Late at night, Naruto lay on his bed, replaying the events of the past few days in his mind. He was still a little dazed. It seemed like things had been resolved… in his way.

Thinking it over carefully, there didn’t seem to be any loopholes.

First, there was Itachi, then Nagato, then Obito. The situation had grown increasingly complicated, and more and more people were involved.

Sometimes, he wondered if he was being too reckless.

Instead of lying low, he had grown even bolder, stepping into the spotlight, trying to steer the world in the direction he wanted. And in doing so, he had nearly dragged Hinata and Ino down with him.

He was indeed anxious. Perhaps the skills given by the system were too powerful, making it impossible for him to tolerate the fools running amok outside. He couldn’t just stand by and watch those close to him take risks.

Because he didn’t want to wait anymore, he had taken matters into his own hands. So far, the progress is pretty good.

Every time Naruto thinks about the messy affairs in the Land of Snow and the Land of Lightning, he felt like giving up. He wishes he could find someone as smart as Shikamaru to handle things for him while he went off to enjoy life.

But what he was doing was too outrageous, so he couldn’t trust anyone else with it. After thinking it over, he could only speed up the progress of the plan and drag as many people into this as possible.

The reason he insisted on pulling more people into the fray wasn’t because many hands make light work, While there might be a small convenience in that, the main reason was to make that group of people shut up.

He didn’t want to save the world alone in silence. If it weren’t for the fact that the people he cared about would die if the Shinobi World was destroyed, he wouldn’t even bother lifting a finger.

Most of the heroes in the Shinobi World don't end up well, Naruto knew this all too well, and he didn’t think he’d be an exception. If he became a hero, he’d have to face countless problems.

As for the best choice, the Sannin had already given the answer. With their immense power, they either wandered freely, or like Orochimaru, lived exactly as they pleased.

If Jiraiya had stayed in Konoha from the beginning, his fate probably wouldn’t have been much better than Hatake Sakumo’s. But wherever there were people, there would be politics.

Whether it is Konoha or other places, it is impossible for everyone to be a good person.

If strength alone guaranteed comfort, life would be easy. But people will eventually grow old and developed weaknesses. Heroes faded, beauties aged, geniuses burned out, and the fair-faced met tragic ends.

After much deliberation, Naruto decided the best course was to finish things quickly and then lay down. He let others do the things that take the spotlight, while he only needed one result, that the world would be at peace.

As drowsiness crept in, Naruto drifted off to sleep.

…

The next day.

At nine o'clock in the morning, the sound of a key turning in the lock echoed outside Naruto’s apartment. The metallic click of gears turning was followed by the snap of the bolt releasing.

The door was pushed open, Ino stepped inside with her hands on her hips. She looked around, and frowned when she saw the dust above the shoe cabinet.

In the bedroom, Naruto heard the noise and walked out of the room with messy hair. The living room was dim, and he still held the door handle of the room, staring blankly at Ino, who was already wearing home slippers, walking towards him.

He blinked his eyes, wondering if he was dreaming. Maybe he was still half-asleep. So Naruto shook his head vigorously, but fortunately, Ino didn't disappear.

Ino had her hair in a ponytail, wearing a cropped beige top and a fitted denim skirt. She glanced at him, then sighed, with her hands still on her hips.

"There’s dust on the shoe cabinet.”

"Ah… forgot to clean it. I..." Naruto looked at Ino's fair and smooth face, and her slightly reproachful eyebrows. Suddenly, he really wanted to kiss her.

…

In the bathroom.

Under the shower spray, Naruto’s thoughts were a jumbled mess. He didn't expect Ino to take the initiative to find him, and even before closing his eyes to sleep last night, he had already thought of shameless ways to win her back.

Ino has a bit of a temper, and she is not the kind of person who will be easily swayed by sweet words. Hinata might be coaxed with a few gentle reassurances, but it is not easy to coax Ino.

But unexpectedly, Ino was coming to him on her own. Her attitude didn't seem so cold and stiff, but it was definitely not enthusiastic either.

Amid the steam, he thought of Ino's slightly dissatisfied face and the slender curve of her waist. It would not be an exaggeration to call her a stunning beauty.

But for some reason, Naruto’s heart was pounding harder than ever.

He was a little confused about Ino's attitude. He hadn't seen her for a few days and couldn't get in touch with her, so he didn't know what was going on in her head.

…

On the couch, Ino threw ice cubes into the cold black tea and threw the straw in. She leaned forward slightly, opened her red lips slightly, bit the straw and took a sip.

Then, pressing her tongue against the straw, she flattened it between her teeth, leaving a neat set of bite marks.

Not long after, Naruto came out of the bathroom. This time, he didn't walk around in a towel like a promiscuous person. He probably knew it was not the time to mess around, so he put on his clothes obediently.

Ino glanced at him and was about to take a sip of the tea, but Naruto snatched the glass away and drank most of tea in one gulp. The cold tea soothed his throat and he immediately felt so comfortable that he squinted his eyes.

"My parents talked to me yesterday, about you." She suddenly said.

"What did they say?" Naruto pretended to be calm as he sat across from her.

"You can probably guess. They ask me about you and me. And Hinata." Ino glanced at him, "Why were we kidnapped at the same time?"

Having said that, Ino pressed a hand to her forehead, closed her eyes and said in distress, "Ugh, it's so annoying. I don’t even want to answer."

Although it was Naruto's fault, he did not choose to apologize. Empty words were useless, what mattered was addressing the real issue beneath her words.

At that moment, several thoughts flashed through his mind, and he analyzed them quickly.

Ino was questioned by her parents, mainly about the relationship between the three of them. After Jiraiya's visit, her parents’ stance might have softened.

Their questions were a test, as they actually wanted a specific answer. Namely, that whatever was going on with Hinata was just a misunderstanding, that there was nothing between them.

But when faced with interrogation, Ino's reaction was irritation. Even though she knew the answer, she didn’t want to respond just because she was too lazy to say it, or because she simply didn’t want to answer at all.

Avoidance meant she didn’t want to be the one to say it, and she didn’t want to cover for him.

Ino knew Naruto and Hinata had something between them, but technically, neither relationship was official.

Therefore, Ino has no way to blame Naruto. After all, strictly speaking, she and Naruto are just in an ambiguous relationship, and Naruto and Hinata are also in an ambiguous relationship.

Perhaps because Naruto was often away on missions in recent years, it became normal for them to be apart from each other. As time went by, no one seemed to have mentioned confirming their relationship.

If they weren’t officially together, then there was no cheating or two-timing. Even if they had done the deed, they had never acted like a proper couple, glued at the hip.

Ino obviously noticed Naruto's intentional or unintentional attempt to keep things vague all these years, and she felt annoyed by this Schrödinger’s relationship.

Since she didn’t have an answer, naturally, the Yamanaka couple couldn't get a satisfactory answer from her.

Adding all these together, what Ino is looking for is probably a clear, defined relationship. Something solid, beyond mere dating but not yet marriage.

In this way, Ino's unexpected visit made perfect sense.