Naruto: Journey to Reach You-Chapter 33

Kushina, innocently: "Does that mean... I won't see you today, Naruto?"

He gently placed his hand on her head: "Maybe not even tomorrow, my princess."

Tsunade, thinking: I never imagined your heart would beat for someone else, Naruto.

Kushina looked at him, surprised, then calmly and seriously said: "Don't accept missions where you guard women."

Naruto was taken aback, narrowing his eyes playfully: "Jealous?"

She turned away shyly: "So what if I am?! You're my fiancé. I have every right to be jealous!"

Naruto leaned down so their faces were close: "But there's no need to be, princess. I won't look at anyone else. But your request might be hard—most escort missions involve women."

She puffed her cheeks like a child and turned her face away: "Fine... I'm leaving so I don't waste more of your time."

Then she turned to him gently and said: "I'll miss you."

Naruto: "I'll try not to be long, princess."

Kushina, smiling: "Goodbye." And she left.

Tsunade: "Okay Naruto, enough time wasted."

She handed him some papers: "Here. Your first mission."

Naruto, reading: "A guard mission?!"

Tsunade: "It's the easiest to start your day with. You'll be guarding Miss Hayako—she's being targeted by gangs because of a valuable pearl she owns."

Naruto: "So where is she?"

Tsunade pointed behind her: "At the gate, waiting for you."

Naruto looked and saw a beautiful girl in short clothes and a sleeveless jacket. He looked back at Tsunade: "She's from the cities, right?"

Tsunade: "Yes. She came to visit her relatives and specifically requested you after hearing you're the strongest."

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Naruto, to himself: Forgive me, Kushina... but this is my job.

Tsunade: "You have two hours max for this mission. I'll be sending the rest one by one like before."

Sakura, to herself: Like she used to?!

Tsunade: "Alright... go. See you tonight."

Sakura: "Wait a second... I don't recall you giving Naruto this many missions before he left."

Naruto: "Okay, I'm leaving now."

Tsunade: "Hold it... You need to see her reaction yourself. You'll realize it would've been better to tell her."

Sakura, confused: "Tell me what?!"

Tsunade looked at her for a moment, then calmly said: "What you didn't know, Sakura, is that Naruto has been receiving missions normally for the past two years."

Sakura looked at Naruto, stunned: "That means you... you also knew where he was this whole time?"

Tsunade met her expectant gaze and said: "Yes."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock: "How... How did I not notice?"

She turned to Naruto, angry: "So you told her too... Seems like I'm the only one you kept in the dark, Naruto. Who else did you tell?!"

Naruto, tiredly: "No one else, Sakura. Just Sasuke and Tsunade."

Sakura stepped toward him: "Then why hide from me? Why avoid me?!"

Naruto: "I wasn't avoiding you, Sakura..."

Sakura: "Then the only explanation left is that... you didn't want to see me."

Naruto: "What?! That's not it at all, Sakura!"

Sakura: "Then explain! You lied to me, Naruto. You said you had no intention of coming back, yet you told Tsunade-sama—and you know she'd be the first to ask you to return!

And your other excuse was that bringing me to you would be dangerous. But that's easy to fix—don't you think Sasuke would've brought me if you'd asked?!

You're hiding something else, Naruto. If you don't tell me now, I'll believe you really were avoiding me."

He looked at her, unable to say a word.

She smirked bitterly: "For a moment, I thought I was important to you. But as time goes on... it's clear I was wrong."

She turned and stormed toward the door.

He watched her go, sighed, and ran after her.

He caught up before she exited the Hokage building, blocking her path.

She glared at him: "Move."

They stared at each other until Naruto said: "Sakura... If I'd known this would hurt you so much, I would've never hidden anything."

Before she could speak, he placed his hands on her shoulders:

"Alright, I have to go now. I know you're still angry, and I don't blame you. But... I also know you're kind, and you'll forgive me soon. Goodbye."

He vanished instantly.

She looked in the direction he disappeared, then smiled faintly:

"Goodbye..."

She thought to herself: Even though I was so mad... you managed to melt it in seconds. In the end, how can I even stay angry at you, you idiot?

Naruto arrived at the gate and found the girl named Hayako waiting for him.

She looked annoyed at first, but upon seeing him, she changed her expression and smiled.

Hayako: "So, you're Uzumaki Naruto..."

Then to herself: Well... he was worth the wait.

Then she said with a sweet smile, "You look just as strong as I've heard about you."

Naruto, to himself: Here we go...

He forced a smile and said, "Let's go, miss, so we're not late."

He walked away, and she followed him.

At 11 p.m., Naruto returned from his many missions and entered the Hokage's office, where Sakura, Kakashi, and Yamato were already present.

He said to Tsunade as he placed the mission reports on her desk, "And with that, I've completed my work for the day."

Then he turned and headed toward the door, but Tsunade said, "Who said your work is done?!"

Naruto, confused: "What?!!"

Tsunade: "There's still one more."

Naruto: "Then postpone it for a while... I'm really tired and just want to go home and rest."

Tsunade: "I can't—it's urgent. But it's simple and won't take much effort."

He looked at her for a moment, then stepped back in front of her desk. She said, "Alright... To mark your return, I've assigned Team 7 a mission.

Someone stole a lot of information about our village, and I need you to retrieve it quickly before they start using it against us. Also, you'll have to do this without being detected."

She continued, "The fortress is located on high ground near a mountain in a slightly remote area. You'll be camping atop the mountain—it's the only place they don't monitor.

You won't be able to return today due to the intense cold currents there until morning. The rest of the details are with Kakashi."

Naruto: "Doesn't sound very relaxing if we can't return tonight... but fine. Since you said it's a Team 7 mission, where's Sasuke?"

Tsunade: "Sasuke's on another mission, and Yamato will be taking his place. Your presence alone is more than enough for this one. You can go now."

They went to the location Tsunade described and set up a tent on the mountain.

Kakashi handed Naruto a map and said, "Alright... Naruto and Sakura, head to the spot marked on the map. Sakura will extract the data from the computer, and Naruto, you'll guard her and keep an eye on the area until she's done.

Yamato and I will stay here and wait for your return. Then we'll collect the rest of the data and ensure we leave no traces. If we all go, we risk being discovered. Now go."

Naruto and Sakura snuck into the fortress and followed the map to the required room. Sakura began extracting the data while Naruto kept watch.

Suddenly, Sakura said anxiously, "This data is really dangerous... It looks like they were planning to destroy our village."

Naruto quickly looked at her, then leaned beside her, resting his hand on the chair she was sitting on, and said, "So are you done?"

Sakura: "Just a little longer... and we also need to delete everything related to the village from this computer."

After a while, Naruto said, "I sense someone coming... hurry up."