144. Simply Don't Like It

"I really should ask Neji about Hinata."

Dusk.

Naruto, having finished a day of training, lay sprawled on the ground like a corpse as usual when the thought suddenly struck him.

Although he was no longer the person he once was, and the future would certainly not unfold according to the original story, it was hard for anyone not to care after learning that a girl was destined to be his wife and had harbored feelings for him her entire life without ever wavering.

So, Naruto sometimes thought of Hinata, and naturally, he realized something was amiss.

That was, ever since his return, he hadn't seen Hinata even once.

He hadn't spotted her during the graduation exams, nor had he encountered her in his daily life (even though he had crossed paths with all his other classmates at least once).

Moreover, didn't the original story say that Hinata would sometimes watch him from afar? Yet, even though Naruto had been keeping an eye out, he still couldn't find a trace of her.

Reality wasn't a novel; there was no such thing as limited page space.

As time passed, this oddity continued to nag at Naruto, never fading away.

"Of course, it's possible I'm just being narcissistic and overthinking things, but there's no harm in asking. At least I can stop obsessing over it."

Naruto thought, bored out of his mind.

"Naruto!"

Just then, a shout came from the entrance of the training ground, and a familiar golden ponytail drew closer with every jump.

"Oh, Ino."

Naruto greeted her as well.

Actually, he could have asked Ino; after all, she wasn't a recluse like him, and she was certainly better informed.

But out of some survival instinct, Naruto felt it was better to wait and ask Neji next time. He had a feeling that if he asked Ino, something very bad would happen.

"Honestly—you're being way too reckless."

Ino leaned over him, looking at the disheveled Naruto on the ground, and couldn't help but complain.

Strangely, even though the setting sun was already sinking into the night, Ino's cheeks were inexplicably flushed.

"Sorry about that..."

Naruto gave a bitter smile, his voice raspy. He struggled to sit up, but his arms kept going limp and trembling.

Seeing this, Ino sighed. With an expression that said, "I really can't do anything with you," she knelt down and skillfully unfastened the weights from Naruto's limbs, then dragged his arms to lean him against the shade of a tree.

"Drink some water."

Finding Naruto's water bottle, Ino poured some salt water into the cap and handed it to him—she knew that if Naruto tried to hold the bottle himself, he wouldn't be able to.

But after Naruto finished drinking and she took the cap back, her movements suddenly became slightly stiff.

Naruto didn't notice this, however, because the aftereffects of his Shadow Clone usage were starting to kick in.

Today, the number of Shadow Clone he had used for training reached 120. At this moment, the memories of 120 Narutos were like 120 sharp blades churning wildly in his brain. His head felt as if it were splitting open, every cell and muscle in his body was wailing, and his entire nervous system felt as though it were burning. There was pain everywhere.

Looking at Naruto, who had his eyes tightly shut, brows furrowed, and teeth clenched, Ino convinced herself that she was just helping a classmate and not taking advantage of the situation. She then picked up the shirt Naruto had left on the chair and reached toward his upper body with a slight tremor.

—To be precise, toward Naruto's bare upper body.

"I really can't do anything with you!" As if emphasizing something, Ino suddenly said loudly before starting, "I'm wiping your sweat!"

With that, Ino steeled her resolve and pressed the cloth against Naruto's chest.

"..."

"This is too unfair."

Ino couldn't help but think.

Feeling the soft yet firm texture through the cloth—though it wasn't the first time she had felt it—Ino couldn't help but widen her pupils.

"Seriously, it's just too unfair."

Ino admitted that she had started coming to the training ground to watch Naruto out of pure boredom.

Because their jonin instructor hadn't returned, they had nothing to do, just like a vacation—except in the past, vacations came with homework and entrance exams, but this time, there was nothing.

Added to that, this summer was hotter than previous years. Shikamaru, that lazy bum, looked like he would rather commit suicide than be asked to come out, and Choji was holed up at home eating snacks every day, leaving Ino with nothing to do.

In short, she had never been this idle.

Just then, Ino discovered Naruto's "abnormality," and it was like finding a new toy. So, driven by curiosity and a desire to kill time, she started coming to see him every day.

In the process, as her understanding of Naruto deepened, Ino even developed a sense of maternal affection.

After all, anyone who knew this Naruto's past and saw his day-after-day, genuine efforts would find it hard not to be moved, right?

Moreover, although she still didn't know why Naruto insisted on acting like an idiot at school, Ino had to admit that, at least with the Naruto she interacted with, it was actually quite comfortable to be around him. Sometimes the things he said were quite interesting, making him a very suitable person to be friends with.

—It should have just stayed like that.

Until one day, this guy Naruto... started training without his shirt on, claiming it was to save money!

The point was, how could this guy have such a good physique... no, the point was, how could he just take his shirt off? What if someone else saw him!

Money is just a worldly possession; nobody told you to take your clothes off to save money, you idiot!

Truly shameless! Brazen! Absolutely devoid of any integrity!

As the young lady of the Yamanaka Clan, raised from childhood with a profound education in etiquette, Ino Yamanaka criticized him in such a manner.

And so, at this very moment, she was wiping sweat from Naruto with that exact critical attitude.

"So, the lower abdomen doesn't have to be flat... these one, two, three, four, five, six blocks, they really look like a washboard."

"How come there are lines above the side of the abdomen too? Like shark gills."

"Hehe, pectoral muscles."

"Um..."

!!

Ino's scalp instantly tingled. With flushed cheeks, she looked up, breathing rapidly, and said, "I'm just wiping your sweat!"

"I know." Naruto, having just finished processing the side effects, smiled helplessly and raised his hands as if surrendering. "It's just that you're wiping so meticulously that it makes me a bit embarrassed... I'm troubling you too much."

"...!"

Ino was momentarily speechless, lowering her head slightly.

Only when she snapped out of it did she realize she had already wiped many spots several times over.

"...That's too unfair."

"What did you say?"

Naruto hadn't heard Ino's soft mutter, and was immediately hit in the face by the shirt Ino grabbed.

"Nothing!"

With his vision blocked by the clothing, Naruto didn't see it.

The young girl's face had turned as red as a ripe tomato at some point.

"Right."

After wiping the sweat from his face and covering Naruto with his shirt, once both sides (primarily one) had regained their composure, Ino finally remembered what she had originally come to say today.

"Naruto, did you know? The jonin instructors seem to have finally returned to the village. The day after tomorrow, we're taking our ninja photos and getting assigned to teams!"

"Is that so?" Naruto was slightly surprised, but inside, he felt more of a "finally" sentiment.

It had been so long.

"Yeah."

Ino nodded, then leaned in mysteriously:

"Naruto, let me tell you, the team rosters are actually already decided. Do you want to know who your teammates and instructor are?"

"I do." Although he already knew the answer, he still played along with a look of curiosity. "Am I in a group with you, Ino?"

"No way... I'm definitely going to be in a group with Shikamaru and Choji, heh heh~"

Ino denied it, though it was clear that Naruto's counter-question had put her in a good mood.

She didn't keep him in suspense and went straight to the point:

"Let's start with your teammates. You're in a group with Sasuke and Sakura."

After saying this, Ino paused, watching Naruto's reaction—Naruto didn't have much of one, only saying "Oh, okay" once he noticed Ino looking at him.

Ino felt quite satisfied with Naruto's performance; though she didn't know what she was satisfied about, she just was.

"Why are you so calm?"

Just in case, Ino teased, "Didn't you like Sakura a lot before? You should be happy to be in the same group."

"Was I that obvious in the past?"

Naruto scratched his head:

"That's all school stuff. People change. Now, I just see Sakura as a classmate."

"...Oh."

Ino replied calmly, using every ounce of her strength to keep from laughing out loud.

Just a classmate, Broad-Forehead, hahahahahaha!

Inside, Ino was cackling, but on the surface, she continued with a normal expression:

"And as for your instructor, this is really impressive. My dad said he's an elite among the jonin and a very reliable comrade."

"His name is Kakashi Hatake, a powerful ninja nicknamed the [Copy Ninja]. I heard he has mastered over a thousand jutsu, and no matter what jutsu an enemy uses, he can copy it instantly!"

"Wow—" Naruto let out a flat, unremarkable exclamation.

And that was it.

"What's with that?"

As the young lady of the Yamanaka Clan, possessing the clan's secret Mind Transfer Jutsu, Ino was naturally sensitive to people's emotions.

She keenly sensed that this time, Naruto's response seemed to carry a different kind of emotion compared to when he learned who his teammates were.

Ino shoved Naruto's shoulder.

"Why are you being so dismissive? Are you not satisfied with this teacher? Let me tell you, he's a student of the Fourth Hokage! He has serious credentials!"

"Why would I be dissatisfied? I don't even know him. This whole Copy Ninja, student of the Fourth thing—it has nothing to do with me."

Naruto chuckled and said indifferently:

"I just don't like the name."