After the two of them spent some time together, most of the knots in Hinata's heart had loosened. When Neji walked into the office at noon, he found that guy had somehow managed to make Hinata laugh again.

Seeing this, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly, ‘Reality was even more absurd than fiction. How the hell did he manage to sweet-talk his way out of this?’

"Cough." Neji stood at the door and looked at the couple in the room, "Well, it's getting late. Let's eat first."

"Ah!" Hinata let go of Naruto awkwardly, her face slightly red.

As for Naruto, he remained completely unbothered, acting as if he owned the place. He nodded in agreement before asking casually, "Neji, where did you go just now? Why did you take so long?"

Neji: "..."

‘This guy is really shameless. The excuse for asking Hinata to come here is to deal with tedious paperwork. Now that Hinata is by your side, someone had to handle the actual work.’

"Handling documents. Nothing too troublesome." Neji replied with a polite smile, emphasizing the word ‘troublesome’.

Naruto pretended not to catch the sarcasm, then walked forward and patted Neji on the shoulder.

"Well, since we’re here, let’s eat first."

Neji: "..."

Faced with Naruto’s shameless deflection, Neji was too lazy to bother with this scumbag. Naruto clearly knew what he was busy with just now, but he had to ask a question in a mean way.

At noon, the three of them had a simple meal, with no extravagant dishes. Throughout the meal, both Hinata and Neji kept glancing at Naruto, though with very different expressions.

Hinata’s gaze was sweet, her eyes full of affection.

On the other hand, Neji had a calm expression but radiated the aura of a man who had been thoroughly used.

In his opinion, Naruto had grown rapidly, far surpassing even the most talented Shinobi in Konoha’s history like the Yondaime Hokage or the Legendary Sannin.

But while his strength had skyrocketed, his emotional maturity seemed to have... regressed.

After the meal, Naruto and Hinata lingered a while longer, sitting on the shaded steps of the backyard and whispering sweet nothings. Their laughter mingled under the rustling leaves, the bamboo grove swaying gently in the breeze.

The two were very close to each other, so Naruto could smell the refreshing fragrance emanating from Hinata lingering in the air, which made him feel a little distracted.

Thankfully, his mental fortitude was strong enough to remind him that now was not the time for distractions.

Hinata glanced at Naruto secretly, and her ears immediately turned slightly red. She awkwardly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and asked nervously, "W-What are you sniffing?"

The slight shaking made the fragrance even more noticeable, and Naruto couldn’t help but asked curiously, "Are you wearing perfume?"

"N-No..."

"Really? Let me check."

…

The next day.

Naruto opened his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling in the bedroom, feeling a little annoyed.

He had spent the entire previous day coaxing Hinata, and the results were undeniably good.

But the brief experience of intimacy also made him toss and turn in the middle of the night and unable to sleep. He kept thinking about the scene of his first connection with Hinata, and his heart was like a ball of fire.

He sat up dejectedly, and almost instinctively adjusted the position of the enthusiastic little Naruto. He got up and walked into the living room to drink water.

‘At least Hinata’s settled for now.’

‘Now, I had to figure out how to handle Ino, and also to deal with her parents along the way. ‘

However, this wasn’t something he could manage alone.

With this thought in mind, he couldn't help but frown. He realized he’d grown too reliant on Sasuke bailing him out of trouble. Now, he has become dependent on it, and whenever he encounters a problem, he subconsciously thinks about why Sasuke, the timely rain, doesn't appear.

The sound of wind chimes came from the balcony. Yugao stood outside the window of the balcony, opened a gap and looked at him expressionlessly. Two seconds later, she spoke, "Hokage-sama is looking for you."

Before he could even respond, she hurriedly pretended to leave.

Naruto: "..."

He didn't know how he had offended Yugao, or whether that time of the month had come. Her attitude in recent days was neither salty nor indifferent, which made him feel annoyed.

"Hey, wait!" Naruto reached out and grabbed the window, "What’s your problem?"

"What’s my problem?" Yugao turned around.

"Do I owe you money?" He asked.

"No." Yugao still had that cold face and shook her head.

"Then why the hell are you giving me the cold shoulder? Anyone would think I owe you money." Naruto couldn’t tolerate her anymore and slammed the glass window shut fiercely, then pulled the curtains.

On the balcony, Yugao looked at the closed window, somewhat speechless. She hadn’t meant anything by it, as she was just dealing with her own frustrations.

But she could also see that Naruto seemed to be as annoyed as she was. Taking a deep breath, Yugao forced herself to calm down.

…

An hour later, Naruto finished washing up and walked out slowly.

Konoha is a village with a very slow pace of life. Except for the center of the village, there are almost no tall buildings. Intead, there are green trees and green shades everywhere.

There are inconspicuous alleys everywhere, with small breakfast stalls set up. The green trees at the entrance of the alley are lush and green, with roots and roots growing intricately, casting large patches of shade on the ground every noon.

The tree’s trunk was so wide that even three people couldn’t wrap their arms around it. At the end of the green tree was Konoha’s bustling main street, alive with the hum of daily life.

There are food stalls, barbershops, and all kinds of daily necessities stores. And at the end of the road, a white-haired old man stands there, staring up at something.

Naruto was stunned for a long time, and made sure that he was not seeing things.

He then walked over quickly, as the figure grew clearer, his suspicions were confirmed. It’s indeed Jiraiya.

The man’s wild, spiky white hair and flamboyant red haori were unmistakable, paired with wooden sandals that clacked as he walked. He’s the very picture of a degenerate hermit.

"Yo! Naruto! Long time no see!"

"Uh... Pervy Sage? When did you get back?" Naruto was a little confused, but then his mind suddenly became active and an idea flashed in his mind.

"I just got back a while ago, and was just about to ask Kakashi to look for you." Jiraiya laughed heartily, "I didn't expect you to show up by yourself. That's good, it saves me the trouble."

"I went out because Kakashi was looking for me." Naruto suddenly thought of something and his face looked a little strange, ‘Pervy Sage should not know what happened to him recently, right?’

"What did you need me for, Pervy Sage?" Naruto asked.

"Well, it’s a long story. You should go find Kakashi first. I'll wait for you at the tavern on the Main Street." Jiraiya waved his hand, unaware of the storm heading his way.

Hearing this, Naruto grinned and said, "Sure. I’ll catch up with you later. Actually... there’s a small favor I need from you too."

"Go on, then." Jiraiya didn't doubt him and smiled happily.