Naruto frowned, realizing things were far more complicated than they appeared, and quietly retreated behind the building.
Everyone knows this rule of film and television:
elderly characters are never simple.
And since these two had dared to infiltrate the enemy's base, their strength clearly wasn't inferior to Naruto's.
The old man wrapped his fist tightly in thick cloth, gathered his strength, and drove a punch straight into the guard at the door.
Thud!
The guard collapsed limply. The old woman immediately grabbed him by the neck and dragged him into the shadows.
The elderly couple swiftly dealt with the second guard the same way—silent, efficient, without a single unnecessary sound.
Naruto felt certain these senior citizens were hiding something.
But then several patrol soldiers emerged from inside the granary. Sensing something was wrong, they began searching the area. The old woman made a nervous sound, and the two were instantly exposed.
"Who's there?!" someone shouted.
Oh? This is getting interesting.
What are you going to do now?
Naruto regretted not bringing sunflower seeds or popcorn—he couldn't properly enjoy the show.
Life is hard for the elderly these days. How would they escape this situation? Let's find out.
—
The old man tightened his coat again and slammed a punch into an enemy's chest. The man doubled over in pain.
Looks like the old man still had some moves left—probably even harder hits coming next.
The old woman picked up stones from the ground and provided cover from a distance. Their teamwork was solid—
Damn it! The old man got hit with a club!
He went down!
The referee started counting. One… two… three…
Wait—something's wrong.
It looks like the elderly couple had no backup plan!
Naruto snapped out of his inner monologue and leapt forward, backhanding one enemy straight to the ground.
The remaining men suddenly turned to stare at Naruto, eyes wide.
Naruto scratched his head awkwardly. To ease the tension, he decided the best solution was to beat them unconscious and erase their memories.
"Are you alright?" Naruto helped the old man to the side, then pulled a kunai from his ninja pouch and handed it to the old woman. "Use this to protect yourself."
"You two… are you here to steal from the granary too?" Naruto whispered.
The old man took a deep breath and nodded.
"If we don't take food, the workers will starve."
"Unless the shops abandon the bridge project and join the gatherings, Cardo forbids them from selling food to workers."
"Some people refused to compromise. So their friends and relatives blocked their doors and wouldn't let them leave."
"Several families starved to death."
Naruto felt his breath catch.
So this is the real Land of Waves?
Naruto spoke quietly, "Besides you, who else has raided the granary?"
The old woman replied, "Just us. Everyone else is either being watched… or can't even walk anymore."
"I see." Naruto nodded. "Can you tell Cardo's mercenaries apart from ordinary people of the Land of Waves?"
"I've lived here for many years," she said quickly. "I can help you identify them."
"Excellent."
Naruto found a safe spot for the old man to rest and told him to hide there. He set up several small traps, then handed the detonator fuse to the old man.
Naruto wasn't leaving just yet.
"Auntie," he said seriously, "next time, just stay close to me. If you point at someone, I'll hit them. Deal?"
"Alright, alright."
They retraced their steps toward the dormitory area.
Rustle…
Naruto's steps crushed the gravel, sounding like rolling thunder.
—
Gathering Site — Surveillance Area
The captain, a coiling dragon tattooed across his chest, lounged on a soft sofa, picking his teeth with a knife while ordering roasted fish.
He took a bite, then spat.
"Disgusting!"
"Captain, don't be angry," a subordinate said. "You know the Land of Waves. No seasoning. The fish is bitter and awful."
"Forget the food!" another shirtless brute laughed. "The women here are the real killers!"
"Didn't we bring in a group of new friends yesterday? One of them looked decent, so I invited her to my room tonight. Guess what? The moment she took her clothes off—skin and bones! You could see her ribs!"
"That's poverty for you. Enough talk—drink."
Glasses clinked crisply, laughter filling the air.
"Prosperity!!"
Suddenly, the door was kicked open. A gust of wind swept through the room.
A blond, blue-eyed young man with a beard stepped inside. His crimson eyes scanned the room. The fox-like whisker marks on his cheeks twitched, unnervingly lifelike.
"Are all of them Cardo's men?" the boy asked the woman behind him.
"Yes! Everyone in this room!"
"Copy that."
The captain jumped to his feet, terror flooding his face at the murderous aura pouring off Naruto.
"You—you're the new guy from tonight! What do you think you're doing?!"
"Nothing much," Naruto said calmly. "You were having such a good time—I thought I'd interrupt."
Then Naruto flashed forward and smashed his palm into their knees.
Crack!
Several legs snapped like puppets with cut strings.
The captain nearly passed out from the pain.
This is what you call 'interrupting'?!
Naruto ignored the screaming men trying to flee. He walked to the table and slipped the friends-and-relatives roster into his pocket.
The old woman asked nervously, "Are we really leaving them here?"
"They shouldn't die yet," Naruto replied. "Let them suffer for a few hours first."
"In the next room."
Soon, heart-rending screams echoed from every guardroom. Naruto held friendly conversations with Cardo's confidants, all of whom deeply regretted not pledging loyalty sooner and expressed their desire to bow before their new boss.
"This is the last one, right?" Naruto asked, gripping a guard in one hand.
The old woman trembled. "Looks like it. You've taken care of everyone on the way—and those who returned from the fire."
"Then our infiltration was a success." Naruto nodded.
"A… huh?"
"If we killed them all, that would've been a perfect infiltration, wouldn't it?" Naruto shrugged. "Alright, Auntie—just take a few bags of food. I'll leave the rest for now."
After the elderly couple left, Naruto took a deep breath and slowly released the Nine-Tails' chakra.
Translucent red chakra spread from his body. He focused, shaping it until it formed a massive hand.
During this process, Naruto felt the Nine-Tails' chakra drawing closer to him. His control grew steadier, smoother—like a progress bar inching toward 100%.
He quickly grabbed several sacks of food and began hurling them over the outer wall.
Each time food landed outside, one of Naruto's shadow clones vaulted over the wall to deliver it to Sakura and the others, waiting at the designated location.
This wasn't a one-trip job.
The original plan was to transport everything in batches—while making sure the guards didn't notice any shortages.
…Oh. The guards were gone. Never mind.
After throwing out all the food, Naruto vaulted over the wall himself.
Sakura and Sasuke had been waiting for a long time.
Naruto also noticed Pakkun licking his paw.
"Hey, Naruto," Pakkun said. "Perfect timing. Kakashi told me to contact you ASAP."
"There's something new."
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All the fanfiction is 30-chapter ahead but this "A Witty Life in the Naruto World" is 30 chapters ahead there