Life was originally a calm, deep spring. No matter how fiercely the winds and clouds changed around you, as long as you didn't stir things up yourself, everything was peaceful and quiet.
Before his daughter met this scumbag, that's what Inoichi had thought. Even though he had experienced some things in his youth, as he got older, he still lived life step by step.
But he never expected the peace to be broken in the end, and in the form of a premarital pregnancy. He had regretted and reflected, sometimes thinking that if he had paid more attention to Ino six or seven years ago, things might not have turned out this way.
He had worked himself to the bone, but in the end, it seemed he hadn't gained much. What was even more ridiculous was that he didn't even like work that much. He just did it to have something to do, to busy himself into numbness.
Because life was too smooth, with a virtuous wife, a sensible daughter, a few old friends around, it seemed that without work, life would just be a pool of stagnant water.
As a result, when he found out that something was wrong, things had already become serious.
Naruto's reputation within the village wasn't good, but his fame was limited to Konoha. Perhaps he had a fearsome reputation in the capital of the Land of Fire, but that was ultimately fleeting.
Overall, Naruto was still quite rule-abiding, at least confining himself to the Shinobi Circle. At his age, Jiraiya and the others had already made a name for themselves as the Legendary Sannin.
In other words, Naruto acted arrogantly and overbearingly, but only within Konoha. His actions outside caused little stir, even making no big waves.
If Naruto's abilities were limited, Inoichi wouldn't think much of him. But he knew Naruto's capabilities were not inferior to the Sannin of back in the day. For a young man to act so steady was rare.
It wasn't exactly a case of the father-in-law and son-in-law growing fonder of each other the more they looked, but rather a conclusion Inoichi reached after calming down and thinking carefully after accepting reality during this time.
At his age, he saw through many things. After all, there was nothing new under the sun. Some things didn't need to be hidden at all.
The Sannin's fame indeed spread throughout the Shinobi World, but it was also a shackle… working for the village in the end, only to leave. The outstanding tree in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. Some truths were hard to state explicitly.
After all, young people had their youthful sharpness. He couldn't very well say... In short, Inoichi was relatively satisfied with Naruto's way of doing things. At least he knew to be a bully at home and wouldn't cause any major trouble.
Moreover, now, rather than saying Naruto was working for Konoha, it was more accurate to say he was working for Tsunade and Kakashi. All his missions were given to him directly by the Hokage.
This way, Naruto didn't seem to be selflessly sacrificing for the village regardless of the consequences. Inoichi wasn't against Naruto developing a sense of belonging to the village… he just didn't want him to end up like the Yondaime Hokage.
In his youth, he had seen all kinds of prodigies. The Uchiha Clan had frequent freaks of nature, but in the end, they were wiped out clean.
Everyone had their selfish motives. Inoichi spoke sternly, but ultimately, he couldn't let his daughter become a widow. He didn't want Naruto to be some Jinchuriki who would charge to his death in a moment of passion.
Inoichi thought about a lot, but it was all in the instant he lifted his cup. When he set the teacup down with a thud, his thoughts came to an abrupt halt.
"Right now, it's wartime. The situation in the village isn't very clear yet. We can't rule out that enemies have already infiltrated and are spreading news. So, for safety's sake, we can't hold a wedding in the short term."
"Uncle is right." Naruto also appropriately changed his address. No matter what Inoichi said, he blindly agreed, not afraid of being seen as simple-minded.
Pleasing one's future in-laws wasn't a matter of a day or two. It was similar to dating. If confessing was just the bugle call to charge, you'd already lost half the battle.
If you didn't perform well usually and just hoped to present an image of erudition, humility, and capability at the moment of meeting, the difficulty would be several degrees harder than getting into Harvard University.
Anyway, whatever the father-in-law said was right. Just agree.
After speaking, Inoichi seemed to feel he was letting Naruto off too easily. He frowned and thought for a while.
"The wedding still needs to happen. We'll find a suitable time to make up for it, preferably within these two months. If the war situation calms down, naturally, the sooner the better."
Right. Just one word: Right!
Leaving the Yamanaka Flower Shop, Naruto walked a distance before turning back to look. He suddenly let out a deep breath, feeling relaxed all over.
He had originally thought his father-in-law would be fierce. Who knew he wouldn't even throw out something like sending an invitation to Hiashi? It seemed he had underestimated his father-in-law's vision.
…
The next day.
The village was still in chaos. Naruto, as usual, slept until 2 PM. Grumbling, he got up to wash up and only then noticed someone sitting in the living room.
"Rare visitor, Commander Yugao." He said, shuffling in his slippers and slowly heading towards the bathroom, not even glancing at Yugao.
"I looked for you yesterday, but you weren't here." Yugao said without any extra small talk, answering directly.
"Yesterday, I was preparing gifts. You know, with great power comes great responsibility. The pressure to get married lately is quite high."
Naruto boasted, not even closing the door. He brushed his teeth and washed his face while talking to Yugao.
"Choosing gifts is an art. Too expensive is abrupt; too cheap doesn't show sincerity. It must be rare to be valuable, and something the other party can't refuse."
"The village is in trouble." Yugao said calmly.
"That's truly a pity." Naruto didn't take the bait.
"The village is hiding a large number of White Zetsu. We screened them once yesterday, so it should be mostly clean now." Yugao was very smart, so she didn't mention the Hokage or the village at all.
She knew Naruto's temper all too well. Talking about those things was useless. It was better to just lay out what she knew in front of him.
As for the result, he would decide for himself. At most, she could just mention it.
"The frontline battles of the Five Great Nations are intense. It took a great cost to repel the White Zetsu. After the Five Kage Summit, they all decided to form a Shinobi Alliance to fight."
"As for Konoha, we estimate we can find and deal with all the White Zetsu by tomorrow."
Yugao continued chattering on about Konoha's situation, reporting the latest news to Naruto. But then she heard a thud, and saw the bathroom door was closed.
The sound of the shower started soon after, so Yugao simply shut up.
She wasn't one to give up easily, nor was she stubborn. Her mind raced, analyzing what benefits she could bring Naruto, how she could help him.
That way, making a request would go more smoothly.
When Naruto came out of the shower and dried his hair, Yugao spoke again.
"The village lacks main combat power. No one can hold the line on the main battlefield."
"What does that have to do with me? I'm very busy right now. Compared to war, I'm more concerned about whether I can safely get through my current situation."
"I can help. With anything," Yugao said without hesitation, "As long as I can be of use, anything."
"War is such a dangerous thing; it's not child's play." Naruto's meaning was a refusal.
Yugao wasn't too disheartened. Her promise wasn't worth much to begin with, at least not enough for Naruto to go to war for it. She hadn't held out hope because this promise was given free of charge.
It wasn't a transaction, just a going with the flow goodwill gesture. Because from start to finish, she understood that Naruto might ignore Konoha, but he would absolutely not ignore enemies pressing at the borders threatening the safety of Ino and Hinata.
All she needed to do was relay the information clearly, tell him the war situation, and then make her promise. If it were a transaction, her promise was completely worthless.
But if it were a free gift, Yugao also knew that the current 'Scum Naruto' probably needed the help of a reliable colleague like her, whom he'd known for six or seven years.
Because her cold face was the best trust endorsement. At certain times, it could be of great use to him.