Through the lush Konohagakure Forest, the shrubs receded behind them as the breeze between the trees brushed against their faces. Hinata felt as light as a feather, until the mottled sunlight disappeared.
After turning a corner in the forest, the view ahead suddenly opened up. The rushing sound of a stream reached them, and white noise suddenly surrounded them.
A massive waterfall leaped into view, with a swift stream cascading down from it.
"Where is this?" Hinata asked, slightly stunned.
"The riverbank." Naruto released Hinata's hand and carried the large bundle alone toward a shady spot near the river.
The afternoon sunlight in the forest was scorching, and the cicadas mixed with the roar of the waterfall, making the surroundings exceptionally noisy. Yet Hinata's heart rose and fell with the waterfall, beating with youthful vigor.
Hinata stood beneath the shade of a tree, blinking as she watched Naruto bustle about, unpacking the bundle and spreading a long cloth over the grass.
Before long, Naruto had put together the rough setup for a camping trip. There was a tablecloth, a fire pit, a grill, some seasonings, and even a pot.
Hinata was dazzled by the sight and couldn't help covering her little mouth.
Doraemon?
"Hinata!" Naruto waved to her.
She hurriedly responded and walked over in a daze. She looked curiously at the cooking equipment on the ground; she had been born with everything handed to her.
As the eldest princess of the Hyuga Clan, the greatest setback Hinata had encountered since childhood was being unable to defeat her father. Her father was a mountain she could never cross.
It would be an exaggeration to say she had never lifted a finger, but Hinata was undeniably a genuine young lady. Unlike a child like Naruto, who had grown up rolling in the dirt, her clothes were always clean.
She stood quietly there, untouched by wind or snow.
"Naruto, what are we doing?" Hinata asked.
"Camping and grilling." Naruto smiled at her. "The stream beneath this waterfall runs fast, so the fish here are especially fresh."
Hinata nodded and said somewhat nervously,
"My father and the others like sashimi, but I don't, so I rarely eat fish."
"Sashimi?" Naruto narrowed his eyes, looking a little lost. "I only know how to grill fish and make fresh fish soup."
"That's enough. I... I've never had grilled fish made by Naruto." Hinata's face flushed bright red. Afraid Naruto would misunderstand, she hurriedly waved her hands.
"No, I mean—"
"It's okay." Naruto walked up to Hinata. "You don't need to explain so much. Come on, I'll take you to the river to fish."
"Hinata, have you ever fished before?"
"No." Hinata blushed slightly and lowered her head. "Whenever I got close to a river before, I would be taken away. I'd only ever seen others fishing from a bridge in the distance."
That figured. The Hyuga Clan had always considered itself Konohagakure's nobility. They would never allow Hinata to engage in something as meaningless as fishing, an amusement for country folk.
"It's fine, I'll teach you." Naruto took Hinata's hand again and led her toward a nearby grove.
In the distance, an ANBU ninja and a Hyuga ninja stood atop separate treetops not far apart, staring at each other.
Hyuga ninja: "What is that brat taking the eldest princess there for?"
ANBU ninja: "Into the little woods, probably."
"..."
"Why don't you take a look with your Byakugan?" the ANBU ninja suggested.
"It would disturb the eldest princess." The Hyuga ninja kept a stern face. "Why don't you go look for yourself?"
"It'd be bad if I got caught." The ANBU ninja laughed awkwardly. "I only make that much a month. Why would I take that kind of risk?"
"What if the eldest princess is in danger? What if that brat..." The Hyuga ninja trailed off.
"That's your problem. If something happens, the worst I can do is lose my job." The ANBU ninja spoke shamelessly. "If I get caught, the odds of losing my job are even higher. Better to just watch from afar."
"You!" The Hyuga ninja flicked his sleeve. "Isn't keeping the Jinchuriki restrained your ANBU's responsibility?"
"Not really." The ANBU ninja replied lazily. "As long as the Jinchuriki doesn't leave the village, I can't be bothered with anything else."
"Thanks to the Jinchuriki, I have this easy job. It's far better than fighting and killing outside. Why do something stupid when there's nothing wrong?"
"You're utterly unreasonable!"
"Well, ninjas from great clans like yours retire at thirty. What would you know about the hardships of ordinary people?" the ANBU ninja said with a grin.
"Forget it. If I don't die on a mission before thirty and can safely live to retirement, that'll already be cause for celebration."
"Oh, right! It's time for me to get off work."
With that, the ANBU ninja simply vanished in a Body Flicker.
The Hyuga ninja stood there dumbfounded. It was broad daylight—what kind of shift was he getting off?
About fifteen minutes later, Naruto and Hinata emerged from the small grove. Naruto held a long wooden pole in his hand.
After searching for quite some time, Naruto had finally used a kunai to make a wooden rod. Bamboo rods broke easily, and the blackfish in this stream were fairly large.
The two arrived at the riverbank. Hinata watched Naruto skillfully take out fishing line and a hook from his pocket. After assembling them, he handed the rod to her.
"Me? I-I don't know how." Hinata immediately grew nervous and took a small step back.
"It's fine. I'll guide you." Naruto simply stuffed the Fishing Rod into Hinata's hands, then moved around behind her.
Naruto was practically about to embrace Hinata from behind. Hinata clearly realized this too, and her face instantly turned as red as a ripe apple.
Hinata's cheeks burned so fiercely that she nearly fainted, instantly losing all sense of direction. Fortunately, after Naruto got money, he had bought a new washing machine, so he no longer always smelled like sweat.
Hinata didn't think much about it either. Her mind was nearly blank.
"Naruto, there's no bait on the hook."
"You don't need bait." Naruto waved a hand. "Just cast the hook out like this. The fish here will bite even without bait."
As he spoke, Naruto held Hinata's hand and skillfully cast out the line and hook.
In the distance, the Hyuga ninja was nearly grinding his molars to dust.
"Who's he trying to fool? If you can catch fish without bait, I'll pluck out my own eyeballs!"
Nine-Tails' Recognition 4.5% Nine-Tails' Recognition 6.7%
Suddenly, the panel popped up again with a ding.
Option One: Tell Hinata that you had always disliked gentle girls, because gentle girls were gentle with everyone. She only liked heroes, just as all princesses liked heroes who were forever pure, and you were not a hero. Reward: Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu.
Option Two: Tell Hinata that she was already wonderful and would definitely become a gentle wife in the future. Reward: Mind Transmission Sound Technique (creates a puppet that does not exist at all; the moment it is created, it possesses the ability not to arouse suspicion; anything it says will be implanted into the memories of people within a certain range).
Naruto's gaze swept over the first option without much reaction, and he instinctively ruled it out. When he saw the reward for the second option, he paused slightly.
The Yamanaka Clan's Mind Transmission Technique—with the identifying quality of the voice removed, it was probably anonymous speech within a certain range.
Note: Dear readers, the next seven chapters will involve the little loudspeaker plot. If you don't like it, you can skim through them quickly. (Skipping them will affect a tiny bit of the plot.) This is groundwork for later chapters.
You can also skip directly ahead.
Guide: Chapter 36, One-Tail
Before you continue