Chapter 528: A Faint Feeling of Death
The next morning, as the first light of dawn broke, Konoha Village was still shrouded in a thin, pale blue mist.
Naruto tumbled out of the Kamui Dimension, his posture lacking even a shred of a Hokage's dignity.
Propping himself up with one hand on the floor of his small courtyard, he pressed his other hand firmly against his throbbing temple. His bangs, soaked in sweat, clung to his pale forehead, and every breath he took was visibly heavy.
He felt a faint sense of dying, as if the Six Paths Sage was already waving at him with a beaming smile.
All that talk about "letting the body see who's boss" was complete nonsense...
In less than four hours last night, Naruto had been brutally schooled by reality.
Using the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu to Cultivate was frantically draining his physical strength and Chakra.
In the end, if not for Kurama's rough yet anxious roar from the depths of his consciousness, and One tail and Four-Tails using their Chakra to forcefully shock him out of that near-self-destructive state of immersion, he might have truly died of exhaustion in the Kamui Dimension without anyone knowing.
Within the Sealing Space, the Nine-Tailed's voice was muffled, carrying obvious displeasure and a hint of lingering fear.
"Hey, Naruto, listen to me, you blockhead. Kekkei Mora isn't something you can rush by overexerting your body.
What you need most right now isn't to train yourself to death, but to rest! Right now, immediately!"
"Yeah... I got it, Kurama."
Naruto caught his breath and replied in a low, raspy voice. He stumbled to his feet, every muscle in his body aching in protest.
Just then, the door to the room diagonally opposite him was gently slid open.
It was Hinata.
Seeing Naruto like this, her clear white eyes immediately filled with worry.
"Naruto-kun, good morning. Are you alright?"
She walked over quickly, her hand raised slightly, looking as if she wanted to support him but was hesitating.
"Good morning, Hinata."
Naruto squeezed out a smile, trying to look energetic, but his deep exhaustion was impossible to hide.
He scratched his messy blonde hair apologetically.
"Sorry about last night... something came up, so I didn't get much rest.
I might have to trouble you with breakfast today."
"No problem at all, Naruto-kun. Please get some rest!"
Hinata nodded quickly, her voice gentle yet firm.
She carefully observed Naruto's pale face and the faint dark circles under his eyes. Her heart twinged, but she didn't ask further, turning to head to the kitchen.
Just then, the door to Naruto's bedroom was pushed open unceremoniously.
Tsunade walked out with a yawn. Her casual clothes couldn't hide her proud figure, and her long blonde hair fell loosely around her shoulders.
She had clearly just woken up, yet her eyes had already regained their usual clarity.
"Yo, everyone's up so early?"
Her gaze swept over Hinata and finally landed on Naruto, her eyebrows instantly shooting up.
"Oh right, you reminded me last night. Give me some pocket money. Shizune and I will head out in a bit. We'll grab a bite on the road so we don't waste time."
As she spoke, she stretched her body grandly, showing off her curves.
The movement of her ample chest was highly eye-catching.
Then, she eyed Naruto up and down suspiciously, as if discovering something novel: "Wait... what's with that look on your face? You look incredibly drained.
Did you do some 'bad things' last night and not get any rest?"
Her tone carried her usual teasing, but there was a hint of scrutiny in her eyes.
Naruto quickly put on a perfectly natural expression, even carrying a helpless smile as he smoothly took over the conversation: "What bad things... I didn't get any rest at all.
In the middle of the night, I was worried about the front lines at the Hidden Mist, so I used the Flying Thunder God to go take a look.
It just so happened that they were celebrating a major victory, so I came back after confirming everything was fine."
He rubbed his neck and explained, "Tossing and turning back and forth consumed quite a bit of Chakra."
"Hmph, you ran off to the Hidden Mist just to watch the fun?"
Tsunade curled her lip, accepting the explanation. "Only a monster with your level of Chakra and recovery rate would dare to squander the Flying Thunder God like this.
If it were Minato, even with the Flying Thunder God, he'd have to plan his usage carefully. Not like you, who acts like your Chakra is bottomless."
It was hard to tell whether her tone was one of blame or admiration.
Their conversation wasn't loud, but it clearly reached Hinata's ears nearby.
The young girl's steps paused almost imperceptibly. With her back to them, the faint blush that had quietly crept onto her face quickly faded, replaced by a sense of relief.
So that was it...
Just now, seeing Naruto-kun come out of his room looking incredibly weak, followed immediately by Lady Tsunade coming out of the same room...
She had thought...
Fortunately, Naruto-kun had only gone to work.
Hinata gently patted her chest and let out a sigh of relief. The inexplicable anxiety in her heart vanished, and she immediately focused on preparing breakfast for her family.
She rolled up her sleeves and walked into the kitchen with light steps.
In the courtyard, Naruto pulled out his wallet, drew a thick stack of bills, and handed them to Tsunade.
"Here, this should be enough."
He paused, and seeing Tsunade's eyes instantly light up, he couldn't help but add, "This isn't a lot of money, probably only enough for your living expenses. Don't go diving straight into a casino on the road, and spend it wisely."
"So naggy! I know, I know!"
Tsunade snatched the money, her fingers expertly feeling its thickness, and a satisfied look appeared on her face. "That's about right!"
She habitually patted Naruto's shoulder with force, but the sensation against her palm made her brow furrow imperceptibly.
The muscles in his shoulder were as tense as stone, and there was even a faint, highly suppressed tremor when she patted him.
What on earth did this kid do last night?
Did he really just go to the Hidden Mist?
Tsunade's sharp eyes swept over Naruto's back, which, though he tried to keep it straight, could not hide his fatigue, and the faint dark circles under his eyelids.
Questions swirled in her mind, but seeing him forcing himself to look energetic, she ultimately did not press further.
Everyone has their own secrets and burdens they must bear alone, especially the Hokage.
She withdrew her hand, her tone softening slightly with the concern of an elder. "Alright, I've taken the money.
You really need to pace yourself. Don't act recklessly just because you're young.
Now, go back to your room and get some proper sleep, immediately.
The burden of the Hokage is heavy, but you have to pace yourself for the long haul."
She waved her hand, as if to brush away the worrying heaviness in the air. "We're off!"
With that, she didn't linger. She turned and strode away, her blonde hair catching the morning breeze in a sharp, refreshing arc as she headed straight toward the room where Shizune was staying.
Only when Tsunade's figure disappeared around the corner of the corridor did Naruto's tense shoulders suddenly slump.
He let out a long, trembling breath, as if a thousand-pound weight had been lifted off him.
Exhaustion spread from the depths of his bone marrow like a disease clinging to his bones, and he could almost hear his bones groaning softly.
Dragging his legs, which felt as heavy as lead, he shuffled back to his room step by step and gently closed the door.
He barely had the strength to do anything else. Walking straight to the bed, like a traveler who had exhausted his last ounce of energy, he buried himself face-down deep in the soft bedding.
Hidden Leaf Village's morning light gradually painted the clear, bright sky onto the window.
The extreme physical exhaustion and the sense of peace brought by his familiar home tore at each other yet strangely merged, dragging him to the edge of a deep sleep.
Almost at the exact moment Naruto's door closed, Hinata's figure lightly returned from the kitchen.
She looked up at the kitchen clock; the hands had just passed five.
After a brief thought, she decided to stick to her original plan and wake up her younger sister, Hanabi, for morning practice first.
After cultivating the Gentle Fist for an hour, she would return to prepare breakfast, and the timing would be perfect.
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