Trees Chapter 290 Konoha's Scumbag, Thin Ice Bro

After Orochimaru received the message from a certain yellow-haired guy, he was so furious that he almost threw his phone to the ground.

Sasuke had been eating his food, using his resources, and even made him take care of Karin...

Not to mention blowing up his hideouts for fun whenever he felt like it.

All of that, Orochimaru could tolerate.

But…

‘What the hell was this nonsense about sending money to Kumogakure?’

Orochimaru was genuinely enraged.

At first, he had raised Sasuke as if he were his own successor.

After all, he had planned to take over Sasuke’s body, so any investment would’ve been worth it.

But later, after researching the genetic locks, he discovered infinite possibilities and realized that his past path had been flawed.

So, he abandoned the idea of stealing Sasuke’s body, and instead devoted himself to studying genetic technology, and at the same time trained Mitsuki well, all in pursuit of immortality.

But Sasuke, like some shameless rogue, stubbornly stuck around, refusing to leave.

Orochimaru could only sigh and resign himself to feeding one more mouth.

But…

Sasuke acted like some entitled lord, never contributing a single cent to the hideout, forcing Orochimaru to team up with Tsunade as the Sannin idol group just to make ends meet.

‘All these years, not only had I seen zero returns, but now that brat was giving money away to another village?!’

‘Then what the hell am I?!’

Orochimaru couldn’t shake the feeling that he had been betrayed.

[GeneticImmortal: Take Karin back.]

[GeneticImmortal: And tell him to get the hell out of my hideout from now on.]

Naruto leaned back and sucked in a few sharp breaths.

He looked up at Sasuke with a gloating expression on his face that seemed to say, ‘Ohhh, you’re screwed. Medusa is pissed.’

Sasuke, who had been thoroughly enjoying the livestream, noticed the yellow-haired man staring at him with a strange look out of the corner of his eye.

It sent chills down his spine.

"What the hell are you up to now?"

Sasuke felt a twinge of unease.

Because whenever Naruto gave him that look...

It never meant anything good.

"You’re done for."

Naruto didn't explain. He simply opened his chat log with Orochimaru and showed it to him.

Sasuke glanced at the log for a few seconds, frowned slightly, and looked very unhappy.

"Is Orochimaru out of his mind?"

"It's none of his business if I give people gifts while watching a livestream."

Naruto: “...”

What was there even to say?

Naruto raised his hand and made a six in front of Sasuke, offering his highest praise.

‘This idiot really deserves to be Orochimaru's master.’

‘His attitude was more domineering than anyone else’s.’

Still…

Naruto genuinely believed Sasuke's behavior really pissed off Orochimaru.

"Don't worry about him."

"Just let Karin stay over there."

Sasuke lowered his head and continued watching the livestream. He is utterly indifferent to Orochimaru’s anger.

He looked like a man who spent his days drinking and partying outside, and was full of disdain for his neglected wife at home...

As for why Sasuke didn’t bring Karin back...

The main reason is that he’s afraid of her being led astray by a certain yellow-haired guy.

After all, she had turned into some cringe-worthy ‘quirky girl’ under his influence.

Just remembering it made Sasuke’s blood pressure spike.

"Oh well."

"Suit yourself."

"I’m heading to my father-in-law’s place."

Konoha Village suffered heavy losses this time, and the losses suffered by the Hyuga Clan, a powerful clan, were even more immeasurable.

As the Hyuga Clan’s son-in-law, Naruto couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

After saying goodbye to Sasuke, Naruto tossed out a portal and disappeared.

When he arrived at the original Hyuga Clan’s compound, he saw Hinata and his father-in-law were directing the clan’s Shinobi to rebuild the clan’s buildings.

It is worth mentioning that his brother-in-law and Tenten are busy working at the construction site.

While they were supposedly ‘busy’, Naruto couldn’t help but feel that his brother-in-law and Tenten were just flirting.

After all...

What kind of Shinobi carries a single brick around while giggling and chatting?

Especially his eldest brother-in-law, who was grinning like an idiot, and his forehead was gleaming so brightly under the sunlight it was almost blinding.

‘Huh?’

‘Forehead??’

It was only then that Naruto noticed that the Caged Bird on his brother-in-law's forehead had disappeared.

"You're here?"

When Hiashi saw Naruto coming, he maintained his usual stern expression.

Ever since Naruto had first met Hiashi...

He had never seen him smile.

"Naruto-kun."

The moment Hinata saw him, she immediately abandoned her father and ran towards Naruto. Finally, she naturally loop her arm through his, which made Hiashi sigh repeatedly.

"How bad are the Hyuga Clan’s losses?"

Naruto glanced at the bustling construction site and asked the question, and also noticed that his brother-in-law shooting a look his way.

Judging by the look in his eyes...Naruto guessed that he was just checking in on him.

"All our clan assets are gone."

Hiashi’s expression was grave, his tone was serious, and there was a hint of helplessness in his words.

But when his eyes landed on Naruto, his expression softened slightly.

"Fortunately..."

"Hinata had deposited half our assets into the Church Bank beforehand."

Hiashi still feels awkward when he brings this up.

He didn't agree with Hinata doing this at that time.

After all, turning hard-earned money into mere numbers on a screen was enough to make anyone uneasy.

But Hinata had insisted, arguing that since Naruto was the bank’s top authority, those two churches would not do anything like running away with the money.

Of course...

The main reason why Hiashi agreed was that he was beaten into submission by his own daughter.

And under Hinata's ‘persuasion’, the elders of the clan didn't dare to say a word.

"That’s good to hear."

“I thought you’d never agree to it.”

Naruto grinned. He had only mentioned the church bank idea to Hinata in passing while setting it up.

He never expected her to actually convince her father.

Hinata, still clinging to his arm, blinked up at him expectantly, waiting for Naruto to praise her.

"Hinata-chan, you’re the best."

Naruto ruffled her hair affectionately, and at this moment, the two of them seemed to have forgotten about Hiashi’s presence entirely and just kept showing their love.

Although Hiashi accepted this yellow-haired son-in-law in his heart, he still couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable.

‘Damn it...’

‘Did this brat have to do this right in front of me?!’

Noticing his father-in-law's unfriendly gaze, Naruto coughed awkwardly.

"Well, I’ll help out too."

Naruto formed hand seals and used the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, creating thousands of shadow clones to join the reconstruction effort.

Otherwise, if they relied on Neji’s current pace...

It is still unknown when the Hyuga Clan’s compound will be rebuilt.

"Father-in-law, what happened to brother-in-law’s Caged Bird?"

Hearing this question, Hiashi didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he glanced at his daughter.

Hinata raised a hand and pointed at herself.

"Gone."

"I had a little chat with the elders, and they voluntarily agreed to abolish that outdated practice."

Hinata smiled sweetly, showing a harmless expression.

Hiashi next to her took out a handkerchief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

‘Good lord...’

‘What do you mean ‘voluntarily’?’

Hiashi still remembered when Hinata stood in the middle of the clan meeting, shattering the elders’ bones one by one while ensuring they survived the ordeal...

Hiashi couldn’t help but feel that his daughter had always gone easy on him during their spars.

"Hey! What are you doing here?"

Neji, noticing Naruto’s presence, immediately strode over with Tenten in tow.

The smile on Hinata's face gradually disappeared, and a faint but unmistakable murderous intent was radiating toward Neji.

"Neji-nii-san, have you forgotten how to greet people?"