Naruto: Journey to Reach You-Chapter 31

Meanwhile, while the girls were talking, Naruto and Sasuke arrived at Naruto's house.

Sasuke, surprised:

"Why did you bring us here?!"

Naruto didn't answer. Instead, he led him to the study. They entered, and Naruto grabbed a scroll from his desk and tossed it to Sasuke.

Naruto:

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"Verify this information for me..."

(Sasuke is the head of the Konoha Police and the ANBU; Sai is his assistant.)

Sasuke, confused:

"About what?"

Naruto:

"The location of Kado.

I'm going to take him out before he makes a move.

I need to know where that rat is hiding."

Sasuke:

"Alright... I'll confirm it and let you know."

He paused, then added:

"Naruto... why didn't you tell me that Sakura was with you?"

Naruto, surprised:

"I don't know—I just didn't think of it...

Were you worried about her?"

Sasuke:

"It's not that I was worried...

But if something had happened to her, she would've blamed me entirely, and I wouldn't have been able to escape your wrath.

That annoying girl tricked me and went off."

Naruto:

"If I didn't know she went on that mission without your knowledge,

I would've held you accountable for it."

He then went to grab a water bottle from his desk and opened it to drink.

Sasuke:

"Anyway... thanks for saving her."

Naruto suddenly stopped drinking, surprised, and looked at Sasuke. After a moment of silence, he said:

"You're thanking me for saving her?!

Sasuke, I'm not a stranger—you don't need to thank me for that.

It's only natural that I'd save her."

Sasuke:

"I didn't mean it the way you took it... I just meant it's a good thing you were there to protect her."

Sasuke looked at Naruto for a moment and then asked:

"What made you change your mind and come back to the village all of a sudden?"

Naruto:

"Honestly, I wasn't planning on coming back—but Kushina wanted to stay, so I agreed."

Sasuke stepped closer to Naruto, irritated:

"So you made me clean a house that hasn't been touched in a year just so you could spend one night there?"

Naruto, playfully:

"Calm down, calm down... and don't forget, you didn't decorate it like I told you to."

Sasuke, exploding:

"What did you just say, you idiot?! I got your message at three in the morning! Be glad I even finished before you arrived!"

Naruto:

"Three?! But I sent it before we even started traveling, Sasuke..."

(This refers to when Naruto left and told Sakura and Hinata to wait for him.)

Sasuke:

"Not my fault your frogs are getting slow at delivering messages."

Naruto:

"By the way, Sasuke... why did you tell Sakura you knew where I was?"

Sasuke:

"I didn't see the point of hiding it from her now that you're back."

Naruto:

"Kushina told me you two had a fight last night."

Sasuke:

"Because of you."

Naruto:

"Me?! What do I have to do with your problems?!"

Sasuke:

"She couldn't handle the fact that you kept your location secret from her... and she blamed me for helping you do it. Now she's refusing to talk to me."

Naruto, smiling:

"Don't worry... I know Sakura well. By the time we get back to the restaurant, she'll have forgiven you for everything."

Sasuke looked at him for a moment and then said:

"Speaking of Sakura... what's with the way you're treating her?"

Naruto, puzzled, leaning on the balcony:

"What do you mean?"

Sasuke:

"You're ignoring her. That's not like you at all... I see, so this is your strategy for moving on."

Naruto, looking up at the sky:

"It's not really a strategy or anything like that... It's just... back then, I had a reason to treat her differently.

Now... that reason is gone. So I treat her like I treat everyone else."

Sasuke continued to look at him, confused.

Naruto:

"So, how's the village?"

Sasuke:

"Doing fine."

They sat down and talked about various things that had changed in the village since Naruto had left.

After that, they decided to return to the restaurant. When they arrived, the men were gone, so they sat on the floor a little away from the girls, waiting for the others to arrive.

They watched the girls chatting, and suddenly Sasuke pointed his finger at Naruto's chest and said:

"I never thought this small heart of yours could let another girl in."

Naruto, smiling, looked back at Kushina and said:

"I didn't let her in, Sasuke... she forced her way in."

Sasuke:

"Seriously, I don't get what you see in that girl."

Naruto:

"She's a troublemaker... but I love her."

Suddenly, Sakura and Karin began arguing. Naruto looked at them, confused:

"Seriously? It's like nothing's changed over the years. Haven't you put an end to their fights yet?"

Sasuke:

"Nope. And I'm not going to. Best thing I can do is stay away from those two nuisances."

Naruto:

"You can't—because they keep following you."

Sasuke:

"Exactly. That's the real problem."

Naruto, laughing:

"Hey look, here they come. Let's go."

Naruto and Sasuke entered the room with the girls, followed by the others.

Ino, whispering to Sakura, said teasingly:

"You're so lucky, Sakura... you've got the two best men in the world on your team—and the most handsome too."

Sakura, sarcastically:

"Yeah, and despite being on my team, I haven't gotten either of them."

Ino:

"Are you kidding?! So what was Sasuke doing next to you? Admit it, Sakura—you finally snagged him!"

Sakura:

"I told you, we're just friends. At least from his side... Sasuke hasn't even hinted that he has feelings for me.

So everything you're saying is just wishful thinking."

Ino:

"Alright... we'll see."

A man approached Naruto and said:

"Sir."

Naruto looked at him, confused:

"No... You don't think I'm going to pay, do you?!"

Then he looked at one of his friends and said:

"He's paying."

Shikamaru, annoyed:

"Hey, Naruto! Not again! I can't afford to pay for all of this alone."

Naruto, jokingly:

"Then all of you chip in together. I'm the guest of honor tonight—so I'm not paying a thing."

Everyone (shouting):

"You're still an idiot, just like always!"

Naruto laughed, and everyone else laughed with him.

The man came to Shikamaru with the bill and presented a long list. Shikamaru looked at it nervously and thought to himself:

"I don't even know if I've got enough for this."

He paid the man, then turned to Temari and said:

"Let's go home, darling..."

He placed his hand on her belly:

"I think our little one wants some rest."

She blushed and replied sweetly:

"Let's go."

Naruto, looking at Kushina:

"Let's head out too, my princess. It's getting late."

Kushina, playfully getting up:

"Okay!"

Sakura and Karin glared at each other, then each clung to one of Sasuke's arms, both saying:

"I'm going with you."

Then they yelled at each other:

"What the heck?! Let go of him! I'm the one going with him!"

They kept bickering until Sasuke pulled his arms away and said:

"I'm not going with either of you."

Then he looked behind him and called:

"Naruto..."