Konoha: Naruto's abnormal life choices

"Snap!"

"Snap!"

"Snap!"

What a strange sound.

My body feels hot.

My mouth hurts!

Ino let out a soft groan in her sleep. When she slowly opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the dim lighting and the shabby ceiling above her.

Where... am I?

She sat up slowly, propping herself on one elbow. As the blanket slipped off her shoulders, her pupils shrank and her cheeks flushed instantly.

"Ah!~"

Late at night, a sharp scream rang out from Apartment 404, Section 8, South Street in Konoha.

Naruto, who had been outside patting ginger roots clean, rushed inside when he heard the scream. He pulled out a kunai and instantly activated his Tailed Beast Cloak for protection—only to find Ino sitting on the bed, flushed red, and wrapped tightly in a blanket.

Her face was pale, lips dry and cracked. But when her terrified eyes met Naruto's, they softened—relief and gratitude surfacing in them.

Her expression seemed to say: Thank goodness it's you.

Naruto scanned the room cautiously, searching for signs of danger. Finding nothing, he frowned.

"Where's the enemy?" he asked, tense.

Instead of an answer, he got an outraged shriek:

"Pervert!"

"Naruto, you creep!"

"???"

Naruto blinked, genuinely confused. "Are you okay in the head? I just saved your life and now you're yelling at me like I'm some kind of creep?!"

Ino clutched the blanket tighter around herself, her voice full of accusation. "You took off my skirt! What else would you call that if not perverted?!"

Naruto rolled his eyes and let out a sharp sigh. "You were passed out at my door with your skirt soaked through from the snow! What did you want me to do—leave you there to freeze to death?"

Ino froze.

She looked down and quickly examined herself. Her skirt was indeed missing—but her underwear was untouched. She glanced toward the bedside, and sure enough, her wet skirt was laid out to dry.

She reached out and felt it—it was still damp.

So… Naruto hadn't touched her at all.

A strange sense of disappointment flickered in her eyes beneath her long blonde bangs. She pouted unconsciously. Her lips brushed the cracked corners of her mouth, making her wince in pain.

She glared at Naruto again.

You bastard… You carried me into bed and didn't try anything?! What, am I not attractive enough?

Ugh. So frustrating.

Naruto caught her glare and scowled. His patience wore thin. "You know the saying, 'a dog bites Lu Dongbin'? That's you—no gratitude at all."

"Did you just call me a dog?" Ino snapped.

"I didn't curse."

"You totally cursed!"

"I didn't."

"I clearly heard you say it to me!" she yelled, slapping the bed in frustration. The blanket slipped off her shoulders, revealing smooth, pale skin and elegant collarbones.

Naruto's gaze flicked over her figure—about one and a half times Sakura's build. But just like Sakura, Ino had an aura of nobility to her.

Ino, still fuming, noticed Naruto's gaze and suddenly turned beet red. Tears welled up in her eyes. She dove back under the blanket and started mumbling like an angry hamster.

"Big perv Naruto!"

"Creep!"

"Disgusting!"

"Total pervert!"

Her voice got muffled under the covers, turning into a string of flustered moans that sounded like a child messing around with a piano—high-pitched, inconsistent, chaotic.

Naruto rubbed his temples, a headache forming. "Whatever. Yell all you want. I'm making you ginger soup. Come out and drink it when you're done freaking out."

He shut the door behind him and walked off.

Inside, Ino stopped shouting. She cautiously peeked out from the blanket like a caterpillar. When she confirmed Naruto was gone, she exhaled and flopped onto his pillow, gently sniffing it.

There was a faint scent of gardenia—probably his laundry detergent.

Hmph. For a pervert, he has good taste.

From outside, the sound of boiling water drifted in. Ino rolled over and stared at the ceiling.

Naruto even made ginger soup for me. How thoughtful.

She muttered to herself, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth—only for the cracked skin to sting, making her flinch.

"Ouch…"

If I'd known Naruto was coming home this late, I wouldn't have waited for him.

Earlier that day, Ino had accompanied her mom for a few family visits. They stopped by the Inuzuka household to give Mrs. Inuzuka some flowers and chat over tea. Just as they were getting ready for lunch, Inuzuka Hana returned home—fresh off a mission with Naruto.

Ino's instincts kicked in—if Hana was back, Naruto must be too!

She politely excused herself, rushed home, and changed into a cute black dress, hoping for a "chance" meeting near Naruto's place.

But he never showed up.

Hours passed. It got dark. Still no Naruto.

Eventually, she got impatient and asked Hana directly, who told her that Naruto had gone to the Hokage Building with Hazuki-sensei.

Ino dashed over to the Hokage Building to check the office—but no Naruto. She figured maybe he had returned home while she was searching.

She raced back to his place again… only to find it empty.

By then, Ino was cold, hungry, and tired—but also too stubborn to give up. She had invested the whole day already. It was like bargaining online: after clicking "lower price" twenty times, you're not gonna walk away empty-handed.

So she waited… and waited…

Until sleep claimed her.

If Naruto hadn't found her when he did, who knows what would've happened?

"Ino, come drink your soup!"

Naruto's voice called from the other room. Her heart skipped a beat.

She remembered how worried he looked when he rushed in earlier.

Was he that concerned about me…?

"So that dummy's had a crush on me all along but is too scared to say it, huh?"

Hmph. Being fussed over feels kinda nice.

The old room, the dim light, the hard wooden bed, and that faint floral scent suddenly felt warm and comforting.

"Ino! You hear me?"

"Ugh~ Coming!"

She threw off the blanket and hopped out of bed barefoot. She reached for her dress—but remembered it was still wet.

Scanning the room, she spotted Naruto's closet. She opened it and pulled out an oversized white T-shirt, slipped it on, and nodded in satisfaction.

"He likes me. He won't mind."

She was tall, but Naruto was taller. The shirt reached mid-thigh, covering what needed covering.

She opened the door. Naruto stepped out of the kitchen, apron on, holding a bowl of steaming soup.

To be honest, Naruto looked pretty good. Every time Ino saw him, her heart skipped a beat.

His golden hair was tied back into a short braid—just like hers.

Copying my hairstyle? Do you think I'll like you because of that? Hmph~

Naruto looked at her—his face unreadable.

A cute girl, barely dressed, standing in his T-shirt.

Very… entertaining to look at.

But Naruto just sighed and muttered, "I thought you were gonna hole up in there forever."

He shoved the soup into her hands and flopped onto the couch.

There was only one bed, so the sick girl got it. He'd sleep on the sofa tonight.

Ino was about to yell at him for his rude tone… but seeing him lay down on that narrow couch, her words caught in her throat.

She quietly sat down on a small stool and began drinking the soup.

I'm a kind, sweet, beautiful girl. I'm not gonna argue with stupid Naruto.

Still… why didn't he react at all when he saw me wearing his shirt? Is he blind?!

"Use your chakra to circulate your energy and speed up your recovery," Naruto said suddenly, not looking at her.

Whatever irritation she had left vanished in an instant.

Stupid Naruto… He always cares about me in secret. Pretends to be so tough, but he's a softie.

Mmm. The ginger soup's really good.

She did as he said, circulating her chakra to push out the cold from her body.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing Option 2. Reward (70% of Ino's corruption value) has been successfully granted.]

Naruto received the reward—but strangely, no crisis occurred.

Seventy percent… and nothing happened?

He frowned and stared at the ceiling.

Could the difficulty of getting the reward be… random?

If that were true, then he couldn't rely on a fixed strategy moving forward. That would be… troublesome.

He scratched his head, wondering if he should just ask the Selector.

But then again, that thing had always been cold and indifferent. No way it would give him a straight answer.

Just as he had that thought, the voice rang in his mind:

[The host guessed correctly. The value of the reward depends entirely on the difficulty of the choice.]

What the hell?!

He actually answered?!

Naruto asked in his mind, "Then why wasn't there any danger this time?"