After seeing off Might Guy, Rock Lee, Neji, Tenten, and Naruto looked at Hinata beside him.
"Let's go, Hinata. I'll walk you home," Naruto said to Hinata.
Hinata obediently held out her hand. Naruto froze when he saw it, then understood. Usually, he would hold Hinata's hand and use Instant Movement to take her directly there.
Realizing this, Naruto smiled knowingly and reached out to take Hinata's hand.
With her hand enclosed in Naruto's broad palm, and seeing the faint smile at the corner of his lips, Hinata instantly blushed from the roots of her ears down to her neck.
Naruto saw Hinata blushing shyly but did not call her out on it. Just as he was about to use Instant Movement, he heard Hinata say, "Naruto-kun, can we walk home?"
"Hm?" Naruto looked at Hinata. She raised her head and gazed at him with wide eyes, something called courage spilling from them.
"That works too, but it'll take over an hour if we walk," Naruto said after thinking it over.
"It's still early, and the moon is beautiful tonight!" Hinata looked at Naruto, bathed in the moonlight's gentle glow, and continued, "To take an after-dinner walk with Naruto-kun under such beautiful moonlight is an honor for me."
"It's an honor for me too. Let's go." Naruto thought that since he did not need to use Instant Movement to send Hinata home, there was no need to keep holding her hand. He was about to pull away.
Unexpectedly, he could not pull his hand free. Hinata was holding it tightly.
Naruto lowered his head to look at Hinata. She pretended nothing was amiss and said softly, "Let's go, Naruto-kun." With that, she started walking first.
Hinata had become braver... Naruto thought. He gave up on letting go and followed her.