Nightfall.
Ino left the Intelligence Division's office and headed downstairs. The streetlights weren't very bright. She glanced back and saw a small stall in the distance, stopping immediately.
She hesitated about buying another serving of grilled onions. She'd had some a couple of days ago and happened to get one that wasn't fully cooked. The juice splashed into her eye, nearly blinding her.
She had rubbed it for what felt like ages, tears almost running dry. Thankfully, it was a false alarm. After seeing black for a while, her vision slowly returned. It was nothing major.
'Ugh... so embarrassing!'
Ino couldn't help but hold her forehead in her hand. Although it tasted fresh, she'd lost interest after a few tries. Thinking this, she shook her head and walked the other way.
Konoha's terrain wasn't completely flat. She turned into an alley, walked along its winding path, and skillfully emerged from the other end of Konoha's main street.
"Where are you going?"
"When did you get back?" Ino was somewhat surprised. Her first reaction upon seeing Naruto was a flicker of panic. Her lively eyes glanced at him, then a playful smile appeared on her face.
"I'm going home. Are you coming too?"
"Sure." he said.
"No way, you still dare to go?" Her voice was a bit low, her eyes fixed on him.
Ino's eyes were large, her green pupils pure and clear. Her gaze was very lively, not empty or lifeless like others'.
Her emotions subtly radiated through her eyes, tiny changes like hiding a fawn within them. Joy or anger brought shifts, and Naruto could read her thoughts through her eyes.
Happiness, but also some worry.
"Nothing I don't dare to do. I'll have to face it eventually anyway. And we can't keep putting it off forever."
Hearing this, Ino immediately understood that he already knew. For a moment, she hesitated, giving Naruto a long, thoughtful look.
"You know?" she asked.
"Mm." Naruto nodded, "Why were you hiding it from me?"
"I wasn't hiding it." Ino's eyes darted away, clearly feeling guilty, "It's just... you just happened to be out of the village."
"Ah!"
Ino let out a funny yelp as Naruto pinched her cheek.
"Still saying that."
"It's true! Who told you not to come see me these past few days? It's your fault." Ino said, grinning. "Even if I told you a few days later, it wouldn't have mattered. Before, I always thought it was just a lack of appetite."
Having said that, she jumped onto Naruto, sealing his lips.
In the dark entrance of the alley, the two kissed for a long moment before separating, their shadows cast on the ground, one left, one right.
"It was all too sudden. I hadn't figured it out myself and didn't know how to tell you." Ino said, looking up as if summarizing, speaking very seriously.
"Anyway, it's not something that will happen immediately. There's a long time before the birth, and others won't be able to tell for a while. Besides, I didn't want to put you in a difficult position."
"What's so difficult? Your parents won't eat me alive. Getting married early is fine." He said, "I told you before, I would definitely see you in a white bridal kimono."
"That's easy to say, but I didn't expect it to be this soon..." Ino mumbled, seeming a bit complaining, "I still have things to do. And what about Hinata?"
"You can't fool me. It's just that I didn't want to think about it. You're not exactly devoted to just one person either."
As she spoke, Ino's voice also grew low. She had only been pretending to be wronged at first. She still remembered she had things to do, but as she kept talking, her emotions got the better of her.
Drip, drip.
Ino really started crying, like a water pump that had been pressurized for too long. Before seeing Naruto, she hadn't thought much about being pregnant, her mind still focused on work.
After that incident, her family hadn't mentioned the pregnancy in front of her either, as if it really didn't exist. Busy, busy, busy… then she looked up and realized she still had to face it, and she... kind of broke down.
If it were anyone else entangled with Naruto, Ino wouldn't be so conflicted. Or if Hinata's personality were worse, she wouldn't soften so easily.
But it just so happened that Hinata was quiet and unassuming. No matter how you treated her, she remained the same, seemingly holding no malice towards anyone. She was so good it made one feel guilty, as if they had stolen something from her.
Sometimes, Ino even felt like those two were supposed to be together from the start.
"There will always be a way. Let's have the wedding first." Naruto comforted, "I heard Kiba seems to want to have his wedding this winter too. It seems like it's also..."
"What a coincidence!" Ino's attention was indeed diverted. Covering her mouth, she said, "Choji's wife mentioned that to me too. They were planning to try for a child early this year."
"I just didn't know if they were saying that to comfort me, but I was really touched at the time. If all our children were born around the same year, one after another, at least they'd have company."
"Having a child early is good. War is coming soon." He said, shifting the topic and diverting Ino's attention again.
"What?" Ino was stunned, "No way? There's only some unrest in Kumogakure right now, right? How could the flames of war possibly... Besides, it couldn't happen that quickly."
"Nothing's impossible. The war is coming, and soon…" Naruto paused, "We need to have the wedding as soon as possible, preferably within half a month."
"So rushed?" Ino was astonished.
"Yes, ten days would be best," Naruto nodded. The fire in Kumogakure was already burning, and he didn't think Kabuto was in the mood to throw heavy forces at just one village.
If something happened there, the Land of Fire wouldn't be spared either. It wouldn't be long before the Five Great Nations were engulfed in war. This time, he didn't know if there would be a Shinobi Alliance.
If they fought separately, the losses, the battle lines, and the duration would all expand indefinitely. War was a bottomless pit. It not only burned money but also cost lives.
It mainly depended on Naruto's attitude. He was confident he could secretly instigate a Shinobi Alliance, but... he needed to consider whether it was worth it.
"Ten days?" Ino was already bewildered. She had imagined many outcomes, but never this...
"The sooner the better. The footsteps of war wait for no one…" Naruto said, then changed tack, "Just in case, if the frontline fighting gets intense, for the child's sake, it would be safer for you to stay in the rear."
Naruto's habit was to beat around the bush, again and again. He knew that directly asking Ino not to go to the battlefield might make her hesitate or resist.
But by throwing out the wedding and using the child as an excuse, he could keep Ino in the rear. It wasn't that he thought Ino was weak, but the coming enemies were truly fierce.
He wasn't an omniscient and omnipotent god. The battlefield changed in the blink of an eye, so who could guarantee no accidents would happen? If it weren't for the need to eliminate the extraterrestrial Otsutsuki, Naruto wouldn't have the slightest interest in the Shinobi World's messy affairs.
Wars always started and stopped, stopped and started. Only the Otsutsuki wanted to kill everyone in the Shinobi World.
"I..." Ino was already somewhat panicked, tugging at Naruto's clothes, "Is it really that urgent? But if that's the case, then everyone..."
"Mm, really." He nodded, saying against his conscience, "It's not the first time Konoha has faced war. It should be fine."