Naruto: Naruto's Uchiha girlfriend is too arrogant

Chapter 297 An Unfamiliar Experience

"Naruto, is everything done?"

As Naruto stepped out of the Hokage Building, he was somewhat surprised to find Satsuki quietly waiting at the entrance. It seemed that after he left, she had found out his whereabouts and was waiting here... Naruto was already used to her obvious "clingy" behavior.

"Yeah, it's almost done. Sorry, I didn't tell you where I was going when I left."

"It's nothing," Satsuki shook her head gently. "I was just asking Naruto, who was passing by, if anything had happened?"

She noticed that although Naruto still wore his usual smile, his face appeared somewhat pale, and a gloomy look hung between his brows. The predicament of his mother, Kushina, weighed heavily on Naruto's mind, making it difficult for him to make a decision, and the intense turmoil in his heart was inevitably reflected in his complexion.

Naruto realized his situation had been exposed and quickly explained, "It's nothing serious, I just heard some news... I need to make a decision, and it's a bit difficult..."

"Awooo..."

Just then, a soft whimper came from the backpack behind Naruto. Little Hibiki's fluffy head popped out of the opening. It seemed to sense Naruto's low mood and gently rubbed its cool, wet little nose against the back of Naruto's neck and hair.

Seeing this scene, Zuo Yue frowned slightly, but considering that the little guy had hatched under the joint "care" of herself and Naruto, she swallowed back the words that were on the tip of her tongue and said nothing.

"Okay," she said, her tone softening. "But if there's anything I can do to help, please let me know, okay?"

This comforting gesture, imbued with trust and support, eased Naruto's heavy heart somewhat. He nodded and said sincerely, "Yes, thank you, Satsuki... and thank you too." He turned his head and gently tapped Sohyun's head.

"Now, once the Sunagakure prisoners are repatriated to the Land of Wind, the aftermath of the war should be completely over." Naruto brought his thoughts back to the present, turning his gaze to the little Sakura in his backpack behind him. "By the way, have all the villagers from the shelter returned? I need to go buy some food and prepare a comfortable nest for this little guy."

"Is that it..." Satsuki repeated the word, her gaze towards Kosei becoming somewhat subtle and complex, as if she were weighing something in her mind.

Naruto didn't notice the subtle change in Sasuke's eyes. Sasuke continued, "The villagers should be returning one by one. On the way here, I saw that some shops have reopened. I'll go with you."

------

Unlike when Gaara was sent back to Konoha, most of the villagers have now returned to the village. The streets have regained some of their hustle and bustle, and people are walking on the streets of Konoha as usual... but the atmosphere is noticeably strange.

"that……"

A slightly unfamiliar voice came from the side and called out to Naruto. Naruto turned his head in confusion and found that the person who had called him was an ordinary-looking, simply dressed villager from Konoha, someone he seemed to have never met before.

"Is there something you need?" Naruto asked, maintaining basic politeness.

"Um... at this hour, thank you so much for your hard work earlier," the villager said, his tone cautious and respectful, even using honorifics. "Would you like to come to my house for a simple meal?"

"...Huh?" Naruto was caught off guard by the sudden invitation and made a confused sound.

"Oh, sorry! This was a bit too sudden, wasn't it?" Seeing Naruto's reaction, the villager quickly waved his hand, looking embarrassed. "If you don't want to, just pretend I didn't say anything!" After saying that, as if afraid of angering Naruto, he hurriedly nodded and left.

Standing to the side, Satsuki stared at the villager with a cold and hostile gaze the entire time. Naruto might not care, but that didn't mean Satsuki could easily forget.

Naruto may have long since become accustomed to blocking out those malicious voices, but Satsuki clearly remembered all the villagers' pointing fingers and slanderous remarks about Naruto over the years.

At this moment, Naruto finally understood why the atmosphere on the street was so strange. Over the years, he had long been accustomed to completely ignoring the gazes cast by the villagers of Konoha.

After all, if you don't care, you won't feel sad. It's an instinctive form of self-protection.

But this time, when his gaze swept over the familiar or unfamiliar faces around him again, he saw something that felt strange to him... His eyes were filled with evasiveness, guilt, and a cautious... apology.

...Yes, this time...I did save Konoha...

The sight of the golden Nine-Tails, fully transformed into its tailed beast form, standing like a mountain at the edge of the village; the golden barrier that blocked Shukaku's empty bullet; the godlike power... all of this was too great to ignore.

This feeling... is so unfamiliar, and so unreal.

However, this sudden change in attitude did not bring him any comfort; instead, it made his already troubled heart, which was already troubled by his mother's situation, even more depressed.

Naruto doesn't care about them... but Naruto saving them doesn't mean he's so easily forgiven for their past actions...

A strange sense of unease welled up inside Naruto, and he started walking again, but his pace quickened unconsciously. Satsuki didn't say anything, but silently quickened her pace and followed closely beside him.

Naruto navigated the slightly chaotic streets and finally found a grocery store that had reopened. He carefully selected items: everyday necessities, plenty of easily digestible fruits and vegetables, and several different brands of milk. He planned to try them all back home to see which flavor Hibiki liked best.

Hopefully, the little guy won't be too picky about food... He thought, placing the items one by one on the counter, and then taking out his wallet as usual to pay.

"Wow, you bought so much stuff! Thank you for your patronage, but..."

The shop owner's voice came from behind the counter. For Naruto, this was the first time ever that a shop owner had taken the initiative to talk to him while he was shopping.

Standing beside him, Satsuki unconsciously clenched her fists... Had it really come? The situation she least wanted to see seemed to be unfolding.

"You don't have to pay at all! I'm so sorry about all these years! And if you see anything else you like, feel free to take it, it's completely free!"

"Huh? Isn't this a bit inappropriate?" Naruto responded subconsciously, still not fully accustomed to this change in attitude.

"No need, thank you for your kindness," Zuo Yue interjected coldly, her voice devoid of any warmth. "How much it costs, we can afford it."

"Really, you don't need to pay! Just accept it! If you don't want to accept it..." the shopkeeper insisted.

However, Satsuki didn't want to listen anymore. She grabbed Naruto's hand and turned to walk out of the store. "Never mind, let's go check out other stores. Let's go, Naruto."

"Huh?!"

The shop owner was completely stunned. Seeing that the two were about to leave, he hurriedly picked up the goods on the counter and chased after them.

"Please wait a minute! Why won't you accept my kindness?! I admit I was wrong in the past! But you're a hero in the village now, don't hold these trivial matters against me!"

"Using the title of 'hero' to morally blackmail him?" Zuo Yue's heart sank. Her worst fears had come true. The boss not only chased after her but also shouted loudly, his words undoubtedly flattering Naruto.

The commotion attracted the attention of nearby villagers, who all turned to watch.

"Really, it's not necessary. Naruto doesn't need your kindness." Naruto was about to refuse when Satsuki spoke first, his tone still icy cold, "He protects you; it's just his nature."

Moreover, behind those seemingly grateful words, Zuo Yue clearly heard... a barely perceptible tremor in the boss's voice.

"Um, I just wanted to express my gratitude... Please give me this opportunity! If I don't accept it, I'll feel guilty for the rest of my life!"

"Well... the boss meant well, please accept it," a villager who had been drawn over couldn't help but step forward and persuade him.

"Yeah... well, actually we'd like to learn more about Naruto too... please give us a chance," another voice chimed in.

Seeing this, a mother with a child quickly nudged her bewildered child and urged, "Quick! Quickly apologize to Naruto for what we did before! Say we were wrong."

When a group gives love in order to save itself, this love is often selfish, coercive, and inescapable of being refused. Watching this scene, Zuo Yue felt a wave of nausea wash over her.

Naruto was completely unprepared for things to turn out this way. He stood there, looking somewhat at a loss. This sudden attention and kindness made him feel suffocated.

Satsuki lowered her head, listening to the increasingly noisy surroundings; the apologies and moral blackmail pierced her eardrums like needles. She took a deep breath, turned to Naruto, and said softly.

"I'm sorry, I can't take it anymore."

"?"

Before Naruto could react, something astonishing happened—Satsuki suddenly stepped forward and delivered a straight punch to the boss's face!

"Bang!"

As the boss fell to the ground with a thud, covering his nose and looking at Zuoyue in bewilderment, the surrounding crowd fell silent instantly because of the sudden act of violence, and everyone was dumbfounded.

"What kind of good intentions are you..." Cold and sarcastic words came from Zuo Yue's lips as she looked around at the crowd. "You people are really disgusting."

"Naruto doesn't care... he selectively forgets what you did..." Her voice rose, shifting from icy to barely suppressed rage, her gaze fixed on the boss lying on the ground. "But! I remember it all very clearly!"

Her voice echoed through the quiet street, each word sounding as if it had been chilled to the bone.

"'What bad luck! I should have known better than to open the door today. That disgusting monster needs to get some salt right away...' That's what you said last time!"

She repeated the vicious words from her memory, her voice trembling slightly with anger.

"When you don't need someone, you can isolate them, hate them, and despise them at will, even if they haven't done anything... But when you need that person, can everything from the past be wiped clean with a flimsy apology, forcibly and irresistibly erased?!"

Her gaze swept across the faces of every villager around her; those faces, once filled with disgust and fear, were now etched with astonishment and guilt.

"Naruto doesn't care about these things, and he will even protect you without hesitation when you are in danger..." Her voice lowered, but it was filled with deeper pain and anger.

"But all these years... I've been suppressing the urge to kill you all!"