Hot Springs
The dinner itself was rather unremarkable, but the changing expressions on the innkeeper's face were quite fascinating.
Ninjas really can eat a lot.
As beings of the extraordinary class possessing Chakra, ninjas must engage in a great deal of high-intensity exercise. Without sufficient energy intake, they simply don't have the strength to run and jump around. However, generally speaking, ninjas will choose small amounts of concentrated, high-energy ninja meals (such as Ichiraku Ramen, which enjoys financial subsidies from Konoha), or even food like Military Rations Pill or energy pills, rather than large amounts of low-calorie ordinary food.
At first, the owner greeted Sakura Haruno and her friends with a smile and a bow, after all, buffets are most welcoming to slender and petite girls. However, soon cold sweat began to pour down the owner's forehead, and his expression grew increasingly grim as the empty plates on the table piled up...
Hinata is a voracious eater who can easily devour over twenty bowls of ramen in one sitting! The other three are no pushovers either; even Ino, who eats the least, ate the equivalent of an adult man's portion...
"We absolutely cannot serve ninjas anymore!" The owner, who was practically contemplating jumping off the platform, was pale and filled with resentment. Running a hot spring buffet in Konoha was safe and profitable, a sure way to make a fortune. However, every now and then a few ninjas would come by, and if you weren't careful, you might run into a gluttonous one who could eat the whole place out of business!
The restaurant owner began to consider whether to charge the ninjas an extra 50% on their meals. Such reverse discrimination against the superhuman class was not uncommon in Konoha. In peacetime, this bizarre social phenomenon might be the beginning of a rift between ninja and ordinary society, leading to serious consequences. But in the face of impending storm... it was just a minor, insignificant ailment.
The ninja girls didn't care about the boss's thoughts and went to find a private women's bath on their own.
Unlike the hot springs of the previous world, the custom here is not to wear swimsuits while bathing, which means... complete nudity. The girls openly and naturally take off their clothes, revealing their youthful bodies. As Sakura Haruno looked around, all she saw was a beautiful 404 scene.
However, Sakura Haruno was quite calm and didn't seem excited at all. Perhaps she would have been excited when she first transmigrated—if babies could get excited, after all these years, she'd seen enough of herself, and she had everything that girls should have (at least theoretically).
It was already dusk, the night sky a deep purple, the bright moon high, and a lone star twinkling. Steam rose from the hot springs, creating a misty, ethereal atmosphere, and the dim, yellow lights shone faintly in the swirling mist. The young women parted the rising steam, their smooth, slender bodies reflecting a shimmering glow in the silvery moonlight, creating a scene of intoxicating beauty.
With delicate, light steps, the girls gently splashed through the crystal-clear water, then slowly sat down and immersed themselves in the pool, letting the warm spring water softly embrace their bodies.
"Hoo..." Sakura let out a satisfied sigh, closing her eyes and leaning lazily against the spring wall.
For a moment, no one spoke.
"Sakura-chan." Ino suddenly opened her eyes, smiling as she swam to Sakura's side. [Note]
"Hmm?" Sakura was too lazy to move and responded with a muffled nasal sound.
"Listen... you went out on missions with Sasuke these past few days? Could it be...?" Ino's eyes gleamed with gossip as she leaned closer to the girl and asked.
The blonde girl's nearly mature body pressed against Sakura's, her smooth, soft touch brushing against her arm. A warm breath tickled her temples and earlobes, causing her to shudder and shake her head, pushing Ino: "Stop gossiping! Sasuke and I are really not in that kind of relationship!"
"Hehe, Ino, don't worry. The two of them just had a fierce fight with Akatsuki, they're not in the mood for romance. You still have a chance with your crush!" Hinata chimed in.
"I've lost all feelings for Sasuke since I've been with you!" Ino replied irritably.
"Heh heh, who would believe that?"
Ino rolled her eyes, knowing that continuing would only make things worse, and quickly changed the subject. "Sakura, are you alright? The members of Akatsuki are all very strong, can they be compared to the Hokage?"
"It was alright, not particularly dangerous... It was basically a Fifty-Fifty fight." Sakura casually brushed aside the topic, not wanting to recall the tense battle while relaxing.
Ino didn't seem to care about Sakura's perfunctory reply. She simply lay by the pond, a hint of melancholy in her expression, and said, "Sakura, you've become so amazing... We only graduated from school a few years ago."
"Yeah." Hinata lost interest in arguing with Ino at this point, and said listlessly, "Sakura has already left us so far behind... I've tried so hard, but I can only watch Sakura's back..."
Suddenly, no one spoke; there was an eerie silence for a while.
Sakura Haruno didn't know what to do either. The gap in strength between her friends was widening, and she couldn't stop moving forward and wait for them to catch up. Hinata's strength had actually improved very quickly. With the Hokuto Shinken and her improved family technique, her combat power had even grown to the point where she could hold her own against Sasuke with his Red Eye activated, but she was still far behind Sakura. Ino was even further behind; she had only just been promoted to Chunin.
"Heh." Hinata suddenly laughed, breaking the silence, and turned to Ino, saying, "You know what? Those boys even ranked Sakura based on her looks, figure, personality, temperament, and abilities, and they all consider her the goddess of this year's class!"
Sakura Haruno's face froze instantly. She waved her hands frantically, utterly embarrassed. "Please, please forgive me! They were just playing around."
Ignoring the pink-haired girl's pleas, Ino brushed her hand away and asked with interest, "Really? So boys like the aloof goddess type?"
"Help... I'm not aloof at all," Sakura covered her face with her hands, letting out a helpless groan, "I'm very approachable!"
"Approachable?"
Ino glanced at the girl who dared not show her face, a smirk playing on her lips, and repeated a sentence.
"Approachable."
Hinata shamelessly repeated it again, emphasizing the first word.
"A perfectly flat plain." "A sure thing." "Extremely wicked." "Princess Taiping."
"Others say, 'I want to rub it,' but Sakura says, 'I want to pinch it.'"
"That's enough!" Sakura crossed her arms, blocking their malicious gazes, rolled her eyes at them fiercely, and silently sank into the water.
The girls exchanged glances and burst into laughter, instantly filling the air with a joyful atmosphere.
[Note: Sakura-chan and Sakura are the same word in Japanese. Let's assume the language used in the Hokage world isn't Japanese. This chapter was supposed to have more content, but it was ultimately cut. Ahem.]