I become the Raikage.

The empty pot of ingredients was bubbling and boiling, like molten lava.

The Yugito Nii kept their heads down and remained silent, lost in thought. Naruto gently rubbed his sake cup, his gaze slowly hardening. Coming back to his senses, he tilted his head back and downed the cup in one gulp.

"Ah! That's great!" Tsunade slammed her drink glass down, glancing around the dimly lit izakaya with a silly grin on her face.

"Lord Tsunade, please finish this cup and don't drink anymore," Shizune advised from the side. She was supposed to stay in Konohagakure to assist the Sixth Hokage, Kakashi.

But he was so worried about Tsunade that he decided to travel with her.

"Shizune, you're such a spoilsport!" Tsunade flushed. "Come on, Shizune, have a drink too. You're not the Hokage anymore."

"That's true, but what about the village?" Shizune pushed her glass away, looking at her reflection in the rippling wine, and frowned slightly.

"Sakura is quite capable, but she's still too young. If there's something she can't handle, well..."

"Then why did you come along?" Tsunade said with a smile. "Anyway, I'm not afraid of blood anymore, and I don't need anyone to take care of me. Kakashi would definitely prefer you to stay in the village."

"Forget it, Lord Tsunade, don't you always say that we should trust the power of the younger generation?" Shizune smiled. "I also believe in Sakura."

Tsunade glanced at her but said nothing, continuing to drink one glass after another. The izakaya was filled with the constant clinking of glasses, the lively atmosphere masking all unspoken thoughts.

As night fell, Shizune helped the tipsy Tsunade into the inn where they were staying. After a thorough washing and care, she sighed and returned to her room.

After a while, in the darkness, Tsunade, lying on the bed, suddenly moved. Her eyelids twitched, and she groggily opened her eyes.

The room was unfamiliar. Having spent the last few years in Konohagakure, I was finding it hard to adjust to life on the move. Though it was called a trip, it felt more like homelessness than a trip, except I had plenty of money.

Her mind was a bit muddled. Lying on her back, she felt a tightness in her chest, and her throat felt uncomfortable. So, half-asleep, she sat up and groped for some water.

I jumped up abruptly, swaying forward before nearly falling over due to the momentum. After finally getting a drink of water, my interest waned as I gazed at the night view outside the window.

Konohagakure was not the land of her dreams; decades had passed, and it was now nothing but a place of sorrow.

If I hadn't given that necklace to Nawaki back then, and if my Medical Ninjutsu had been more advanced, perhaps I could have saved Nawaki.

She wore that necklace even when she died, and they agreed that once the war ended, everything would be irreversible. The blood-stained necklace seemed to truly carry a curse, circling back and forth.

The only one who survived was probably that blond guy, even though he clearly saw Naruto get stabbed through the heart by Orochimaru that day, yet he still survived.

This goes beyond just being strange; it's downright abnormal. I was almost in despair at that point, thinking this person was definitely dead.

But not long after, the wound to his heart healed, healed completely. Who could believe such a thing? It wasn't an ordinary injury, but to his heart—it was even more outrageous than if someone had chopped off Kun'er and another one had immediately grown back.

This guy seems hard to kill! But given his despicable, shameless, and vile personality, the probability of him being tricked to death seems very low; it's more likely that he'll trick others to death.

"Lord Tsunade." Shizune appeared outside the door at some point, pushed it open, and saw Tsunade standing there in a daze, holding a water glass. She called out softly.

"Hmm." Tsunade out of her reverie.

"What's wrong? Would you like some hangover tea?" Shizune asked, walking over to the kettle and brewing some tea. "What was Lord Tsunade thinking about just now?"

"Naruto," she said, rubbing her temples.

"Him?" Shizune was a little surprised. She clicked on the light. Although the darkness did not obstruct her vision, she wanted the room to be brighter.

"Naruto should have left the village by now, right? I wonder if we'll run into him on the way."

"It's practically impossible to run into them; the chances are slim." Tsunade took a sip of water from her glass, glanced at the steaming teapot, and continued.

"Pay attention to the recent news from Kumogakure. Where things are most chaotic, that's roughly where he is."

"The most chaotic?" Shizune was a little confused.

"Hmm, do you think that person can travel around peacefully after leaving the village?" Tsunade sneered. "That person might be eyeing Kumogakure or Iwagakure."

The next day.

Naruto woke up to find the Yugito Nii sleeping brazenly on his bed, their backs to him. His eyelids twitched involuntarily; he thought to himself, "This person is truly unfathomable."

After sleeping on the floor a few times and realizing you could restrain yourself from her, you just let loose, right?

He pursed his lips, got out of bed, and washed up. He didn't take the catgirl too seriously; even if he was really in a hurry, he wouldn't use her as an emergency measure. He should be able to distinguish between a tool and a person of authority.

After that, I can no longer exploit Yugito Nii. The path to becoming Raikage is indeed fraught with thorns; are they already setting a trap for me?

Are you kidding me? No woman is as fun as the Raikage.

He sat at the dining table, the mess from the red pot from the previous night now cleaned up and thrown away. Although he was poor, he wasn't so poor that he couldn't afford a meal.

However, the procurement of supplies recently had almost exhausted all his money, and the one million taels that Uzuki Yugao had was simply not enough to cover it. In the past few days, he had spent almost all of it.

If they were frugal, they could manage to survive until Kumogakure directly used the money of the Yugito Nii. But the problem is that by being frugal, they didn't consider unforeseen circumstances.

"I'm running out of money, what should I do?" Naruto muttered to himself as he brought back two portions of food from outside. As he went upstairs, he saw the Yugito Nii coming out of the bathroom.

Stare... then choose to ignore.

The Yugito Nii curled their lip and went into the room to change clothes as if no one else was there. Through the experiment, she discovered that the person opposite her seemed to be restraining himself. This indicated that, to some extent, he needed to do something on his own.

After a series of meticulous deductions, she discovered that this person seemed to have never treated her as a mare from the beginning, but rather as a pure cattle or horse to be used.

Two days ago, she was gripped by fear of mugwort and desperately tried to keep up, almost collapsing from exhaustion. But the truth is, this person was simply trying to exploit her own existence.

I do all the odd jobs and all the fighting myself. Except for not having to warm the bed, I do everything myself.

Hateful!

Her rebellious streak kicked in immediately, and she decided to let loose. Even though she was subordinate, she wasn't being treated like a slave; who could stand that?

If the opponent were an ordinary Jonin or even close to the level of the Five Kage, neither Yugito nor Yugito would find the mission too difficult. But the person in front of them was also a Jinchuriki of a Tailed Beast.

Traveling from the border of the Land of Grass to the Land of the Falls in just two days, that's quite an experience! Even if you could fly, you couldn't run that fast!

"Same as today, let's keep going."

Naruto had already sat down and was calmly eating breakfast, avoiding looking at things he shouldn't, lest he have trouble sleeping. They were still on their way, Kumogakure be fine once they reached Kumogakure.

Upon hearing this, the Yugito Nii legs eating breakfast. Standing there, they didn't even bother to change their clothes, and opened their mouths to ask.

"Could we slow down a bit today?"

"Slow down? No way." Naruto refused without even looking up, not wanting to spend too much time on the road. "Get to Kumogakure as soon as possible and get things done."

"Alright." The Yugito Nii sighed, wondering what sins they had committed. "Can't you take me back into that space?"

"Cannot."

"Is it because once you're out, you can't go back?" she asked curiously, her last glimmer of hope extinguished, ready to accept this bleak torment.

"No, traveling alone is too tiring, I don't want you to be idle," he said.