LRAB See Chapter 300
See Chapter 300
"This is utter nonsense! Why didn't your Anbu stop her?!" Koharu Utatane questioned, her wrinkled face filled with anxiety.
"I'm terribly sorry, Advisor!" the ANBU captain replied, forcing a smile, his body still firmly blocking the corridor leading to the Hokage's office. "But the Hokage has given a clear, absolute order: no matter what happens inside, no one is allowed to enter without his direct command!"
Mitokado Homura's eyes behind his glasses appeared serious and harsh. He said in a deep voice, "Forget it, Koharu, there's no point in arguing about this now. Let's hurry up and go in. If something really happens to Hikaru in there, then things will be irreversible."
In the corridor of the Hokage Building, which was trembling like an earthquake, two high-ranking advisors of Konoha, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, were attempting to force their way through the Anbu's blockade. Their faces showed obvious anger and worry.
As they spoke, the two men were about to bypass the ANBU captain and head straight for the Hokage's office, from which violent sounds were constantly emanating. The ANBU captain inwardly groaned, but had no choice but to move again, resolutely blocking the two advisors' path.
"But, Advisor! The Hokage's orders are very clear! No one is allowed to enter except for a direct summons from him!" His voice was resolute, even though his forehead beneath the mask was already covered in cold sweat.
"Get out of the way!" Koharu Utatane said urgently. "As advisors, our duty is to carefully consider the Hokage's important decisions and prevent him from acting impulsively based on personal feelings! Hiruzen's decision is far too emotional!"
Mitokado Homura nodded in agreement, "That's right. Konoha is currently in the post-war period, and the Hokage, as the head of the village, cannot afford to make any mistakes! Not to mention, Jiraiya, the successor to the next Hokage, is also inside right now, making the situation even more complicated."
He tried to persuade the Anbu from a more rational perspective. "Although Kushina Uzumaki was the previous Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and has been confirmed dead, and has only temporarily returned to the world using a forbidden technique... to us, she is still a young junior."
"Providing young people with necessary advice and restraint to prevent them from taking drastic actions due to emotional outbursts is also our responsibility as consultants!"
The ANBU captain listened to the two advisors' righteous and stern words, his heart filled with turmoil, but the Hokage's orders were paramount. However, under the combined pressure and sharp gazes of the two high-ranking advisors, he finally managed to step aside and make way with great difficulty and extreme slowness.
He watched as the two advisors hurriedly pushed open the heavy door to the Hokage's office, went inside, and then closed the door again. Beneath his mask, cold sweat soaked his forehead.
The noise...stopped? He listened, and the deafening roar and vibrations inside, like a building being demolished, indeed ceased abruptly. Had they started talking again?
However, this brief calm lasted for less than half a minute.
"Bang!!"
With a loud crash, the Hokage's office door was violently kicked open from the inside, and two figures fell directly onto the corridor floor. Immediately afterward, the office door slammed shut with a loud bang.
The captain of the dark unit was startled and rushed forward to check. When he saw the two people on the ground, he gasped in horror. The two advisors who had stormed in earlier were none other than Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu!
However, they were no longer the imposing figures they once were. Their faces were swollen like pigs' heads, a mixture of blue and purple, their features twisted and deformed. They had completely lost consciousness, their breaths so weak they seemed about to cease at any moment.
"Quick...someone come quick! Are there any medical ninjas here?!"
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As night fell, warm lights illuminated Naruto's small apartment. Despite the commotion that afternoon, the two managed to purchase the necessary food from another store that was still open, without accepting any "charity." They even went to the pet supply store run by the Inuzuka clan to choose a soft and comfortable doghouse for Hibiki.
Satsuki's sudden outburst of emotions, the sadness and anger that arose because of him, did indeed leave Naruto somewhat at a loss. But on the way home and while preparing dinner, he gradually calmed down and began to think things through seriously.
Have I... always underestimated the hardships I've endured?
As he prepared the ingredients, he reflected. Had he subconsciously downplayed the actual harm caused by years of emotional abuse because he chose not to care? No… that wasn't it.
Although his memories are somewhat distant and hazy, he clearly remembers that when he was a child, he felt an indescribable sadness and depression when he faced rejection and malice alone.
Then, at a very young age, they began to train relentlessly, filling their time with physical exhaustion and the desire to become stronger, leaving themselves no extra energy to experience pain...
It wasn't until later, when I started having people around me... that I truly stopped caring about those stares and gossip from the bottom of my heart, right? So, before that... had I been deceiving myself, using "indifference" to numb my true feelings?
A deeper thought surfaced, sending a chill down his spine. Moreover, his soul was essentially mature, capable of processing and processing negative emotions in a relatively rational way... But what if... what if he had no memories at all, just the mindset of a pure child? Could he still bear that?
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel grateful to Zuo Yue. He understood what Zuo Yue had said to him today; Zuo Yue didn't want him to easily erase the pain of his childhood with a simple apology and atonement.
Naruto wasn't planning to forgive them so easily... but what should he do? Should he yell back? Or fight back? Or... maybe he should think about it some more.
In short, I must properly thank Satsuki today. And... I also need to figure out a solution as soon as possible regarding my mother and the Edo Tensei.
He carefully plated the dishes he had prepared—vibrant-colored scrambled eggs with tomatoes, fragrant beef stew with tomatoes, refreshing and appetizing cold tomato salad…almost all of them were flavors that Satsuki loved. Of course, there was also a nutritious meal specially made for Kosei, a mixture of warm milk and fruit and vegetable puree.
As he began to serve the dishes on the small table in the living room, Satsuki immediately got up to help.
"Naruto... these dishes..." Satsuki noticed the obvious bias in tonight's dishes and hesitated before speaking.
"Yes, these are all your favorite foods." Naruto gave a gentle smile. "Today... I'm really grateful to you. If it weren't for you, I really wouldn't know what to do. I might have just stood there like an idiot."
"...It's okay." Satsuki lowered her head slightly, her voice very soft. She had been a little worried that Naruto might think her behavior that afternoon was too rough and extreme, and that he would look at her with strange or disapproving eyes.
After all, in her opinion, Naruto was sometimes too kind, to the point that it worried her.
Just as Naruto placed the milk dish for Kakeru on the small mat in front of it, and the two were about to begin their meal—
"Knock knock".
A crisp knocking sound suddenly rang out.
Naruto stood up, somewhat puzzled. Knocking at this hour? That's quite unusual. Who could it be?
Satsuki's heart skipped a beat, and worry flashed across her face. Could it be... those villagers who came to apologize or pester her again? She really didn't want that annoying scene from the afternoon to bother Naruto again.
"Coming," Naruto replied, walked to the door, and opened it.
However, the person standing outside the door was not anyone as expected.
The next moment, a slightly cold, yet tender and trembling embrace suddenly pulled him into a tight hug!
The moment Naruto opened the door and saw the other person's face, his pupils dilated violently, his mind went blank, and he froze on the spot.
Kushina Uzumaki hugged her son, whom she had lost and then found, with all her might. Her voice was choked with sobs, filled with pent-up longing and pain.
"...I've always...wanted to see you so much."