Little Ino Burying Her Head in the Sand

"If war comes, will the people have any way to survive?" Ino asked worriedly. "In the past two years, because of communication equipment, my colleagues from the Intelligence Department and I have been to many places in the Land of Fire."

"Most people are doing relatively well in Konohagakure. As long as there is no war, everyone can eat their fill and have a place to live. In some places outside, the nobles are really going too far."

Naruto remained silent. He knew all too well how cunning nobles could be. Although ninjas didn't have a very high status in the Land of Fire, similar to warriors, they lived better than 90% of the population.

Some talented ninjas only need to provide meat and food in the early stages, and they gradually become wealthy after completing missions. However, ninjas generally do not intermarry with commoners, and usually settle down within the family.

Occasionally, some ninjas, unwilling to toil away to earn money, would switch sides and serve the nobility. The stronger ones would be treated as honored guests, while the weaker ones might find other avenues for male or female gratification.

Most ninjas walk in the sunlight, but not everyone can make it work. Those who can't will naturally find their own way to get closer to the nobility.

The nobles' method of controlling ninjas was simple: they made them marry, have children, and settle down. Ninjas were difficult to control, but controlling their families and property was easy enough.

The Ino-Shika-Cho ninja clan naturally stands at the top of the ninja food chain. Ino's trip abroad revealed that not every village is as peaceful as Konohagakure, naturally changing her mindset.

"That's just how it is. We can't control war." Naruto pondered. "We can only hope to win this war so that everyone can have a way out."

Although Ino was kind, she was also sensible and didn't bring up the war again. The two walked openly together on the Konohagakure Street and escorted her to the door of the Yamanaka Flower Shop.

The upstairs lights were on, so the Yamanaka couple had probably arrived home.

"That's enough for now." Ino took a small step forward before turning around and smiling at Naruto. "It's too late today. You can talk to my parents about the marriage another time."

"Okay." Naruto nodded and watched Ino go upstairs.

He knew Ino was giving him time, and he seemed to have forgotten about the matter along the way, only mentioning the marriage at the very end.

The next day.

Naruto woke up groggily, his mind still foggy, thinking about random things. He didn't sleep well that night, tossing and turning until midnight before finally falling asleep.

Ino's pregnancy caught him completely off guard; he had been planning to stall. Regardless of whether Inoichi Yamanaka or Hyuga Hiashi were satisfied, he would simply keep putting it off.

If we drag it out until the Fourth Shinobi World War breaks out, that would be considered a victory. Everyone would be tied up in the war, and by then, the two fathers-in-law's bottom lines might be more flexible.

He never considered marrying someone who would make him feel inferior. This is the Shinobi World; they can hold as many weddings as they want. They don't even need the Land of Fire's recognition, so the question of whether or not to marry is irrelevant.

Of course, he couldn't possibly hold countless weddings; at most, only two. In fact, compared to nobles, Naruto could even be considered kind-hearted.

However, stalling tactics are no longer effective; he must take responsibility and not let a small matter ruin the bigger picture. The wedding is his stance, and he has to try, whether it's to get Inoichi Yamanaka to agree or not.

He knew Ino was very intelligent, much more so than the average person, and that any clever tricks would be counterproductive in this situation. Only sincerity would leave no room for doubt.

Knock knock knock.

A knock sounded at the door, Naruto reluctantly got out of bed to open it, wondering Hinata was looking for him so early. But when he opened the door, it was Choji, that fatso, grinning and carrying a bag of beer.

"A rare guest?"

"No, I just came to check if you were alright," Choji said, waving his hand. Before Naruto could feel touched, he added, "You treated us to a meal yesterday like you were making your last arrangements, it was terrifying."

"Damn." Naruto stepped aside; the two had just had a light drink that morning.

Choji also had things to do, and seeing that Naruto was alive and well, he didn't ask any questions. He finished his drink and leisurely left. Naruto stood upstairs, watching the chubby boy leave, and couldn't help but smile.

There are still more good people than bad in this world.

Inoichi Yamanaka wasn't home during the day, so Naruto stayed home until noon before leisurely venturing out to find food. At this point, he wasn't going to adhere to traditional etiquette anymore.

He planned to visit them alone that evening to finalize the wedding arrangements as soon as possible.

However, things did not go as he wished. He had just finished eating his ramen and was picking his teeth Teuchi Ichiraku about whether to change the drink in his ramen set meal to soy milk or a carbonated beverage.

"That's going too far! How can you change the drink?" he said nonchalantly. "The boss is being naughty. If this continues, I won't come back next time."

"Let's release two models then. It's not easy to get stock right now." Teuchi Ichiraku leaned against the counter chatting with Naruto. It was two o'clock, and there weren't many customers in the store.

"What is Konohagakure up to now?"

"I don't know, but things aren't peaceful outside," Teuchi Ichiraku said, squinting. "I haven't seen you in the store much in the last two years. Are you on a mission outside?"

"Yeah, doing some trash missions, they're practically groveling to the nobles." Naruto would occasionally blurt out a few words, making no attempt to hide his contempt for the nobles.

"Oh, nobles, huh? I've met a few of them." Teuchi Ichiraku chuckle. "Back then, the village was still very powerful, and nobles would often come to Konohagakure to buy property."

The conversation ended there. Naruto couldn't very well say he hated the nobles because they never invited him to their parties. Hey, even if they invited him, he wouldn't go!

Meanwhile, Kakashi received news from the Anbu that the other Four Great Nations had all been attacked. White Zetsu was approaching the border of the Land of Fire; war was imminent.

At 3 PM, all the prominent members of the Ino-Shika-Cho received the notification, but Naruto was not among them. Uzuki Yugao didn't contact him and simply ignored it.

As luck would have it, Naruto opened the Gate of Hades to pick out a gift from the Land of Snow. After all, things are valued for their rarity, and something from the Land of Snow, thousands of miles away, is bound to be more meaningful.

Hokage Building.

Kakashi frowned, his fingers interlaced on the table, looking troubled. The enemy had arrived too quickly; there was a time lag in the information, and the enemy was probably already deep inside the Land of Land of Fire.

"Messages have come from Kumogakure, Sunagakure, Kirigakure, and Iwagakure, all requesting a video call with the Hokage," Yamanaka Inoichi said in a deep voice, his expression equally grim.

The enemy had already reached our doorstep when the news finally came back; the Intelligence Department bears some responsibility.

"The most important thing now is to stop the enemy from penetrating deeper into the Land of Land of Fire's territory, or the consequences will be unimaginable," Shikaku Nara said solemnly.

"That's true. With a formidable enemy at hand, we should deal with the immediate enemy first." Kakashi readily agreed. "Transfer the ninja forces from the Sector 5 and Sector 7, which are near the village, to protect Konohagakure as a priority."

Konohagakure is a small place, so it's impossible to station too many troops there. These ninja units are stationed in various key locations throughout the Land of Fire, supporting each other from afar.

"Yes!" After accepting the order, Uzuki Yugao prepared to take the documents to mobilize troops.

Faced with such a large-scale invasion, relying solely on the village's elite ninjas is far from sufficient. At least in matters of protection and guard duty, the ninja forces can leverage their numerical advantage.

"Then let's send a team to the front to gather intelligence, Team 10." He turned to Shikamaru and gave him an inquiring look.

"I'm all set, I can leave anytime," Shikamaru nodded.

As the Hokage's secretary, he was also qualified to participate in the meeting. Shikamaru's father, Shikaku, as the strategist, showed no expression upon seeing his son's statement.

"Choji is fine too, he's never had anything to do." Choza Akimichi readily agreed on behalf of his son, having long been fed up with Choji's idle Tenten.

Besides, it's just intelligence gathering; with Shikamaru around, there won't be any danger. It's good for him to get some training. Furthermore, he also had some personal motives; it's safer for his son to stay in the Intelligence Division than to fight on the battlefield.

"Ino hasn't been feeling well lately." Inoichi Yamanaka moment, then refused.

"Then let's merge Team Eight: Shino and Kiba Inuzuka, Choji and Shikamaru." Kakashi lazily lowered his head and wrote on the mission scroll.

At this uncertain juncture, he deliberately avoided summoning Hinata Hyuga. Perhaps he was thinking of Naruto, or perhaps he didn't want to deal with those old fogies from the Main Family.

If he weren't in the position of Hokage, he would only need to follow orders when war came.

The brief meeting ended there, Kakashi got up to head to the Intelligence Department to attend the online Five Kage Summit. Since they were facing the same enemy, the Five Great Shinobi Villages would be surprisingly united.

The Land of Snow.

After Naruto finished choosing a gift, he turned to look at Kazahana Koyuki, who seemed hesitant to speak, and couldn't help but ask.

What are you trying to say?

He thought to himself, "Could she be pregnant too?" Well, it doesn't really matter. We each got what we wanted; I was already prepared for it.

After all, Kazahana Koyuki had said a long time ago that she wanted a child, but that's not something you can just have whenever you want. Naruto doesn't travel to the Land of Snow very often, and he doesn't plan to stay overnight this time.

"I heard last time that you have someone under you named Yakumo Kurama who can manipulate dreams." Kazahana Koyuki tried to make her words as clear as possible.

"We've acquired a device that can transmit signals like a wireless transmitter. It might be helpful for Yakumo Kurama, but we still need to test it."

"It's no big deal. I'll bring her over in a few days." Naruto understood and roughly knew that it was something that would benefit Yakumo Kurama, and perhaps also the Land of Snow.

But he's been preoccupied with many worries lately and doesn't have much time to ask, so he just waved his hand in agreement.

"You can just say it directly next time, there's no need to be so coy."

"Mm," Kazahana Koyuki replied.

That being said, Kazahana Koyuki, being of royal lineage, knew her place. Any more would be capricious, any less would be dull.

She was in the prime of her life and knew exactly how to maintain a proper distance from Naruto. She didn't make Naruto feel burdened, nor was she overly submissive.

After Naruto packed up the gifts and put them into his Sealing Space before leaving, looking at the palace that had returned to silence, Kazahana Koyuki couldn't help but sigh softly.

The news that Naruto was going to marry Ino was naturally kept from her, and Kazahana Koyuki also put in a lot of effort to help Naruto choose a suitable gift.

But now that everything has settled down, she can't help but feel a little lost. She feels like something is missing, something she could never have in the first place.

Shaking her head, Kazahana Koyuki banished the jumbled thoughts from her mind. "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown," she thought, realizing she couldn't possibly be a normal wife by his side.

It's already very good now, at least everything is going smoothly. If it weren't for him, I don't know what the Land of Snow would be like now.

In an instant, the Kazahana Koyuki returned to their usual serene and aloof state.

Naruto had just returned to Konohagakure when he suddenly found the village in chaos, with everyone on the streets rushing about. He was taken aback, wondering if he had only been gone for a few hours.

What's wrong?

Suddenly, he seemed to realize something, and a vague unease crept into his eyes as he looked towards the Hokage Building. Without even glancing at the building, he turned and grabbed someone, asking directly.

"What happened?"

The villagers were hurrying home with their belongings, extremely anxious, when suddenly someone grabbed them halfway. Already in a hurry, their anger flared up, and they opened their mouths to curse.

Suddenly turning his head, he saw Naruto's face and immediately swallowed his trash talk.

"War is about to break out!"

After saying this, the villager gritted his teeth, shook off Naruto's hand, and hurriedly ran home.

"So fast? Why now of all times?" Naruto stood on Konohagakure Street, his expression somewhat complicated. Behind him was a chaotic crowd and the gradually darkening sky.

Night falls.

The second floor of the Yamanaka Flower Shop.

Ino sat on the sofa, slightly resentful, dressed in her pajamas. The Yamanaka couple sat opposite her.

"Don't act like a child. You're almost a mother yourself," Inoichi Yamanaka stern face. "You stay in the village and don't get involved in the war."

"Yes, your father is right. Even in the rear, there are dangers. It's better to stay in the village for peace and quiet. You have to think about the children," said Yamanaka Rino.

"Hey! Stop talking!" Ino covered her ears and got up to go back to her room.

She wasn't that foolish to risk going to the battlefield. Even if not for herself, she would do everything she could to ensure her own safety.

She was getting annoyed by her parents' nagging, so she couldn't help but retort a few times.

Just then, the wind chimes downstairs rang.

Suddenly, Ino stopped in her tracks, thinking to herself, "Didn't I tell that little fool to come over in a few days? Isn't he just asking to be scolded by his father? Why did he have to walk right into the line of fire?"

Inoichi Yamanaka had already gotten up and walked towards the second-floor balcony. Once he reached the balcony, he could see Naruto downstairs.

"Hey! Wait a minute!" Ino suddenly exclaimed.

"What?" Inoichi Yamanaka frowned and turned to look at his daughter.

"I... I lost something!" Ino, quick-wittedly. "It's very important. Anyway, I'm going to the battlefield, so don't worry about me, I'm going!"

She shouted, and sure enough, Inoichi Yamanaka and Yamanaka Rino's attention was diverted, and they both looked at Ino.

Before they could even speak, Ino rushed down the stairs, shouting as she went.

I'm going out for a walk, don't follow me!

I had a high fever yesterday. After work, I lay down for a while and woke up in the early hours of the morning, so I can only update today.