In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

Chapter 386 Reaching The Destination

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Ino was startled by a rustling sound beside her, thinking she was going to be kissed again.

"No!"

"What do you mean, ‘no’?" Naruto, in the middle of drinking water, turned to her with a puzzled expression.

"N-Nothing!" Ino replied, her voice muffled as she turned her back to him. She didn't want to be so intimate with him anytime and anywhere, as it was a bit embarrassing.

But that didn’t mean she didn’t want Naruto to try.

"Why are you angry?"

"I'm not angry." Ino replied, still facing away from him.

"Oh." Naruto was actually relieved that Ino seemed a little distant was like this, as it gave her time to forget the earlier relationship-defining question. And if she brought it up again, he’d deal with it later.

He needed her to understand that they were still young, and Konoha had much rebuilding to do. Defining their relationship this soon felt premature.

While Naruto had a greedy side, he also knew that officially starting something with Ino and then flirting with Hinata would be unfair to Ino. Since he hadn’t figured out a solution yet, he decided to stall for now.

Anyway, they are still young.

"Want some water?" He poked Ino in the back, pretending like nothing had happened.

"No!"

"Shall I open a window?"

"No!"

"Fine, then. You handle it yourself. I’ll head back." Naruto said seriously, "Since you don’t want anything, there’s no point in me staying here."

"You clearly promised me." Ino turned her head and looked at him angrily.

"Can't I change my mind now?" Naruto, lazily stretched out with his long limbs, rested his hands on his thighs and casually turned his head to look at Ino, making her annoyed just by his nonchalant attitude.

"No!" Ino held him back.

Ino knew that when Naruto made a decision, he wouldn’t easily back down. This time, there was no way he would just leave without a good reason. But next time, who knows? He might just refuse outright, preferring to sit it out rather than deal with situations like this.

"Why not? Give me a reason, convince me." Naruto said with a hint of frustration in his smile, "Then I won't leave."

"I'll tell my dad you touched me!"

"Huh? Hey, what?!" Naruto was a little dumbfounded. He stretched out his hands to pinch her cheeks as he growled playfully, "You're playing dirty!"

"Who told you to touch me first?"

"I can't help it. It's instinct. It's just... natural," Naruto defended himself sarcastically.

"Liar!" Ino pushed him away, rubbed her slightly flushed cheeks, frowned and said, "It's definitely not like that. It's obviously you. You’re just a perv."

“Why don’t you ask Asuma-sensei then, ask him…"

"Stop it!" Ino quickly covered Naruto's mouth, looked around, and made sure that the two people in the corner didn't hear it before she finally let out a sigh of relief.

‘This guy really had no shame, saying whatever came to his mind. How could I possibly ask Asuma-sensei such things? Besides, Kurenai-sensei…’ Ino shook her head, frowning.

"I don't believe you. You’re always trying to trick me. It’s definitely not how you say it is."

"Well, if you don't believe me, then there's nothing I can do about it." Naruto shrugged, "Alright, fine. I won’t go. You've got me. Next time I won't kiss you, to avoid getting ratted out again."

"You…" Ino lowered her head, feeling her heart sting as tears began to well up.

"Wait, wait, don’t..." immediately regretted his careless words. Lately, he’d been so used to bickering with Kurama that it had become second nature to him, ‘It’s definitely that dog’s fault.’

After a bit of chaotic back-and-forth, Naruto was exhausted. His lips felt dry from all the talking, and he had downed two bottles of water before finally managing to calm Ino down.

He made a silent note in his mind not to commit suicide like this in the future, but before he had a chance to rest, they had already reached their destination.

After getting off the train, Ino walked lightly along the dirt path in the countryside, while Naruto followed behind, tightening his windbreaker against the cold breeze.

Ahead of them were dense trees and wild grass, with orderly farmlands stretching out on either side. The waterlogged fields were full of green rice plants swaying in the wind, creating a sea of emerald.

Naruto lifted his head and gazed into the distance, spotting a small village with scattered houses. The scene was serene, with white smoke rising from chimneys, giving off a peaceful atmosphere.

"Your grandmother lives here Naruto asked, reaching out to playfully brush Ino's hair.

"What's wrong?" She turned around and asked.@@novelbin@@

"The Yamanaka Clan is one of the major clans of Konoha, right? And they’ve been around even longer than the village itself." Naruto looked around, "Why does your grandmother live here?"

"This place used to be a piece of land owned by our clan. My grandmother didn’t have a good relationship with either my parents, so she naturally didn’t want to leave her ancestral land."

"When I was a child, my parents were both busy with work and didn’t have time to take care of me." Ino explained. Her facial features were gentle and clean, looking incredibly beautiful under the clear sunlight.

"So, they left you with your grandmother?" Naruto asked. In his mind, he was already picturing a stern, no-nonsense elderly lady.

"Yeah." Ino nodded, "My grandmother was very stubborn. Although she eventually agreed to take me in after my mom begged her, she was always lukewarm towards me."

"When I was little, the food she gave me was awful, almost impossible to swallow. Later, I ate something bad, and almost lost my life. My dad had to come and take me back to Konoha."

Naruto’s eyes widened a bit as he asked softly, "So, what happened with your grandmother?"

"I found out later that the year my mom insisted on marrying my dad, my grandmother fell gravely ill. She didn’t tell anyone, and wouldn’t let anyone come back to help."

"My mom always thought my grandmother hated her, and carried that guilt for years. But every time she returned, she’d be scolded harshly, so eventually, she stopped coming."

"After that incident, they... they forbade me from coming here anymore."

Ino continued walking with her head down. The narrow path was a bit muddy, likely from the rain the day before. Her shoes were caked in mud, but she seemed completely unaware of it.

"In fact, my grandmother had been sick for many years, and it cost a lot of money. She couldn’t even afford to hire help anymore, and she didn’t know how to cook. Every day, she was just taking medicine."

"The year I came, my grandmother hurt her hand while cleaning the house for me. She used the money she would have spent on medicine to buy me food. The food wasn’t good, and she’d take forever to cook it each time."

"When I got sick from eating the wrong thing, my grandmother panicked and begged someone to take me to the doctor. And when my dad came over after hearing the news, she gave him a scolding."

"Later, when I secretly went back to see her…" Ino stopped in her tracks, her voice choked with emotion, "She was already dying. If I hadn’t come here back then, I wouldn’t have been able to see her anymore."

Naruto gently hugged her, waiting for her to calm down before speaking softly to comfort her.

"It’s alright. The past is behind you now. And look, you’ve come back to see your grandmother again, haven’t you?"

"And... just don’t cry, okay? Otherwise, your grandmother might think I bullied you."

Ino managed a smile through her tears and playfully pushed him.

"You’re always bullying me."

"Hey, that’s not fair! What do you mean by ‘always bullying you’? Come on, be honest, haven’t there been times when you enjoyed it too?! Ouch… don’t suddenly hit me!"