In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy
Chapter 514 Meeting Neji Again

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"I just couldn't leave after seeing you, Tsunade-sama." Naruto was afraid that he would die, so he explained without thinking.

"You don’t look your age at all. I thought you were twenty... no, eighteen."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and let go of Naruto. She lightly patted his face with a death smile on her face and narrowed her eyes threateningly, "You better mean what you said, or else…"

"It's true! One hundred percent genuine!" Naruto swallowed hard as her chest was practically pressing against his face.

"Consider yourself lucky, but..." Tsunade turned back to her chair, her ample curves flattening as she glared at Naruto with an unfriendly look, "You'd better behave yourself for a while."

"… Got it." Naruto replied meekly, feeling chastised.

At the moment, Tsunade had her golden hair tied up casually with a black elastic band, giving her the look of a housewife from certain angles. Her figure was voluptuous and full in all the right places, like a dream come true for men.

However, at this moment, all Naruto felt was anxiety. He was silently pondering whether the issue with Tsunade had been resolved. If it had, he could leave. If not, he might need to run.

"Tsunade-sama." Naruto called tentatively.

"Hmm?" She lazily glanced at him from her reclined position, looking somewhat relaxed, "Do you have anything else to say? If you have something to say, speak up now."

"Um, I wanted to ask about the Hyuga Clan." Naruto said after thinking for a moment.

"Hyuga Clan?" Tsunade perked up a little, looked at Naruto carefully, and smiled meaningfully, "Are you asking because of Hinata?"

"Sort of. I mainly want to ask about the Caged Bird." Naruto answered truthfully, "It's a sensitive topic, and I don't feel comfortable discussing it with others."

Upon hearing this, Tsunade reached for her sake cup and frowned slightly.

"At least you haven't lost your mind. This is not something you can let any of the Hyuga know. Especially the Caged Bird… neither the main family nor the branch family holds as much resentment towards it as you might think."

"The branch family is not opposed to the protective role of the Caged Bird, but they hate the fact that the main family relies on the Caged Bird oppress them. But these things are inevitable."

"If you get involved, neither side will appreciate it. It’s totally a thankless task."

After hearing Tsunade's explanation, Naruto fell silent, and has more idea about the situation in his mind. Some things couldn’t be guessed… Hyuga Clan was too closed off, and the internal dynamics were more complex than he'd imagined.

"I'm not trying to interfere, it's just..." Naruto didn't know how to put it into words. He couldn't exactly say that he wanted to shake up the Hyuga Clan’s hierarchy just to win over Hinata.

He didn’t plan on making it a priority but saw it as something he could work on along the way. After all, it would be too obvious and time-consuming to focus solely on it.

Even though he wasn't exactly a good guy, Naruto still wanted to maintain a positive image in front of Hinata. At least, there were some things Hinata didn’t need to know.

Since he hadn't come up with a good plan yet, he decided to leave it at that for now.

After leaving the Hokage Tower, Naruto immediately felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders.

For him, reconciling with Tsunade had been more nerve-wracking than any mission he’d ever undertaken. He was constantly worried that Tsunade might suddenly turn against him, so he cautiously maintained their relationship.

He had planned to visit Ino, but after thinking it through, she was probably at home by now. Since it was late now, aside from maybe Anko, it wasn’t convenient to visit anyone else.

‘Anko, that lazy Jonin, was probably already done with her bath and lounging on the couch with a book to pass the time. If Konoha ever got video games, she would definitely be playing them in bed.’

‘Should I look for Anko?’ After some thought, Naruto decided against it, ‘Well, she needed her rest.’

"Naruto!"

Just as he was about to turn around and head home, he heard a familiar voice. looked back and saw Neji walking towards him, with a bag on his shoulder, likely just returning from a mission.

Neji had a calm expression as he approached Naruto and greeted him. When he thinks about it, Naruto felt that it had been almost a year or two since they last met, and Neji seemed to have grown taller.

"Neji? You just finished a mission?"

"Yeah, I just got back," Neji replied, looking a bit weary. There were a few gray smudges on his clothes, likely from traveling in a rush.

Naruto glanced up at the darkening sky, thinking that going home and stay with those two girls would be boring, so he glanced at Neji and asked, "It’s been a while since we’ve hung out. How about some late-night food?"

Neji was actually a little hesitant. He was actually very tired and just wanted to head back to the Hyuga Clan’s compound to shower and sleep.

But after thinking about how long it had been since he last saw Naruto, someone he had once fought alongside, he figured there were things they could catch up on.

"Alright."

The two walked side by side towards the bustling Konoha’s Main Street, chatting idly along the way, all topics being related to recent events.

Neji shared what he had seen and heard during his mission, while Naruto talked about the massive changes that had occurred during his absence, from Tsunade stepping down, to Danzo’s downfall, and the Advisors’ resignation.

In just one night, all of village’s four top leaders had stepped down from Konoha’s political stage.

Listening to this, Neji felt like he was in a dream. The reality was too absurd, something that even a novel wouldn’t dare write. He didn’t expect that in just a few short days, Konoha had undergone a complete upheaval.

"Are all of these really true?" Neji asked in astonishment.

"Of course it's true. Why would I lie to you?" Naruto spread his hands and continued, "Right now, the most likely candidate for the Rokudaime Hokage is Kakashi."

"Kakashi-sensei?" Neji turned his head in surprise.

The two of them sat down casually at a night market stall. Naruto ordered some food and drinks, and Neji, after glancing at the menu, added a few items he usually liked.

Naruto took another look at the menu before setting it aside. He then turned to Neji and asked, "Neji, can I ask you something?"

"Hmm? What is it?"

"About… the Caged Bird." Naruto glanced at Neji casually, noticing him freeze for a moment before continuing, "I want to know, what would you do if the Caged Bird didn't exist?"

Neji remained silent for a while before replying, "Can we change the topic?"

"No." Naruto suddenly stopped talking as the owner brought their food and drinks. After the owner left, Naruto resumed, "I want to know, if the Caged Bird were gone, what would you want to do?"

"Don't joke about something like that. Talking about the Caged Bird… I've long stopped caring. The branch family exists to protect the main family." Neji's expression was unsettled.

Yet, he didn't leave the table. Perhaps he felt that leaving would only prove that he still cared about the Caged Bird.

"You don't need to say that to me," Naruto said bluntly. "What if I could remove the Caged Bird… what would you do then?"

Neji stared at Naruto, gripping his cup so tightly that the veins on the back of his hand bulged out. But he remained silent for a long time.

The branch family, the main family... If he had been born mediocre, or if his father wasn’t the Clan Head’s younger brother, perhaps he would have lived in constant fear under the shadow of the main family like any other branch family’s member.

But it is clear that there is no genius in the main family… he is the Hyuga Clan’s true genius.

For the sake of the clan, his father had died, and his fate was sealed long ago. One day in the future, he too would die for the main family, just like his father.

Because he is a genius, and the main family’s closest bloodline genius.

Hiashi's explanation didn’t make Neji feel at peace with his fate. Instead, he had merely reconciled with himself, accepting his destiny calmly.

Hiashi wasn’t a bad person, and the problems in the clan were deeply rooted. Hinata and Hanabi were innocent, and Neji couldn’t blame anyone. He could only blame his own unfortunate circumstances.

His father had found peace before his death, and Neji planned to do the same. Living calmly, waiting for the moment before death when he could stand firm in his resolve.