Aprons Are Great Too

"I was terrified of Itachi Uchiha."

Naruto spoke the truth, twirled his sword smoothly, and slowly sheathed it with a clang, letting the blade slide back into its scabbard.

"Here, this is from your mother."

Ino pulled out a bag of food from behind her back, her expression somewhat unnatural.

"If you don't like it, don't talk nonsense. Last time you said you liked it, and your mother took it seriously. When she heard you were back, she insisted that I bring it over."

"I wasn't lying, please thank Auntie for me." He casually hung the knife on the wall in the entryway, then turned around and said lazily, "I'm going to put on some clothes, please sit anywhere."

Ino pursed her lips slightly, revealing a look of dissatisfaction, then put her hands behind her back and lightly stepped into the entrance hall.

Holding onto the shoe cabinet against the wall, she began to take off her shoes, revealing her jade-like ankles, her jade-like feet firmly planted on the floor. Naruto, having changed his clothes, came out of the room, completely ignoring Ino, and went to the kitchen to boil water while yawning.

The apartment Naruto moved into this time was much more spacious than that old, run-down apartment, and the decoration was much more exquisite than his previous house. All the furniture and appliances were also top-of-the-line.

"Just got back?" Ino leaned against the kitchen door, watching Naruto listlessly open the refrigerator to start cooking.

Large swathes of Nikko streamed in through the sunlit French windows, into the clean and tidy living room, across the sofa, and onto Ino's straight legs, which were drawn up.

Her calves were fair and smooth, and her firm and tender leg curves were on full display.

"Um."

Naruto clicked the kettle on, leaned against the marble countertop in the kitchen, glanced at Ino, and finally fixed his gaze on her legs.

Ino's face twitched, and her originally proper smile gradually crumbled.

Where are you looking?

"Legs," Naruto said with a yawn.

Naruto had expected Ino a disdainful look, as if she were looking at something filthy, and then mock him. Instead Ino blushed and looked completely flustered.

"You're not thinking anything strange, are you?"

"Absolutely not," Naruto denied immediately.

"I don't mind being the object of my fantasies," Ino chuckled dryly, her eyes darting around. "Generally speaking, boys should start to become perverted at this age, right?"

Despite uttering such shocking words, Ino couldn't hide her blush. It wasn't hard to see that Ino was merely trying her best to suppress her shyness and was deliberately putting on a brave face.

"I don't understand what you're saying at all." Naruto's eyes lost their sparkle, and he pointed at Ino's clothes and asked.

"But what's with your outfit?"

"Dress up? What dress up?" Ino blinked quickly, a cute expression on her face, and replied, seemingly unrelated to the question, "Um... what are we having for lunch?"

"Still omelet rice?"

"Hello"

"I've already tried this last time, so I suggest you try something different this time."

"Hello"

"And, and, that." Ino turned around and silently collapsed onto the sofa without saying a word.

"Strange and weird."

Naruto glanced at the ingredients, then at Ino lying on the sofa. He felt he shouldn't be standing in the kitchen; he should be lying on the sofa.

"Ino".

Hearing the voice coming from beside her ear, Ino was startled for a moment, then suddenly looked up and met a pair of dead fish eyes. The distance between their noses was only about the length of a finger, and their eyes locked.

"Ah!!" Ino screamed, then her face turned completely red. She buried her face in the sofa and pleaded in a muffled voice, "Please don't ask anymore, please don't ask anymore."

"I won't ask anymore." Naruto lay on the other side of the sofa, looking like a completely dried-out salted fish, and said weakly.

"Ino, I'm leaving the cooking to you."

"I was seriously injured outside, with a hole in my chest, and I'm still not fully healed."

Upon hearing this, Ino froze, then nervously crawled over. Staring at Naruto's closed eyes, her long, golden hair brushed against Naruto's face, tickling him slightly.

Naruto opened his eyes, and their eyes met again.

Ino's face gradually turned red, the blush spreading almost all the way down to her neck. His hot breath brushed against her face, and she straightened up somewhat embarrassedly, glancing to the other side and hurriedly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I want to see the wound."

Naruto didn't want to cook, so he didn't hesitate to lift his shirt, revealing a rather gruesome wound on his chest. Fortunately, it had scabbed over and was almost completely healed, but it still looked frightening.

"How did you get this?" Ino was indeed startled. She gently touched the scar and asked cautiously, "Does it hurt?"

"If you ask that question, then it hurts."

"What kind of talk is that?"

Ino's attention was entirely focused on the scar, while Naruto's eyelids were heavy, his eyes half-closed, and all he wanted to do was sleep. Completely unaware, Ino had practically sat on Naruto.

A cool summer breeze swept through the window, and the next moment, Naruto was fast asleep on the sofa.

Ino lay there above him, her pupils slightly dilated. Even though there was no physical contact, her heart began to pound inexplicably. Like thick clouds about to fall, unable to block out the blazing sun.

She stood up and silently walked to the kitchen, almost wondering if she had lost her mind.

"Aaaaaah!!"

"Go to hell!! You bastard!"

Thump!

The cleaver slammed onto the cutting board, Naruto fell asleep on the sofa near the balcony, the wind chimes tinkling softly. Ino leaned against the kitchen door, head bowed, biting her lip in a daze.

The cicadas' chirping in the height of summer was still noisy, but it could no longer reach the girl's ears.

Naruto was completely asleep, his consciousness sinking into the Sealing Space.

The Nine-Tails, as big as a mountain, was hiding inside a red fence watching a DVD player. When it saw Naruto arrive, it didn't even blink.

What are you doing here?

"I came in because I was asleep," Naruto sighed. "What? You're not happy to see me?"

Nine-Tails didn't say anything, but made a very human-like gesture.

"Hey tui!"

Naruto suddenly opened his eyes and sat bolt upright on the sofa, his consciousness expelled from the Sealing Space by Nine-Tails. Nine-Tails had eaten all of Itachi Uchiha that Amaterasu, and only escaped unharmed after returning to the Sealing Space.

Last time, Naruto (the Nine-Tails) forcibly extended Naruto's life, which can be considered as doing everything he could to help.

"Awake?" Ino's voice came from the kitchen.

A moment later, Ino, wearing a light blue apron, came out of the kitchen carrying a steaming stone pot. Her hair was different from usual; it was loose and draped over her shoulders.

"What are you looking at? Go wash your hands and eat when you're awake."

Ino stood obliviously in front of the dining table, looking at Naruto with a puzzled expression, a rubber band between her teeth. She reached behind her head and skillfully tied her loose blond hair into a bun.

Naruto suspected he had time-traveled again, and this time he was being forced to share wives?

Madam, please have some self-respect?

"Hmm? You're not thinking about anything strange, are you?" Ino asked, frowning.