"Well, the man calls himself Uchiha Madara, but I'm not quite sure who he is." Naruto said, leaving out some details as he observed Yugao out of the corner of his eye.
"But I intercepted them before they got far. Ino and Hinata should have made it back safely, right?"
"Yeah, they're just a little shaken up. I heard that the Hyuga and Yamanaka Clans have increased their security, and Ino was taken by Inoichi to live in the ancestral home of the Yamanaka Clan."
Yugao slowly said, "If you want to see Ino, I'm afraid you won't be able to do it for a while."
"Why?" Naruto asked.
"The elders aren't fools. They can see there's more to this incident. Those people were clearly targeting you." Yugao said with a faint smile.
"More importantly, they kidnapped both Ino and Hinata at the same time. What do you think that means?"
"I don't know." Naruto sighed, knowing full well that this matter could no longer be concealed.
'The so-called 'blessing' of having many wives is really not so easy to enjoy. It's all because of that damn guy Uchiha Obito. There was originally a layer of gauze between us, but now, it's exposed.'
"You don't need to look so troubled. Kakashi wants to know what you're thinking." Yugao asked.
"I don't have any thoughts. Let's just wait and see."
"Well, that's all we can do for now." Yugao stood up and was about to leave when Naruto stopped her.
"Hey, why do you seem… different today?"
"Different how?" She turned around.
"I can't put my finger on it, but you just seem..." Naruto looked Yugao up and down, frowning slightly, "Have you made any changes?"
Yugao stared at him for a moment, her red lips slightly parted, and she said lightly while standing in the living room.
"Is it so hard for you to accept a widow making a few changes?"
'Damn, she's still that sharp-tongued Uzuki Yugao.' Naruto was shocked and raised his hands in surrender, signaling that he hadn't meant it that way.
Not long after Yugao left, there was movement again from the balcony, and Kurama poked his head through the window. The moment he saw Naruto, his face changed.
With a bang, the window opened and Kurama crept in.
"You're back?" Naruto didn't even turn around.
"Uh, you're not asleep?" Kurama sounded guilty. He had drunk all the alcohol in the fridge and even went to Hinata to trick her into giving him a lot more.
"I've slept enough. There's something I need to tell you." Naruto sat up and looked at Kurama with a little seriousness. "Kurama, someone is targeting you."
"Who?" Kurama didn't seem too concerned.
"A guy with a complicated background, similar to Uchiha Madara." Naruto thought that Black Zetsu's nature was probably closer to something like… well, let's just say it wasn't pleasant.
As for the origins of the Biju, they were essentially manifestations of Chakra, born from the life energy of the Shinobi World.
"Uchiha Madara? Evil Uchiha!" As expected, Kurama's eyes blazed with anger.
"Calm down first, why are you in such a hurry? Can you even beat him?" Naruto glared at him coldly and kicked him directly. The latter flinched and even showed signs of becoming a bit too dependent.
"Even if I can't beat him, it's…" Kurama really wanted to say that he can't beat him because of Naruto's father, half of his power was drained away.
However, even in his prime, he couldn't resist Madara.
"So what do we do?" Kurama looked confused, his increasingly fat body completely lacking the domineering aura he once had.
"I don't know. May the best happen to you." Naruto stood up and was about to leave.
"Wait! You're just going to drop this on me and leave? Aren't you going to help?" Kurama was a little anxious, "What if Uchiha Madara really comes?"
"What are you afraid of? You can't die. Just wait until you are resurrected." Naruto had already put on his clothes. He glanced back at Kurama before leaving.
"You're not expecting me to save you, are you?"
"How is that possible? Haha…" Kurama looked away, feeling a little guilty. For a moment, he had indeed hoped Naruto would step in.
The power of habit was strong. Over the years, Kurama had grown accustomed to a peaceful life. And whenever trouble arose, Naruto would handle.
Now, suddenly being told this, Kurama felt uneasy. He wasn't exactly scared, after all, he couldn't die. But if something went wrong…
His peaceful life would be shattered, and Kurama wasn't tired of it yet. If he were sealed or killed again, he'd face a long period of boredom.
When he woke up again, would he still have this life? The desire to destroy Konoha had long been drowned in alcohol, leaving only confusion.
Feeling down, Kurama climbed onto the couch, pulled out a bottle of sake from underneath, and gulped it down.
…
On the other side, Naruto had left the apartment and was wandering aimlessly through the streets of Konoha.
The night had fallen, and the streets were bustling with people. Naruto moved through the crowd, feeling a strange sense of loneliness.
The sudden attack by Obito and Black Zetsu had caught him off guard. Although he had handled the situation, it had still caused some ripple effects.
To put it poetically, the gears of fate had turned one notch forward.
While he had been maintaining his complicated relationship with Hinata and Ino, he had always wondered how it would eventually blow up. But none of his predictions had come true. Instead, Obito had appeared out of nowhere.
Reality really didn't follow any logic. Obito probably hadn't even secured the other Biju yet, but he had come straight for Kyubi. Was it just a surprise attack?
After wandering around for a while, Naruto paused. He had been lost in thought and only now realized he had walked near Konoha Hospital.
So he decided to grab some food from a nearby stall and then headed to the hospital. Since Tsunade and Shizune left, Sakura had taken over the medical division.
During his absence, Sakura had been incredibly busy. He actually had a chance to look for Sakura, but thinking that the incident had just happened, it was a bit embarrassing, so he simply gave up.
But who could have predicted that her main personality would awaken at that moment? It had been too sudden, and things had gotten messy.
Even though it was the same body, the two personalities gave different feedback, and the experience had been… different. It is so embarrassing that Naruto does not want to run into Pink Sakura.
A few minutes later, Naruto entered the medical division and easily found Sakura's office. The once lowly medical intern, Haruno Sakura, had now become a leading authority in Konoha's medical system.
He lingered at the door for a while, unsure who the Sakura inside was. After thinking for a while, he knocked on the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
Sakura looked up when she heard the voice, and was slightly startled when she saw Naruto. Then, she stood up, narrowed her eyes slightly, and smiled.
"You're here?"
'Alright, it was definitely Dark Sakura.'
"Um, I just got back a while ago and thought I'd stop by." Naruto responded.
"Really? I heard about what happened last night." Dark Sakura glanced at him, put her hands behind her back, tilted her head slightly, and smiled.