In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

On the roof opposite the hot springs.

"You said you were going to go on a mission first?" Jiraiya turned and asked, "How long?"

"Not long, around ten days." Naruto replied, "I also need to prepare a few things, that's why I came to notify you, Pervy Sage."

"Is that a notification?" Jiraiya felt a little amused, "More like a warning. You're worried I'll sneak off to investigate the Land of Rain first, right?"

"Even if you want to go, I can't stop you." Naruto didn't deny it, "I'll go there by myself anyway, so I don't mind if you insist on going there first."

Jiraiya was left speechless, thinking to himself, 'How come this brat's personality is even worse than Tsunade's?'

Naruto returned to the secret room and spent two days repairing the Ninja Tool. He then conducted the first experiment, curious to see what was on the other side of the imprint, which appeared to be somewhere near the border of the Land of Lightning.

…

Meanwhile, two days had passed since the news of Konoha losing the Kyubi had been made public.

The news came too suddenly, causing an uproar within the village. But soon, things settled down. The official statement from the Hokage Tower was that Naruto had never been the Kyubi's Jinchuriki.

"So, we blamed him wrongly all this time? But it's been so long. It's the fault of those in the Hokage Tower for only clarifying it now. If they knew the truth, why didn't they say so earlier?"

Some villagers felt guilty but were unwilling to admit they had been wrong.

"That's right, maybe the Kyubi had left Konoha long ago, and they let a child bear the burden for the village. It's terrifying when you think about it." Someone voiced such concerns.

The blame quickly shifted to the higher-ups, causing the pressure inside the Hokage Tower to soar, and a small number of people in the village began to express their dissatisfaction.

But others were indifferent.

"It's no big deal, right? It's not like anyone bullied him. Besides, isn't the more important issue that the village has lost the Kyubi? How are we supposed to compete with the other Great Shinobi Villages now?"

"The point is, the village has lost the Kyubi, so there won't be another war, will there?"

There is no memory in Konoha, and no one cares about matters unrelated to themselves.

The higher-ups were also worried about this and were always paying attention to the reactions of the four Great Shinobi Villages and other small countries around them. The one that was most affected was probably Sunagakure, which had just signed a new alliance agreement with Konoha.

"This is simply outrageous!" Homura exclaimed angrily, "How could this news be spread at a time like this? The village isn't prepared to deal with the consequences yet."

"Sunagakure has already sent their representatives to negotiate, so we should focus on handling that first." Danzo, sitting in his high seat, said coolly, "Allies can easily turn into enemies who stab you in the back. Konoha has experienced such thing many times."

"Godaime, what do you have to say for yourself?" Koharu glared at Tsunade and said unhappily, "There's news from the Anbu in Kumogakure that Raikage and their village's higher-ups are already discussing measures to take against Konoha."

At this moment, Tsunade sat at the head of the table, her brow furrowed in deep thought.

"The people from Sunagakure have already arrived. How are we supposed to explain this to them?" Danzo asked with a gloomy expression. "Does this mean that Konoha no longer has the qualifications to be an ally?"

"Konoha's status and value do not depend on the Kyubi." Tsunade tapped her finger on the table and emphasized, "Since when did the Kyubi become Konoha's strategic weapon?"

"My stance has never changed, not in the past nor now." She spoke loudly and firmly, her sharp gaze sweeping around the room, "The Kyubi has always been just a sealed Biju."

Under the pressure from Tsunade, the two Advisors and Danzo fell silent. As the granddaughter of the Shodaime Hokage, Tsunade commanded a certain authority. After all, her grandfather was the one who distributed the Biju back in the day.

They couldn't argue, so they decided to change the topic.

"What about Sunagakure?"

"What about it?" Tsunade stood up impatiently, leaving everyone with her back, "Do what needs to be done. If they break the alliance over a single Biju, then Konoha doesn't have much hope for them anyway."

With that, Tsunade left, her high heels clicking as she walked away.

…

"This imprint is strange." Naruto muttered as he worked on Tobirama's Space-Time Ninja Tool in the secret room. He had been at it for quite some time, "Is this a random teleportation device?"

"Damn it! If it's random, won't I have to do the experiment over and over again? The problem is, once I teleported, I can't get back!"

He scratched his head and felt frustrated.

Naruto had spent nearly two days in the secret room, barely leaving. He had promised Jiraiya that he would be ready in about ten days, but now two had passed, and he hadn't even departed yet.

If this drags on, his only option to reach the Land of Snow might be by ship.

"What kind of half-baked thing did Nidaime come up with? Why can't he make a better one?" Naruto complained and kicked the Ninja Tool. To his surprise, it made a loud clanging noise and began to move like an old tractor.

"No way!" Naruto's pupils widened slightly and he took two steps back.

Inside the secret room, the rattling noises continued for a while before finally dying down. After the clatter subsided, the now-repaired Flying Thunder God Technique's imprint began to glow faintly.

With a creak, the door opened and Shizune walked in quietly and asked, "How's it going? Did you fix it?"

"No." Naruto sighed and whispered, "It still needs some time, maybe another day or two."

"Then keep working on it. I'll come by every day. If you need anything, just let me know." Shizune smiled warmly, "No need to rush. Take your time."

"The mission to the Land of Rain can be postponed. Tsunade-sama will help speak to Jiraiya-sama for you."

"Hmm?" Naruto noticed something was wrong and asked with a frown, "Why the sudden change of heart? Did something happen?"

"It's nothing serious." Shizune said, "After Tsunade-sama announced that Konoha no longer has the Kyubi's Jinchuriki, there has been a lot of movement from all sides."

"Tsunade-sama believes it's Konoha's poor internal management and has nothing to do with you. If the Ninja Tool is repaired successfully, you can go to the Land of Snow to carry out the mission first."

This means that he should lay low for a while, which is a subtle suggestion.

Naruto thought about it for a while. While he wanted to do something for Tsunade, he realized that both the Land of Snow and, more importantly, the Land of Rain missions awaited him. Deciding to focus on those first, he nodded and said, "Okay, I understand."

"Good. Then, I'll be leaving first." Shizune waved as she left.

The outside public opinion and the pressure faced by Konoha have nothing to do with him for the time being. Naruto knows very well that Tsunade and Jiraiya are more capable than him. And as long as the two are still in village, Konoha wouldn't fall apart.