In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

Chapter 312 I Don’t Need to Guess

Support me at Pat reon

remove the *

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was impossible for Naruto to freeze to death, as the Shinobi’s physique was extremely tough, but at this moment, Naruto wasn’t in a position to argue.

The room was brightly lit, as clear and pure as a girl’s heart.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Yet, beneath the light, there were hidden shadows. Even though Ino was wrapped up in layers of clothing, she still harbored small, secret thoughts. The more she tried to cover them up, the more obvious they became.

Compared to Ino’s inner turmoil, Naruto remained much calmer.

"Aren't you hot?" He looked at Ino in surprise.

"It's not hot." Ino shook her head and stood close to the wardrobe, wearing multiple layers of clothes.

"Oh, then can I sleep there?" He pointed to the inner side of her pink bed, "Or on the other side, it’s up to you."

Ino finally chose the inner side, so Naruto slowly made his way to the side by the door and began taking off his clothes.

"What are you doing?" She asked nervously.

"Are you going to sleep with your clothes on?"

"Good point." Ino nodded and began peeling off her layers like armor until she was down to her normal thin pajamas.

After turning off the lights, the two of them rustled into bed, with an invisible barrier between them.

Ino clung to the edge of the bed, burying her face in the blanket, her cheeks flushed pink. She thought about how this was her bed, and memories of sleeping in the same bed with him during the New Year Festival in his cold room flashed in her mind.

The scent of their blankets was different, yet now she remembered both. Ino’s face grew warmer, and her thoughts spiraled like the delicate folds of a lotus leaf.

A girl in love can think of countless things in an instant, with more focus than during training. But her thoughts also became contradictory. For example, she couldn’t understand why Naruto hadn’t made a move.

She could understand that he wouldn’t do anything, because if something really happened, she wasn't prepared either. But the fact that he wasn’t saying a word, as if he’d already fallen asleep, left her feeling somewhat disappointed.

‘That guy… is he really just here to sleep with me?!’

‘At the very least, shouldn’t they have a little heart-to-heart? Even if we didn’t reveal our deepest feelings, a casual conversation to break the awkwardness would be nice. Though it seemed like I'm the only one who feels awkward.’

After wrestling with her thoughts for a while, Ino slowly and quietly turned over. Since she felt guilty about it, her movements were painstakingly slow, like a natural shift in her sleep, inch by inch.

Even in the dark, she could still see. When she finally turned over, she found Naruto staring at her in the dim light, with a faint smile on his face.

It was as if he was silently asking, ‘What are you doing?’

Ino's body immediately stiffened. She didn’t expect her little thoughts were discovered, and her neck instantly flushed red.

"You!!"

"What me?"

"You’ve... been watching me this whole time?” She stammered, her cheeks burning like dew reflecting the sunrise.

"No, I was just woken up by the noise of you tossing and turning." Naruto said with a matter-of-fact expression, "You couldn't sleep either?"

‘How could a normal person sleep under these conditions?!’ Ino avoided his gaze, puffed her cheeks in frustration and pulled the blanket over her head.

"Sleep!"

She spent the entire night tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Yet she discovered that Naruto, on the other side, had already drifted off peacefully. Ino felt a surge of resentment, and grinded her teeth in frustration.

She found herself growing increasingly annoyed with Naruto, who seemed to enjoy teasing her. Like now, she had been looking forward to chatting with him, but instead, he’d fallen asleep without a care!

‘How could he not feel anything about being alone with me in the same room? Wasn’t there supposed to be some awkward tension or racing heartbeats? Did he not see me as a girl at all!’

‘Ah!!!!!! This is exactly what this guy would do! Damn it! I don't know why I get angrier and angrier the more I think about it, and it's not because I like him, but because I'm simply not convinced!’

But as she stewed in her annoyance, her thoughts drifted to other things, ‘Was it because we hadn’t been in touch much lately? Or maybe he had been spending more time with Hinata lately? That wasn’t impossible.’

‘Hinata is beautiful, gentle, and has a great figure, I have no chance of winning at all.’ Ino felt a pang of frustration and found herself unable to sleep at all.

As dawn broke, Ino was awakened by the sound of rustling clothes. She was a light sleeper, especially when it came to things happening in her own home, and any small noise woke her up instantly.

"You're awake?" Naruto put on his coat and turned to look at the groggy Ino.

"Mm~? Where are you going?" Ino clutched the blanket tighter, her mind still a little confused as she mumbled.

She didn't realize that her voice now was no different from that of a spoiled child. It was just that after a night of frustration and tension, she hadn’t slept well, and her reactions had become sluggish.

"I'm going home. Where else can I go?" Naruto squatted at the head of her bed with some amusement, then he poked her cheek covered by a few strands of blonde hair. The soft, springy feel of her skin made him smile.

"Hmm?" Ino rubbed her cheek against his hand like a kitten, with an extremely cute expression.

"Going home? Isn’t this... your home?" Ino’s eyelids were too heavy to open fully. She seemed to be in a completely relaxed state, and her childlike confusion made her look rather innocent.

"This is your home." He said with a chuckle, and gently pinched Ino's cheek a few times, "If I don’t leave soon, what will happen when Yamanaka-san comes back and sees me?"

"Yamanaka-san…? My dad… He won’t be back this early." Ino mumbled, rubbing her face against his hand again, "Stay a little longer."

After thinking for a moment, Naruto agreed.

It's rare to see Ino like this. And if her father did return, Naruto could always escape through the window.

But when had he ever seen Ino acting this sweet? If she woke up fully, she’d probably be mortified and shake him in embarrassment.

In any case, Naruto wanted to see just how far her clinginess could go. She kept rubbing her cheek against his fingers, making strange, incomprehensible sounds.

‘Listening closely, it almost sounded like she was cursing someone… Huh? Cursing someone? Who could be that unlucky?’

After thinking carefully for a moment, he first ruled himself out. After all, he had used a lot of strength to enhance his self-control last night, which was why none of the thoughts in his head turned into action.

If it was a few years ago, it would be fine, as he could just tease her and control the scale. But now, the girl has grown up and her figure is no longer the early stage of youth.

Konoha grows new trees every year, and there are always higher mountains. He also couldn't maintain his good qualities of a ‘law-abiding villager’ image in front of the girl he liked.

Of course, this wasn’t something he could say out loud. He stayed quiet, maintaining an air of calm, though it was just an act.

Anyway, it was only two years, so he knew that sharing a bed like this should probably be avoided in the future in case things escalated too far, leading to... complications.

"Naruto?" Ino finally woke up, slowly opening her eyes. She stared at Naruto for a second before suddenly tensing up.

"You... you..." She suddenly sat up from the bed, pulled the blanket higher to cover half her face, leaving only a pair of eyes to peek at him.

She took a quick glance and then looked away, her ears turning red.

"What me?"

"You… you touched... my face." She stammered, her voice shaking, "Pervert!!"

It had been a while since Naruto heard that word, and he couldn't help but smile as he spoke sincerely, "Thank you for the compliment."

“That’s not a compliment! You pervert! Touching someone’s face while they’re sleeping, you big pervert!!" Ino said angrily.

"So you were awake the whole time?" Naruto stood up, still smiling.

"No!!" Ino denied loudly, "I thought it was... a dream."

Her voice dropped again as she spoke, and guilty expression appeared on her face. After all, even if it had been a dream, wouldn’t acting like that be like indirectly admitting she liked him?

‘But I really did like him! How could someone so annoying also be so likable!’

Ino glared at him with her deep blue eyes, while Naruto smiled, thinking to himself how cute she was. Without hesitation, he leaned down and wrapped his arms around her, holding her through her thin pajamas.

Outside, the snow had stopped, and the glass was fogged with white condensation. The heavy snowfall had blanketed the prosperous yet decaying village of Konoha, covering all its sins and ugliness.

On the morning of the first day after the New Year Festival, in the softly lit room, two young people embraced. Their youthful vitality surged like tender buds continuing to grow.

Though the room wasn’t very bright, Ino instinctively wrapped her arms around Naruto’s strong back. The warmth of their bodies mingled, and in that instant, all of her grievances disappeared.

Naruto held her tightly, his nose filled with the faint milky scent unique to Ino. It wasn’t the same as perfume, but a natural sweetness that was comforting and pleasing.

He gently rubbed the back of her neck with his hand, and as Ino’s body softened like cotton. Then, he finally let go of her and smiled, "I'm going back now."

Perhaps because of the warmth in the room, Ino’s eyes glistened slightly with moisture. Her face flushed, and she turned to the other side awkwardly.

"Mm." She barely managed to squeeze out a response.

The sound of the door closing echoed from downstairs, and the thud seemed to reverberate in her heart. Ino pulled the blanket over her face, her heart pounding furiously.

After a night of emotional ups and downs, all she could hear was the white noise of her racing heartbeat. Her face felt hot, and her mind was too scrambled to process anything further.

But now that he had left like that, her heart felt a bit empty.

Feeling embarrassed, she clutched the blanket tightly and took several deep breaths, trying to calm her racing emotions. Her eyes wandered aimlessly around the room, her thoughts as chaotic as wild grass.

Suddenly, she vaguely saw a small box on her vanity table. She blinked in surprise. Normally, she was meticulous about organizing her things.

‘When had that box appeared there? Had I been too nervous yesterday and forgotten to put it away? But then again, I didn’t remember owning a box like that.’

Ino released the blanket, slowly got out of bed, slipped into her slippers, and walked over to the vanity table. After opening it, she found a bracelet that was not too expensive, but delicately crafted.

A small note fell out, and it read:

"I don't have to guess, the expression on your face right now must be adorable. Happy New Year, Ino."