"Stop spouting nonsense!" Naruto grabbed Konohamaru and tossed him backward, where Moegi and Udon caught him, "This is a mountain-climbing exercise, no need for battles."
"Oh." Konohamaru was depressed and put away the shuriken dejectedly.
"Oh your head!" Naruto shot him a glance, raising his hand threateningly. Seeing this, Konohamaru skillfully hid behind Moegi.
Udon stood there in confusion, then turned to look at Konohamaru and asked, "Konohamaru, why aren't you hiding behind me? You always hide behind Moegi."
"Are you dumb?" Konohamaru poked half of his head out from behind Moegi, with a look of disappointment on his face, "If I hid behind you, both of us would get beaten up together!"
"That makes sense." Udon scratched his head and said.
Seeing Konohamaru shrink back, the other six Academy kids collectively sighed in relief, as at least there would be no fight. In fact, none of them had ever been in a real battle yet.
After throwing away Konohamaru, the brat who couldn't read the atmosphere, the scene suddenly became much more harmonious.
Hinata also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't want to see anyone get hurt, and a warm smile appeared on her face. She looked up at the sky and mustered up the courage to speak out, "It's going to rain soon. We should find a place to set up our tents and avoid getting wet."
After saying this, Hinata felt her cheeks getting hot, but fortunately, she didn't blush. She cautiously looked up and noticed Naruto was looking at her.
"Yeah, it's going to rain." Naruto agreed, stepping forward and stopping between the two girls. He looked up at the cloudy sky and said, "This place is full of trees. Let's find a place with higher ground."
"Isn't it the same as not saying anything?" Ino remarked, giving Naruto a sideways glance as her eyes flickered slightly, "There's no way three teams can fit into one tent, right?"
"Technically, only one or maybe two teams could squeeze into a tent to avoid the rain. If a third team shows up, someone's going to get soaked."
The rumbling of thunder could already be heard overhead, faint but indicating that a downpour was imminent. The surrounding forest wasn't thick enough to offer shelter, so apart from tents, there was nowhere suitable to hide from the rain.
Hinata obviously came prepared, with a small tent stashed in her sealing scroll. But as Ino pointed out, there are three teams here, so a choice had to be made.
It was impossible for three teams to squeeze into one tent, so either two teams would stay and squeeze in, while the other would leave, or two teams would leave, leaving one to temporarily shelter from the rain.
Ino fell silent. The light in the forest was dim, and the moment she glanced at Naruto and Hinata, her heart ached slightly, and her gaze shrank back as if she had been electrocuted.
Memories of the night of the fireworks festival flashed through her mind, especially the moment when Naruto instinctively shielded Hinata.
'Would he have done the same for me if it had been me instead?'
Her thoughts swirled like autumn leaves, chaotic in the wind of the impending rain.
In that moment, she realized she wasn't as generous or understanding as she had thought, and there are some things she didn't want to give up.
"The tent's too small, huh?" Naruto turned around and looked at everyone. "I've got a tent too. It's supposed to be for missions, but I guess it'll come in handy now."
"Let's head towards the mountaintop together. If it starts raining, we'll set up the tents."
"Together?" Ino's expression grew more complicated. "But each team has a separate route, right?"
"We're lost." Konohamaru stepped out from behind Moegi and interrupted, "Naruto-niichan said if we find a team and follow them, we can reach the mountaintop without trouble."
"You scum." Ino glared at Naruto with disdain upon hearing that. She walked up to Naruto and pinched him hard on the waist, "You didn't listen to the rules Iruka-sensei explained, did you?!"
"Ah!! Ino, are you trying to kill me?"
"That's exactly how you treat scum."
"I just didn't hear the rules of the exercise clearly, is that a big deal?" Naruto gasped in pain, "Besides, I was on vacation."
"Why are you so unwilling?" Ino snorted coldly.
"I didn't want to come to this godforsaken place in the first place. I should be lying in bed right now, not standing here in flip-flops in the middle of nowhere."
"No one is forcing you to come if you don't want to. You can leave now! I'll take Konohamaru and the other two with me."
"Can you handle six kids on your own?" Naruto was slightly stunned, "Besides, I'm still lost. If you are willing to take care of three burdens, you might as well lead me out too."
"I'm not taking you. Find your own way!" Ino snorted and glared at him coldly.
"Then I'll just follow from behind." Naruto said with a mischievous grin, spreading his hands in a carefree manner, "You wouldn't notice it anyway."
"You!!"
Hinata looked at Naruto, then at Ino, and suddenly became a little flustered. She felt that these two seemed to be arguing. However, her innate intuition as a girl told her that their relationship was good… Better than hers with Naruto.
"Then I'll follow Hinata." Naruto suddenly said.
"Eh?" Hinata's eyes widened in surprise.
"No!"
Ino abruptly walked over, grabbing Hinata's hand and pulling her into her group. Hinata was bewildered, but still allowed Ino to hold her hand.
"I can't let Hinata be deceived by you!"
Seeing this, Naruto's smile stiffened and he thought to himself, 'At least leave me one option.'
Ino noticed Naruto's defeated expression, and a triumphant smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Clearing her throat, she said, "Anyway, you're on your own. We're not helping you."
"Right, Hinata?"
Hinata blinked her eyes in confusion. Facing Ino's gaze, her face showing hesitation and struggle. She lowered her head, opened her mouth, and spoke softly, "Mm."
Ino and Hinata each led their teams toward the mountain's peak, while Naruto trailed behind with Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon.
Thunder rumbled overhead, and the air felt unusually damp.
"Naruto-niichan, why can't we just catch up to them?" Konohamaru complained, "I want to follow that nee-chan, she looks more reliable."
"Shut up, I'm the most reliable." Naruto pouted and said, "What do you know? This is called strategy. When it rains heavily later, they will still have to come to me for help."
"How could that small tent fit eight people?"
"Really?"
"Of course." Naruto declared confidently.
Suddenly, with a loud thunderous, the sky darkened dramatically as if someone had switched off the lights above the clouds. A silver bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, foreshadowing the coming of a rainstorm.
Hinata's and Ino's teams have already found a spot to set up their tents. The six kids from the Academy don't take up much space, so all of them squeezed in without feeling too cramped.
Instead, Naruto's group encountered a problem.
"Naruto-niichan! Where's the tent you promised?"