"The refreshments are here."

"I know, just put it here, Mom."

Shikamaru turned his head and said to the older woman who brought tea into the room.

Maybe it's because he takes good care of himself, so from the outside he looks like he's only twenty-seven or eighty-years-old, but his actual age is thirty-six.

Nara Yoshino is the woman's name.

She is the wife of Nara Shikaku, the jounin squad leader of Konoha and the Nara clan.

She is also Shikamaru's mother.

"Thank you, aunt."

Ino and Choji in the room said politely, thanking Yoshino for bringing refreshments at this time.

Especially Choji, he could already feel the corners of his mouth drooling.

"You should at least say thank you."

Yoshino was very dissatisfied with Shikamaru's casual attitude, and seemed to want her to put down her tea quickly and send her out.

"Thank you, mom...is this okay?"

Shikamaru said, finding it troublesome.

"Same virtue as your father, wait until he comes back to teach you a lesson together."

Even though she said this, Yoshino's eyes still showed a strong look of worry, worried about the unusual situation where her husband had not responded to messages for several days.

"Dad, he knows the severity and will not fall down so easily."

Although Shikamaru is also worried about the safety of his father Shikaku, after his father left, he is now the head of the family and cannot show any timidity.

As my father said, I must become an excellent man who makes women feel reliable.

Yoshino sighed, put down the tea and left.

"Aunt Yoshino looks very worried."

Ino couldn't help but said.

"She just cares too much about her dad, that's why she's like this, she's just stern on the surface."

Shikamaru said.

"Then what should we do next?"

Ino asked.

Then she saw Choci enjoying his tea and eating carelessly, and she immediately raised her eyebrows.

"I just know how to eat. Is it time to enjoy afternoon tea?"

However, in the face of Ino's harsh criticism, Choci smiled nonchalantly and said:

"Ino, you are just like Aunt Yoshino. You care too much, so caring will lead to chaos. Father and others have already arranged everything, and everything will be fine."

"But what if..."

"That kind of thing is something that adults should deal with. Now, it's not our turn to intervene. We wait here quietly, which is the best support."

Although what Chouji said made sense, to Ino, it sounded a bit self-defeating.

"Chouji is right, Ino, our job is to wait here with peace of mind. There are some things that we shouldn't interfere with."

Shikamaru also took the tea and started eating it.

"Why are you like this..."

"The situation outside is so chaotic, there is very little we can do. Moreover, even that troublesome guy Naruto is involved..."

Shikamaru said as he had a headache.

"No, is the rumor that Naruto is the son of the Hokage... true?"

Ino blinked his eyes, full of disbelief.

Thinking of Naruto's various unreliable behaviors in the ninja school, Ino couldn't imagine that he could be the son of the Hokage.

Still the legendary Fourth Hokage.

It's simply a fantasy.

"Who knows about this kind of thing. When I was in the ninja school, my father hinted to me more than once that he hoped to get along well with Naruto and not isolate him. After that, I also secretly investigated Naruto's life experience."

"What's the result?"

"The level of confidentiality is very high. Even the Jonin is not qualified to check it. Moreover, don't you think Naruto's performance in the Chunin Exam is very abnormal? Just like Gaara of Sunagakure, there is something strange in his body.

That thing. That should be the so-called 'demon fox'."

Ino recalled the scene at that time.

"That look does look a bit like a fox."

Listening to the exchange between Shikamaru and Ino, Choji suddenly said: "So, do you want to go visit Naruto now?"

Shikamaru put his hands behind his head, lay directly on the floor, and said helplessly:

"Then you have to be able to go out. The family has already issued a foot restriction order. Even if you visit Naruto, you can only wait for the foot restriction order to pass."

"That is to say, that guy has been heartless since he was a child. He should be able to survive on his own now."

Ino was also worried about Naruto's condition, but under the restriction order, she could only stay with the Nara clan and could not leave here.

Going to visit Naruto is impossible.

"I hope this storm will pass soon..."

Shikamaru was in an unprecedented irritable mood. Even though he was smarter than his peers, he didn't know what to do when faced with such a situation.

I can only pray in my heart that my father can return safely.

◎

"It's so boring... I really want to go out and practice, but neither the pervert teacher, the perverted sage, nor Kakashi-sensei are here."

Lying on the bed in the apartment where he lived alone, his head sank into the soft cotton pillow, trying to cover up the rumors outside that were not true at all.

But the more he concealed it, the more uncomfortable the gap in his heart made Naruto feel.

Do you really have something like your parents?

Are you going to ask Grandpa Hokage for answers?

However, if the rumors spread outside are true...

Naruto felt timid inside.

He couldn't believe that Grandpa Hokage, whom he had believed in all these years, could be the kind of image spread in rumors.

Dong Dong.

There was a knock on the door.

Let Naruto be interrupted from his thoughts.

He got out of bed, put on his slippers, and went to open the door.

"It's Kakashi-sensei..."

Naruto said this subconsciously.

"It's me, Naruto."

"Teacher Iruka? Why are you here?"

The one who knocked on the door was not the Kakashi he expected, but Iruka whom he had not seen for a long time.

Naruto's face showed a look of joy, and he felt a long-lost peace of mind.

"So much has happened, so I came to see you. And here's this for you."

Iruka placed the convenience bag in front of Naruto and said with a smile.

"This is……"

Naruto smelled the aroma of food from the convenience bag.

“Ichiraku Ramen!”

"You must be starving, hurry up and eat it while it's hot."

"As expected of you, Iruka-sensei. Thank you so much. I'm really hungry!"

Naruto took the convenience bag without politeness, placed the Ichiraku Ramen packed inside on the table, and couldn't wait to open it.

"I'm gonna start now!"

After saying that, Naruto picked up his chopsticks and ate happily, trying his best to fill his hungry stomach.

As the ramen entered his stomach, a sense of fulfilling happiness surrounded Naruto, making his face filled with a fulfilling smile.
To be continued...