Konoha: Naruto's abnormal life choices

Around eleven o'clock, it began snowing again.

The wind carried the snowflakes onto the roof of the building across the street, onto the windowsill in front of me, and even inside the house, drifting through the open window little by little.

Izumi had fallen asleep, leaning against the warmth of the fire. Her thin lips were slightly parted, breathing softly in shallow rhythms.

Her eyebrows were furrowed, as though troubled by something in her dreams—fear lingering deep in her heart.

Naruto looked at her sad expression with heavy eyes, feeling an emotion he couldn't quite describe stirring in his chest.

The last thing he wanted was to live a life like Uchiha Izumi's. That's why he had to become strong—strong enough that no one could ever look down on him, strong enough that he would never be forced to become someone else's sacrifice.

Maybe the Uchiha coup was truly tragic, but not all Uchiha were guilty. Many lower-ranking members simply wanted peace. They died without ever knowing the full picture.

Uchiha Izumi and her mother were among them.

Of course, Naruto wasn't saying the people who killed them were necessarily wrong either.

He didn't believe in judging people so simply. Everyone views the world through their own lens, acting on what they believe is right.

To some, those actions may seem wrong. But to themselves, they were justified.

Naruto saw himself in that. He didn't have the right to blame anyone—nor did he care about accusations or insults.

If someone had to be blamed, then blame weakness. Blame the inability to live true to one's heart because of lack of strength.

Quietly, he closed the window to stop the snow from drifting in. Then, he found a pen and some paper and wrote a letter to Izumi. After that, he took out a thick wad of money—five million ryo—from his personal storage.

He placed the letter and the money in front of her, then stood up.

"Get some rest," Naruto said softly as he touched her hair gently, letting out a quiet sigh. Then he quietly left her home.

He had only taken a few steps outside when he saw Sasuke walking toward him, holding an umbrella.

As Sasuke approached, he looked like he wanted to smile, but to maintain his usual cool demeanor, he forced it into a cold expression.

"Hey, didn't you go home last night?" Sasuke greeted, waving slightly.

Naruto smiled. "None of your business!"

Sasuke lost his composure and snapped, "What do you mean, 'none of your business'? Can't you be a little more polite?"

Naruto nodded seriously, then repeated with a straight face, "It's none of your business!"

Sasuke growled and threatened to fight him, but Naruto waved him off. He told him Izumi was sleeping and asked him to keep his voice down.

Then Sasuke paused, his expression changing. He raised his eyebrows and asked with a smirk, "So… how was it?"

"???" Naruto blinked in confusion. "How was what?!"

Sasuke looked around, made sure no one was nearby, and then leaned in closer to whisper, "You know what I'm talking about. Do you really think I know nothing? Back when I used to train with Kakashi, I'd sometimes catch him reading those dirty magazines."

Naruto: "…"

Sasuke reminisced with a distant look. "We had bunk beds during training. I was on the top bunk. Sometimes at night, I felt the bed shaking. One night I got curious, pretended to be asleep, and peeked. What I saw was… quite something."

Tsk tsk tsk — even Kakashi had cold hands.

It wasn't easy.

Sasuke continued, "The next day, I secretly checked his backpack and found a book called Make-Out Paradise. That was my introduction to a whole new world."

Naruto: "…"

So you only just learned about this recently?

Sasuke suddenly scowled and glared at Naruto. "That's when I finally understood what you meant when you said I was 'reviving the Uchiha with my hands'!"

"I wasn't insulting you." Naruto suddenly remembered something—Sasuke had only discovered all this during training with Kakashi. That still made him curious.

Why was it that in the original timeline, Sasuke never seemed interested in women, and even after marrying Sakura, only had one daughter, Sarada?

Was that really someone trying to revive the Uchiha clan?

While Naruto was lost in thought, Sasuke asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Naruto looked at him with an amused expression. "Sasuke, you're not exactly what I'd call a fragile little brother."

"???"

Sasuke didn't understand what he meant. He scratched his head. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing. You'll get it later." Naruto patted Sasuke firmly on the shoulder and sighed. "If you ever need help in the future… you can come to me. We're like brothers, right? I'll definitely help you."

Sasuke's eyes lit up, clearly touched—even if he didn't fully understand how Naruto planned to help. But, as usual, he kept his cool on the outside.

"Pfft, who needs your help?"

Not entirely hopeless, then.

Naruto grinned. "So where are you headed?"

Sasuke didn't hide anything. "An Anbu came to my place. I've been assigned a mission."

Even with war looming, missions were still being assigned?

Seeing Naruto's confusion, Sasuke added, "It's from a noble clan. One of our classmates—Yamanaka Ino. I think she's close to you?"

Hearing Ino's name piqued Naruto's interest. "What happened? Why is there a mission involving her?"

"She's the heir of the Yamanaka clan. Apparently, she disappeared yesterday and didn't return home."

Sasuke shrugged. "So her mother went to the Hokage Tower and requested help. That's how this mission came up."

Naruto: "…"

So the girl had slept at his place for a whole day and didn't even bother telling her family?

"…"

"…"

Half an hour later, Naruto led a drowsy Ino to the Hokage's office to report the mission complete.

Shizune, the long-legged assistant, was seated at the Hokage's desk, going through documents. The little pig, Tonton, was beside her. Next to them stood a noblewoman dressed in luxurious robes.

That was Ino's mother, Yamanaka Rino.

Ino resembled her father, Yamanaka Inoichi, much more. She shared only her mother's face shape; her features, eyes, and brows were completely different.

If Ino hadn't said "Mom," Naruto wouldn't have guessed this elegant woman was one of his potential future mothers-in-law.

"Ino, where on earth were you all night? Do you know how worried I was? I thought you'd been kidnapped!" Rino cried the moment she saw her daughter, rushing over to hug her.

The still-sleepy Ino was jolted fully awake by her mother's panic.

"Mom, I'm fine! Don't overreact," she said, trying to calm her.

After checking Ino for injuries and seeing she was safe, Rino turned to Naruto and Sasuke with gratitude. "Thank you both for finding her."

Then she looked back at Ino. "Tell me, where have you been all night?"

Ino and Naruto had agreed on a story beforehand.

She claimed she had been attacked by an unknown person and took shelter in a rundown apartment, too scared to leave until Naruto and Sasuke found her.

Given the current tension between Kumogakure and Konoha, it made sense to pin the blame on enemy ninjas.

Sasuke stood behind them with a deadpan expression. He was the only other person who knew the truth—and the lie.

"I just left Izumi's place, and now there's a Yamanaka Ino hiding in my house? Naruto is absolutely hopeless," Sasuke thought.

He, too, had experience with "frozen hands." While it was enjoyable, once a week was the limit.

Naruto had one woman from the Uchiha, and one from the Yamanaka.

That was twice in one night.

If he kept going like this, he'd drop dead from sheer exhaustion.

Poor Naruto… they were brothers, after all. He'd have to talk to him later.

Men need restraint.

As Ino spun her story to Shizune and her mother, a chilling sound echoed in Naruto's mind.

[Passive selection triggered!]

[You are in the Hokage's office. Yamanaka Rino is questioning Ino about her disappearance. What do you choose to do?]

Option 1: Make up a story. Tell her Ino was attacked by a Cloud Ninja. Reward: 10,000 ryo.

Option 2: Tell the truth. Reveal what really happened last night. Reward: 100,000 ryo.

Option 3: Exaggerate. Add false details and tell Rino she may become a grandmother soon. Reward: 1% control of the Nine-Tails.

Option 4: Declare your desire. Ignore the question and confess your love to Rino. Reward: 3% control of the Nine-Tails.

Honestly, Naruto was fully prepared to go with Option 1.

But when he saw Option 4, he almost choked.

What kind of perverted system would suggest confessing to your mother-in-law?!

Completely unreasonable.

Naruto normally scoffed at these ridiculous choices. A man of culture like him would never stoop to such a thing.

…And yet, the reward was so tempting.

Right now, he was just 15% away from unlocking 50% control over the Nine-Tails.

He still didn't know if that meant half of Kurama inside him, or half of the full Nine-Tails chakra as a whole.

He had to try.

Sorry, Ino.

And sorry, Mrs. Yamanaka.

Under Sasuke's disbelieving gaze, Naruto took a deep breath, stepped forward, and stood beside Ino.

Then, with a firm voice, he declared:

"That's not what happened. Listen to me—"