Chapter 434 Sending Chills Down The Spine

After leaving Tsunade, Naruto went straight home to sleep. He slept until it was dark, woke up, washed up, mocked the groggy Kurama a bit, and went downstairs for dinner.

Afterward, he headed straight to the Satomi Hill's manor.

Yakumo was still a little confused. She looked at a dark shadow smoothly vaulting over the wall beside the manor and her body shivered involuntarily.

It seems like a conditioned reflex has been formed. The main reason is that Naruto really did act, and his attacks were 100% real, with brutal force behind them. They were cruel and drawn-out, delivering torment over time.

As the saying goes, evil fears the wicked. This may be the logic behind it.

After standing there for a while with her neck shrunk, Yakumo suddenly remembered that she had been recruited and there was no need to hide anymore. So, trying her best to force down her fear, she walked toward the courtyard to greet him.

"Why are you standing here?" Naruto was a little surprised. This was the first time he saw Yakumo being so proactive. Normally, it was already good enough if she didn't hide from him.

Of course, hiding wouldn't help either.

"Waiting for you, to greet you." There was still fear on Yakumo's face. She grabbed the hem of her skirt and tried hard not to retreat.

Naruto had no intention of softening his approach. He nodded as acknowledgment but still proceeded with his plan. He continued his routine of torturing Ido, the entity inside Yakumo. Not a day went by without it.

He expertly extracted Ido from Yakumo's body and proceeded to mercilessly beat it up. Each time, he would find new ways to pummel Ido.

No matter how much Ido cursed or begged for mercy, Naruto stuck to his schedule of one daily session without fail. Each time was harsher than the last, making it impossible for Ido to get used to the punishment.

The frustrating part was that Ido couldn't die, so it had to endure the torment again and again.

After finishing, Naruto sat down on the stone steps in the courtyard. The cool spring night breeze flowed through, making it comfortable, and the rustling trees shook their leaves in the wind.

"Tea."

Yakumo, who appeared out of nowhere, knelt beside Naruto on the stone steps, not minding the dirt. She held a tray with a cup of fragrant tea, steam gently swirling above it.

Naruto glanced back at her, took the tea, blew on it, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"From now on, if you don't know what to call me, just say 'master'."

"Y-yes, m-master." Yakumo stammered, not out of shyness, but out of fear.

Growing up, she had never encountered such a terrifying person, even at the age of eighteen. The last fight had thoroughly broken her rebellious nature.

Besides, she was now forced to witness Ido's tragic beatings every time, which scared her even more. Over time, she became too frightened to ever provoke Naruto again.

And yet, her only hope of becoming a Shinobi now rested with Naruto. She had no other choice but to submit.

Seeing Yakumo's fearful expression, Naruto lost interest in teasing her further. He had no intention of scaring this little girl any more.

"Go on, leave me be." He stretched out his hand to drive her away, "I just want some time alone, and then I'll head back."

"Okay." Yakumo stood up, but after a moment's thought, hesitated, "M-master, can we start on what you mentioned last time?"

After hearing what Yakumo said, Naruto remembered that Yakumo was also one of the Jashin's Follower in Task Line III. She had her own panel that could be manipulated, which allowed her to be directly sucked into the different space and thrown onto the Jashin's Altar.

"Let's do it tomorrow. I've got too many things going on today." Naruto waved her off. He was telling the truth. Recently, so many things have piled up, leaving him overwhelmed.

He hadn't even had time to look for Hinata yet, but it was obviously inappropriate to look for her now. When there were too many things piled up, it was easy for chaos to follow, and that would lead to big problems. He didn't want another situation between Ino and Hinata creating a Shuraba again.

For now, he needed to take care of what was already on his plate. Yakumo didn't dare to have any opinions, nodding in agreement before leaving.

…

The next day.

Naruto opened his eyes and saw Yugao already standing by his window, politely knocking on it.

"Tsunade-sama is looking for you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Naruto groggily got up to wash, his whole body feeling exhausted. Yugao didn't seem to be in a hurry either and sat down in the living room.

"What's up?" Naruto came out of the bathroom and smiled when he saw Yugao on the couch, " Not in a rush today? What a rare guest, Uzuki Yugao."

"The Anbu isn't that busy lately. The Root's Shinobi have taken up many missions." Yugao said, "So, I'm coming with you to see Tsunade-sama."

"Whatever."

The two went to see Tsunade together. There was nothing much to say, and she just gave Naruto a bunch of information about the members of the Root. When these people were transferred, their information was also archived in the Anbu.

"How are you planning to stir things up?" Tsunade asked.

"Well…" Naruto smirked.

Shizune looked at Naruto's departing back with a complicated look in her eyes, "Tsunade-sama, do you think Naruto's plan will work?"

"I don't know." Tsunade leaned back in her chair, letting out a long sigh, "If he can't do it, then there's no one else more suitable for the task."

"Six years ago, when he just a teenager, he once told someone that it didn't matter if they burned down a house. Just don't expect him to care about rules or conventions."

"Shikamaru is smart, sure, but he's too clever for his own good. He wouldn't be able to deal with someone like Danzo. He'd overthink things, always trying to come up with foolproof plans, but there are no perfect solutions in this world."

"What if it's Naruto? He didn't say anything just now. How do you think he'll handle it?" Shizune asked curiously.

"If he didn't say anything, that means it's something he can't say. Whatever he's planning, it's definitely not an honest, above-board solution." Tsunade pursed her lips and said after a pause, "Shizune, do you remember the time we met Orochimaru in Tanzaku Town a few years ago?"

"Oh, I remember."

"Orochimaru's subordinate, Yakushi Kabuto, was an undeniable genius." Tsunade said, "Even I found him extremely difficult to deal with."

"But it took Naruto just a few words to defeat him. I looked into it afterward, and... let's just say it sent chills down my spine."