Hinata, Stop Pretending — Chapter 20

The only reasons she dared approach her were that she was truly hungry and genuinely loved dango. That kind of fondness was the same as Hinata's; it needed no further explanation.

Based on all that, Hinata concluded that those reasons had temporarily suppressed the other woman's fear of her.

While struggling to maintain her composure, Hinata finally sat on the stool opposite Anko Mitarashi. She cautiously asked, "Can I sit here?"

A cryptic smile appeared on Anko Mitarashi's face. "If you're not afraid, suit yourself. But let me remind you, little girl from the Hyuga Clan."

"Do you see the forehead protector on my head?" Hinata nodded.

Anko Mitarashi chuckled. "Hehe, be careful. Sharing a table with a ninja can be dangerous sometimes. You might get bitten by a snake when you least expect it."

Hinata panicked, and nervousness showed on her face. Still, she puffed out her cute cheeks and said to Anko Mitarashi, "No. Ninja are meant to protect the village. They won't harm ordinary people or their comrades."

Seeing that, Anko Mitarashi said carelessly, "Suit yourself," then ignored Hinata and picked up the red bean soup on the table to resume drinking.

When Anko Mitarashi stopped paying attention to her, Hinata finally breathed a sigh of relief. That round was safe.

Hinata then said to a waitress, "Please bring me thirty skewers of dango first. If that isn't enough, I'll order more."

The waitress listened to Hinata's request while watching Anko Mitarashi. Once she saw that Anko Mitarashi made no further moves, she immediately went to serve Hinata.

The waitress was an auntie nearing thirty. Though she was somewhat surprised that such a little girl had ordered thirty skewers of dango, she cared more about the female ninja wearing a Konoha ninja forehead protector.

In her memory, Anko Mitarashi had visited this shop more than once and could be considered a regular customer. By all rights, she should show this ninja proper respect.

Rather than being scared out of her wits, even though this ninja's temperament, personality, and habits were rather unusual.

But she still remembered it—no, many people remembered it. Once, two drunkards had either deliberately or accidentally knocked over one of Anko Mitarashi's dango skewers.

They neither apologized nor offered compensation afterward. Yet over such a trivial matter, countless snakes crawled out from Anko Mitarashi's sleeves.

No one knew how many people had fainted or wet themselves from fright at the time. Those two drunkards had ended up in a truly miserable state, though their lives had not been in danger.

Ever since then, whenever this waitress—or anyone else who had witnessed that scene—saw Anko Mitarashi, they thought of a snake that could walk upright.

Because of that incident, Anko Mitarashi's reputation spread outward from this shop, and many people came to know that a female ninja filled head to toe with snakes, yet fond of dango, liked to visit this place.

Thus, one person told ten, and ten told a hundred. Whenever someone came here to eat and saw that legendary female ninja, they would inevitably imagine all sorts of things.

Her fearsome reputation was truly unmatched for a time. If someone made a few slight changes, it could probably become another sellable horror story.

But when the waitress saw a seven- or eight-year-old girl daring to approach what she considered a taboo existence, she could not help sighing inwardly. A newborn calf truly fears no tiger.

Yet she could not warn this fragile-looking little girl, because she knew a ninja's senses were extremely sharp. For the greater good, she could not risk losing more than she gained.

Setting those thoughts aside, the waitress could only silently pray for the frail-looking little girl she did not know.

Before long, Hinata's dango arrived: three full plates, along with a complimentary bowl of red bean soup.

Anko Mitarashi had already finished eating, but she did not seem to intend to leave right away. It seemed she was planning to sit and digest her food.

When people had nothing to do and began to feel idle, they unconsciously looked for something to occupy themselves with. Anko Mitarashi's snake-like eyes kept sweeping over Hinata.

It made Hinata feel as though she had been targeted by a venomous snake. Hinata: I just want to eat a proper meal.

She angrily shouted inwardly, Just wait until I grow up or can use the Tenseigan. Otherwise, I'll eat every snake in the world of Naruto until they become a protected species.

Hinata suppressed her emotions, picked up a skewer of dango, and took a gentle bite. Mm, rich but not greasy. It tasted wonderful.