Chapter 186: The Invitation

Disclaimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 186: The Invitation

Naruto landed next to a panicked Ino, who was frantically administering first aid to the unconscious young man.

"He's still alive?" Naruto's tone carried genuine surprise. That fall would have killed most Jonin-level ninja.

'Maybe I underestimated him with my initial assessment. He must have prepared some life-saving method in advance,' he thought, noting the faint traces that the ink armor had left on the boy's body.

"Are you crazy?!" Ino's angry voice snapped him out of his musings. "Were you really trying to kill this guy?!"

Naruto blinked at her reaction.

It wasn't the boy's well-being that concerned her but rather the consequences he might face for attacking a fellow Konoha ninja.

She worked quickly, her hands glowing with chakra as she stabilized the young man's injuries.

Naruto watched her work with a mix of curiosity and respect. Two years ago, Ino barely knew basic medical jutsu, but her training under Shizune and Lady Tsunade had clearly paid off. This also meant that Ino had a great deal of natural talent for this type of jutsu, or else, Tsunade would not have wasted her time with the girl.

"Not bad," Naruto commented. "Looks like Tsunade's a decent teacher after all." It was hard to imagine for him, as he had mostly seen her worst side.

Ino shot him a harsh glare. "Call her Lady Tsunade, at least. Addressing the Hokage so casually is incredibly disrespectful."

Naruto shrugged. "I always address her properly in public. And shouldn't you be focusing on him?" He gestured to the unconscious boy.

Ino huffed but didn't argue. "I've already stabilized him. We just need to get him to the hospital, but he'll live... You're welcome, by the way."

Naruto nodded. "I suppose you've did saved me some trouble."

"You suppose right," Ino muttered as she stood and dusted off her clothes. "Now, you carry him. And be gentle!. I don't want to fix him again."

Naruto picked up the boy and slung him over his shoulder with minimal care.

Ino flinched. "Seriously?! Be careful! You're going to undo all my work!"

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After leaving the unknown boy in the hospital's care, Naruto and Ino walked through the village streets, the tense atmosphere from earlier beginning to dissipate after a while.

"I had the feeling there was something else you wanted to talk about before we were rudely interrupted," Naruto finally said, breaking the silence.

"Mmm... Right!" Ino's eyes lit up as she remembered. " I almost forgot about it. But I need you to come to my house. Tonight, if possible."

Naruto frowned in confusion. "To your house? For what?"

"Well..." Ino hesitated, her cheeks tinged with pink. "My dad already knows you, but my mom's been asking to meet you since before you left for your training trip."

" Mmm?…" Naruto still didn't understand what the point of meeting her family was. Is not like they were getting married.' Could this be some sort of tradition that I am not aware of?'

Ino's blush deepened, and she stumbled over her words. "Because! If we... you know..." She coughed, trying to regain her composure. "If we're going to be together, it's important to me that my family knows you."

Naruto considered her words carefully before nodding. "I understand. I'll be there."

"Just like that?" Ino eyed him suspiciously. "I thought you'd argue about it or something."

"I don't completely understand why you're so insistent on this," Naruto admitted. "But you said it's important to you, and that's enough for me."

Ino blinked, momentarily taken aback by his sincerity. "You know, you can be sweet sometimes."

Naruto gave her a sidelong glance. "If you say so."

Ino began eyeing him critically, her gaze sweeping up and down his frame. Naruto shifted uncomfortably. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Do you have a suit you can wear tonight?" she asked. Most of his outfits were simple robes or tunics, and she wanted him to make a good impression.

"A suit of armor? Why would I have that?" Naruto looked genuinely puzzled. "Steel plates wouldn't offer any real protection against someone at my level of strength. They'd just slow me down and get in the way."

Ino pinched the bridge of her nose. "Not armor. I mean formal clothing. Like a nice outfit."

" When did you buy something like that?" Ino was genuinely curious about it.

" It was two years ago, in the Land of Snow. I visited some clothing stores after my mine attire was damaged in an explosion that occurred near the end of my mission. I only found a single shop that sold robes like the ones I use. But it was a very fancy and expensive one."

" Did Lord Jiraya pais for it?" Ino knew that Naruto wasn't exactly swimming in money.

" No, Miss Yukie told me to get two and that I didn't have to pay. In exchange, she only asked me to get out of her country as soon as possible. " He shrugged. " Is not like I had planned on staying there." Although he had to admit that the way she said it was kinda rude.

Ino couldn't suppress a laugh. "Poor Princess Koyuki. I'm not surprised."

"Why?" Naruto asked, genuinely curious.

"You really don't know?. They're still rebuilding her palace," Ino replied with a smirk. "I saw a documentary about it last year. The destruction you caused was... impressive."

Naruto frowned. "Still rebuilding? It's been two years. How slow can they be? It was just a small palace."

Ino shook her head, suppressing another laugh. "Just wear those robes tonight, and try to behave, okay? My mom's really looking forward to meeting you."

"I'll try," Naruto said, though he still wasn't entirely sure what to expect.

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