Chapter 49

The Konoha ninjas had left Suna and were on their way to Konoha.

As Naruto noticed that Karin was staring at him sometimes, he approached her and asked in a low voice, "What happened? Why are you looking at me?"

Karin's face instantly turned red as she remembered what she had seen last night. That's why she couldn't control her voice and said something hastily, "No, nothing. There is nothing. Hehehe…"

"Weird…" Naruto thought as he stared at her weird smile

Karin reacted this way because she had seen something last night. Karin saw Temari and Naruto enter their room while they were kissing passionately, on her way back to her room at night. How fortunate that her room was also next to Naruto.

Karin was stunned at first, but then rushed to her room with a red face. She didn't think they were doing anything because she hadn't heard a sound for a while at night. But later, when the seal of silence came to her mind, she found it logical that no sound came from the room.

After a while, the sense of wonder she felt got stronger and finally she couldn't stand it anymore and made the mistake of tasting the forbidden fruit using the sensor technique.

Normally, Naruto would have noticed Karin doing it, but he was very busy at night. That's why he couldn't feel it, though if he did, he'd probably just keep on grinning.

After traveling for a while, they finally arrived in Konoha.

Soon after, they went to the Hokage to report on the mission.

Kakashi reported the mission report to Tsunade after entering the room.

"Is there anything else you need to report?" Tsunade said after receiving Kakashi's report note.

"Tsunade-sama, I received information about Orochimaru while fighting Sasori." Karin said.

"Oh? What kind of information did you get?" Tsunade asked with interest.

"Sasori had a spy under Orochimaru. A few days later, he would be meeting with that spy on the Tenchi Bridge. Maybe this person can take us to Orochimaru and Sasuke." Karin said.

"Hm... We are not sure about the accuracy of the information, but if it is, we should not miss such an opportunity. Okay, I'm giving this task to Team Kakashi. As your team is currently missing, another person will be added to you as soon as possible. If you have nothing else to say, you can leave." Tsunade said after thinking for a while and making up her mind.

They nodded and left the room.

As Naruto strolled around the village with Karin, he felt several root anbu watching him.

"I'll have to take care of Danzo, too. He's very cunning, I don't know what could happen if he continues to act freely." Naruto thought.

"Do you have any ideas about who will join the team?" Karin asked.

"I don't have any idea, but I hope the person turns out to be someone with talent and character." Naruto replied.

Karin wanted to talk a little more, as they had so little alone time with Naruto, but she didn't know what to say.

At that moment, they saw Sakura coming towards them.

"Naruto! You're going on a mission with Sasuke, right? I want to come too!" Sakura said.

"Sigh* Sakura, you do know that I didn't choose the people to go on the mission, right? You should talk to the Hokage, not me." Naruto said wearily.

"Tch! You don't care about me either! We were on the same team before! You and Sensei went and teamed up with someone else!" Sakura said sullenly. She was speaking while she was looking at Karin with an angry look from time to time. She then left to go to the Hokage.

Karin bewildered, "Why did she act like that?"

"She's obsessed with Sasuke. She's capable of doing anything for him." Naruto said.

"Wait a minute? She loves him enough to do anything for him. But does she love him enough to help him escape from the village? Maybe, this issue needs to be investigated." Naruto thought.

Then, after the two of them walked for a while, someone ran and hugged Naruto.

"Naruto! I miss you so much." Hinata said with a big smile on her face.

"Hinata? You have changed a lot! I missed you, too." Naruto said while hugging her happily.

Hinata hugged for a while, then stepped back in embarrassment.

"Looks like you've gained a lot of bravery these past three years." Naruto said with a smile.

Hinata's face was already starting to turn red from embarrassment.

"We were going to eat too, let's eat together." Naruto said while holding Hinata by the arm.

Hinata nodded, then she took Naruto's arm and they started walking. Karin followed them behind, envious.

After they went to the restaurant and ate their meals, they parted ways. Naruto of course gave Hinata a sincere kiss before leaving.

Night*

Naruto had been informed by Anbu that there would be a meeting at night. Of course, Naruto received the certificates from Tsunade, when he came to the village, and now officially became the head of the Uzumaki Clan. That's why he had to attend the meeting.

In the meeting room were the clan heads and the council members representing the civilians. There was also the Hokage, of course.

"Everyone's here, let's start the meeting." Homura said, a member of the civic council.

"There is one more person to come." Tsunade said.

A short time later, the door opened and Naruto entered.

Naruto walked calmly and sat on the empty seat.

"What is he doing here?" Homura asked, slightly annoyed.

"Won't I be here? Homura-san, please watch what you say." Naruto said in a serious tone.

Naruto then raised his voice a little and said, "For those of you who don't know me, let me introduce myself, though I don't think there will be anyone here who doesn't know me. Anyway, I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I am here as the head of the Uzumaki Clan. I hope we get along well."