Chapter 34: The Gathering
She was dazzling…
It felt like she was always bathed in sunlight…
Everyone liked her…
Even Naruto was no exception…
The white-eyed girl gazed enviously at the pink-haired girl who was pulling her forward.
"Hinata?"
Noticing something off, Sakura turned back to look at her.
"N-No, nothing's wrong…"
Caught under Sakura's gaze, Hinata's cheeks instantly turned a rosy pink, and she quickly shook her head.
"Huh?"
"I didn't even ask anything yet~~"
Sakura leaned in closer, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. The corners of her lips curved slightly upward, and her emerald green eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief.
She was already plotting to push Hinata onto Naruto's side so she could escape this awkward situation herself!
"S-Sakura… you're standing too close…"
Hinata shrank her neck back, mumbling softly, her blush showing no signs of fading.
"Aww, you're so cute~~~"
Sakura teased as she pinched Hinata's burning cheeks. Hinata nearly reached her "boiling point."
"S-Sakura…"
"Hahaha, okay okay, I'll stop teasing you. Let's go! Time to eat!"
Seeing that Hinata's face was red as an apple, Sakura decided not to push her any further. She grabbed Hinata's hand and led a group of classmates toward the barbecue restaurant in the village.
The restaurant was bustling, and Sakura, seeing the crowd, immediately asked the owner for a private room.
Naruto originally wanted to sit next to Sakura, but Ino forcefully took that spot before he could.
"Hey! Ino's always stealing Sakura from me~~~" Naruto pouted, clearly unhappy as he stared at Ino.
"Huh?"
"Sakura's mine!"
"You're the one always stealing her from me!"
Ino crossed her arms, staring down the blonde boy with a defiant look, firmly defending her claim.
"Whoa! Barbecue! Look at that meat sizzle!"
Choji and Kiba's eyes lit up as they stared at the meat crackling on the grill, juicy oil dripping down.
"Women are such a hassle," Shikamaru muttered from the side. He glanced at Sakura and Hinata, who were quietly sitting opposite him, and sighed.
One day, he thought, he'd marry a quiet woman—someone calm, neither too pretty nor too plain—someone who wouldn't stir up any drama, so he could live a peaceful life.
Sure, Sakura and Hinata were quiet. But one was a famous genius in the village and the Hokage's personal student. The other was a highborn heiress of the Hyuga clan.
Girls like them would definitely come with a mountain of trouble in the future—definitely not his type.
If possible, he'd rather marry a plain and gentle woman to live a quiet, uneventful life.
Shikamaru drifted off in thought, but when he came back to reality, he stared at his now-empty grill.
"…Where's my meat?"
"Hehehe, Shikamaru, if you're not gonna eat it, I'll help you out~~" Choji chewed contentedly, grinning at his friend.
"Woof!"
"See? Akamaru agrees too."
Kiba stroked the white pup on his lap, then tossed a piece of grilled meat into Akamaru's mouth.
Sigh… Being in the same class as these guys probably means my dream of a peaceful life is over…
Shikamaru resignedly continued grilling his meat, this time staring at it with laser focus. He wasn't going to let his food disappear again before he even had a bite.
"Naruto, go sit next to Hinata," Sakura suddenly said, cutting off the bickering between Naruto and Ino.
"You can help her grill some meat."
Naruto pouted but obeyed as soon as Sakura gave the order, reluctantly sitting next to Hinata.
"Yes! Ino wins again!" Ino declared with a victory pose, flashing a peace sign at Naruto and smirking at him with triumph.
"N-Naruto-kun…"
Hinata shyly twiddled her fingers, casting a nervous glance at the blonde boy beside her.
"Hinata, what do you want to eat? I'll grill it for you!" Naruto smiled brightly, completely ignoring Ino's taunts as he turned his attention to Hinata.
"I-I can do it myself…"
The dark-haired girl blushed even more, not daring to look directly into Naruto's sparkling blue eyes.
—
"Ugh, it's so noisy next door~~" a stubbly man grumbled, downing his cup of sake in one go.
"I finally got back to the village, was hoping to relax a bit…"
Because the two private rooms were separated by just a thin paper door, any little sound could be clearly heard through the flimsy barrier.
"What are you getting worked up over a bunch of kids for?" the woman across from him rolled her eyes and delicately picked at her food.
"So, Asuma, what made you suddenly come back?" asked a silver-haired man with a face mask and headband covering one eye. Kakashi casually flipped a piece of meat on the grill as he spoke.
The man was Sarutobi Asuma, the Hokage's son.
He had spent the past several years working as part of the Twelve Guardian Ninja who protected the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.
"The five-year term over there ended. Otherwise, who knows how long they'd keep me," Asuma replied, pouring himself another drink. His gaze lingered momentarily on the woman across from him—Kurenai Yuhi.
"But honestly, the village sure has changed a lot these past two years."
"You think the old man can handle all of it?" Asuma's tone turned serious as he mentioned "the old man"—a clear reference to the Third Hokage.
"It's a long story," Kakashi said. As one of the temporary bodyguards deeply involved in recent events, he knew the details better than anyone.
"Oh?" Asuma looked intrigued.
In the past two years, the biggest changes in the Land of Fire had happened at the grassroots level. Food prices had stabilized, and the general public was living more comfortably than before.
"Hey! Naruto, stop stealing my meat!" someone yelled from the next room, cutting Asuma off mid-sentence.
"…Seriously?" Asuma's expression turned blank.
With a sigh, he pushed open the flimsy paper door separating the rooms and called out, "Kids, can you quiet down a bit while eating?"
But as the door opened and he got a full view of the scene inside, Asuma was stunned.
A golden-haired kid held up a plate of freshly grilled meat. A chubby boy was trying to snatch it from him. A pineapple-haired boy boredly grilled meat by himself. A boy with red markings on his cheeks fed a little white dog from his bowl. A pink-haired girl quietly munched on her food while the girl next to her with blonde hair tied in a bun tried to feed her more.
The white-eyed girl stared nervously at the golden-haired boy beside her.
This was the picture of youth.
But with Asuma standing in the doorway, the group of students—all still in the Ninja Academy—suddenly turned to look at him.
"Uh…"
"What I meant was, can you keep it down a little?"
"It's just not very polite to disturb others while they're eating…"
Cold sweat trickled down Asuma's temple. He gave a sheepish smile.
What did he just walk into?
The entire next generation of Konoha's elite all gathered in one place?
And…
Crap, I just realized I forgot Shino.
---
(End of Chapter)