"Y-You flatter me..." Naruto replied stiffly.
"..."
An uneasy silence once again filled the air. Although Fugaku Uchiha showed no anger, the complicated look in his eyes—a mixture of helplessness and faint bitterness—made it abundantly clear that he was anything but pleased.
Naruto understood completely. Put himself in Fugaku's shoes: if he had a daughter someday, raised her painstakingly until she was eighteen, only for her to spend the very first night after coming of age with some boy... Even if that boy were himself, and even if his daughter had taken the initiative, any father would feel miserable about it.
Unable to find a suitable topic to break the awkwardness, Naruto felt that getting straight to the point and making his stance clear might be most effective.
He took a deep breath and sat up straight, preparing to speak solemnly and voice the promises he had rehearsed in his heart countless times—I will cherish Satsuki with my life, respect her, protect her, and make her happy...
"Sigh... forget it."
Before Naruto could organize his words, Fugaku beat him to it again with a sigh.
He leaned back, shifting his gaze away from Naruto and toward the bamboo shadows swaying gently in the courtyard beyond the window.
"What happens between you young people is something you understand yourselves. As elders... there is no use in saying too much."
The meaning behind his words could not have been clearer—he had chosen to yield, to accept it. What else could he do? Slam the table, fiercely object, or even come to blows? Fugaku Uchiha was a man who understood reason and knew what mattered.
The boy before him was the Fourth Hokage's only son, the Fifth Hokage's personal disciple, and already possessed strength that others could only look up to. His feelings