That Shikamaru Nara… his brain was as sharp as ever.
He had probably figured out Naruto's intentions after learning about his policies for the Sand Village. Naruto's actions since then had only confirmed Shikamaru's guess.
Shikamaru was right. For now, Konoha didn't need to worry about the Sand Village's defense. The Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Sound were too small, and Konoha barely had enough shinobi to handle its own defense and missions. If they were to annex another ninja village, Konoha's forces would be stretched too thin.
This could only work if the Sand and Waterfall ninjas fully accepted Konoha's authority and earned their trust, but even Rock Lee knew that was impossible to achieve in a short amount of time.
Of course, Naruto Uzumaki already had a plan for this situation. After all, he had lived for a hundred years and served as Hokage for a hundred years. He couldn't have just been eating for all that time, right?
"I've thought about this for a long time," Naruto whispered in Shikamaru's ear. "If you have any other ideas, Shikamaru, let's find a place to talk later."
Although he had a draft in mind, maybe Shikamaru's method was better. Besides, that guy Shikamaru Nara had the highest intelligence among all their peers. Naruto had to admit that in the future, as his Hokage assistant, Shikamaru saved him a lot of trouble.
Unexpectedly, Shikamaru waved his hand impatiently. "Tomorrow. I have to see Gaara off later..."
"You're seeing Gaara off?" Naruto's eyes immediately filled with disdain as he saw right through him. "You clearly want to see Temari off!"
"...Wh-what... What nonsense are you talking about!" Shikamaru's face turned beet red, and he hurriedly waved his hands.
"Tsk..." Naruto shook his head. After taking a sip of tea, he noticed Hinata helping him grill meat and adjust the seasoning. He felt a little guilty.
"Hinata..." The young Hokage suddenly grabbed her wrist.
"Ah!" The girl cried out in surprise, her chopsticks almost falling to the ground.
Naruto quickly switched hands to catch the chopsticks. He carefully picked up a slice of meat from the grill, placed it on Hinata's plate, and said softly, "Hinata, I can do this myself. You should eat more."
"..." Hinata's face turned red. Her expression fell slightly at his blunt words, but she just nodded timidly. "...Okay."
Even though Naruto spoke with almost no emotional intelligence, what could she do? Of course, she could only choose to forgive him.
Naruto also realized that what he had just said might have been a problem. The girl in front of him wasn't his wife yet, and they hadn't spent a lifetime together. Some things he thought didn't need to be hidden were probably not suitable to be said out loud right now.
After a moment of thought, Naruto took another plate of fruit and placed it in front of Hinata. Watching the Byakugan user take small bites of the grilled meat, he continued, "Hinata, between us, you don't need to hold back or hide anything. You can do whatever you want..."
"Ah?" The Byakugan user's mouth opened in astonishment, her face blushing again as she lowered her head. "Is that really okay? Then... can Naruto-kun get me a few more servings of pork belly?"
"..." The young Hokage couldn't help but laugh and nodded obediently.
While their table was a bit quiet because of the shy girl, the other side of the restaurant was very lively. With Rock Lee, Kiba Inuzuka, and Choji Akimichi together, it was impossible for things not to be lively.
"Naruto..." a faint voice reached Naruto's ear.
The young Hokage took a few steps back in confusion and noticed the boy with sunglasses in the corner. "Hey, Shino, what are you doing over here?"
"I've finished eating," Shino Aburame said softly, his hands in his pockets. "There's someone who wants to see you. He has something to report."
"Hmm? Is it urgent?"
"Not particularly."
"Wait for me outside." Naruto gestured with the two plates in his hand and said softly, "I'll take these to Hinata first, okay?"
"...Yes." Shino slowly walked away with his hands in his pockets. After a moment, he slipped back and tilted his head. "Wait... Naruto, are you and Hinata dating?"
"...I guess so?" Naruto himself was a bit unsure.
After quickly bringing the food to Hinata, Naruto and Shino left the barbecue restaurant and ran towards a nearby forest. No matter what, Shino Aburame was a trustworthy person.
In the forest, a dozen ninjas were standing.
After they landed, Shino explained to Naruto, "After you agreed, I used my insects to notify my cousin..."
"Your cousin? Huh?" Under the moonlight, Naruto saw a familiar face... Isn't that Sai?
But among this group of ninjas, Sai's status wasn't high; he was just standing at the edge. The leader was a ninja who was completely covered from head to toe.
Torune Aburame.
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, after Torune was reanimated, the troop he led caused a lot of trouble for the Allied Shinobi Forces. He had even tried to detonate the deadly poison within his body.
"Sorry to take up your time, Lord Hokage." Torune habitually knelt on one knee, and the other ninjas, mostly teenagers, knelt with him.
These were the reserve members of the Root.
Naruto waved his hand, scanned the group of his peers, and said in a low voice, "You'd better tell me quickly why you're gathered here late at night... If I remember correctly, the Root should have been disbanded."
"Yes." Torune lowered his head, his voice a bit bitter. "It's been a while since Lord Danzo's death, but the village hasn't made any follow-up arrangements for us. That's why we wanted to request an audience with you, Lord Hokage..."
In fact, the formal ninjas of the Root had already been reorganized by Koharu and Homura into a dozen ANBU squads. Most of them were now stationed in the Sand Village to monitor their every move.
Only Torune, Sai, and the others, who were too young—around thirteen or fourteen—were left. They had still been interns even in the Root. Therefore, the Hokage's advisors had left their matter undecided.
If it were just Torune, it would be fine. He came from the great Aburame clan and had joined the Root to replace Shino, earning the gratitude of the clan leader. He didn't have to worry about his future.
The problem was the dozen other teenagers of the same age. These were all orphans selected by Danzo Shimura from various orphanages. Konoha had long been undecided about what to do with them—whether to incorporate them into the ANBU or revoke their ninja status.
After all, their skills weren't very high, and they had all been raised by Danzo since they were young, without formal ninja school education.
Therefore, these teenagers were now homeless.
"Tsk, what a pain." Naruto patted his forehead and glanced at everyone present. He had seen the files on many of them.
After thinking for a moment, the young Hokage stroked his chin and said, "Tomorrow morning, report to the Hokage's office. You will temporarily join a new Hokage Guard Platoon that I'm forming. Any objections?"
"Lord Hokage!" The group of teenagers knelt on one knee again, looking at him with reverence.
Just as they did, Shino pushed up his sunglasses. "Naruto, how long can they stay in the Hokage Guard Platoon? I heard that Neji and the others from Team 3 were dismissed by you after only a month or so..."
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Bonus:
Naruto: You guys can be my Hokage Guards for now!
Torune: Alright!
Shino: But I don't think that's very reliable...
Torune: How is it not reliable?
Shino: I'm serious. Naruto has been in office for less than three months and has already gone through two Hokage Guard Platoons.
Torune: ...
Naruto: Don't worry, I won't fire you. You can carry out missions freely in the village. I will only summon you when I need protection.
Torune: Yes, Lord Hokage!
Shino: That sounds good, but with Naruto's strength, you'll probably never get a summons in your entire life, right?
Naruto: ...Torune, this cousin of yours talks a bit too much...
Torune: ...It's not that he talks too much. He's just being redundant.
Shino: ...