In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

"Then, why are you so fixated on Kumogakure?"

Yugito knew she was now tied to Naruto and had nothing to do with Kumogakure anymore, so she just gave up and asked directly without any hesitation.

"Is there another reason? The Raikage isn't that special."

'The Raikage wasn't special?' Only Yugito would say something like that. She truly had no interest in that position. After all, for a Jinchuriki, becoming a Jonin was usually their limit.

At the end of the day, they were just human weapons, easily disposable.

She had long since accepted her fate and acknowledged Kumogakure's treatment of her. In addition, given her mature, with commanding appearance and decent personality, she had a fairly high status in Kumogakure.

That was why Naruto's speech about the treatment of Jinchuriki had no effect on her at all. Killer Bee was ostracized, but that was mainly because of how ferocious Hachibi was.

"Hehe, there's no point in talking about it now." Naruto sidestepped the question and changed the topic, "How long do you think the Shinobi profession will last?"

"I don't know… Probably forever?" Yugito answered.

"That's not necessarily true. The world is changing." Naruto stared at her and said with a smile, "I'm no longer the Jinchuriki. Can you guess why I'm still alive?"

Hearing this, Yugito's heart skipped a beat.

That one sentence was probably the most significant thing Naruto had said all night. Everything else Naruto said was just meaningless nonsense which is irrelevant to her current situation.

After all, she was a Missing-nin from Kumogakure now, and that is a fact set in stone. Worrying about her former village was nothing more than self-consolation. In the end, what needed to be done had to be done.

She thought it was just idle talk, but Naruto's words struck a nerve, 'The world is changing, and a Jinchuriki can survive after losing their Biju?'

'What did that mean?'

She turned to look at Naruto, only to see him standing up with a sly grin on his face. A bad feeling crept over Yugito, and sure enough, Naruto turned around and was about to leave.

"Hey, you haven't finished talking yet!"

"I'm tired. I'm going to go back to sleep first." Naruto waved her off and walked away without a shred of hesitation.

Yugito sat there in a daze, staring at the fire with mixed feeling. It was like enduring a mediocre foreplay, and she was even a little bored and almost fell asleep.

But the other party suddenly hit the right place, and just as she opened her eyes, the man ran away again. A wave of frustration hit Yugito, and she wanted to kill Naruto for being such a damn riddle-spewing tease.

Meanwhile, the culprit had already crawled into his sleeping bag, completely unbothered.

Anyway, his goal had been achieved, so he didn't care and left Yugito to stew in her own thoughts. Why spill all his secrets at once?

This was just the beginning. If he wanted to seize control of Kumogakure, he'd need to sway more people to his side. This conversation was just the foundation, a way to preemptively prepare her for the more outrageous things he'd do later.

As for his ultimate goal, he'd had his sights on the Otsutsuki for a long, but if he's only relying solely on Sakura's research progress in her spare time, it was unknown how long it would take. Now that he had some breathing room, he naturally had other plans to consider.

First and foremost, whether it was Obito or Madara, everything traced back to the Otsutsuki. At the root of it all, dealing with Otsutsuki would solve everything.

If he just followed the traditional 'beat the small fry, then the mid-boss, then the final boss' route, it would be a waste of time?

Naruto had no interest in spending his thirties still fighting on the front line to 'protect world peace'. Occasionally, he would be slandered by conspiracies and wanted by the Five Great Shinobi Countries.

What kind of ridiculous martyr storyline was that? Even the most self-sacrificing saint would have to bow out.

Evolving into an Otsutsuki just to be hated while saving the world? What kind of masochist would go for that?

Initially, he didn't want to bother with this mess, but then he realized… If the world burned, he wouldn't be spared either.

As for trusting Sasuke to handle things? That lunatic was unreliable. Looking at the Shinobi World, all Naruto saw were a bunch of muscle-headed brutes, none more competent than him.

And he couldn't prove that he no longer had anything to do with Kyubi. Even if he didn't have Kyubi, he couldn't explain the Kyubi's Chakra. He couldn't live a peaceful life, and he'd still have to fight in the end.

But looking at the Shinobi World as a whole, he really wanted to say that everyone here is trash.

With no one to rely on, he had to take an unconventional approach. His goal was simple… destroy the Otsutsuki and seize control of the Shinobi World.

If Senju Hashirama could achieve peace in the Shinobi World by bowing his head, then Uzumaki Naruto could also rely on his harem... No, he could win a hundred years of peace in the Shinobi World by making others bow to him.

As for what happened a hundred years later? To hell with the future. After all, it wouldn't be his problem anymore.

Among his many plans, Kumogakure was the fat piece of meat he was eyeing. Whether it was technology, military strength, and structured governance, this Shinobi Village had deeply attracted him.

If Kumogakure were a publicly traded company, Naruto was the janitor who had just been hired, but already plotting to overthrow the CEO and join the board of directors, and install a puppet CEO.

That night, Yugito barely slept. Thinking about Naruto's words, she tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep. Jinchuriki never lived long lives, and in old age, their decline was miserable.

Not everyone is blessed with the fortune of an old monk who can get along well with the Biju. While she had a good relationship with Nibi, the toll on her body was undeniable.

Her restless thoughts kept her awake.

On the contrary, Naruto slept soundly. By dawn, he was up and energized, casually calling Yugito to get moving. It was as if the conversation last night did not exist at all, which was very infuriating.

They headed north, traveling for five or six days until they reached a large town on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass.

Its strategic location made it a bustling trade hub, teeming with people from all walks of life. The streets were packed with merchants and travelers, chattering like a boiling pot.

The two of them squeezed in the streets and changed their outfits to blend in.

Naruto was now wearing ordinary clothes, had no characteristics of a Shinobi, and had no forehead protector on his head. He looked like a tall, scruffy delinquent.

Yugito had removed her chest armor and put on a simple green dress. Without its constraint, her chest suddenly seemed to expand like a sponge soaking up water, but her faces still remained cold and aloof.

They didn't look like they belonged together, so they maintained a small distance, walking separately into the town, about five or six meters apart, so they didn't worry about standing out or losing track of each other.

Just as Naruto was glancing around, an unexpected figure caught his eye.

He's a towering, muscular man, draped in a black cloak, with a massive bandaged weapon strapped to his back.

'…Hoshigaki Kisame?'