After dealing with Nagato, Naruto left the remaining sealing work and cleanup to his Shadow Clones, while his real body swiftly returned to the festival area using Flying Thunder God.
However, when he quietly appeared, the three girls were nowhere in sight.
Instead, he startled Sakura's parents, who were nearby.
Their faces were anxious, and they kept standing on tiptoe to scan the crowd. When Naruto suddenly appeared, they jumped, then reacted as though they had found a lifeline.
"Lord Hokage!"
They spoke almost simultaneously, their respectful voices carrying an urgency they could barely conceal.
They hurried over, Kizashi Haruno nervously rubbing his hands together as he fixed his gaze on Naruto.
"Have you seen Sakura?"
"Sakura?"
Naruto frowned slightly and shook his head.
"No. I just finished some official business. I haven't seen her."
He quickly thought back.
Since he had last gone with Sakura to deal with the matter involving Kurama Yakumo, he had indeed seen her over the past few days.
But that was perfectly normal in a ninja's life. They each had busy missions and schedules.
"Why? Did something happen?"
Naruto narrowed his eyes, his tone turning serious. Seeing the anxiety on Sakura's parents' faces, he realized this might be more than a simple matter.
"I remember the medical department now uses a day-and-night shift system. Is she on the day shift or the night shift?"
"She was on the day shift today. She should have handed over this afternoon."
Mebuki Haruno took over, her face full of guilt and regret, her voice choked with tears.
"It's all my fault. I scolded her over something trivial earlier... I may have been too harsh."
Hearing that, Naruto could hardly be bothered to listen any further.
That was what his experience, drawn from several examples he knew in