Anko didn't believe it at first.
But now that Naruto had knocked her on the head, she believed it.
The painful memories of childhood resurfaced in Anko's mind again.
But now Anko didn't care about her own troubles.
After a while, she stood up, staring at Naruto with sharp eyes, clearly scrutinizing him.
"Um?"
Naruto frowned slightly, sensing something was off.
"You…"
Naruto seemed unable to believe his own judgment. He asked Anko uncertainly, "Do you have some kind of problem with me?"
"Problem with you?" Anko exploded, flailing like a child and mocking him in a weird tone: "You're so strong. How could I, little Anko, dare to do anything to you… Ouch!!!"
Boom!
Naruto: "Talk properly."
Anko squatted down again, covering her head, utterly deflated. "I curse you."
Naruto rubbed his forehead helplessly. "Is cursing me all you can do?"
"Damn brat…" After being hit twice, Anko didn't dare get "playful" anymore.
Thinking of all the grievances Kurenai had suffered, she started scolding Naruto nonstop.
The more Naruto listened, the more wrong everything sounded.
"Stop."
Naruto raised a hand, stopping her, and asked: "Let me confirm this…"
"You're saying Kurenai likes Kamizuki Aoba—me—and she's protected me silently for so many years, while I didn't know anything and even flirted in front of her?"
Anko crossed her arms. Her expression calmed, no longer jumpy. She said solemnly: "That's exactly what I mean."
"Honestly, if I could beat you, I'd have beaten you already."
Naruto felt his mind go blank. Hearing Anko's words, he nodded in agreement: "Of course. Even I want to hit myself."
Anko: "?"
There really was something wrong with this kid's brain.
Otherwise he wouldn't say something like that.
"What are you going to do?" Anko asked Naruto. "You need to give Kurenai a…"
Anko paused, searching for the right word, and finally chose the most fitting one: "…an answer."
Hearing this, something stirred in Naruto's heart.
Originally he had thought he was just a passerby.
But unexpectedly, he had caused a girl to waste her youth on him.
That made Naruto feel a little guilty.
He couldn't put his feelings into words right now.
Guilt and being moved.
Guilt because his actions caused Kurenai so much pain.
But Naruto never imagined Kurenai would still care about him even knowing his true identity.
And that she had been protecting him from harm.
He was moved because no one had ever cared about him that much before.
Anko saw Naruto spacing out and knew he was thinking, so she didn't interrupt.
The two stood at the Hyuga clan's entrance.
After a long silence—
Naruto exhaled softly and asked Anko, "Where is Kurenai now?"
"Probably at home." Anko shrugged, then asked Naruto, "What are you going to do?"
Naruto knew she was worried about her friend, so he didn't hide anything and said directly: "I want to talk to Kurenai."
"That's how it should be…" Anko narrowed her eyes and warned him, "No matter what you two decide, don't drag it out."
"If you want to accept Kurenai, then don't hesitate."
"If you want to let her go, then don't look back."
Naruto looked at her suspiciously. "Obviously I know that."
This whole situation was complicated, mostly because of how long Kurenai had held on.
Naruto didn't know how she really felt now.
If she still had feelings, Naruto would not let her down.
But if she had chosen another path in life, Naruto wouldn't force her.
In short, whatever he chose, he needed to be decisive.
Otherwise, it would only cause more pain.
"Let's go see her."
…
Anko knew where Yuhi Kurenai lived.
Along the way, Naruto followed her silently.
But his thoughts were tangled and chaotic.
When they arrived at the door, Naruto couldn't help feeling nervous.
Strange, really.
He possessed super Kage-level strength—few in the world could match him.
But the thought of facing Yuhi Kurenai made even Naruto nervous.
Anko knocked, and after confirming Kurenai was inside, she looked toward Naruto.
Naruto nodded and said, "Thank you."
Anko didn't respond—she didn't like Naruto very much.
To be honest.
If Naruto hadn't tangled up Kurenai's feelings, none of this would've happened to her.
As Kurenai's best friend, Anko knew Kurenai's emotions and pain very well.
On top of that, Naruto liked smacking Anko's head. Naturally, Anko didn't like him—might even hate him a bit.
Anko didn't follow him inside.
She knew this was between Naruto and Kurenai.
Something the two of them needed to settle alone.
…
It was completely dark by now.
Kurenai had already showered and was preparing to rest.
When Anko knocked just now, she thought Anko had come over.
So she didn't mind.
But…
Kurenai heard familiar footsteps.
In Kurenai's life, there were three footsteps she would instantly recognize.
The first was her father's.
But he died in the Nine-Tails Rebellion.
The next was Anko's.
They had been close for years—best friends who shared almost everything.
Otherwise, Kurenai would never have told Anko something as important as Kamizuki Aoba's true identity.
And finally… Kamizuki Aoba's.
Or rather—Uzumaki Naruto's.
Kurenai always paid attention to Naruto. She understood him well.
She knew Naruto didn't like noise or meaningless social interactions.
She even knew his daily habits, his love for ramen, who he got along with, the threats he'd made toward Mizuki, and even the misunderstandings between him and Kurotsuchi…
Hearing Naruto walk in, Kurenai froze.
Her mind went blank, her beautiful eyes locked on the door.
Naruto entered from outside, and Kurenai was forced to react. Her gaze darted around in panic.
Kurenai's voice trembled slightly with excitement as she asked, "Why are you here?"
But realizing something was wrong with her tone, she hurriedly added something to cover it up: "Our team isn't going on missions for a while…"
She wanted Naruto to assume he was there to see Hinata.
But that only made the situation more awkward.
Naruto stood there, looking around her pajama-clad room with nervous curiosity, as if he had forgotten this was her home. Meanwhile, Kurenai's thoughts were a mess, her words stumbling over each other as discomfort filled the air…
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