Tenten's Unspoken Understanding, Naruto: I Feel Awful If I Don't Spend Money for a Day

"What else could it be? They've started fighting," Naruto casually replied. "But don't you think those ninjas from the Land of Grass have been behaving a bit strange lately?"

"What's so strange?" Tenten was taken aback, wondering why he had changed the subject.

"The Land of Grass has lost its will to fight; they'll probably run away in the next couple of days." He grinned and gestured towards the Land of Land of Grass.

How did you know?

"Just look. It's past mealtime, and these guys still haven't lit a fire." Naruto chuckled. "Something must have happened, probably some internal conflict."

"Why are you so concerned about Grass?" Tenten, a hint of jealousy in her voice.

"Don't you care?" he retorted. "You personally dealt with that Grass mission officer back then, wasn't it to prove they would betray us?"

"I don't care." Tenten crossed her arms and turned away.

After returning from that trip, the camp didn't investigate Tenten's disappearance; in fact, they didn't even realize Tenten was missing. At the time, management was rather chaotic, and it was difficult to distinguish one person from another.

"Alright then, let's go back." He shrugged and gestured for Tenten to head back.

The two walked back again, stumbling along the muddy path. He would occasionally glance back at her, making small talk. Gradually, he noticed something was off; Tenten seemed a bit strange.

Every few seconds, she seemed to look at herself?

Could this person like me? The moment that thought crossed his mind, he instinctively dismissed it. He thought to himself, "Impossible. Anyone could like me, but it could never be Tenten."

He has never hidden his scumbag nature from Tenten; he's completely open about it. The current situation is that Tenten knows he's a scumbag, and he knows he's a scumbag too.

Even when joking around... wait, a bizarre thought flashed through Naruto's mind. Could Tenten have taken it seriously? No way, Tenten is so clear-headed.

Could it be that Hinata has possessed him?

"Why are you always staring at me?" Tenten frowned, giving Naruto a hostile look. "You're not thinking of hitting on me, are you?"

"I'm warning you, don't even think about getting any funny ideas about me. I won't fall for it. Even if you keep pestering me, it won't work. Even if I don't dislike you, I could never accept you. Give up!"

Naruto: "."

This guy even has a built-in progress bar, is his operation that flashy?

"No, no, I've always considered you a buddy." Naruto waved his hand and chuckled awkwardly. "We've slept together before, I really don't have any ulterior motives."

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Tenten glanced at him, but didn't take it too seriously.

Their relationship was relatively simple; they had indeed been inseparable best friends before this. In fact, Naruto had told Tenten everything he couldn't tell anyone else.

He trusted that Tenten wouldn't betray him, and Tenten enjoyed the feeling of being trusted. Especially since that person was someone who didn't like to tell the truth, it gave her an unparalleled sense of satisfaction.

If it weren't for what happened with Neji, Tenten probably wouldn't have thought about the future. For her, time passed slowly, and life with her friends was very interesting.

But everything changed after Neji got married. Everyone around her started their own families. It was as if they had all grown up overnight, and she was the one left behind.

After experiencing all sorts of things, Tenten has come to terms with it, but doesn't want to change her life trajectory.

Just as some people accept growing up but can't accept immediately falling in love, Tenten is the same. She prefers living her own life to being in a relationship.

Some things don't need to be said too explicitly between adults. Tenten didn't say it directly, and Naruto didn't try to understand what she meant. But he grasped the feeling Tenten was conveying: many things aren't difficult if you take the initiative.

A wind picked up at the edge of the camp, making the Great Green Tree rustle.

Naruto gave an "oh" and didn't continue the conversation. He simply reached out and lifted the curtain for Tenten as he escorted her into the Tenten, placing his palm on the top of the tent entrance.

Tenten stumbled, but didn't feel any pain in her forehead. She looked up and immediately fell silent.

"Then I'll head back now." Naruto took a few steps back, slowly turned around, and left.

She looked up as the wind howled and only caught a glimpse of a tall figure slowly walking away, and the hem of his clothes fluttering in the wind. She felt no stirrings of emotion, just a slight nervousness.

In that instant, it felt like a Tenten had passed, and the skin on that inch of her forehead seemed to be burning hot.

Her heart was pounding; he probably knew what she meant, but she now knew what Naruto meant too. Their unspoken understanding was always a secret, something they couldn't say outright.

Once spoken, it's like a porcelain kettle falling to the ground, destined to shatter into pieces.

In short, that's all for today.

~~

"Naruto Uzumaki! You deserve to die!" Sasuke chopped down a green tree with his sword, his anger finding nowhere to go, and roared as he listened to the wind whistling through the pine forest.

"Don't be angry, Sasuke. That's just how he is," Karin advised. "We're about to make a breakthrough on the main battlefield. The Allied Shinobi Forces are almost at their breaking point."

"How could we not hold out? The Five Kage haven't even made a move yet, and Naruto Uzumaki is nowhere to be seen." Sasuke Uchiha's eyes were gloomy. "He's not even on the battlefield; he's gone to the Land of Grass."

"Can anyone tell me how he manages to travel back and forth between the two places?"

"This..." Karin felt that Sasuke was a bit too obsessed. He seemed to care too much about Naruto Uzumaki. In fact, Sasuke didn't need a good reputation right now.

They were already planning to destroy the Five Great Nations, so compared to that, the petty squabbles in the Capital City the Land of Grass and the Land of Fire were nothing. But she couldn't say any of this, and could only helplessly watch Sasuke throw a tantrum.

Sasuke seems to have become much more irritable lately, which is unusual for him. It's probably because the battlefield is too oppressive, and Kabuto and Zetsu's group are each harboring their own secrets.

Although the opposing Allied Shinobi Forces were not a monolithic force, they at least understood the priorities of the conflict and knew they could not afford to lose, so they were truly willing to fight to the death on the battlefield.

On the other hand, the old codger Impure World Reincarnation was utterly useless. While he could indeed inflict heavy losses on the Allied Shinobi Forces, that was about it.

With the Raikage and Kazekage providing cover, the Allied Shinobi Forces did not suffer significant losses overall.

Both sides are currently testing their patience. Kabuto is waiting for the Allied Shinobi Forces to lose their composure, as they are a hastily assembled force. If they fail to achieve victory in one fell swoop and suffer repeated small defeats, their morale will eventually collapse.

Everyone understands the principle, but how things will actually turn out is hard to say.

Although White Zetsu have no hearts and are absolutely obedient to orders, only Kabuto controls their minds. While the Allied Shinobi Forces are internally divided, if managed properly, they might still be a formidable force.

The one who suffered the most was Sasuke Uchiha, who not only had to wait, but also had to endure Naruto Uzumaki's provocative actions.

Karin understood all of this, but there was nothing she could do; Kabuto was in control of the battlefield. Now, all they could do was to crush the Allied Shinobi Forces as quickly as possible and hasten their collapse.

The Land of Snow.

"How's it going with the Allied Shinobi Forces?" Hanabi Hyuga asked curiously.

"Nothing much. With those higher-ups taking care of things, the situation is relatively stable," Naruto replied casually, carefully moving his head away from Hinata's stomach.

After he got up and washed his hands, he took a plate of grapes and sat down Hinata, carefully peeling them. Hinata sat there quietly with a serene smile on her face.

The scenery of the Land of Snow is quite beautiful. Capital City, the northern landscape boasts majestic snow-capped mountains and long, frozen rivers. Capital City, however, it enjoys a spring-like climate year-round and is bustling with activity.

Beside her was Hyuga Hanabi, who was chattering Hanabi Hyuga. The two sisters would go out for fun from time to time. They had been there for a month or two, but Kakuzu of the Capital City.

Naruto would come to visit her whenever he had free time, sometimes without even changing his clothes and with his hair all messy. Hinata was actually quite content with her life and felt happy.

"I'm just worried about the village. I don't know if Father has gone to the front lines," Hanabi muttered. "They say it's the Allied Shinobi Forces, but we haven't heard anything after fighting for so long."

"How could Lord Hiashi possibly go to the front lines? Neji has already gone to the front lines, so Lord Hiashi naturally has to stay in the rear." Naruto scoffed and fed Hinata a grape.

"Ah, open your mouth."

Hinata narrowed her eyes into crescent moons and obediently opened her mouth.

"I can peel it myself, I'm not a child."

"How could I let you do it? It's not a big deal, and you have a baby in your belly," Naruto said softly, feeding Hinata another grape.

"Let me handle this little thing, it's no problem."

Hanabi Hyuga, listening from the side, got goosebumps. If she didn't know that her brother-in-law wasn't a good person, she would have really believed that he was a good man.

But if her own older sister didn't care about sharing a husband with another man, why should she mind?

Even though Hanabi Hyuga disliked Naruto, she had to admit that her brother-in-law had indeed paid meticulous attention to detail and considered everything.

If I put this thought elsewhere... no, I can't put it elsewhere, otherwise what will happen to my older sister?

She shook her head, looking at Hinata's smiling face, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. She thought to herself, "My silly sister, have you forgotten about Ino?"

In fact, if Hanabi didn't think about it carefully, she wouldn't even remember that her brother-in-law had another daughter Ino, besides Hinata.

This guy does such great attention to detail. Not only does he never mention Ino in front of Hinata, but he also manages to create the impression that he's rushing home every time he comes back.

It seems that Naruto, apart from being busy on the battlefield, is only concerned about Hinata. His eagerness to return home is so great that he could win an acting award.

What's even more amazing about Hanabi is the attention to detail. Although this guy's clothes might occasionally get dirty and messy, there will never be any bloodstains, whether his or someone else's.

"Hmm, are you going back to the battlefield later?" Hanabi asked mischievously.

"You're so disrespectful! What are you saying?!" Naruto noticed the aggression in Hanabi's words and narrowed his eyes. "Call me brother-in-law."

"Dream on."

"Don't you like Princess Fuun? Guess if I can get you her autographed poster?" Naruto smiled contemptuously, he had plenty of ways to deal with this restless sister-in-law.

"Really?" Hanabi's eyes lit up, and she stood up from the sofa, her bare white feet stepping on the floor. "I heard she stopped making movies six years ago and disappeared."

"Hehe, I took on a mission six years ago. Guess who it's related to?" Naruto carefully manipulated Hanabi, without directly stating that Princess Fuun was the Queen of the Land of Snow's Capital City.

He had to be careful not to let Hanabi Hyuga get her way all at once; he had to let things slide little by little. Otherwise, there would be nothing to shut her up later, to prevent her from saying anything inappropriate around Hinata.

What is it?

"I happen to have some autographed gifts from Princess Fuun's commission, like autographed posters of the Princess Trilogy movies," Naruto said with a nonchalant air of arrogance. "I usually don't even think about them or know what they're for. If nobody wants them, I'll just throw them in the fireplace to burn."

"Me! Me! Me! I want it! Brother-in-law!" Hanabi' eyes sparkled as she jumped incredibly high, her main motivation being to follow her heart.

"Alright then, if you want it, you can have it." Naruto scratched his head, feigning distress. "As for the other freebies, I don't know where to put them. Where do you think I could put them?"

Hanabi Hyuga blinked, looking like she understood instantly.

"Brother-in-law, don't worry, take your time looking. I want them all. I'll stay here and take care of my sister, waiting for your good news."

Pshaw, you little brat, I can't handle you.

Naruto could take on ten brats like her, so who else could it be!

~~

Time flies, and the Allied Shinobi Forces have been fighting for almost a month, with both sides rapidly losing troops.

Naruto's daily routine consists of taking a stroll around the battlefield, clearing out the White Zetsu around the camp, and supporting the besieged ninja teams. He also takes time to travel back to Konohagakure to talk to Ino or visit Hinata in the Land of Snow.

He would occasionally visit Sakura in the Land of Rain, but she was busy, so he didn't go very often.

The reconstruction of Amegakure was progressing much faster than he had anticipated. After all, with its industrial foundation, everything was easier once the money was in place. Raw materials were being continuously transported into Amegakure, and the reconstruction work was in full swing.

"Are you short of money? If you are, I have some." Naruto said.

Konan felt a little ashamed; this was the first time Amegakure had ever been so wealthy.

"No need, not for now. The current budget is more than enough. During wartime, people's expectations for the future are not high, and the unit price of both materials and labor is very low."

"Is this really enough? Should we throw in more?" Naruto turned around, looking completely bewildered, with the typical nouveau riche attitude.

Konan could never guess just how rich this guy was; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was richer than a country, considering he owned most of the Land of Snow. Besides, this guy also liked to rob nobles and frame Sasuke Uchiha.

All things considered, his wealth was incalculable; he felt restless if he didn't spend money every day. His money grew so much that if he didn't spend it, it was practically worthless.

"Really, it's not necessary. Then how about we invest a little more?" Konan noticed his expression wasn't right and changed her mind, "How about I try to increase the budget?"

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