In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

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The next day.

The three of them left the inn and resumed their journey. They were only two or three days away from the Land of Hot Water, and their farewell was drawing near.

On the road, nothing seemed to have changed. Tsunade and Naruto continued to chat and laugh, and during their midday break, they played cards again.

Shizune was too lazy to look at them, so she just walked away and leaned against a tree for a nap.

As usual, Naruto and Tsunade joked around, occasionally raising their voices. Their playful arguments often led to some light physical contact, with Naruto shamelessly taking advantage of the situation.

Tsunade didn't seem to mind, almost as if she had accepted it. The countdown to parting was indeed a magical thing, accelerating feelings of dependency and other emotions.

In fact, for Tsunade, she did feel a bit reluctant to part with Naruto. It wasn't a romantic attachment, but just a feeling of comfort, as it is very comfortable to be with him.

Whether it was their way of interacting or the conversations they had, he helped her forget a lot of unpleasant things. Even though there was a ten-year age gap between them, there was no sense of disconnect at all.

To be honest, after that walk, Tsunade had considered inviting him to travel together. It had been her dream to see the whole world, and now she wanted to add someone to that journey.

Naruto, however, didn’t think too deeply about it. In the afternoon, they continued on their way.

That evening, Naruto once again prepared a grilled fish dinner, and after the meal, Shizune was still poking at the campfire, hugging her knees and playing with the flames.

Seeing that the night was still young, Naruto scanned the surroundings and decided to ask Tsunade for a walk.

"A walk?" Tsunade looked up.

"Just a stroll." Naruto said, and it seemed that he had no other intention.

"Alright." Tsunade stood up and turned to look at Shizune. She felt that Shizune probably heard it too, so she asked her directly, "Shizune, do you want to go with us?"

"No." Shizune replied in a muffled voice, still hugging her knees and playing with the flames.

She already knew what happened between Tsunade and Naruto before. It was indeed just a simple walk or a stroll, or they got together to play cards or dice.

As a result, she had lost all her interests in them.

Hearing this, Tsunade didn’t say anything further and walked over to Naruto. After saying ‘Let's go’, the two of them strolled leisurely along the riverbank.

Naruto recalled that Tsunade’s habit later on was to enjoy taking walks, often wandering around the Hokage Tower whenever she had time, sometimes with Shizune, sometimes with Sakura.

"I feel like I've seen you somewhere before, but I just can't remember where." Tsunade said out of the blue.

"Really?" Naruto responded with his usual carefree smile, and glanced at her, "Maybe you saw me in a dream?"

"Heh." Tsunade sneered, but turned around and added, "Let’s play a few more rounds of cards before bed. In a few days, you won’t be able to play with me anymore."

"I don't want to play anymore." Naruto declined outright.

"Why?" Tsunade was a little taken aback.

"No reason, I just don’t feel like playing anymore." He said, "I’ll be leaving in a few days anyway, so I'd better get used to it in advance, so that I won't be uncomfortable in the Land of Hot Water alone."

"You don’t look like you’re going to the Land of Hot Water.” Tsunade grumbled.

"Well, isn’t it the same for you, Tsunade-sama?" Naruto retorted.

Hearing this, Tsunade was speechless. Naruto’s excuse was clearly false, but her reasoning wasn’t much better. However, this wasn’t the right time to pry into secrets.

Besides, given the situation, any further research would have to be abandoned. While she didn’t dwell on it, the thought of not being able to play cards with him in the future made her feel a bit reluctant.

"How about... you just don’t go to the Land of Hot Water?" She asked tentatively.

"Then where should I go?" Naruto chuckled, feeling a little amused.

Tsunade thought to herself, ‘How should I know where you’re going?’ But in the end, she changed her words, and said, "Maybe we'll meet again someday? Let's play cards together at that time."

"We’ll definitely meet again, but it might be a long time." Naruto said half-jokingly, "But Tsunade-sama will definitely not be able to wait that long."

Tsunade: “…”

With a sigh, nothing else happened. The two strolled around for a bit before returning. The night passed quietly, and the next morning, they continued their journey as usual.

The next day was uneventful, much like the first day of travel. They played while making their way forward, though the pace was slower than the previous day.

On the third day, as night fell, the group finally arrived in the Land of Hot Water. Naruto mentioned that the hot springs here were famous, so without hesitation, Tsunade led them straight to the hot springs.

The hot springs were separated by gender. Tsunade and Shizune went to one side, while Naruto headed to the other, with a thick bamboo wall separating the two areas.

Naruto enjoyed a relaxing soak and got dressed while waiting for the two women. . When they emerged, Tsunade’s face was flushed from soaking too long in the hot water, leaving her slightly dizzy.

As she stepped out, she wobbled and nearly fell into Naruto’s arms. Fortunately, Naruto caught her in time and nothing happened. After a brief moment to recover, she was fine again.

After dinner, Shizune stayed in the inn, while Tsunade played a couple of rounds of cards with Naruto. But Tsunade was obviously a little distracted.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade didn't say anything. She unconsciously stretched out her slender index finger and tapped on the table twice, but her heart suddenly tightened.

She didn't have this habit before, and she wasn’t sure when she picked it up. Before she could think more, she noticed Naruto staring at her in surprise, so she knew she had to say something.

"Where are you going (tomorrow)?"

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to go back and wash up." He replied, not sure what Tsunade meant.

"Oh, okay." Tsunade nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

The night passed without much conversation, and the next day arrived.

Naruto yawned as he washed up in the morning, and just as he turned around, he saw Tsunade stepping out of her room. Dark circles hung around her eyes, and it was obvious that she didn't sleep well.

"Tsunade-sama, what’s wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

By noon, the sun was already high in the sky.

At the dining table, Tsunade looked a little lost, propping her head up with one hand while lightly tapping the table with the other. She kept glancing at Naruto as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

"Aren’t you leaving soon?" She couldn't help but ask.

"I don't have money to eat, so I figured I’d have one last meal before I go." Naruto responded cheerfully, without a hint of embarrassment.

Tsunade: “…”

Mute: "…"

Sometimes, when someone shamelessly refuses to budge, there is really no solution.

Naruto didn’t mind at all. He really didn’t have money for food, and even though he was about to leave, he wasn’t going to depart on an empty stomach. Although he wouldn't starve to death with his ability, why not take advantage of a free meal when he could?