On this side, Konoha remained as peaceful as ever.
Danzo's death hardly caused any ripples, after all, the vast majority of ordinary Ninja and villagers in this village weren't even aware of his existence.
However, whenever the villagers saw Naruto, the atmosphere always became a little strange.
Some felt guilty but were too proud to admit it, so they simply avoided him. Naruto didn't mind those people.
Others still harbored doubts, though they no longer glared at him with the same disgust as before.
What troubled Naruto the most were those who, out of guilt, tried to compensate him with excessive kindness. Their overwhelming enthusiasm always made him feel uncomfortable.
He could clearly sense that they genuinely wanted to make up for their past mistakes, but this kind of approach wasn't something he liked.
'Sure enough, I am more suitable for the free and unrestrained life on the sea.'
In a hospital in Konoha-
Thanks to someone's intervention, the Konoha Crush Plan had been stopped before it could truly begin, preventing casualties among the villagers and Ninja.
As a result, there were far fewer patients here than expected.
A tall, lanky man with an afro, dressed in a white coat, carried a basket of fruit as he casually made his way upstairs, turned a corner, and pushed open a hospital room door.
Inside the room were several beds, but only one black-haired boy sat on one of them.
The afro-haired man carefully closed the door behind him, then familiarly pulled up a chair and sat down.
Poof.
A puff of smoke dissipated.
Naruto dispelled his Transformation Technique, reverting to his original appearance.
Sasuke didn't even bat an eye at this.
"It seems like those people are really bothering you."
Sasuke's face was gloomy and he said it casually.
Sasuke's tone wasn't directed at Naruto… ever since waking up, he had been in this half-dead state, as if his spirit had been crushed.
During this period, Sakura, Kakashi and the others also came to see him, but none of them had managed to change his mood.
"Yeah... it's a bit annoying indeed."
Naruto casually grabbed an apple from the fruit basket, wiped it on his sleeve, and took a big bite. The crisp, sweet juice instantly filled his mouth.
After taking a few more bites, Naruto seemed to have just remembered that there was a patient on the bed, so he took another apple and held it up.
"Want one?"
"...No."
His response was the apple being tossed at him.
As if Naruto had only asked out of obligation.
Caught off guard, Sasuke barely managed to catch it, though his expression still twisted in irritation.
Looking at the other person's reaction, Naruto finally showed a smile on his face.
"That's more like it. A young guy like you should have some energy. The way you were before was just depressing."
"...Says the guy who's also a teenager."
Sasuke complained in a low voice, then after a moment of silence, he reluctantly took a bite of the apple.
But before he could take another, Naruto spoke up again.
"So what if you lost once? It's no big deal… once you get stronger, you'll have another chance."
Hearing those words, Sasuke felt the apple in his mouth turn tasteless, and his grip tightened.
"What do you know?!"
He instantly became agitated and threw the fruit aside.
"...The gap was too huge!"
"Just one look! He didn't even lift a finger!"
Sasuke was about to say more when Naruto abruptly grabbed him by the collar and yanked him forward, cutting him off.
Nonchalantly wiping his hands on Sasuke's clothes, Naruto's expression turned serious.
"So, are you giving up?"
"Giving up on avenging your loved ones?"
"Never! I'll kill him with my own hands!"
Neither of them backed down, their gazes locked in a fierce standoff.
Then, just as suddenly, Naruto's stern expression melted away, replaced by his usual carefree grin.
"That's the spirit. You've got plenty of chances-"
With that, he tossed Sasuke back onto the bed, clapped his hands, and turned to leave.
"Hurry up and recover. Once you're out of the hospital, we'll keep training. I left your next training plan here."
As he spoke, Naruto pulled out a small notebook from his pocket and placed it on Sasuke's bedside.
Listening to Naruto's words, Sasuke clenched his fists in frustration.
'If only I was as powerful as Naruto...'
"…Oh, I almost forgot."
"I'll be heading out for a while."
"By the time we meet again, you'd better have mastered the two Haki."
"As a reward, I'll bring you a pretty cool little gift."
"If my idea actually works out, that is…"
Without waiting for a response, Naruto walked out of the room.
"What did you say?"
"Naruto! Where are you going?!"
Sasuke's shout went unanswered as the door closed behind Naruto.
After another long silence, Sasuke reached out and picked up the notebook, examining it carefully.
Then, without another word, he got out of bed and started changing his clothes.
…
The moment Naruto stepped out of the hospital room, his figure dissolved into smoke.
At the same time, the real Naruto, who had already packed his things, walked straight out of Konoha Village's front gates.
The Ninja guarding the gate seemed to have received some kind of order and pretended not to see Naruto.
It has to be said that Jiraiya's timing for sneaking off couldn't have been better.
Not only did he get himself out of the Hokage's position, but he also created the perfect excuse for Naruto to leave the village.
…Of course, it's not so much that Naruto left the village on the pretext of finding Tsunade, the next candidate for Hokage.
It was more like an unspoken agreement between the village's high-ranking people and Naruto himself.
As the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, the village's high-ranking people and some of the great Ninja Clan's Heads would never willingly let Naruto leave Konoha Village.
But after Naruto publicly revealed his true parentage, trying to restrict him under the guise of duty or morality was no longer an option.
As for using force to stop him?
The fate of the Hokage Rock and Danzo was still fresh in everyone's minds.
Therefore, Naruto leaving under the guise of a mission was really just him saving face for Konoha.
Because, if he truly wanted to leave, who could confidently say they could stop him without a fight?
Likewise, no one dared to take on the public opinion of openly attacking the son of the Fourth Hokage.
In Konoha, no, in the entire Ninja World, public opinion and reputation were shackles that could bind people, even drive some to their deaths.
This is also one of the reasons why Naruto didn't like staying here.
Maybe it was because he'd spent so much time at sea, but he missed the days of living freely, like a true rogue.
But before he could even take more than a few steps, Naruto sighed and glanced toward a familiar figure crouching suspiciously under the shade of a tree.
He walked over and yanked the other party up by the scruff of his neck.
'Now I've got to make an extra trip…'
Konohamaru, who was caught on the spot by Naruto, began to struggle like crazy, still shouting.
"Naruto-nii-chan! Take me with you! I've gotten stronger!"
Admittedly, his training had paid off, as Konohamaru's struggling was way more forceful than the average kid's.
"Yeah, yeah. Next time, for sure."
Naruto replied dismissively as he carried Konohamaru back toward the village's gates.
Suddenly, Naruto felt that Konohamaru in his hand stopped struggling, and then lowered his head to look at him.
"Nii-chan… will you come back?"
Kids were more perceptive than people gave them credit for. Even if he didn't understand the full picture, Konohamaru could sense the finality in Naruto's recent behavior.
"...Yeah. I'm just going on a mission."
Lying to kids was second nature to Naruto, maybe he'd picked it up from a certain pirate.
"Really?"
"Really, really. By the time you master everything I've taught you, I'll probably be back."
"Promise?"
...
"Promise."