This Is What You Call Strategy

"What nonsense are you spouting!" Naruto grabbed Konohamaru and tossed him behind him to Moegi and Udon. "This is a mountain climbing exercise, there's no need for fighting."

"Oh." Konohamaru was deflated, and dejectedly put away his Shuriken.

"Oh my god!" Naruto glanced at him, raised his hand, and Konohamaru skillfully hid behind Moegi.

Udon stood to the side, bewildered, and turned to Konohamaru to ask.

"Konohamaru, why aren't you hiding behind me? Why are you hiding behind Moegi the whole time?"

"Are you stupid?!" Konohamaru peeked half his head out from behind Moegi, looking at her with a disappointed expression. "If I hid with you, we'd both get beaten up!"

"That seems to be true," Udon said, scratching his head.

Seeing Konohamaru retreat, the other six Ninja Academy students breathed a sigh of relief; at least they wouldn't fight. In reality, they hadn't yet experienced a proper battle.

After getting rid of Konohamaru, that clueless brat, the atmosphere immediately became much more harmonious.

Hinata breathed a sigh of relief. Not wanting to see anyone get hurt, a warm smile spread across her face. She looked up at the sky, then mustered her courage and made the suggestion.

"It's going to rain soon, let's find a place to pitch our tents and take shelter from the rain."

After saying that, Hinata felt her cheeks burning, but thankfully, she didn't blush. She cautiously looked up and found Naruto watching her.

"It's definitely going to rain." Naruto stepped forward and stopped between the two women, glancing up at the dark clouds overhead. "This place is all mountains and forests. Let's find a higher spot."

"Isn't what you said the same as not saying anything at all?" Ino glanced at Naruto, her eyes flickering slightly. "There's no way three teams could squeeze into one tent, is there?"

"Strictly speaking, only one or two teams can barely hide in a tent to avoid the rain. If a third team appears, someone is bound to get wet."

The rumble of thunder overhead was already audible, though not very clear, which meant a downpour was imminent. The surrounding forests weren't very dense, and there was no suitable place to take shelter from the rain except for the tent.

Hinata had clearly come prepared, carrying a small tent in her storage scroll. But as Ino had said, there were three teams here, and a choice had to be made.

It's impossible for three teams to squeeze into one tent. Either two teams stay and squeeze in, while the other team leaves, or two teams leave and one team stays to temporarily pitch a tent to shelter from the rain.

Ino fell silent. The light in the forest was blurry. Her eyes stung slightly as she glanced at the two of them, and she quickly looked away as if she had been electrocuted.

The scene from that night's Fireworks Festival flashed through his mind, showing Naruto instinctively shielding Hinata. If it were him, would he have done the same?

Thoughts, like autumn leaves, sway erratically in the wind before a downpour.

At that moment, she realized that she wasn't as generous or understanding as she thought, and there were some things she didn't want to give up.

"The tent is too small?" Naruto turned to look at the group. "I also have a tent. I originally planned to use it for missions, but it seems I can use it too."

"Let's set off together and head towards the top of the mountain. We'll set up the tents if it starts to rain soon."

"Set off together?" Ino's gaze was somewhat complicated. "Each team has a designated route, right?"

"We're lost," Konohamaru interjected, stepping out from behind Moegi. "Naruto said that if we find a team and follow them, we can reach the top of the mountain."

"You bastard." Ino looked at Naruto with disdain and stepped forward to pinch him hard on the waist. "You didn't even hear the rules that Iruka-sensei read out!"

"Ah!! Ino, are you going to kill me?"

"That's how you should treat scum."

"It's just that she didn't hear the exercise rules clearly, is it really that big of a deal?" Naruto gasped. "Besides, I was on vacation."

"Where do you get so much reluctance from?" Ino scoffed.

"I never wanted to come to this awful place. I should be lying in bed right now, not standing in this desolate wilderness in slippers."

"No one is forcing you to come if you don't want to. Go back now! I'm taking Konohamaru and the other two with me."

"Can one person carry six?" Naruto was slightly taken aback. "Besides, I'm lost too. You're already willing to take three burdens with you, so why not take me with you?"

"I'm not taking you. Find your own way!" Ino snorted and gave him a cold glance.

"Then I'll just follow behind, won't I?" Naruto found it a bit funny and spread his hands in a very cheeky manner, "Anyway, you won't notice."

"You!!"

Hinata glanced at Naruto, then at Ino, and suddenly felt a little flustered; it seemed like the two were arguing. But her innate intuition told her that the two had a good relationship.

She's better than her.

"Then I'll go with Hinata," Naruto suddenly said.

"Eh." Hinata's pupils dilated slightly.

"No!"

Ino suddenly walked over, grabbed Hinata's hand, and pulled her towards their side. Hinata looked confused, but still let Ino hold her hand.

"I can't stand by and watch Hinata be deceived by you!"

Seeing this, Naruto's smile froze, thinking to himself, "At least leave one for me."

Looking at Ino 'Naruto defeated expression, Ino couldn't help but smile, as if she had won, and cleared her throat.

"In short, you'll have to figure it out yourself; there's no way we can help you."

"Right, Hinata?"

Hinata blinked, facing Ino's gaze directly, her face showing hesitation and struggle. She lowered her head, opened her mouth, and whispered.

"Um."

Ino and Hinata each led their own teams towards the mountaintop, while Naruto, along with Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon, followed at a distance.

Thunder rumbled overhead, and the air was unusually humid.

"Naruto- nii, why can't we just follow them?" Konohamaru complained. "I want to follow that older sister; she seems more reliable."

"Shut up, I'm the most reliable." Naruto said with a sneer, "What do you know? This is called strategy. They'll still have to ask me for help when it starts pouring rain."

"How could such a small tent possibly hold eight people?"

"Really?"

"Of course it's true," Naruto Solemn Vow.

With a sharp crack, the sky suddenly darkened, as if the lights above the clouds had been turned off. A silvery flash of lightning ripped across the sky, foreshadowing an impending downpour.

Hinata and Ino's teams had already chosen a spot to set up their tents. The six Ninja Academy kids didn't take up much space, and it wasn't too crowded for them to all hide inside.

On the contrary, Naruto's side ran into trouble.

"Naruto- nii! Where's the tent we were promised?!"

It's the end of the month, I'm humbly asking for a vote.