The Girls' Quarrel

Iruka arrived quickly and left just as fast. As soon as class ended, he found that Naruto Uzumaki, who was standing outside as punishment, had vanished. He had clearly told him to stay for extra tutoring earlier.

In order to educate the child, he hurried to leave the school and searched the entire village for Naruto Uzumaki.

Meanwhile, the girls in the classroom surrounded Ino Yamanaka and walked towards her family's flower shop, chatting and laughing. Shikamaru walked beside them with his head drooping, and Choji was still eating as he walked.

They had also been roped into helping by Ino.

Seeing everyone else leave, Sakura finally approached Hinata. The two walked shoulder to shoulder towards Konohagakure's largest commercial street.

As a ninja village, Konohagakure's commerce was still very developed. Compared to ordinary civilians in the Land of Fire, ninjas generally had much higher incomes, allowing them to afford higher levels of consumption.

The items sold by the roadside were mainly snacks, along with some small toys and inexpensive daily necessities.

As for other large items, they would need to be purchased at specialized stores.

"Why are there so many people today?" Sakura, without realizing when, took Hinata's hand. The commercial street was unusually bustling today, as if the entire village had come out.

She was a little afraid Hinata would get lost.

However, Hinata just lowered her head, following closely behind Sakura.

"Ah, over there, that shop just opened and is giving out free samples to the villagers!" After walking a few more steps, Sakura finally discovered the reason for the crowd.

Walking further, the crowd finally thinned out a bit. She then pulled Hinata into a small shop selling handicrafts. The shelves were filled with all sorts of small items.

There were building blocks that could form a pink heart, small night lights that could emit starlight in the dark, and various dolls, from large to small, with everything imaginable.

"Hmm, Sasuke-kun probably wouldn't like these things; they're too feminine."

Sakura looked around, unsure what gift to choose, and could only ask for Hinata's opinion.

"Hinata, what do you think I should buy for Sasuke-kun?" she asked, turning her head.

"Um, I, I don't know."

Even in the store, Hinata still kept her head down. Sakura could only sigh inwardly and continue searching.

"Hmm, an amulet, that's not bad. It would be great if Sasuke-kun would wear it."

"But it's better to make something like this by hand. Buying it from a store would seem insincere."

"And a ninja sword model. That's every boy's favorite. But if it's Sasuke-kun, his family probably has countless ninja swords, after all, quite a few ninjas in the Uchiha Clan use swords."

Just as Sakura was about to turn to look at other items, she suddenly noticed Hinata beside her, staring with wide eyes at the small ninja sword she had just been looking at.

"Huh? Hinata, you like ninja swords?"

Sakura felt like she had discovered a new continent. Hinata, who was usually so gentle and didn't dare to speak loudly, actually liked ninja swords.

"Um, no, it's not that. An older sister who takes good care of me at home really likes ninja swords, and I want to buy it for her..." Hinata explained softly, but she didn't make any move to reach for it.

"Then buy it! What a great thing!" Sakura said with a smile.

"Um, I left all my pocket money at home. I'll buy it tomorrow when I come back," Hinata shook her head gently.

She didn't have any pocket money. If she didn't practice Gentle Fist well at home, her pocket money would be halved. She also had to maintain her image as a young lady and couldn't eat much. All her remaining pocket money was spent on food. Even if she went home to get it, she wouldn't be able to.

Moreover, this exquisite little ninja sword was a relatively expensive item. If it were sharpened, it could even be used for show.

"It's okay! I'll pay for you first, and you can pay me back when you come to school tomorrow!"

Sakura was very casual about it. Although she was the child of a commoner ninja, she still had some savings. This wasn't a real ninja sword, and she could easily afford it. Besides, Hinata always looked so pitiful, and Sakura had never given her a gift before...

"Um... no, you don't have to..."

Hinata's refusal was as quiet as a mosquito's buzz, and Sakura didn't hear it at all. She directly asked the shop assistant to wrap the small ninja sword model and then went to look for other gifts.

"A mug, seems useless."

"A hat, Sasuke-kun probably wouldn't wear it."

"Huh? This is a good choice..." Sakura finally stopped in front of a red photo frame.

The photo frame was exquisitely made, with black and white threads inlaid in the red patterns. The price was also very reasonable, and she could afford it.

"If I had a photo frame, and then took a picture with Sasuke-kun at the photo studio," Sakura mumbled softly, blushing, as she reached out her hand.

However, as she reached out, another hand also stretched out and grasped one side of the photo frame.

Sakura turned her head, wanting to see who dared to covet what she wanted, only to see a familiar face.

"Pig Ino! Why aren't you tending to your flowers, and why are you here!" she bristled.

Sakura never expected that the person snatching the gift from her would be Ino.

"If everyone else gives flowers, then you'd better give a different gift."

Ino smiled and repeated what Shikamaru had told her.

"Then you shouldn't be trying to snatch the gift I like!" Sakura protested loudly.

"Oh, you haven't bought this gift yet, have you?" Ino showed no intention of backing down. "Forehead, I've taken a liking to this photo frame. You go pick another gift."

"Pig Ino! I won't give it to you!"

The two began to argue, but neither was willing to back down. Then the argument escalated, and neither was willing to yield.

Hinata subconsciously began to look for Choji and Shikamaru, who always followed Ino. They could usually pull their good friend back.

But this time, she noticed the two boys weren't with them. She wondered if they stayed at the flower shop to do manual labor, or if they decided accompanying girls shopping was too tiring and chose to slack off.

She also tried to step forward and mediate, but whether it was Sakura or Ino, both were angry. They both had their eyes on the same picture frame and neither would back down.

Gradually, the argument moved from inside the shop to outside. As the crowd of onlookers grew, Sakura and Ino realized their situation. Although neither would yield, if they let so many people witness their spectacle, they'd be utterly humiliated.

"Um, why don't you go look again?" they both said at the same time, then paused. They spoke again: "No, I'll go look again."

The love and hate of youth comes and goes quickly. The two girls quickly made up and began discussing finding a gift for Sasuke together.

"Um, I promised Hinata I'd buy her something, and I haven't gotten it yet." Just as she was about to leave the front of the shop, Sakura suddenly remembered she had come out shopping with Hinata.

But where was Hinata?

She looked up, searching left and right, but couldn't find Hinata anywhere.