Konoha: Naruto's abnormal life choices

Seeing that she had finally stopped struggling, Naruto took two steps forward and leaned down to look at her face.

Sarutobi Hazuki took a deep breath. Her eyes were cold, but after hesitating for a long moment, she quietly rested her head back on the pillow and gave a small nod.

Seeing this, Naruto gently removed the cloth gag from her mouth. She coughed a few times, then shot him a sharp look and asked in a biting tone:

"Who are you?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Don't you know this is the Hokage's residence?"

Naruto didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked around the room, taking in its simplicity. The space was tidy, with everything placed neatly. The only decoration was a small bouquet of fresh flowers sitting on the windowsill.

Women from noble clans in Konoha always seemed to enjoy flower arranging.

"Wait for me," Naruto whispered, then turned and walked over to the flowers. In full view of Hazuki, he plucked the best-looking blossom and held it in his hand.

Sarutobi Hazuki glared at him. Her mouth opened slightly as if she wanted to scold him, but she held her tongue—for Konohamaru's sake.

If I hadn't been injured back then… this punk would be dead already, she thought, struggling slightly under the quilt, her eyes following his every move.

"What exactly do you want?" she asked coldly.

Naruto hesitated for a second, then walked back with an awkward, almost bashful smile.

"I came to talk to you," he said. "About your ideal life."

"…Huh?" Hazuki blinked, caught off guard by the bizarre response. "Talk about life goals?"

"Yup."

Naruto handed her the flower, ignoring her confused expression. "Madam, my dream is to have you take my last name one day. And I'll work hard to make that happen."

Hazuki's brows furrowed. That kind of talk—it sounded almost like a marriage proposal. In traditional custom, when a woman marries, she takes her husband's name.

Though her husband had passed away years ago, Hazuki was still the daughter-in-law of the Hokage's family. No one had ever dared to say such things to her.

Now, out of nowhere, she was dealing with some utterly shameless man who had barged into her house, made strange proclamations, and seemed to think this was all perfectly normal.

Still, because of Konohamaru, she tried to keep things civil.

"You've misunderstood," she said as gently as she could. "I'm part of the Sarutobi family. That will never change. You should go chase after someone more appropriate."

Naruto sighed. That stung a little. After delivering a heartfelt speech about ideals, all he received was the "100,000 Ryo" reward for Option 2. Still no storage space.

Seriously? That wasn't enough?

He could already feel Asuma closing in. If he didn't act soon, it might be too late.

Hazuki, seeing his dejected expression and bowed head, let out a breath of relief. Maybe he's not completely hopeless. If I keep reasoning with him, he might just leave quietly.

The two sat in silence, their thoughts running in completely different directions.

Just as Naruto began wondering whether to attempt the final option or retreat, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed outside the room.

Thump-thump.

Then came a panicked voice.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Sister-in-law! Are you in there? There was an intruder in the house earlier—are you okay?!"

It was Asuma, banging on the front door.

At the same time, another smaller voice came from the side entrance.

"Mom! There's a huge snake and a raccoon outside! Come look!"

Konohamaru's excited voice rang out as he fumbled with the side door.

Had Naruto not instinctively locked the doors earlier out of habit—thanks to dealing with Sakura—Konohamaru might've walked right in.

Being found in this situation with Hazuki would be a total disaster.

Sarutobi Hazuki instantly grew anxious. She looked at Naruto, whose masked eyes had turned icy cold as he stared toward the voices outside.

The next moment, her heart stopped—Naruto pulled out two kunai and aimed them toward the door.

One large figure. One small.

Konohamaru has no combat experience… he wouldn't stand a chance.

Terrified, Hazuki threw up her arms to block Naruto's strike and blurted out: "I'm fine! I'm not feeling well today. You two can go!"

Then she lowered her arms, frowned deeply, and hissed, "You said you wouldn't hurt Konohamaru as long as I cooperated."

Outside, the breeze gently blew the flower petals across the windowsill.

"Sister-in-law," Asuma said, voice tinged with suspicion, "you sound… different. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Mom! Open the door!" Konohamaru called cheerfully.

Inside, Naruto was now in battle mode. His eyes locked onto Konohamaru's direction. He didn't want to fight—especially not against Asuma—but if it came down to it, the weakest point of pressure was Konohamaru.

"Madam," Naruto said softly but firmly, "if you don't want me to escape through Konohamaru… or have the Sarutobi family spread rumors about what just happened, then I need your cooperation. Understand?"

Hazuki clenched her fists but nodded slightly.

Outside, Asuma grew more and more uneasy. He hadn't heard a proper reply from Hazuki for several minutes now.

Could the intruder have gotten into her room? The idea made his blood run cold.

If that were true, it would bring disgrace to the Sarutobi name—and dishonor to his late brother.

He knocked again. "Sister-in-law? Are you asleep?"

"…I told you, I'm not feeling well. I want to rest. Please take Konohamaru outside to play."

Asuma frowned. Her voice and demeanor were clearly off.

Meanwhile, Konohamaru, still knocking at the side door, jogged over and whispered to Asuma, "Uncle, is there really a bad guy in there?"

"Maybe," Asuma said grimly. "Go hide. Now."

"Okay!"

Konohamaru scampered off and ducked into a nearby haystack.

Asuma took a deep breath, made a hand seal, and stood at the ready.

With a loud CRASH, he kicked the door open.

He was just about to unleash his Ash Pile Burning Jutsu—ready to blind everyone inside—when he saw something that stopped him cold.

Hazuki was lying in bed, wrapped in her quilt like a burrito, only her head showing. Her cheeks were flushed. Her eyes were closed.

Asuma blinked.

Wait a second…

He wasn't exactly a kid anymore, but he wasn't experienced either. Still, he could put two and two together.

His expression froze.

Then came the shrill snap of Hazuki's voice: "Asuma! What are you doing?! Get out!"

Asuma looked like he'd been struck by lightning. He stood there dumbfounded for a second before bowing repeatedly.

"S-Sorry! I'm sorry, sister-in-law! I-I'll take Konohamaru out now! Sorry!"

He stumbled back, shut the door quickly behind him, and dragged a confused Konohamaru away.

"…Maybe the intruder didn't come here after all?" he mumbled, trying to rationalize it.

Back in the room, Hazuki's expression turned murderous.

She kicked off the blanket and glared at the young blond ninja curled up under it—clinging to her legs like they were the softest pillows in the world.

"Can you leave now?" she said coldly.

Naruto didn't budge. Her legs were soft. Her scent lingered on the sheets. His chin rested comfortably on her thigh.

"See you next time, ma'am," he murmured lazily.

"The devil will see you next time," she snapped.

Hazuki said nothing more, but as soon as Naruto finally rolled out from under the covers and vanished into the shadows, she bit her lip and swore.

What the hell happened today?

Where were the guards that were supposed to protect me?

When father returns, I'm going to report every single one of them. This can't happen again.

After slipping out of Sarutobi Hazuki's room, Naruto returned to the Third Hokage's secret room.

His grin widened as the familiar voice echoed in his head—announcing the reward distribution.

Storage space acquired.

And it was only just the beginning.