She's so dazzling...
It always feels like she's bathed in sunlight...
Everyone likes her...
Even Naruto is the same...
The girl with white eyes envied the pink-haired girl who was holding her hand in front of her.
"Hinata?"
Noticing something was off, Sakura turned around to look at her.
"N-No, nothing..."
Hinata's cheeks immediately turned red when Sakura looked at her, and she quickly shook her head.
"Huh?"
"I haven't even asked anything yet~~"
Sakura leaned closer, stroking her chin, her lips curling up slightly. Her emerald eyes gleamed mischievously.
In a while, she'd push Hinata next to Naruto and quickly escape this awkward situation!
"Sa...Sakura...you're too close…"
The girl with white eyes shrank her neck and nervously spoke, her blush still visible.
"Ah, haha, so cute~~~"
The pink-haired girl teasingly pinched Hinata's flushed cheek, causing her to almost "blush even more."
"Little Sakura"
"Hahaha, I won't tease Hinata anymore, let's go eat~~"
Seeing that Hinata's face had turned as red as an apple, Sakura stopped teasing her. She grabbed Hinata's hand and led the group of classmates toward the village's grilled meat restaurant.
At the restaurant, Sakura saw that there were quite a few people, so she directly asked the owner for a private room.
Naruto originally wanted to sit next to Sakura, but Ino quickly and forcefully took the seat beside Sakura.
"What?! Ino, why do you always steal my spot next to Sakura~~~"
Naruto pouted, clearly displeased, as he glared at Ino.
"Huh?"
"Sakura is mine!"
"You've been fighting me for Sakura this whole time!"
Ino placed her hands on her hips, glaring at the blonde boy, defending her claim on Sakura.
"Wow, grilled meat!"
Chouji and Kiba's eyes sparkled as they stared at the sizzling meat on the grill.
"Women are troublesome,"
Shikamaru sat to the side, observing Sakura and Hinata, who were sitting quietly across from each other. He sighed deeply.
In the future, he was going to marry a quiet woman, someone who didn't make a fuss, not too ugly nor too beautiful, and just live a peaceful life away from trouble.
Sakura and Hinata were both quiet, but one of them was the village's famous genius, a disciple of the Hokage. The other was the heiress of the Hyuga clan.
Such people would definitely bring a lot of trouble in the future, and they were definitely not the type he'd consider for marriage.
If possible, he'd rather marry an ordinary woman and live a carefree life.
Shikamaru spaced out for a moment, and when he came back to his senses, he looked down at the empty grill in front of him.
Where's my meat?
"Hehe, Shikamaru, if you're not eating, I'll eat it for you~~"
Chouji, happily chewing the delicious food in his mouth, grinned at Shikamaru.
"Woof!"
"See? Akamaru agrees!"
Kiba petted the dog on his lap and immediately fed some of his meat to Akamaru.
Sigh, it feels like if I stay with these guys, my peaceful life will disappear in the future...
Shikamaru reluctantly continued grilling his meat, this time staring intently at the pieces of meat, afraid they'd disappear before he even got a bite.
"Naruto, sit next to Hinata."
"Help her grill some meat."
Sakura looked at Ino and Naruto, who were still bickering, and spoke up.
"Okay…"
Naruto, slightly unhappy with Sakura's request, reluctantly sat next to Hinata.
"Hehe, Ino victory!"
Ino, seeing this, couldn't help but give Naruto a triumphant gesture, teasing him with a mocking smile.
"Ugh...Naruto-kun..."
Hinata timidly pointed to her fingers, nervously glancing at the blonde boy beside her.
"Hinata, what do you want to eat?"
"I'll help you grill it!"
Ignoring Ino's mockery, Naruto turned to ask Hinata.
"I... I can do it myself…"
The dark-haired girl hesitated, unable to look directly into Naruto's blue eyes.
"Ah, it's really noisy next door~~"
"This was supposed to be a relaxing time after coming back to the village."
The scruffy man finished his drink and sighed.
There was only a paper door separating the two private rooms, making the soundproofing between them very poor.
Any slight movement next door could easily be heard.
"What's the deal with you and a bunch of kids?"
The woman across from the man rolled her eyes at him, casually chewing her food.
"But Asuma, what made you come back suddenly?"
The white-haired, masked man fiddled with his grilled meat, glancing at the man beside him.
Asuma Sarutobi, the son of the Hokage.
He had been serving in the Twelve Guardian Ninjas under the Fire Country's Daimyo.
"The five-year term there ended. Otherwise, I'd probably still be there."
Asuma poured himself another drink, but his gaze drifted toward the woman across from him, Kurenai Yuhi.
"But, speaking of which, there's been a lot of commotion in the village these past two years."
"Do you think the old man can handle it?"
Asuma, the son of the Hokage, had been away serving as part of the Twelve Guardian Ninjas for the Fire Country's Daimyo. He was now back in the village after his five-year term ended.
"Who knows, if not for the end of my five-year term, I might still be there, handling it," Asuma said, pouring himself another drink, but his eyes subconsciously wandered over to Kurenai Yuhi sitting across from him.
"Well, the last two years have brought a lot of changes, especially for the common people."
"Prices for grain have gone up, but at least it's made things better for them."
Asuma glanced at the meat sizzling on the grill in front of him, but before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a loud voice from the next room.
"Wow! Naruto, don't steal my meat!"
Asuma's words were swallowed by the commotion from the next door. He sighed in exasperation and stood up to open the paper door separating the two rooms.
"Kids, can you eat quietly for once?"
As he opened the door, he froze, momentarily taken aback by what he saw.
A golden-haired boy was holding up a plate of grilled meat, while another chubby boy was trying to snatch it away.
The boy with pineapple-shaped hair was bored and grilling his own meat. The boy with red face paint was feeding a small dog, while the pink-haired girl was quietly eating her food. The girl with light brown hair was smiling cheerfully, trying to get the pink-haired girl to eat more.
The girl with white eyes was looking flustered, glancing nervously at the golden-haired boy.
This was a scene that should have been happening. But now, with Asuma standing there, all the students from the Ninja Academy turned their attention toward him.
"Uh..."
He was speechless for a moment.
"I meant, can you be a bit quieter? It's not very polite to disturb other people while they're eating."
Asuma wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, looking awkwardly at the group.
"What is going on? The second generation is all gathered together?"
Asuma muttered, noticing the presence of the younger generation of villagers, all of them seemingly already in action.
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