Huh? You Really Finished It?

Half an hour passed.

Naruto had managed to finish one bowl.

Meanwhile, his little wife Hinata had polished off nine bowls.

She looked no more than seventy percent full.

Naruto, on the other hand, was truly done for.

Finishing one bowl was enough to make him thank his lucky stars.

"Huh? You really finished it?"

Ayame came over to check and stared at them in astonishment.

Her face was full of confusion and disbelief.

Added together, the portions were enough to challenge three starving, burly men.

They might not even be able to finish them.

"Right, Ayame-nee, just like you said, we get our meals free if we finish, right?"

"Ah—yes, yes. But, little Naruto, did you finish your Big Eater Set Meal all by yourself?"

Ayame asked with suspicion on her face.

The number of bowls and pairs of chopsticks on the two sides of the table was the same.

There were five bowls on Naruto's side.

There were also five on Hinata's side.

Hinata had suggested doing this herself.

The little girl had done it to spare Naruto's pride.

Although Naruto had repeatedly told her she didn't need to.

After all, Ayame had said that if the two of them finished everything, their meals would be free.

Even so, Little Hinata had still separated out the bowls she'd emptied.

What else could that be but the behavior of a sweet, considerate little wife?

She was already so thoughtful about a boy's feelings at such a young age.

Wouldn't she grow up to be the perfect wife and mother?

"Ayame-nee, you have a ranking board here, right? I took a look earlier, and the top fifteen all make the list."

"Also, anyone who succeeds at the challenge can leave their signature on the blackboard."

Naruto asked with a smile.

Ayame nodded. "That's right. You two can go sign it in a moment. It'll be a nice keepsake. The chalk is in that little box under the blackboard."

"Sounds good..."

After speaking, Naruto leaned down and whispered softly in Hinata's ear. "Hinata, are you interested in that ranking board?"

"I took a quick look, and the fifteenth-place challenger ate eight bowls."

"You could bump him off the list~ If you don't want to, forget I said anything."

The two of them were almost pressed together.

Feeling the warm breath Naruto exhaled against her ear, Hinata's ear tickled, and her face turned bright red in an instant.

She didn't mind such close gestures from the boy she liked.

If it had been another boy, she would have activated her Byakugan!

Even if she couldn't beat him, she'd have broken his legs with all her might!

"...I want to hear what Naruto-kun thinks."

Hinata gave a tiny nod and spoke in a very quiet voice.

She already knew that the man took charge of the outside world, while the woman took care of the home.

She was leaving matters outside the house to her husband.

That was nice.

"Sure~ Since you want to listen to me, I'd like you to put your photo up there as a keepsake."

"And, of course, we can come back another time and try to climb the Big Eater ranking. We'll aim for first place."

"What do you think?"

As he spoke, Naruto gently breathed against her ear from time to time.

Little Hinata shivered. She had never been treated like this before.

It was torture!!!

Ahhh!!

She lowered her little head even further.

"...I'll do whatever you say, Naruto-kun."

"Hinata, you're wonderful. Marrying you will definitely be one of the greatest joys of my life!"

Naruto didn't say "if" or "should we ever" or anything like that.

Because he was determined to have Hinata!

No one was going to steal her away!

If anyone dared, he'd not only break their legs.

He'd kill them, too.

The heavens had arranged this marriage, after all.

How dare anyone openly defy the heavens?

Were they tired of living?

"Ah~? I... I'm not as wonderful as you say, Naruto-kun~"

"Words can't describe it. Anyway, you're wonderful."

"I... I'm not, really."

"Tsk, tsk... You're still arguing? If your husband says you are, then you are. Take this!"

"Eek... Oh! Naruto... Naruto-kun, you... you actually..."

Caught completely off guard, Little Hinata had her ear gently nibbled.

Her face flushed with embarrassment, and she stammered for a long time without managing to get the words out.

After the two finished eating, they went out and wandered around together for a while.

They stayed out until the sun set and the glow of the evening clouds washed the whole village in gold.

"Sigh... I'm exhausted. In the end, I still couldn't snatch the bells from Kakashi-sensei."

"I thought Sasuke would get a bell, just like Naruto-kun did."

"Who knew he couldn't... Had Naruto-kun been hiding his strength all this time?"

Sakura Haruno walked down the street in a sorry state, carrying the bento box she'd finished eating.

Her clothes were covered in dust.

She was filthy from head to toe.

She didn't have a shred of strength left.

Not long ago, she'd seen Naruto take a bell from Kakashi with ease.

Watching how effortlessly he'd done it made Sakura think that if she gave it a little effort, she might manage it too.

But reality had slapped her hard across the face several times.

It was too difficult!!!!

Kakashi was one of Konoha's veteran High Shinobi, and an elite among the elite.

She was only a newly minted Genin with mediocre talent.

Thinking she could nearly match Kakashi?

She had to be dreaming.

Sakura wasn't all that surprised by her own failure.

She'd just have to accept it.

But Sasuke couldn't do it either!

That completely overturned Sakura's understanding of the world.

The image she'd had of Sasuke as the strongest person their age crumbled in an instant!

Sakura gave a self-mocking laugh.

"Heh... I've suddenly realized how stupid I've been."

"The Naruto-kun I never even gave a second glance was the strongest!"

"And back then, he was desperately pursuing me."

"I didn't even accept him..."