Naruto glanced behind him as if he sensed something. His Negative Emotions Sensing had been on from the beginning to the end. He was clearly aware of Ino hiding behind the tree and following them through the whole street.
It's just that he was a bit confused as to why Ino was stalking him. He had originally thought about going up to say hello and ask if she had anything to say after finishing the shopping, but Ino turned and left.
Watching Ino's back disappear around the street corner, Naruto frowned slightly. 'Forget it, I'll ask in person next time I have a chance.'
"Naruto, is that person your friend?" Karin looked towards the street corner following Naruto's gaze.
She had a bit of an impression of the blonde girl from earlier. The way the other party hid behind the tree and poked out half her face was quite clear from her angle.
"I guess you could say she's a childhood friend."
Naruto weighed the shopping basket in his hand, confirmed that everything had been bought, and then said, "Let's go, we've bought just about everything. I'll cook you a meal tonight."
"Huh? Naruto, you can cook?"
"You'll see in a bit."
Naruto didn't explain further, carrying the shopping basket as he headed back.
...
Back at the apartment, Naruto handed the daily necessities he had bought to Karin, telling her to put them away herself, while he went into the kitchen to start getting busy.
Karin neatly arranged her new towel and toothbrush in the washroom, changed into her newly purchased pajamas, and then carefully placed the teacup Naruto had bought for her on the small bedside table.
After finishing all this, she dragged a small stool and sat at the entrance of the kitchen, resting her chin on her hands as she watched Naruto's busy back in front of the stove.
Naruto tied on an apron, then gutted and descaled the saury he had just bought. Then he sliced the pork belly into thin strips and fried them in the pan to render the fat, sautéed the scallions until fragrant, beat the eggs, and cut the tofu into blocks.
In less than half an hour, a plate of stir-fried pork belly with scallions, a plate of salt-grilled saury, a bowl of tofu and mushroom miso soup, and two bowls of white rice were served on the dining table.
Naruto untied his apron and tossed it over the back of a chair, then ladled a bowl of soup for Karin.
Karin picked up the miso soup and took a sip, her eyes widening.
Then, she couldn't wait to pick up a piece of pork belly and stuff it into her mouth, exclaiming with her mouth full, "Naruto, I can't believe you actually have this kind of skill."
As she ate, she began to wonder if she should write down the types of mushrooms used in the miso soup just now, so she could learn to make it for Naruto in the future.
"Then eat more. You suffered so much injustice in Kusagakure for so many years, and your health has suffered for it. Now that you're in Konoha, you need to slowly build it back up." Naruto placed a piece of saury in Karin's bowl.
Karin poked at the rice in her bowl with her chopsticks, suddenly feeling a stinging sensation in her nose.
She sniffled hard to suppress the sudden feeling of soreness, chewing vigorously with her cheeks puffed out.
"Mm, thank you, Naruto."
...
Just as Naruto and Karin were eating, inside the conference room of the Hokage Building.
Tsunade had just finished a meeting with Koharu and Homura that had lasted several hours regarding the Hokage handover.
Both parties officially confirmed that Tsunade would hold the inauguration ceremony at the Hokage Building in five days.
Early the next morning, the notice was posted on every bulletin board throughout the streets and alleys of Konoha.
"Notice is hereby given that the inauguration ceremony for the Fifth Hokage, Senju Tsunade, will be held in five days. This is an announcement for the entire village of Konoha."
Although everyone had been spreading the news since Tsunade returned to the village yesterday, when the official notice was actually posted, people from the entire street still crowded around it.
After handling the Hokage handover matters, Tsunade changed into the white Hokage robe used for temporary authorization of the Hokage candidate and headed straight to the Konoha Hospital with Shizune.
She stood between the hospital beds of Kakashi and Sasuke, placing her hands on their foreheads, as the green light of the Mystical Palm Technique enveloped both of their heads simultaneously.
A moment later, she withdrew her palms and said to Sakura, who was waiting anxiously on the side, "I have treated their mental injuries, they will wake up before tonight."
Sakura covered her face and bowed ninety degrees to Tsunade. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama."
...
After finishing with Kakashi and Sasuke, Guy appeared. His eyes red, he grabbed Tsunade's sleeve, pleading for her to take a look at Rock Lee's injuries.
The result of Rock Lee forcibly opening the Eight Inner Gates against Gaara during the Chunin Exams preliminaries was multiple fractures throughout his body, as well as a partial rupture of the spinal nerves. Bone fragments from his left arm and left leg were embedded deep in his spine.
The entire Medical Team of Konoha had consulted on the case multiple times, but to date, no one dared to take on the surgery.
Tsunade stood before Rock Lee's hospital bed. Rock Lee, who was wrapped head to toe in casts and bandages, grinned upon seeing Tsunade.
"Tsunade-sama, you are even more beautiful than the legends say."
Tsunade held the medical chart and the latest CT scans up to the fluorescent light, examining them repeatedly. Her brows furrowed tighter and tighter, and finally, she put down the chart and shook her head at Rock Lee and Might Guy, who was standing at the foot of the bed.
"Lee, your injuries are more severe than I anticipated. The bone fragments from your left arm and left leg are embedded deep within your spinal nerves. Conventional physical therapy and rehabilitation training can no longer resolve this issue."
"To remove these fragments without damaging the nerves, an extremely precise surgery is required. But even if I perform the surgery myself, the success rate is only fifty percent."
"If the surgery is successful, you can regain normal daily functioning, but I cannot guarantee whether you will recover enough physical strength to continue serving as a ninja."
"If the surgery fails, you will die on the operating table."
"Whether to live on with a hidden danger that could worsen at any moment, or to gamble on a fifty percent chance of standing up again—the choice is yours."
After speaking, she placed the medical chart on the bedside table and turned to leave the room.