In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

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Kiba stared at Naruto with resentment, thinking to himself, ‘What kind of reaction is that? You bastard, you'd rather pay back the money you owe me than introduce me to a girl?’

But he didn’t dwell on it for too long and sighed, "What do you think I should give Shikamaru for his wedding?"

"I don't know." Naruto shook his head, "Shikamaru is always quick to everything. He was the first to become a Chunin and the first to get married."

"Yeah." Kiba nodded in agreement, though he felt something was off, so he turned around and glanced back at Naruto, "Is there something else you're trying to say?"

"No."

"Have you seen Hinata since you got back? Did you ask her what she’s planning to give Shikamaru?" Kiba suddenly asked.

"No."

"That’s all you ever say!"

"No."

“You…!!”

Kiba looked genuinely annoyed, and Naruto, realizing he’d pushed it far enough, coughed awkwardly and stopped teasing him. Instead, he shifted the conversation, "What has Hinata been up to lately?"

"How would I know?" Kiba grumbled, clearly displeased, "We haven’t been in touch much recently. Everyone’s busy, and it’s hard to run into each other."

He probably knew that the ‘everyone’ mentioned by Inuzuka Kiba refers to the members of Team 8. Their sensei, Kurenai, had gone on maternity leave early, and by now, her child, Sarutobi Mirai, was likely already crawling around.

"When do you plan on marrying Hinata?" Kiba asked again.

"Why are you suddenly asking such an embarrassing question?" Naruto was caught off guard, momentarily stunned.

"Embarrassing? I didn’t think you’d be the type to feel embarrassed." Kiba said, frowning as he clenched his hand, "There’s something I’ve been meaning to say, but I’m not sure if I should."

"Then don’t say it."

" Nah, I’m going to say it. Naruto, Hinata really likes you. That’s obvious to everyone. Well, except maybe to herself." Kiba tried to persuade him, speaking sincerely.

"Don’t talk nonsense, kid. Let’s change the topic." Naruto stood up, brushing the dirt off his pants, and walked off first.

As for Kiba’s attempt to advise him, Naruto didn’t take it seriously at all.

‘What a joke… who gets married when they just reach adulthood? No wonder Shinobi generally had such short lifespans, they are not afraid of being squeezed dry, so they have no mood to do big things.’

Besides, Naruto wasn’t going to make any choices right now.

But for now, though, Naruto still had to put up with Kiba's endless chatter. There were things he needed to ask him, particularly about an incident two years ago.

The Inuzuka Clan had been infiltrated by a significant number of spies, and there was suspicion that Root was involved. This had led to the Inuzuka Clan's rapid decline and their grudge against Danzo.

But there was no evidence, so everything had to be kept quiet.

"You’re being all secretive again." Kiba grumbled, but although he was reluctant, he still stood up and followed You’re.

They walked through the old red-brick alleys, shaded by lush trees, before arriving at a secluded, run-down house. Fields of green surrounded the area.

This was the same place where Naruto had once brought Dark Sakura to stargaze, where their relationship had begun to thaw. Its remoteness made it unlikely that Root would have any surveillance here.

"Can you talk now?"

"Yeah, let’s start with Hinata first." Naruto exhaled and said sincerely, "We grew up together, and you know me well."

"I don’t have many great qualities, but if there’s one thing I am, it’s honest. Now look at all of you, you’re all Jonin, even Hinata is about to be promoted to a Jonin, and yet I’m still just a Chunin."

"You know better than I do what the Hyuga Clan is like. You shouldn't be asking me when I plan to get married. You should be asking the Hyuga Clan when they’ll agree to it."

Kiba was dumbfounded by Naruto’s response. In his mind, Naruto is someone who was close to both the current and future Hokage, so in his mind, he almost took it for granted that Naruto was very awesome.

At the very least, Kiba couldn’t imagine himself navigating between the Sannin and the Hokage like Naruto could. But beyond that, it seemed like Naruto didn’t have much. Even his higher-up title has no real standing.

But the more Kiba thought about it, the weirder it seemed. Even Conan would be stumped by this situation.

"Wait a minute!" Kiba probably spent too much time with innocent dogs and was not used to dealing with shameless people, so he was finding it hard to keep up with Naruto’s trickery, "I need to think this over."

"What’s there to think about?" Naruto interrupted, silently thinking to himself, ‘If I let you figure it out, how am I going to twist the truth? No, let's talk about it.’

"What do you think Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"She's a nice person, pretty and kind-hearted." Kiba replied, following along with Naruto’s line of questioning.

"Do you think the Hyuga Clan would accept someone like me?" Naruto pressed.

"This…" Kiba hesitated, ‘That was hard to say. The only way they might agree was if… if Naruto had a chance at becoming the Hokage.’

He knew that while others might not care about superficial things, but the Hyuga Clan sure does. They were proud of being Konoha’s largest clan, like some ancient relic stuck in the past.

But what Kiba didn’t know was that Naruto had absolutely no interest in becoming the Hokage.

"The Hyuga Clan is a big clan after all, and they have always been proud. Although you are still a Chunin now, but..." Kiba trailed off, not sure how to comfort Naruto.

Should he tell Naruto to work harder? But that would be ridiculous… Naruto didn’t need any of that. After all, if Kiba himself had the same connections with big names like the Sannin, he'd be bursting with arrogance.

But then again, despite all those connections, Naruto didn't have any great titles or accomplishments to boast about. The awkward part was that the Hyuga Clan cared a lot about such things, making this situation uncomfortable.

‘Comfort him? Yeah, right!’

Luckily, Naruto didn’t let Kiba sit in the awkwardness for long. He sighed and continued, "I am also very troubled by all this now. What good is it to like someone? Without the blessings of the elders, love is doomed to be incomplete."

"I’ve grown used to being an orphan with no family, but I can’t let Hinata suffer along with me. The outcome is the same: it won’t work out. I’m lost too… how can I hope to keep something I know I’ll never have?"

Naruto was so excited that he could not stop talking, and he almost believed it himself. At the same time, he silently berated himself for neglecting to stay in touch with honest people like Kiba.

He can't say this kind of thing to Shikamaru or Ino. Neji wouldn’t bother listening, Tenten was too smart to deal with Naruto’s bragging, and Lee... well, Konoha’s ‘Mightiest Beast’ wasn’t even worth mentioning in this context.

But what he didn't expect was that Kiba, a single guy, actually felt moved by his words. Kiba sympathetically patted Naruto’s shoulder and encouraged him, "Don't give up, Hinata likes you so much, t there’s still a chance in the future."

"Yeah, yeah, let’s get back to the main topic." Naruto responded, obviously not planning to give up at all. He was just wrapping up the small talk before moving to business.

"What else is there?" Kiba asked, a little surprised.

"Actually, the reason I’m like this now is all thanks to Dan…" But before Naruto could finish his words, Akamaru at the side suddenly frowned and barked loudly.

Akamaru’s sense of smell and hearing were even sharper than ordinary Ninken. At this moment, his instincts warned of something abnormal nearby.

Naruto immediately fell silent, and scanned the surroundings with caution. Kiba's face changed as well, his expression turning grim as a flash of ruthlessness appeared in his eyes, as if recalling something unpleasant.

"The wind’s too strong. Let’s just pick a gift for that bastard Shikamaru first." Naruto suggested.

Kiba showed a hint of hesitation, and it was obvious that he had some thoughts in mind, probably wanting to investigate the surrounding. However, Naruto didn't give him that chance and added another sentence, "If we wait any longer, Shikamaru’s kid will be born by the time we choose a gift."

"Don't be ridiculous! Who has kids that quickly?!" Kiba’s serious demeanor softened, and he cursed with a chuckle, "Fine, fine. The wind’s annoying anyway. Let’s go."