In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

The next day.

Naruto had originally planned to catch up with Lee. Whenever he had time, he would keep an eye on news about his old friends and visit them when he learned that they were free.

Friendships always require careful maintenance, even when they're tied by shared interests as adults. Time and emotional investment are still necessary, but Lee was an exception to the rule.

There was no mutual benefit between them. Lee was simply a martial arts fanatic.

This made their time together more enjoyable, with Naruto usually watching him train from a shaded spot and offering all sorts of absurd, inhuman training suggestions.

"Why not try doing long jumps while standing on your hands? It might have better results." Naruto suggested, rubbing his chin as he watched Lee in Training Ground 5.

"Good idea, I'll give it a try."

The thick-browed Lee suddenly had an epiphany. He flipped into a handstand, balancing on one arm as he prepared to jump using just that hand.

'He actually did it…' Naruto couldn't help but be dumbfounded.

'There was no comparing people sometimes. As I recalled, Lee can't even use Chakra… Where was the logic in that?'

The sun blazed in the clear blue sky, while the shade under the trees offered cool relief.

"Nine hundred ninety-six, nine hundred ninety-seven." Lee was training hard under the scorching sun, while Naruto squatted in the shade, squinting at the green figure moving inch by inch across the training field.

"What should I eat later?" Naruto muttered to himself, pulling out a small adult manga he had swiped from Tsunade's collection. He was lost in thought, thinking about what everyone ponders: lunch.

Just as he was zoning out, he noticed a figure flash by, and a familiar scent followed. Putting down the manga, Naruto looked up, "Tenten?"

"What brings you here?" Naruto didn't even bother hiding the manga, holding it casually in his hand.

Tenten had her hair tied in a bun with a red ribbon, dressed in a traditional outfit. Her fair skin glistened, and her chest was noticeably full. However, her face was filled with worry.

"I'm here to find Lee. I haven't seen Neji in a while, and I don't know what's up with him lately."

"Um, are you looking for Lee or for Neji?" Naruto stood up, scratching his head as he pointed towards Training Ground 5.

"Lee is right over there. As for Neji, he's probably still at the Hyuga Clan's compound."

"Well…" Tenten seemed a bit embarrassed as she turned around, "I'm looking for Lee."

With that, she dashed off. Naruto squinted at the blinding sunlight, thinking to himself, 'It was obvious that Tenten liked Neji, but well… that was her business.'

'However, Neji probably didn't have time to consider marriage, especially with the Hyuga Clan's traditions, where the Clan Head's spouse is typically selected from within the clan to ensure the purity of their bloodline.'

With Neji's personality, if he really became the Clan Head, he likely wouldn't oppose this arrangement.

'Tsk tsk.' Watching Tenten run off, Naruto shook his head, 'Yet another one-sided love story in the making.'

Since Tenten was around and it was lunchtime, Naruto decided to invite her along. Not for any particular reason… just that Tenten is a rich woman, and he knew she wouldn't let him pay.

'Sigh, life is tough, especially for a poor man.'

All of Naruto's money had been invested into the Intelligence Department. Unfortunately, the return on that investment had a long curve, and Naruto knew he wouldn't see any returns for at least ten years.

Right now, the only money he had left was the ten million ryo given to him by Yugao. During this period, he also spent a lot of money to purchase supplies and store them in the seal space, and two-thirds of his money was already gone.

With only 3 million ryo remaining, he could barely scrape by. Just his rent alone was enough to stress him out. His house was quite large, though he had never actually purchased it.

The rent was steep, but luckily it wasn't due every month. Naruto didn't mind. Even if he ran out of money, he had no intention of buying property in Konoha. Renting was just fine.

Even though Nagato was an ally for now and unlikely to suddenly go crazy with a Shinra Tensei, Naruto simply didn't see the need for owning property in Konoha. It wasn't about whether he had money… it was just a matter of principle.

Konoha was never Naruto's dreamland, nor was it his home. Where he lived didn't really matter, as it was just a place to stay.

"It looks like something happened to the Hyuga Clan." Tenten said as she sat down after coming back from paying the bill.

"Well, looks like the branch family is going to be abolished." Naruto wasn't stingy with his words when talking to a sponsor, and he told them everything he knew, "The Caged Bird has been removed, so now there's no difference between the main and branch families."

"How... how did that happen?" Tenten was visibly shocked. "What about Neji?"

"His Caged Bird had also been removed." Naruto didn't want to explain it in too much detail, as it would be detrimental to Neji's image among his companions. Though Naruto himself didn't care much, as everyone already knew he was petty and full of schemes.

'The motto of the Uzumaki Clan could use an update. Something like: The Uzumaki Clan… always settle the score.'

"That's great! Neji has always been bothered by that mark." Lee, being straightforward, was genuinely happy for Neji.

Tenten, however, seemed to be thinking more deeply, and her brow furrowed.

"Yeah, it's really good." Naruto said, already wolfing down his food as if he hadn't eaten in days, "But... I'm afraid the Hyuga clan is going to be reshuffled."

"Is Neji very busy now? Shouldn't he be focusing on training after the Caged Bird was removed?" Tenten asked tentatively.

She knew Neji well enough to remember that he once said if he ever had the chance to break free from the Caged Bird, he would train hard to surpass everyone in the Hyuga Clan's history, proving that the branch family could be stronger than the main family.

However, that was Neji's ambition in his youth, and his mindset had changed a lot since then.

"Training?" Naruto looked up from his rice bowl, looking baffled, "Why would removing the Caged Bird mean he has to train? Is there some special reason for that?"

So Tenten repeated Neji's old words, and Naruto was immediately embarrassed.

'Neji is really a classic case of being Chuunibyou… I should have recorded it with a video recorder back then.'

'What a surprise that would've been! All those old embarrassing moments captured in HD.'

In this era, movies had already become quite popular, so recording devices weren't rare. However, since Shinobi had the final say in war, most of them didn't bother with such electronic gadgets.

But the times had changed. The communication devices led by Ino's development had become a trendy item in Konoha. Tenten even had a pink one, which she placed on the table.

"Why don't you just ask Neji directly?" Naruto pointed to the pink communication device on the table.

"Neji doesn't use this stuff. Are all Hyuga old-fashioned?" Tenten sighed in defeat, resting her head on her hand, looking dejected.

'Well, not all Hyuga were like that. At least Hinata used a communication device, and she had even bought a new one specifically for contacting me.'

One person, one device… Naruto found it hilarious. His strategy is foolproof.

It is precisely because of this that Naruto was shamelessly freeloading now. Tenten is a rich woman, and Naruto hoped she'd pay for a few more meals so he could freeload with dignity.

"Lee, do you have a communicator?" Naruto suddenly thought and turned to look at Lee.

Lee looked utterly confused. He glanced at Naruto and then at Tenten, scratching his head as he asked, "What is a communicator?"

The rich Tenten couldn't stand it anymore. With a puff, she pulled out a black, brand-new communication device from a scroll and handed it to Lee.

"Here, take this."

Lee was dumbfounded by the gift from the rich lady. He scratched his head. However, thinking about their relationship, he saw no reason to refuse, so he accepted it without hesitation.