At that time, wars frequently broke out in the Shinobi World.
The Land of Fire was so busy that it sometimes had to fight against three countries simultaneously. The once-dominant Shinobi Village was becoming increasingly strained in these endless wars.
To put it bluntly, the hegemony established by Hashirama was fading as talents like him and Tobirama passed away, and the village was gradually declining.
In fact, Konoha's decline was inevitable. Even though Sandaime Hokage worked diligently and handled everything personally, he could only slow down the process… not reverse Konoha's downward spiral.
Unless another figure like Hashirama emerged again, it would be impossible to lead the Land of Fire back to its former dominance.
But clearly, a second Hashirama was not going to appear.
Sandaime Hokage did his best, but not everyone saw it that way.
Among the Twelve Guardian Ninja, a group of extremists led by Kazuma viewed the Hokage as worthless. They couldn't accept the Land of Fire's declining status and blamed it all on the Hokage.
They believed Konoha should belong to the Daimyo, not a weak Hokage. The Land of Fire should conquer the entire Shinobi World under the Daimyo's leadership.
This reasoning felt oddly familiar, but unfortunately, the Daimyo was also useless. These people were just a bunch of extremists… what a joke, thinking nobles who threw orgies were more capable than the Hokage?
The military power of the Shinobi Village was in someone else's hands, yet they dared to spout such nonsense. They clearly didn't know their place. So, they were killed.
Asuma briefly mentioned some details, and Naruto listened with a slight frown until Asuma finished.
"That's it?"
"That's about it. What are you asking so much about?"
"Ahem… I'm a bit short on money lately." Naruto said sheepishly.
Asuma: "??? Huh? What does that have to do with anything? You're not thinking of threatening the Daimyo, are you?"
'Knowing Naruto, it wasn't entirely impossible. This guy didn't even care about the Hokage, let alone the Daimyo.'
"Of course not! No way!" Naruto quickly waved his hands, "I'm just short of money, not brains. Why would I threaten the Daimyo?"
Hearing this, Asuma finally felt relieved.
"I just don't want you causing trouble. The Daimyo holds a high status in the Land of Fire. You should avoid dealing with those nobles if you can. They look down on Shinobi."
"I know." Naruto nodded.
"When are you free? Mirai's first meal ceremony is coming up. You should come and join the celebration." Asuma said casually, lighting a cigarette.
Unbeknownst to Naruto, Asuma's daughter had quietly reached her 100th day since birth. According to Konoha tradition, it wasn't called a 100-day celebration but a 'first meal ceremony'.
On that day, a lavish feast would be prepared for the baby to eat.
Only close friends and family would be invited, so Naruto was a bit surprised that Asuma had included him. Deeply moved, he asked, "Asuma-sensei, you're not setting me up by inviting both Ino and Hinata at the same time, are you?"
"You brat!" Asuma laughed. "What kind of nonsense are you thinking? Why would I set you up? I'm just inviting you over for a meal."
"Ino and Hinata are both on missions these days, so you won't run into them. You know the people coming. Kakashi, Anko, Gai, and Ebisu."
Hearing that, Naruto finally relaxed.
"Alright, when exactly? I'll definitely come."
"About three days from now." Asuma took a drag from his cigarette, glancing at Naruto. The first meal ceremony was also a way to pave the way for his daughter's future after all, getting to know a few uncles would help her down the road.
"Okay, I understand," Naruto agreed.
The two chatted for a while longer before parting ways.
After getting the information from Asuma, Naruto didn't head straight to the Land of Fire. Instead, he passed by the Yamanaka Flower Shop. It was noon, and the autumn sunlight was neither too hot nor too cold.
The curtains inside the glass door were half-drawn, and Ino sat there reading a book, her golden, fluffy ponytail looking especially cute in the sunlight. Seeing no one around, he pushed the door open and walked in.
Ding-a-ling!
"Welcome…" Ino didn't even look up at first, but when she stood, she realized it was him.
"What brought you here? Haven't you been busy lately?" Ino put away her book and casually placed it on the desk. Naruto glanced at it and saw that it was a serious book.
He knew a thing or two about the Icha Icha series, but serious books are too profound for a cultured man like him.
"I've got some free time now, but I'll have to leave soon." Naruto said casually, sitting at the counter and taking a sip from her teacup.
Ino also liked tea, just like her father. The difference was that Naruto's future father-in-law preferred strong tea, while Ino leaned toward fragrant teas like jasmine.
"What book are you reading?"
"Just something random, miscellaneous stuff." Ino replied.
"I like reading too."
"Really?" Ino asked, a bit surprised, "How come I've never seen you read a book? Even back at the Academy, there weren't any books on your desk, and you were always snatching books from Choji and Kiba."
"That's because I don't need them. Besides, I get sleepy when I read." Naruto scratched his head, thinking to himself, 'The previous Naruto is really shameless… He never brought his own books and always mooching off others.'
"Tch, what kind of books do you like? I'll bring you a few next time." She asked, rolling her eyes.
"Uh, the kind that explores the diversified development of humanity, with detailed steps for implementation, beneficial to population prosperity. You probably don't have those, but Choji's got a whole stash at home."
"What kind of nonsense…" Mid-sentence, Ino suddenly realized what he meant, "Hey! You jerk!"
Ino smacked him, playfully hitting him a few more times in mock anger.
"If you're going to read, do it quick. I'm heading out of the village tomorrow… the second-phase mission just came down."
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Naruto pretended to be clueless, acting like he was just finding out now, even though he'd already heard from Asuma.
"I just found out yesterday. Choji and Shikamaru are going too." Ino said, examining her manicure absentmindedly, her fair arms moving like dancing butterflies.
'No wonder.' Naruto thought to himself, 'If Team 10 was being sent out, there was no chance of Ino and Hinata running into each other. It was probably the higher-ups pushing the communication project more seriously now.'