In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

Seeing the humiliated look on Samui's face through the crack in the door, Darui didn't push the matter further and figured it was best to leave.

"Cough, I'll be going now. Have a nice day."

He gave a casual wave, and without waiting for Samui to reply, he left without looking back. A cool summer breeze swept away the fleeting warmth that had just risen in his chest.

"This is all your fault!" Samui turned back and glared at Naruto, her teeth itching with hatred. She felt this guy was too shameless.

"What did I do?" Naruto withdrew his hands and wiped them nonchalantly on her clothes. Then, he leaned against the door, and said with calm expression, "If I hadn't done that, do you really think he would've left?"

"Standing that close… if he couldn't tell there was another person in here, he wouldn't have become Raikage's right-hand man."

Hearing this, Samui was immediately furious and somewhat helpless. She couldn't even argue with him, as his words made perfect sense.

And it was indeed thanks to his little stunt that they had managed to fool Darui.

'But my innocence is gone now… how can I seek justice? Maybe in Darui's heart, I am just a person who likes to seek thrill … Ugh, forget it.'

Fortunately, from what she knew, Darui was not the kind of person who liked to gossip.

After taking a deep breath, Samui forced herself to calm down. But when she saw Naruto about to wipe his damp hands on her clothes again, she suddenly became angry.

"Go wash your hands in the bathroom!"

"Alright, alright." Naruto shrugged, unconcerned. As he walked off, he casually added, "Since you understand the situation, think it over carefully. If you have any objections, feel free to bring them up."

'Objections?' Samui rolled her eyes. She'd heard that bullshit line enough times to be sick of it.

"So, have you made up your mind?" Naruto came out of the bathroom, shaking off the remaining water droplets. He glanced at Samui, who stood there silently, and the towering snow-capped mountains made him amazed.

Fortunately, Naruto is a disciplined man and wouldn't let trivial desires get in the way of more important matters.

"Do I still have a chance to refuse?" Samui asked back.

"You can raise different opinions, but that doesn't mean I'll listen to them." Naruto strolled toward the window, his gaze drifting downward, sweeping over Samui.

'It is true that one cannot judge a person by appearance. She looked cold and aloof, but in reality... Well, some things just couldn't be judged by their cover.'

"Heh." Samui let out a sarcastic chuckle, not even bothering to respond.

"Alright then. See you around." Naruto saw that they weren't getting anywhere and didn't press the issue. Without another word, he vaulted through the window and disappeared.

Many days passed in a flash while he stayed in Kumogakure.

When he had just left Konoha, Naruto estimated that he would be able to return to the village in half a year at most. But now, a whole month had passed, and there was still no movement from Kumogakure, which was really frustrating.

"Time flies so fast." After returning from Samui's place, Naruto sprawled on a couch and thought about things. 'I need to speed up the progress in Kumogakure. Sasuke really came at the right time.'

'You're here just in time, Brother Sasuke. What a godly assist! I was just wondering how to get Yugito back properly, and then you show up.'

…

On the other side, Sasuke was huddled in a house with a serious look on his face.

Karin opened her eyes and stated with certainty, "We have been discovered. The Kumogakure's Anbu are searching for us on a large scale. What should we do?"

"Tsk, these Shinobi from Kumogakure are really troublesome." Suigetsu complained. He carried a massive sword that wasn't quite to his liking.

Originally, when he learned about Zabuza's death, he wanted to take back the Kubikiribocho.

But who knew that Kubikiribocho had disappeared, and even more strangely, Kiba had also disappeared. Samehada was rumored to be in the hands of a Missing-nin from Kumogakure, some monster with terrifying strength.

Since he couldn't find any of the Seven Ninja Swords, Suigetsu had to settle for whatever sword he could find. What he didn't know was that this apparent misfortune might actually be a blessing in disguise.

After all, the legendary Seven Ninja Swords are now on the hit list of a certain blond from Konoha.

Whoever wielded one… was doomed.

Even if an Otsutsuki picked one up, Naruto would make sure they died.

"What should we do now?" Karin sighed, "We underestimated Kumogakure's Shinobi. Their security is tighter than any other village we've been to."

"I heard that people in the Land of Lightning are obsessed with strength and combat. Kumogakure's Shinobi might be the same." Sasuke stood up and looked out the window.

"This place isn't safe. We need to relocate. If things get too dangerous, we'll leave Kumogakure altogether. Our goal isn't Hachibi anyway, so there's no point in getting into unnecessary trouble."

At that time, Sasuke was far more composed than before. The death of Itachi and the conspiracies surrounding Konoha had forced him to mature. Even if the fire of revenge still burned within him, he wouldn't let it cloud his judgment.

If Naruto were here, he would definitely be surprised and exclaim, 'Oh no, Sasuke is no longer stupid! It will be difficult to fool him in the future.'

"Yeah, yeah, let's get moving." Suigetsu grumbled impatiently.

Meanwhile, Jugo remained silent, just listening to his companions' conversation. He needed to keep his emotions in check to suppress the violent Natural Energy within him.

In this small team, with a brooding avenger, a crazed fangirl, and a walking joke, it is bound to be difficult to have peace and quiet.

Jugo just watched them quarreling quietly, and felt warm in his heart.

And then… the rain stopped.

The four members of the Taka Team relied on Karin's sensing ability to smoothly shuttle through Kumogakure to avoid Kumogakure's Anbu.

Meanwhile, a perverted screen-peeking monster with half of his body growing on the wall was following them.

White Zetsu had a smile on his face, and he constantly changing positions. One moment, he'd peek out from the wall. The next, he'd pop up on a rooftop or emerge from a rock face, having the time of his life.

There was only one White Zetsu's clone in Kumogakure, and his purpose was just to monitor Sasuke's movements. But he had fully embraced the fun of his job, as if he had just discovered a brand-new kink, getting closer and closer to the four members of Taka Team.

At one point, Suigetsu, who was taking up the rear, had just turned a corner… only for White Zetsu's creepy smiling face to emerge from the wall right behind him, which was utterly terrifying.