In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

"Peace in the Shinobi World is a pipe dream. Wherever people exist, conflict is inevitable." Naruto replied, "Actually, you don't need to think that far ahead. Just take things as they come."

"Those old foxes are just using the village's safety as an excuse to block the communication project. Even now, Konoha's intelligence is constantly being leaked to the other four Great Shinobi Villages."

"The Root is a complete waste of money, just a personal organization run by Danzo. In this case, what does the security of Konoha's intelligence have to do with the new communication technology?"

"Yeah." Ino smiled faintly, "Hearing you say that makes me feel a lot better."

Naruto thought about saying, 'Don't listen to those old foxes. Before you know it, they'll lead you into a trap without you realizing it.' But he swallowed the words before they could leave his mouth.

There's no point in saying more, and comforting her would only go so far.

If peace in the Shinobi World was truly a requirement for developing new technology, then Ino might never see it happen in her lifetime.

In times of peace, Shinobi are nothing more than mercenaries or private bodyguards, and the Five Great Shinobi Villages are essentially militarized organizations built with Shinobi at the core. While Tsunade might want to change Konoha, she can't control the direction of the Five Great Shinobi Countries.

Konoha's alliance with Sunagakure was meant to recover and nurture the next generation of Shinobi while developing their economy. Kirigakure was just beginning to emerge from the shadow of the Bloody Mist era and was struggling to regain its footing.

The only ones still eager to expand were the once-proud but now declining Iwagakure, and the powerful and ambitious Kumogakure, which still sought to stir up trouble in the Shinobi World.

However, the great Clan Head Naruto did not agree, and thought to himself, 'What if I set up a Jashin's Cult to mess with the people of Kumogakure and Iwagakure? That way, they wouldn't have so much free time to stir up trouble.'

After all, he had already given Kumogakure a beating, leaving them humiliated. If Raikage still didn't get the message, Naruto had plenty more ways to make his life difficult.

But deep down, he knew that internal strife wouldn't bring peace to the Shinobi World, and it would only delay the inevitable outbreak of war.

Humans are complex creatures, with each person holding different beliefs. However, one thing they all share is the instinct to seek benefit and avoid harm.

So from this point of view, Sasuke's and the Akatsuki's approaches weren't entirely wrong.

They both turned themselves into ultimate villains to force the Five Great Shinobi Countries into uniting against a common enemy. The only difference was that one sought to make the world feel pain, while the other aimed to unify it.

Neither approach felt particularly relevant to Naruto at this moment. He wasn't about to bet the rest of his life seeking world peace for the sake of a communication project.

In the end, if you can't solve a problem, just solve the people who are causing the problem.

'I'll just make those old guys compromise.' Naruto thought silently. Rather than seeking peace in the Shinobi World, he preferred to fix problems as they came up.

If he is not allowed to open the window, then he'd just punch a hole through the ceiling.

As the dim streetlights of Konoha flickered along the streets, neither Naruto nor Ino spoke for a while. Ino seemed like she wanted to say something several times, but seeing Naruto lost in thought, she held back.

It wasn't until they reached the large green tree in front of the Yamanaka Flower Shop stopped abruptly and said, "It's already April, huh? The tree has grown so lush."

"Hmm?" Ino had a conflicted look on her face, and replied, "Y-yeah, it has. Um, did I say something that troubled you?"

"No…"

"I'm sorry!" Ino suddenly bowed in apology, "It's all my fault! I shouldn't have rambled about that stuff and burdened you with it!"

"No, it's really not…" Naruto waved his hands and was about to speak when he was interrupted by Ino apologizing all at once.

"Please don't take it to heart! I wasn't seriously thinking about the communication device, it's just a spur of the moment interest!"

"It's not like that."

Before Ino could lift her head, Naruto couldn't help but chuckle, his laughter low and lazy. The previously tense atmosphere melted away like snow, quickly dissipating.

"You've misunderstood. I wasn't planning on helping you because I can't really do anything about it. World peace isn't something I can deliver on. That's for someone more capable."

Hearing this, Ino suddenly raised her head and grabbed Naruto's shirt in frustration, then said angrily, "Are you messing with me again?"

"No, I never said I'd help you. You just jumped to conclusions on your own." He smiled nonchalantly, looking a little annoying for some reason.

"You!! You didn't say a word the whole way here!"

"I was thinking about what to eat tomorrow."

"Liar!"

"Want me to tell you tomorrow's menu?" Naruto threw his arm casually over her shoulder, pulling her into a light embrace with a grin.

"No!" Ino brushed his arm off and muttered with a pout, "I thought you..."

"You thought what…?" Naruto laughed, standing straight under the streetlamp by the large green tree, "I'm not omnipotent, you know. And the Five Great Shinobi Countries don't listen to me."

"Of course I know that." She said, "I'm glad you didn't think that way. I'm just worried that you would go to the higher-ups…"

"But it's not impossible. Keep working on the communication device project. Do what you need to do." Naruto said, his shoulders slumping slightly as he lowered his voice.

"Ah?" Ino was confused for a moment, "But, isn't it useless right now?"

"It'll be useful soon enough." He said as he raised his eyelids slightly, "First of all, let me make it clear that I am not doing this purely to help you. I've had this in mind for a while, and it's something I want to do too."

"And I can't do it alone. It'll take some time, but I'm sure it'll work out in the end."

"Okay." Ino responded obediently.

It's true that Naruto wasn't omnipotent, but he didn't persuade her to give up. Instead, he really listened to her carefully, and that was enough to make her happy.

Mid-April.

Sakura's half-month-long freeloading period had come to an end, which also meant her vacation was over. She had an expression on her face that said 'I don't want to go to work', which was exactly the same as Tsunade's.

Naruto had been eating Sakura's cooking for two weeks, and fortunately, he had survived without passing out, which was a blessing.

He had put the communication technology issue on hold, patiently waiting for half a month. It seemed like Tsunade had already resolved the matter with the Inuzuka Clan without informing him.

Not that he cared. He wasn't interested in such trivial affairs anyway.

It was not until late April that Tsunade suddenly sent someone to fetch him. When Naruto arrived at her office, he noticed that Sakura had replaced Ino as Tsunade's secretary.

Sakura secretly gave him a helpless smile before quickly straightening her expression.

Tsunade didn't beat around the bush with him and got straight to the point.

"We've received news from Jiraiya."