In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

As the sky began to darken, Naruto didn't head home or go to the Hokage Tower right away. Instead, he went in the opposite direction, toward the Satomi Hill's manor.

Kurama was just having dinner, dining alone in the vast manor. As she was about to eat a piece of food, she suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of anxiety.

With a clatter, the piece of food dropped onto the table.

Bang!

The front door of the manor swung open from outside. A figure strode in confidently under the cover of night, without the slightest hesitation.

"Who's there?" Yakumo stood up barefoot from the tatami mat.

"It's me, Uzumaki Naruto." The figure emerged from the shadows and said in a nonchalant tone, "I was wondering why there aren't any lights in the yard. I almost tripped."

"I don't have money to install them." Yakumo mumbled. She had learned to be wary of Naruto, and seeing him made her tense and unconsciously shrank back.

"No money? Well, that's an easy fix. Help me with something, and I'll give you some." He sat at the dining table uninvited but didn't touch any of the food.

"W-what do you need?" Yakumo lowered her head and asked hesitantly.

"Call out Ido. I've got some business with it." He said.

"Oh, okay." Yakumo let out a sigh of relief. As long as he was dealing with Ido and not her, it was fine.

She figured refusing him would be pointless. Although she still didn't know how to summon Ido voluntarily, it couldn't hurt to agree first. After all, whether she succeeded or not, she'd still get the money.

She tried to immerse herself in the dangerous emotions that would call out Ido, and soon enough, the demon spirit emerged on its own. With a green face and sharp fangs, it looked like a fiend, though its body resembled Yakumo's.

"Roa--!"

Ido hadn't even had the chance to unleash its emotions before it noticed Naruto. Its pupils widened in shock, and its roar abruptly cut off halfway.

"Long time no see, Ido, I'm back." Naruto greeted with a smile.

"You!!! You set me up!" Ido's face was full of indignation. It turned around and glared at Yakumo fiercely.

Seeing this, Yakumo acted as if she were deaf. She quietly walked to the corner of the room, then covered her ears and closed her eyes obediently.

"Curse you!! ROAR-!"

Naruto sneered, rolling up his sleeves. He didn't hold back at all, smashing a fist into Ido's face, shattering its fangs. Then, with a powerful kick, he stomped Ido to the ground, the tatami cracking under the impact.

It was a one-sided beating. After pummeling Ido for a good while, Naruto finally stopped. He looked down at Ido, who is now motionless and utterly battered, with its entire body covered in injuries.

"That's enough for today."

Naruto's words sent a chill down Ido's spine. It was genuinely terrified of this man now and wished it could rise up and kill him on the spot.

Seeing that Ido didn't say anything, Naruto couldn't help but think, 'This mission was indeed extremely difficult. Even after being beaten like this, Ido still hadn't uttered a single word.'

'It seems this was going to take a while. Well, there's no need to rush.'

Before leaving, Naruto left a box of money for Yakumo, as compensation for the damage to the manor. Yakumo silently accepted it, grateful for the financial relief since she had no other source of income.

Ido returned to Yakumo's body, hiding quietly. Despite being a demon, it didn't understand the concept of 'the tallest trees catch the most wind'.

It only knew its luck had been terrible lately. Although it wouldn't die, it needed time to recover fully. But getting beaten up every other day like this… who could bear that?

Each time the methods got more brutal, each time the violence increased. Even a proud spirit like Ido couldn't help but wonder if there was some misunderstanding.

The world was just like that, brutally real. As long as one had enough power, even the harshest world could be tamed into a little kitten, bending to one's will.

…

Night fell, and the moon hung high in the sky.

Naruto returned home, only to be greeted by the sight of dozens of crates of sake stacked by the couch, leaving him momentarily stunned.

"I didn't go through the wrong door, did I?" Naruto kicked one of the crates of sake and couldn't help but feel a bit speechless, "Who's bored enough to send me booze?"

"They're mine!" Kurama poked his head out from the couch.

"Where did these boozes come from?"

"That human... what's her name again?" Kurama stood on the sofa like Tom, and after gesturing for a long time, he finally remembered the name, "She said her name is Haruno Sakura."

"Sakura?" Naruto remembered that he had asked Kurama to check on Sakura, and he didn't dwell on the booze anymore, "How was she doing that day? Everything normal?"

"Well, I don't know. She looked like she was about to die, but after I gave her some Chakra, she came back to life." Kurama said vaguely.

He concealed the truth of having three affairs at the same time and tried to gloss over it.

However, Naruto's focus did not seem to be on that. After thinking for a while, he turned around and went into the bathroom. After quickly washing up, he returned to his room to sleep.

…

The next morning.

After resting, the exhaustion from his long journey was completely gone.

He got up early, cleaned himself up, ate breakfast, and leisurely headed toward Konoha Hospital. He already suspected something was wrong with Sakura, but he hadn't rushed over immediately.

Firstly, because it was already late at night, so Sakura was probably home. Second, he was tired himself and had no clear thoughts, so rushing over wouldn't have helped.

Since Sakura had been stable for this long, one more night wouldn't make a difference. His reasoning was practical, and it suited the situation with Sakura perfectly, though it also left him feeling a bit angry.

After waiting in the hospital's duty room for half an hour, Naruto finally saw Sakura.

"You still insist on going to work even though your body's failing you?" Naruto wasn't in a rush. He sat leisurely in a chair and took a sip of hot water, "Only you, Haruno Sakura, would do this."

Sakura rolled her eyes at him and, without hesitation, snatched his glass and drank a few sips, "What else should I do? Quit work and find a grave to squat by?"

"That's true. Working in a hospital has one advantage. If you pass out here, you'll be resuscitated immediately." Naruto quipped.

"Is that what you came here to tell me?" Sakura asked, feeling a bit miffed.

"I've already picked out a cemetery plot for you, up on the north slope behind the Hokage Rock. We can go check it out sometime." Naruto said with a cold sneer, "There's no body anyway, so we'll just bury an empty box."