Konoha Notes.

Chapter 469 Unfinished Business

Chapter 469 Unfinished Business

Naruto covered his head with his hands, curling himself into a ball, but his hair still couldn't completely cover his head, revealing quite a bit.

"How dare you!"

"Unforgivable!"

He couldn't tell whose voice it was, and he felt a little wronged. It was Sasuke who had pulled him back, but he didn't know who had bumped into him.

The arms he was using to protect his head were grabbed, one on the left and one on the right. The blond boy couldn't understand why the girls, who usually seemed so weak in combat training, were suddenly so incredibly strong.

"It's none of my business."

"Someone bumped into me."

She loosened her grip on his left hand a little.

Ino took this explanation to heart and subconsciously loosened her grip. She looked to the other side and met Sakura's gaze; the pink-haired girl had somehow grabbed Naruto's right arm as well.

The shoving around them didn't stop; more people surged forward. Sakura's shoulder was pushed, and Ino's back was bumped. In the chaos, their shoulders collided.

Then, almost simultaneously, the two of them released their grip on Naruto's hand.

As soon as Naruto felt the restraints disappear, he immediately shrank into a smaller circle.

"It's so noisy!" Ino turned around and shouted, "Stop pushing forward!"

Sakura also turned around: "Everyone, step back!"

"Back off! Can't you hear me?"

The girls in the front row stopped what they were doing when the two suddenly turned around.

Some people in the back row instinctively stepped back, while others continued to crane their necks forward.

In that brief moment, Karin and Shion saw what was happening and immediately cut in from outside the crowd, one standing next to Ino and the other next to Sakura.

Karin, her arrogance flaring, shouted, "You idiots, are you going to continue?"

Ziyuan is reserved, but she always stays close to her friends in her actions.

"Me too! I want to help too!" Fu, who hadn't reacted at first, waved her arms and tried to get involved when she saw this scene.

She was about to squeeze in when she saw Hinata standing behind her, her cheeks flushed, repeating softly, "It's not Naruto-kun's fault—everyone, calm down—"

"Hinata, do you want to come too?" Fu ran over happily and grabbed her hand. "Come on, come on, let's go together!"

Hinata made a sound, but before she could refuse, Fu pulled her into Ino's group. She stumbled a couple of steps to steady herself, and when she looked up, she met Naruto's gaze peeking out from between his arms, making her blush even more.

"Everyone, calm down—"

Six girls with different hair colors formed an unusually clear boundary in front of Naruto.

So no one pushed forward anymore.

Naruto wasn't the only one behind him; Sasuke, supporting himself on his knees, first gagged, then wiped his mouth vigorously, over and over again.

When he looked up, he could clearly see the blond and pink-haired people standing side by side again.

They didn't look at each other, but faced forward, their shoulders touching.

Sasuke stopped wiping his mouth.

————What happened?

Before he could even sort out his thoughts, there was another commotion.

"Everyone----"

Once he was sure it was safe, Naruto peeked out from under the arms and looked at the girls who were standing in front of him with gratitude, even though two of them had just been the main force attacking him.

Ino turned around again, her hands on her hips, looking down at Naruto who was still huddled on the ground.

"What the hell are you doing, you idiot?"

Naruto then explained, "I... I just wanted to tell you that Dad asked me to tell you that I'm going to visit Ino's dad at the hospital after school today."

He then glanced at Sasuke behind him: "It's all Sasuke's fault—"

Naruto swallowed back the words he was about to say.

Because the fans' gazes turned fierce again.

Ino straightened up and sighed, "Dad's condition has indeed stabilized—well, Uncle Uzumaki meant well."

"Let's go together after school."

Before Sakura could say anything, Shion had already put his arm around her shoulder.

"Let's go too."

Karin nodded immediately: "Of course we should go together."

Sakura was filled with anxiety, unsure of how Ino would react.

Ino crossed her arms and turned her face away.

"Honestly, everyone's talking about this together, it'll bother Dad."

"But—come if you want."

Just as Fu was about to raise her hand to join in the fun, Hinata gently tugged at her sleeve.

The children of the Hyuga main family have good judgment.

"Maybe...no, Fu..."

The other students then realized that Ino's father was hospitalized, and their attention, which had been focused on the accident, shifted to asking about Ino's father's condition.

"Ino, is your father alright?"

"How serious is it?"

Questions arose one after another. Ino responded to each one.

When Naruto saw Sakura caught between Shion and Karin, he suddenly became one of those visiting Ino's father. He first scratched his head, then smiled.

But just as a smile appeared on his lips, he remembered what had just happened and couldn't help but gag and cough several times.

That cough came right into Sasuke's line of sight.

Both of them rolled their eyes at the same time.

Sasuke walked past his seat, as if the chaos just now had nothing to do with him.

Naruto raised his head, dusted off his pants and clothes, stood up, and returned to his seat.

The people who had been gathered together began to disperse.

When Iruka entered the classroom, he noticed that the atmosphere was different from the previous two days; the gloomy feeling seemed to have dissipated considerably.

He touched his nose, not quite sure what had happened, but still cleared his throat.

"Alright, everyone, please return to your seats."

The students took their seats one by one. Iruka walked to the front of the classroom and placed his hands on the table.

"I've heard that many students are paying attention to the Joint Affairs Bureau lately."

The classroom fell silent.

"It's a great place, but before you make your choice, I want you to understand one thing."

"The Joint Affairs Bureau itself is different in nature from the graduating class teams or regular mission squads. If we were to use a more accurate term to describe it—"

"It's a government-run organization. Its core function is the coordination and management of ninjas in the ninja world."

"Of course, its prospects are very promising."

Naruto sat up straight, while Sasuke's hand unconsciously reached for his backpack, where he was revising a report.

"But the teacher wants everyone to understand that if you want to become someone who manages ninjas, you must be exceptionally talented."

"Moreover, there you will not only face your fellow Konoha ninjas, but also competition from ninjas from other villages."

"Besides the five offices of Konoha, Sunagakure, Kumogakure, Kirigakure, and Iwagakure, which only recruit ninjas from their respective villages, the evaluation standards for other public departments will be even stricter."

Iruka looked at the expressions on the students' faces.

"Working in the secretariat means that you may not be dealing with specific tasks, but rather the rules behind those tasks."

"The teacher doesn't mean to say anything discouraging, but even a Chunin like me can't fully understand what's going on."

"I don't intend to discourage anyone. On the contrary, if any of you can learn about these things earlier and prepare for them sooner, that would be a great advantage."

"But no matter which path you choose, your ninja level, experience, and abilities are the foundation you can't abandon no matter where you go."

"So don't let your longing for a certain place make you neglect the things you should be doing right now."

After saying this, Iruka picked up the textbook.

"Alright, let's begin the lesson."

Classes proceeded as usual.

But Sasuke wasn't listening.

He stayed up all night yesterday revising the report, incorporating new variables, and is also preparing to conduct another field visit today to formulate a new plan.

However, Ino and Sakura were already standing together.

As for what else that could be done, Iruka has already made an explanation regarding the secret service.

Then what's the point of his report?

The matter had already come to an end on its own, and all his preparations—Sasuke couldn't help but look at Naruto again. That guy, even today, was more useful than all the preparations he had made.

Although he hadn't worked in the village for a long time, Minato still handled it with ease. He could always quickly categorize and process things, and rarely made mistakes.

At least when it comes to cooperating with the current team at the Hokage Building, it's not too bad.

He even had time to take a look at the new house the Third Hokage had found for him, prepare a gift to bring to visit Yamanaka Inoichi, and then waited at the school gate before Naruto got out of school.

Minato's face was still wrapped in bandages, covering half of it. He saw Naruto walk out, accompanied by several girls who had unknowingly reunited with him.

Although Sakura was still standing a little further away, it was completely different from before.

He watched as Naruto ran towards him, his face still beaming with excitement.

Minato simply asked in a low voice, "All done?"

Naruto nodded first, then his face turned pale, and he immediately forgot about it.

Minato waved to the four girls. Noticing the slightly awkward atmosphere, he smiled and said, "Let's go, the hospital isn't far."

On the way, Ino couldn't help but ask, "When did Uncle Uzumaki meet Dad? Was the care you mentioned something from a long time ago?"

After all, Minato said he hadn't been back to the village in a long time.

"Whether now or in the past, I have received a lot of help from Mr. Inoichi," Minato replied naturally.

Konoha Hospital was indeed not far. When I entered the ward, Yamanaka Inoichi was sitting against the headboard, his face still a little pale, but his spirits were good.

Upon seeing the blond man with bandages wrapped around his neck, he was somewhat surprised: "What happened to you—"

Then she saw the children who came in with her daughter, which added to her surprise.

Minato walked to the bedside and placed the gift on the cabinet.

"Thank you so much this time, Mr. Inoichi."

Haiyi said, "No, it's more important that you're back."

Minato said, "We might cause more trouble later, since we have to go back to the Hokage Building to work now."

Upon hearing this, Haiyi's expression turned somewhat strange: "You've joined the shift work too?"

"I guess so," Minato admitted with a smile.

Naruto, standing behind Minato, blinked, not quite understanding what this "shift" meant.

"dad----"

Inoichi wasn't feeling well at the moment and coughed slightly, at which point Ino immediately came forward.

Sakura, who had been some distance away, quickly caught up and followed behind: "Uncle, I'll go and call the nurse for you."

Hai waved his hand: "It's nothing, just a minor problem."

Seeing this, Minato didn't linger and said again, "We won't bother you any longer today, Mr. Inoichi. Naruto and I will head back now."

Shion and Karin immediately said they would come another day. Seeing the others about to leave, Sakura also felt a little awkward and wanted to leave as well.

"Excuse me for making an impolite request," Inoichi said, "Ino's mother has gone home, and Ino might be having some trouble by herself. Could you please help her, Sakura?"

Ino remained silent, and Sakura stopped in her tracks. She looked at Yamanaka Inoichi on the hospital bed and nodded gently at last.

"Okay, Uncle."

When Minato led Naruto out of the hospital, the sun was already setting.

"It'll be a bit late if we go back to cook now," Minato said. "Let's eat out. What would you like to eat, Naruto?"

"Ramen! Ichiraku Ramen!"

"Mr. Tetsuji's ramen," Minato laughed, "has always had long lines."

"Yes! That's the world's number one ramen!" Naruto said confidently, following Minato. "It's so sad that Dad can't eat it."

"Eating it is not a problem, although I don't know how far it will be digested."

"Then Daddy absolutely has to eat Ichiraku-san's tonkotsu ramen!"

"Yes, yes————"

After finishing his ramen, Naruto patted his stomach and said he was full. Then, as if remembering something, he leaned closer to Minato and whispered, "Dad, what does it mean to work at the Hokage Building?"

"Is it the same as Shuuji-nii and Godai-neechan?"

"Sister? The Fifth Hokage?" Minato asked in surprise, "Lady Tsunade?"

Naruto asked, puzzled, "Is something wrong?"

Minato remained silent: "No—it's nothing, it's just—never mind, are we going to the western suburbs later?"

"Is Daddy going over there?"

"You've received a lot of care over there, so naturally you should go."

Naruto immediately expressed his desire to go, so Minato led him to the western suburbs.

But at the entrance of the old house in the western suburbs, they saw Shuuji, Tsunade, and Tobirama Senju about to enter.

The water gate stopped.

"Second Hokage, Tsunade, and Shuji—I heard you're busy with other work."

Shuji turned around, looked at Minato and his desk, and said, "Now is your break after working for dozens of hours straight, Fourth Hokage."

Tsunade yawned widely and nodded repeatedly: "You enjoy more free time than we do, Minato."

"

Naruto looked around, his gaze finally settling on Tobirama Senju.

"Do Shuji-nii and Godai-neechan know my dad? Also, who is this uncle? He looks familiar."

Tobirama Senju then spoke up: "First and foremost, it was I who was working all along, not the two of you." He first denied Tsunade and Shuji's words.

"Then, Fourth Hokage," he looked at Minato, "now is not the time for formalities. The matter of blocking the path of the living will naturally cease to exist after we leave. We just need to keep the fact that reincarnation can exist stably without revealing it on a large scale."

"Finally," his gaze fell on Naruto, his red pupils reflecting the blond boy's curious face, "is this child your son?"

"He seems very thick-skinned."

Naruto was initially taken aback, then said with displeasure, "So thick-skinned?! This old man, suddenly saying something like that!"

Tobirama first pointed at Tsunade: "First, although Tsunade is the Fifth Hokage, she is older than your father, the Fourth Hokage. You can't call her 'older sister,' you have to call her 'grandmother.'"

Tsunade protested, "Hey, Grandpa Tobirama!"

"Secondly, if you've read the books carefully, you should know who I am. I am the Second Hokage."

Seeing the confusion on Naruto's face, Tobirama simply shook his head. This kid seemed even more naive than his older brother.