Naruto stepped through the portal and arrived at the Hyuga Clan's estate. The first thing he saw was Hinata, standing there with her hands clasped in front of her chest, a new hairpin on her head. She looked like she was eagerly anticipating today's date.
"Hinata-chan!"
Naruto smiled, waving energetically as he greeted the shy girl at the gate.
But his actions instantly made the entire Hyuga Clan tense up.
No Hyuga had a good opinion of the blond boy who had been hanging around their precious young lady since the age of six. To them, Hinata was the clan's hope.
And this blond kid had been showing up at their door since they were young. At first, he snuck in; now, he came openly, standing at their gates with no shame!
The only reason they hadn't made a move against Naruto was because some part of them still held onto a sliver of rationality. Otherwise, they'd have given this boy a piece of their mind by now.
"Naruto-kun!"
Hinata's eyes lit up the moment she heard his familiar voice. She waved back at him, her face flushing with excitement.
The Hyuga clansmen had never seen their young lady smile so brightly before...
While they were happy to see her like this, they simultaneously threw cold, disapproving glares at a certain blond boy.
No matter what...
That blond brat was unforgivable!
Naruto didn't pay any attention to the angry looks from the Hyuga Clan members. He'd long since gotten used to the disdainful stares from his girlfriend's family.
In fact, if one day they stopped glaring at him, he might actually find it uncomfortable.
Hinata quickly walked up to Naruto, her little steps carrying her over to his side. But feeling shy about getting too close, she took a small step back.
Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at Naruto, her white pupils shining like gemstones. The Hyuga elders watching from afar felt like the brightness in their young lady's eyes was almost blinding.
Naruto glanced around at the elders, then back at the adorable girl in front of him. For some reason, a mischievous thought crossed his mind, and before he knew it, he let out a loud whistle.
Realizing his actions were definitely provocative, and fearing that a real fight might break out and wreck the Hyuga estate, Naruto quickly opened another portal, grabbed Hinata's hand, and disappeared from the scene.
"Damn it! Was that kid just provoking us?!"
"I don't care! I'm fighting that blond brat today! No one's stopping me!"
"Even if Lord Hiashi shows up, I'm taking him down!"
"Damn it!"
…
The Hyuga Clan had always been displeased with Naruto. They had been doing their best to hold in their anger, but who could've predicted that the brat would have the nerve to whistle and taunt them!
It was as if he didn't take them seriously at all!
However, they calmed down and realized that beating up a younger kid wouldn't reflect well on the clan's reputation. So, they decided to secretly inform the Hyuga prodigy—Neji Hyuga.
They couldn't take action themselves, but if Neji, who was around the same age, "sparred" with Naruto, no one could say anything. Not the Hokage, not the Hyuga Clan head.
It was the perfect plan. Neji would teach that brat a lesson, and no one would be able to find fault with them.
As for whether Neji could lose…
Sorry, that thought never crossed their minds.
Naruto might have space-time jutsu, but could he really be stronger than the Hyuga Clan's genius?
While the Hyuga Clan was busy scheming behind the scenes, Naruto and Hinata had already left the photo studio.
Not only had they taken their ninja ID photos, but they also snapped dozens of other pictures together. After about a hundred shots, they finally stopped, satisfied.
In most of the photos, Naruto was pulling funny faces or striking goofy poses. If the studio had video equipment, Naruto would've been tempted to perform a full dance routine, complete with victory poses for when he inevitably became the MVP after the final battle.
Hinata, on the other hand, was much more reserved. She stayed shy throughout, with most of her pictures showing her slightly tilting her head and smiling at Naruto's antics.
She truly admired Naruto's courage and carefree nature. After so many years of knowing him, Hinata was constantly discovering new things to admire.
She wasn't sure when exactly it started, but at some point, she had promised herself that she would one day become as brave as Naruto.
Maybe it was that time when she got lost at age three, or when he helped chase away the bullies at age five...
Hinata thought back to those memories, unconsciously holding the thick stack of photos close to her chest.
Why does my heart keep beating so fast?
Feeling the rapid beating of her heart, Hinata found it hard to describe the strange emotion she was experiencing. It was new, something she couldn't quite put into words.
"Hinata, let's go get something to eat!"
"How about Ichiraku Ramen?"
Hearing the word "eat," Hinata's face turned slightly panicked.
The last thing she wanted was for Naruto to find out how much she ate…
If a girl ate too much, wouldn't Naruto laugh at her?
Plus, she didn't want him spending too much money.
"I... I'm not really hungry."
Naruto could tell right away what she was thinking just from her expression.
"But I'm a little hungry," he said, grinning. "Come on, just accompany me, Hinata-chan."
Seeing the expectant look on his face, Hinata hesitated, but eventually nodded. In her mind, she kept reminding herself...
I'm just going to accompany Naruto for ramen...
I won't eat even a single bite!
The two walked side by side through the streets of Konoha. They didn't walk fast, but both of them felt an overwhelming sense of peace as they strolled together.
Hinata thought to herself how wonderful it would be if they could walk together like this forever.
The Ichiraku Ramen stand was small, even smaller than some of the food stalls Naruto had seen in his past life.
He really couldn't understand why, with such great business, the owner hadn't opened a proper restaurant in Konoha.
Then, a thought struck him—what if it was because the village would eventually get destroyed in the future?
Hiss— Could it be that Teuchi, the owner, knew about Konoha's eventual destruction and decided not to invest in a bigger place?
Naruto felt like he had just uncovered a hidden secret.
Lifting the curtain, he stepped inside. The small space had only enough room for four customers.
"Yo, what would you like to eat today?"
Teuchi greeted them with a smile, wiping his hands on a cloth.
Naruto looked seriously at Teuchi, his gaze fixed on the older man's face.
"Naruto?"
Hinata, confused by his behavior, felt it was rude not to respond to the owner.
"Huh? Oh," Naruto snapped out of it. "Uncle Teuchi, two bowls of seafood ramen, please."
Hinata was puzzled. Didn't Naruto say only he was going to eat?
So why did he order two bowls? Was Naruto planning to eat both?
The little girl was confused, but she didn't dare ask.
Naruto, meanwhile, was entirely focused on Teuchi, who was busy preparing their order.
After a few minutes, Naruto couldn't take it anymore. He had to get to the bottom of this mystery, or he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.
He had seen too many conspiracy theories online in his past life, with people joking about Teuchi being some hidden Otsutsuki Clan member. Some theories were so absurd they even tried to link him to the mysterious Otsutsuki clan itself.
"Um, Uncle Teuchi, why do you always keep your eyes closed?"
Naruto couldn't help but finally ask the question.
Teuchi paused mid-motion, turning to look at Naruto. He was starting to wonder whose child this was.
Where did this kid get such a lack of manners?
"Kid…"
"My eyes are as wide open as they can be."
Naruto: ...
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