Chapter 429 Do You Like Me More or Hinata? Ino's Deathly Question

Naruto turned his head and looked at Ino, who had a cautious smile on her face, as if she was holding something precious.

His heart tightened instantly, and it felt as though the blood in his veins had stopped flowing. There was a slight heaviness in his chest. It wasn't that he envied Shikamaru, but seeing Ino like this…

Shaking his head, Naruto scattered the distracting thoughts, and regained his composure.

He tried his best to remove Kurama, guided Jiraiya to beat up the rebellious disciples, and refused to take on the role of the savior. It was all to escape the fate of the original Naruto had been destined for, to avoid a tragic ending.

Anyone could find peace, but settling down for him meant waiting for the judgment of fate. The butterfly had flapped its wings, and the future was already unclear.

Without absolute certainty, he wasn't one to speak too confidently about anything.

"I'm okay. It's not that I don't envy him at all." Naruto said to himself, "I'm just surprised that Shikamaru suddenly figured things out."

"What do you mean 'figured things out'? It was you who've been off on missions and completely lost track of time." Ino was a little speechless. She counted on her fingers and said, "It's been six whole years since that Chunin Exams."

"Oh, right."

"You!!" Ino, irritated by Naruto's nonchalant response, reached out to pinch the soft skin at his waist. Not satisfied with just that, she stomped on his foot as well.

"Don't dodge! Or I'll tell my mom that you bullied me!"

"Don't make stuff up!" Naruto felt a little guilty. Some things were easy to overlook when you were in the middle of them, but they were obvious to bystanders.

If the Yamanaka couple really heard about this, they might take it seriously. After all, there was still no official explanation about his relationship with Hinata.

When they were younger, it wasn't a big deal, but now that they were adults, if they kept behaving so freely, the Yamanaka Clan might not let Ino continue this playful banter with him.

"Humph! So what!" Ino said smugly, flashing a bright smile as if proud of having flustered him. She felt he's still the same, no real change at all.

As the night breeze blew, the two walked down the stairs together.

"Ino, have you finished working on that thing you were researching?"

"Almost. Why?"

Their footsteps echoed unevenly on the wooden stairs. Ino turned her head and glanced at him, then continued, "You want to help me?"

"I'm not really good at that sort of thing, so I can't help much." Naruto admitted honestly, "But if you run into any technical problems, I can ask some experts for you."

When it comes to Chakra communicator, no one could rival Nagato. After all, he even managed to develop the technology for video hologram communication.

"Where did these experts come from? What do they do?"

"Listen to yourself. I said they're experts, and you're asking what they do?"

"Oh, you mean communicator experts?" Ino still seemed confused. Although she knew such people existed in the Shinobi World, she didn't have connections with them.

Chakra communicator specialists were rare, and their work was often a state secret.

"Yeah, something like that. He's the leader of a small Shinobi Village, we have some connections."

Naruto said, coughing lightly. He thought to himself, 'Who would have thought that a Missing-nin's leader like Nagato, besides being involved in mercenary matter, would also be skilled in the black tech of the Shinobi World.'

"You lied to me again!" Ino said indignantly. Just a moment ago, Naruto had said the person was an expert.

But which small Shinobi Village's leader would be involved in such things? Nowadays, small Shinobi Villages barely existed under the watchful eyes of the Five Great Shinobi Countries. There were only a handful left, probably in countries like the Land of Rain or the Land of Grass.

"Why would I lie to you? I'm not that bored."

"Liar! I don't believe you."

Leaving behind the noisy crowd, with the bustling sounds fading away, the two walked along Konoha's main street, heading towards the Yamanaka Flower Shop.

Naruto wasn't without temptation. If he wanted to deceive Ino, he was confident that even someone as clever as her would fall for his trap. People tend to be irrational around those they like, and their judgment falters when emotions take over.

But seeing Ino walking with her hands behind her back, smiling as always, Naruto smiled too, and slowly suppressed his restless thoughts.

Some people stand on a mountain peak to admire the scenery, while others themselves are the scenery. It wasn't just Ino's looks, but her passionate and straightforward personality that was truly captivating.

"Actually, I really don't envy Shikamaru. It's too rushed." Ino suddenly turned around and said, her brows furrowed. "It's like he's running from something. There's no real meaning in that."

Only when it was just the two of them did Ino reveal what she truly thought.

"Shikamaru's a smart guy. You can tell he really likes that…" Naruto's words suddenly trailed off when he couldn't recall the name of Shikamaru's partner. He stood there, stuck for a moment, struggling to remember.

It was not until he turned his gaze to Ino that Ino rolled her eyes at him and scolded lightly, "Tamako, you are such a fool. We just had dinner together, but you already forgot her name."

Though Ino said this, there was a smile of satisfaction on her face. Girls seemed to enjoy it when the person they liked showed no interest in other pretty girls.

It would be best if they have no impression of the girls at all, forgetting them right after meeting them.

But this couldn't be too obvious or happen too frequently. It was fine to act like this in private, but it wouldn't be appropriate with others around. Otherwise, it could come off as disrespectful.

"Oh, well, this is Shikamaru's choice, and he must have his own reasons." Naruto looked at Ino and continued, "Some people like adventure, while others prefer peace and quiet. Everyone has their own path."

"Everyone has their own path? Then… what do you like?" Ino asked n.

"I like you." Naruto said.

Ino suddenly looked up at him with a complicated look and asked, "Do you like me more or Hinata?"

"Cough, cough!" Naruto nearly choked on his breath, 'What kind of leap of thought was this?'

"Of course I like you more! Why would I even hesitate?"

"Tsk, Tch, I bet you say the same thing in front of Hinata." Ino retorted, rolling her eyes at him, "Anyway, you only know how to lie to me. Humph, if you make me unhappy, I will..."

"Tell your mom?" Naruto asked, rubbing his nose helplessly.

"And tell my dad!" Ino added with a smirk.

"Do you have to be this unreasonable?" Naruto genuinely couldn't figure Ino out anymore. A girl's heart was like the ocean, deep and mysterious.

"You were the one who is being unreasonable first, and you know it." Ino said, turning around and putting her hands on her hips, glaring at Naruto, "Do you think I don't know that you want both of us?!"

Hearing this, Naruto's heart skipped a beat, 'Was I being that obvious?'

"No way! That's slander! Absolutely impossible!"

He denied it three times in a row. He would never admit such a thing, even if he was beaten to death. It was even more important than his browsing history before his death. As long as he kept his mouth shut, he'd stay innocent.

"Hinata and I are just really good friends. We all grew up together, didn't we?" Naruto said, trying to appeal to emotions, playing the friendship card.

"Hmm, okay, but are you telling the truth?" Ino asked, pressing further, "Do you like Hinata?"

"As a friend, yeah, I like her a lot." Naruto said, playing dumb despite knowing what she meant.