In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

Chapter 305 Do You Still Want Me?

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"If everyone can't come to an agreement tomorrow, we should just leave." In the room, Tsunade put down her sake cup and rub her temples, complaining, "Arguing with those stubborn fools is really exhausting."

"Fine by me. I’m tired of being here anyway." Naruto chimed in, and put away the sake cup with one hand discreetly, "Staying here won’t lead to any results."

"You don’t care either way, but I’m the Hokage." Tsunade tried to get the sake cup but found nothing. She immediately looked dissatisfied and stretched out her other hand to grab Naruto's collar.

"Hand it over."

"Drink less." Naruto said as he took out a half-cup of sake from the seal space, "Haven't you been grooming Kakashi-sensei to take over as Hokage, Tsunade-sama? You obviously don't want to be tied up in official duties all day long."

"That's two different things." Tsunade took a sip of her sake, "I really don't want to be stuck in that damn Hokage’s Office every day, but for now, there’s no other choice."

"Konoha needs me. When Kakashi is ready to take over, then I can leave."

"Where will you go?" Naruto asked curiously.

"I’ll continue traveling, where else can I go?" Tsunade said, "You think I’ll stay in the village, reliving memories every day? Only new experiences can dull the pain of old memories."

Perhaps due to the unsuccessful discussions and the influence of alcohol, Tsunade opened her heart a little to Naruto.

"That makes sense." Naruto agreed, "I’d like to travel around too. There’s nothing stopping me now. Once I become a Jonin, I’ll leave the village and go on a trip."

"You’re planning to leave when you come of age?" Tsunade glanced at him sideways.

"Pretty much." Naruto replied, sharing a bit of his future plans, "I plan to visit different places, see the customs and cultures everywhere."

"Take on a couple of missions a year, earn some money to eat. Perfect."

"Two or three missions? Is that enough money?" Tsunade scoffed. Her neck was a little red from drinking. She tugged at her clothes, revealing a large expanse of pale skin, but she didn’t care.

Naruto didn’t care either, as if he looked completely immune to the sight. He looked at her unabashedly, leaning back in his chair with a relaxed tone, smiling as he said, "If I run out of money, I’ll just borrow from you, Tsunade-sama. I won’t starve."

"Borrow from me?" Tsunade chuckled, "Sure, I’ll lend you some… just call me big sister."

Naruto gave the same sneer as Tsunade, "You can lie to me, but don’t lie to yourself."

With a thud, Naruto, along with his coat, was thrown out of the room, crashing into the wall of the hallway. Tsunade, seemingly a bit tipsy, glared at him sharply.

"Heh, send the dinner to my room."

After saying that, the door slammed shut.

Naruto winced as he rubbed his sore back, standing up slowly. Fortunately, this floor was reserved exclusively for Konoha, so there was no one around in the hallway.

He sighed, regretting his quick tongue, and sluggishly made his way back to his room.

However, when Naruto knocked on Tsunade's door with the dinner cart later that evening, his sexy female boss seemed to have forgotten about the unpleasantness from the afternoon, motioning for him to come in.

Fortunately, Tsunade does not hold grudges, so they enjoyed a light and pleasant dinner.

…

The next day.

It was the final day of the talks that Tsunade had mentioned, and the atmosphere around the negotiation table was so tense it couldn't possibly get any tenser. It felt like a powder keg that had been pressurized for far too long, ready to explode at the slightest spark.

Even the normally gentle Mei had become assertive, coldly reprimanding the people from Kumogakure and Iwagakure. Her views aligned with Tsunade’s, believing in the strength of the younger generation.

Raikage is like the godfather of the Shinobi World. He talks about the rules of the Shinobi World all the time, the realm of the strong, and how it was all about survival of the fittest.

Gaara, the Kazekage, also has a very sharp attitude. He held little regard for the older generation like Raikage and Onoki. Despite his young age, he remained calm, and he managed to counter Onoki’s provocations word for word.

Onoki, still behaving like an old rogue, relied on his seniority, exuding a tyrannical air. His remarks were full of barbs, even going so far as to mention Gaara’s father, the Yondaime Kazekage, and how he met an untimely end.

As for Tsunade, the Hokage, she had come here just to cause a quarrel and had no intention of taking responsibility for the Nibi’s incident.

Raikage: "All the Missing-nin come from your four villages. Shouldn't you be sending out Shinobi to eliminate them? There are no traitors in our Kumogakure!"n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Ohnoki: "Raikage-dono, that statement is a bit excessive. We’ve already issued bounty notices for our Missing-nin and distributed them to all nations. Only when we get clues first can we make targeted efforts. Otherwise, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"Besides, the problem of Missing-nin has existed for a long time. You can't just ask us waste our village's resources just because Nibi’s Jinchuriki from your Kumogakure was kidnapped."

Mei: "Tsuchikage-dono is right. We in Kirigakage have also had many Missing-nin before, but in recent years, we’ve dealt with most of the ones we could track down."

"Most of the remaining Missing-nin are on the level of Jonin or higher, and hunting them down requires significant manpower and resources."

Gaara, with his hands clasped on the table, spoke, "Sunagakure has already tracked down an organization called Akatsuki, whose members are all powerful Missing-nin from various villages."

"Sasori, the Shinobi who defected from Sunagakure many years ago, is currently working for the Akatsuki."

Tsunade tapped on the table, "Let's stop wasting time. Raikage, if you have something to say, just say it directly. Don’t accuse us with baseless excuses. What’s your real motive?"

As expected, the talks broke down. Raikage flew into a rage, and Tsunade walked out immediately. Mifune, the leader of the Land of Iron, sent someone to try to mediate, but Tsunade simply stated there was nothing left to discuss.

"Go tell those people from Kumogakure that they should either come up with some realistic proposals or just leave." Tsunade said, her gaze turning cold, "And they should stop bringing up Uchiha Sasuke. Whether or not the Hidden Cloud has Missing-nin is debatable. Anyone can talk pretty."

The people from the Land of Iron delivered the message to Kumogakure, and they unexpectedly gave in.

Naruto had already started packing his things but was told by Tsunade to stay one more day for a final meeting tomorrow. She said nothing more before leaving.

That afternoon, Naruto accompanied Tsunade as they carefully reviewed the documents sent by Kumogakure. After two hours of reading, Naruto was starting to feel tired, but when he turned around, he saw Tsunade was still meticulously examining the documents.

Yawning, Naruto decided to go for a walk. Not wanting to disturb Tsunade, he quietly slipped out by himself.

Stepping outside, he stood under the inn's eaves. Looking out at the snow, as soft as cotton, he exhaled a breath of warm air, his gaze drifting into the distance to ease the strain on his eyes.

Kumogakure’s attitude didn’t really concern him. The stance of the Mizukage, Mei, seems to be inclined towards Tsunade, but in fact, she has reached a temporary tacit understanding with Tsuchikage.

Konoha and Sunagakure are allies, so naturally, their opinions were aligned. With Mizukage and Tsuchikage in agreement, Kumogakure had no grounds for moral condemnation of either side.

As a result, the talks had formed a three-way deadlock. In the end, Kumogakure compromised and said they would solve the Nibi’s incident privately.

The primary focus of this summit was on resource-sharing, with an effort to seek cooperation among the four nations.

Kumogakure had initially intended to use the Nibi’s incident to force the other four nations to make concessions, but they didn't expect that no matter how tense the situation was, none of the other Four Kage budged. And as soon as Tsunade said she wanted to leave, Kumogakure was dumbfounded.

They couldn’t afford to let this rare Five Kage Summit they convene end in failure, with nothing but arguments to show for it. After much deliberation, Kumogakure finally relented.

‘This is a good sign, at least, it breaks the deadlock.’

Just as Naruto was letting his thoughts wander, he suddenly heard someone coming downstairs. Thinking it might be Tsunade, he instinctively turned his head, only to see Temari’s melancholy face instead.

The wind and snow had grown stronger. A wooden plank was suddenly lifted by the gust and quickly swallowed by the falling snow.

The surroundings weren’t exactly quiet, with the wind howling, drowning out the sound of the snow hitting the ground. Yet, amidst the chaotic white noise, Temari’s footsteps and her heavy breathing were clearly audible.

Konoha and Sunagakure were staying in the same inn but on different floors. And next to it was the inn shared by Iwagakure and Kirigakure. Most of the time, this place felt deserted.

As for Temari's matter, Naruto had already cleared things up with her last time. He had said they were starting fresh, with all past grudges written off, so she didn’t need to go out of her way to help him anymore.

Seeing Temari's absent-minded look, Naruto initially wanted to ask if she had heard him the last time they talked, but he reconsidered. After all, it’d be a hassle if she misunderstood again.

Maybe it was the cold or something else, but Temari’s voice was a little hoarse.

"Do you still want me?"