The banquet ended without further incident.
Naruto headed home as usual but took a detour into an alleyway, winding through several turns before ending up at Anko's place. The two sat around drinking and chatting, though nothing much happened.
"Why haven't I seen you with Hinata lately?" Anko asked.
"If I were meeting Hinata, you think I'd let you see me? I'd be dead if that were the case. What kind of question is that?" Naruto shot back without hesitation. "If even a dumb woman like you could notice, Ino would've found out ages ago."
"You... are such a jerk." Anko grumbled, annoyed, "I was just asking casually. You keep calling me dumb… you're the dumb one!"
"I've heard that stupid mothers give birth to a whole litter of stupid kids."
"Go die, Uzumaki Naruto!" Anko, sitting cross-legged on the sofa, hurled a cushion straight at his face, "You're the stupid one! And even if I did have kids, it'd just be one at most!"
"Just someone to keep me company so I'm not lonely. More than that would be pointless anyway."
"What's wrong? Can't get used to the carefree life?" Naruto asked with a smile, throwing the cushion behind him.
"What do you mean by carefree life? I'm just used to being alone," Anko took a sip of her drink before setting it down, "I used to wonder why my life turned out like this."
"I wouldn't say I'm outstanding, but I was lucky. I was taken in as a student by one of the Sannin, Orochimaru. He taught me all his Ninjutsu, except for his experiments, but before I could fully master them, he defected."
"All the drive I had just vanished. Someone like me should've achieved something, at least becoming a top-tier Jonin. But now, here I am, stuck in this mediocre state, just drifting through life in the village."
"So what about now? Have you figured it out?" Naruto asked.
"Nope." Anko flopped back onto the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling, "How could I possibly figure it out? But it's been so long that it doesn't even matter anymore."
"Even if I did figure it out, I'd still just be an ordinary person. Nothing would really change. I've just stopped thinking about it."
"Why bother overthinking it?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Look at me… With great power comes great responsibility, and I'm always avoiding my father-in-laws."
"Every day is just... what kind of life is this, really?"
Anko: "..."
His smug expression made her want to punch him to death. Thankfully, she held back. Instead, she tossed her jacket onto the nearby sofa and gritted her teeth.
"Then let's not think about those things now. I just want a child."
By the time they finished, it was already the dead of night.
Naruto skillfully rummaged through Anko's fridge, stir-fried a plate of noodles in the kitchen, then grabbed two cans of cold beer and carried them into the room.
Anko sat at the small table, her elbows propped on the surface, her chin resting on her hands as she watched Naruto.
"I'm exhausted."
"How could you not be? Besides, I'm doing this for your own good. You have to move around and exercise."
"And how is this my fault?" Naruto popped open a can of beer and handed it to her, "I gave you the chance, but you couldn't keep up. Have you been slacking off? Has your paycheck even gone up?"
"Tch, the pay at the Academy is fixed." Anko scoffed, blowing at the foam before taking a sip. The cold beer instantly refreshed her.
"Not for long. Nothing stays the same forever." He said as he sat down.
"What do you mean?" Anko gave him a sharp look. Others might be full of hot air, but this guy was genuinely cunning… just moments ago, he'd been convincing her to 'exercise and lose weight'.
Meanwhile, he had been lying there without lifting a finger.
But when someone like him spoke, it was never without reason. Sure enough, Naruto glanced at her, then grinned mysteriously.
"You haven't heard yet?"
"Heard what?"
So Naruto recounted the incident where the Daimyo of the Land of Fire's capital had been kidnapped… once again pinning the blame on someone else.
The feeling of shifting his own dirty deeds onto another person was… unique.
Especially when he said it so shamelessly, without a hint of guilt.
"How could something like that happen? Uchiha Sasuke actually taken the Daimyo hostage..." Anko was stunned at first, then snapped back to reality, "What does that have to do with my paycheck?"
"Of course it does. The world's getting chaotic. Normally, the Academy's pay is fixed, but in special times, it'll change."
Naruto said with a smile. "But don't worry… you're just a teacher at the Academy. It's not your problem. Konoha isn't that desperate yet, so they won't drag you onto the battlefield."
"Just stay in the village like you planned. Didn't you say you wanted a kid anyway?"
"Then why tell me all this if it doesn't concern me?" Anko took another swig of beer, "I might as well wash up and sleep. Boring."
Naruto chuckled. If he hadn't said anything, this stupid woman might've spiraled into another depressive episode. He wasn't good at comforting people, nor did he care to.
Unless it was someone close to him, he couldn't be bothered.
Before dawn, Naruto slipped out of Anko's place unnoticed. He returned home and slept until noon. When he woke up, he squinted and saw snow was falling outside.
Threads of snow drifted past the window. Just yesterday, it had been crisp autumn weather, but winter had arrived overnight. Konoha's winters were always long, stretching well into early spring.
Naruto crawled out from under the covers in just his shorts, shivering as goosebumps rose all over his body.
He hurriedly jumped out of bed barefoot, as no carpet laid out yet, and the floor tiles were painfully cold.
"Ouch!" He yelped, hopping as if he'd stepped on hot coals. With a yelp, he dashed into the bathroom, turning on the hot water for a soothing shower.
After freshening up, he changed into warmer clothes and ambled downstairs.
He grabbed a bowl of ramen at Ichiraku's, then wandered outside to walk off the meal. Suddenly, he remembered that Ino was out on a mission.
So he changed course and headed toward the Hyuga Clan's compound. He wasn't looking for Hinata, as he knew she wouldn't be there.
Since Kurenai's daughter's feast had started, none of Team 8 had shown up, so they were probably on a team mission.
Asuma had already assured him that there was no way Ino would run into Hinata.
This time, he was here to see Neji. Ever since their last talk, Neji had thrown himself into managing the Hyuga Clan's affairs. He'd long stopped taking missions and rarely left the village.
"It's snowing outside?" Neji asked without looking up. He recognized Naruto's footsteps… that lazy, swaggering gait.
Who else walked like they owned the place? Anyone else would've gotten beaten up eight times a day.
"Just a bit. Winter came out of nowhere. Figured I'd drop by for some hot tea." Naruto said, helping himself to the tea leaves from the cabinet and starting to boil water.
"Hinata's not here. Probably on a team mission. Didn't ask when she'd be back." Neji said, setting a document aside before looking up.
"I know. Things are tense lately. There might be another war soon." Naruto watched the steam rise from the kettle, "If it really happens, the village won't have it easy."
Neji paused writing and looked at him with amusement.
"Since when do you worry about things like that? It doesn't sound like you."
"Why wouldn't I? If war breaks out, you'd have to go to the front lines. What about Hinata? What about Ino?" Naruto poured himself a cup of tea, then topped up Neji's.
"You're something else, bringing up Hinata and Ino right in front of me. Not even trying to hide it. No matter what, I'm Hinata's older brother." Neji chuckled.