In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

On her way home, Yugito glanced back, ensuring that no one was tailing her. Taking a detour, she finally arrived at her home.

The moment she stepped inside and saw the dust-covered furniture, an irritated feeling welled up inside her.

Walking to the window, she gazed into the distance.

Knock, knock, knock!

Naruto, who was drinking water in the kitchen, was startled when he heard the knocks on the door. He walked to the door quietly and stood there. Looking through the peephole in the door, he found that it was Yugito.

With a click, the door opened from the inside.

"What are you doing here?" He asked in surprise, "Aren't you staying at home? Is there someone following you?"

After saying that, he stretched his head out and looked around the hallway for a few times, like a covert operative, wary of any potential tails.

"No one is following me, I've confirmed that." Yugito shook her head, "My place is too filthy. I'll hire someone to clean it tomorrow. Until then, I'm staying here."

"Oh, uh, alright then." Naruto was not worried that the Kumogakure's Anbu would track her back to him. Firstly, the Kumogakure's Anbu were too weak, and secondly, he had arranged for the Flying Thunder God's marks at various locations, so if things went south, he could simply teleport away.

If there really is a risk of being exposed, at the worst case, he'll just stay at Samui's place or Mabui's. In short, it is absolutely impossible for him to spend a single ryo on a new hideout.

"Are you safe now?" Naruto asked casually.

"As expected, I've been benched. I'm safe... I guess." Yugito leaned back on the couch on the other side skillfully.

"They probably have no interest in investigating me. After all, I'm just a weapon. At this critical juncture, the village probably doesn't want to stir up more trouble."

"Well, don't worry, you won't be idle for long." Naruto reached out and picked up the glass of water, "It won't take much time before Yondaime Raikage…"

"You're going to kill Yondaime Raikage?"

"…Me? What?" Naruto looked utterly baffled, "What are you even talking about? Kill Yondaime Raikage? Don't say stuff like that!"

"Isn't that the plan?" Yugito frowned and said without any scruples, "Didn't you say before that you were going to seize the Raikage's position?"

"Of course not. What era is this now? Don't always think about killing people." Naruto said, "Besides, below the Raikage, there's still Darui and C. Am I supposed to kill them too?"

"Your position is already awkward enough. No matter how many people we kill, if it doesn't benefit your reputation, then it's useless."

"You don't need to worry about those things. I have my own arrangements."

Naruto thought to himself, 'If I still relied on violence to seize the Raikage's position after setting up such a grand chessboard, wouldn't that be stupid?'

Naruto had already outmaneuvered them, and his metaphorical flag was planted on their foreheads. Using violence now would be a waste.

Even Hashirama had never forced the other Kage into submission with sheer strength alone.

Besides, Yondaime Raikage is very useful, and Naruto only wanted his position, not his life. Moving him elsewhere was enough. With his combat prowess, wouldn't he be better off going bare-handed against the Otsutsuki?

This whole situation was complex, and it wasn't a single-threaded operation. Naruto rarely did things one step at a time, and now that things settled in Kumogakure, the village needed time to stabilize.

Next, he had to visit Iwagakure and Kirigakure, as the Five Great Shinobi Villages needed to be evenly handled.

Any Kage seat he had his eyes on, except for Konoha, was fair game.

As for Sunagakure… just forget about it. Sunagakure was too weak to be interesting.

Yugito didn't know what he was thinking, nor did she ask. She simply responded with a neutral "Mm."

She had come here on impulse, but now, having cooled down, she felt it wasn't appropriate.

"You handle things as you see fit in the future. If you are unsure, wait until I come back." Naruto added.

"Come back? You're leaving?" Yugito asked in surprise.

"Obviously. You expect me to stay here forever?" Naruto raised an eyebrow and asked back.

He still planned to swing by the Land of Fire, then take a detour to visit the Land of Wind.

If time allowed, he might even pass through the Land of Whirlpools on his way to the Land of Water… to take a walk underground, and see what secrets are hidden under the cracks.

Maybe he'd visit the Land of Snow, too… but that would make for a long trip.

In the past, Naruto never thought that he would run around aimlessly in the Shinobi World. Whether it was traveling for missions or just moving between locations, he never felt that the Shinobi World was very big.

But now that he has to run around everywhere, he naturally feels that the long journey is a sheer waste of time. It would be great if there were airplanes that allowed him to go anywhere directly.

Or even a teleportation array. Mabui's Heavenly Transfer Technique was decent, but it looked like a death trap. After all, arriving at his destination in a 'damaged' state wasn't ideal.

Even though Naruto considered himself tough, he wasn't like Tsunade, who could heal herself instantly. If he can't hold on, his body will be directly destroyed.

"Oh, then when are you leaving?" Yugito suddenly asked.

"Why? You're acting strange. Since when do you care about me?" Naruto suddenly turned his head and looked Yugito with suspicion.

If he hadn't known that she couldn't betray him, Naruto would have suspected that Yugito was trying to poison him.

"What concern? I'm just asking casually." Yugito muttered, feeling a little confused. When she came, she had just decided to completely defect to Naruto's side, to make her allegiance clear.

But he wanted to leave at this time? What kind of timing was this?

A flicker of struggle crossed Yugito's eyes, but before she could say anything, Naruto yawned and headed back to his room.

He waved his hand casually and said, "This apartment is yours now. Just remember to pay the rent."

With a click, the door closed.

Naruto wasn't actually tired, but he had to travel tomorrow, so he figured he might as well get some rest.

But in the middle of the night, he suddenly felt his door being pushed open.

In a daze, he looked at the door.

'Yugito?'

"You're not sleeping? What are you doing in my room in the middle of the night? Are we having a midnight rendezvous?" Naruto quipped, rubbing his eyes for a clearer look.