Sakura: Naruto is handsome? That's impossible!

In the audience, Hinata's eyes grew slightly moist as she watched the screen.

The look of loneliness mixed with self-encouragement on his face caused a sharp pang in her heart.

Naruto-kun... has he always been this strong?

Even in his dreams, he remained so hardworking and motivated.

Hinata's gaze flickered, her admiration and pity for Naruto deepening within her heart.

Sakura, on the other hand, shrugged as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. "You saw it too, right? In the dream, Naruto has his parents by his side. That's why even his personality is a bit more stable than usual."

Kakashi nodded thoughtfully at her words, his gaze returning to the screen.

In the scene, Kushina gently patted Naruto's head beside the dining table. "Alright, stop pulling such a long face. Eat up before it gets cold, and once you're finished, go to the backyard to practice the Rasengan. When your father gets back, he'll definitely want to check your progress."

"Hehe, you're right!"

At these words, the gloom vanished from Naruto's face. He beamed, grabbed a rice ball, and swallowed it in a few quick bites.

"I'll do my best! When Dad gets back, I'll definitely surprise him!"

As he spoke, he swept through his breakfast like a whirlwind. Then, under Kushina's amused gaze, he dashed out of the house and ran toward the backyard training ground.

In the backyard stood wooden targets and training posts, clearly the place where the father and son practiced daily.

Naruto pulled a brand-new rubber ball from his ninja pouch, held it in his hand, and steadied himself.

His eyes burned with focus. Recalling the pointers his father had given him, he slowly began to gather chakra in his hands.

Pale blue chakra condensed and swirled in Naruto's palm, emitting a low, humming sound.

Naruto furrowed his brows, concentrating fully on controlling the flow of chakra as he continuously struck the ball in his hand.

However, only two or three seconds later, Naruto suddenly felt his palm lighten—

Bang!

With a muffled thud, the rubber ball in his hand burst apart, fragments flying in every direction!

Naruto froze, staring dumbfounded at the remnants of the ball still clinging to his palm. "That... that was it?!"

He remembered that in reality, when he practiced the second stage of the Rasengan, he had worked hard for an entire day and barely managed to put a single crack in the rubber ball.

Yet just now, with such a casual attempt, the ball had been shredded into pieces?!

Naruto opened his right hand in disbelief, the residual warmth of the chakra still lingering on his palm.

A wave of intense confusion washed over him.

Why was the training in the dream so easy?

Could it be... that the chakra in his dreams was more obedient than in reality?

Countless thoughts raced through the young boy's mind.

He recalled the fluid, seamless sensation he had felt while practicing earlier and couldn't help but mutter to himself, "I just feel like... using chakra in my dreams is so much more natural... could this be my true strength?"

In the audience, Kakashi's pupils constricted as he witnessed this, a look of deep contemplation crossing his face.

What Naruto didn't know was that in reality, the Nine-Tails was sealed within him, constantly interfering with his chakra control.

But in the dream, he was able to unleash his full potential without any obstruction... and perhaps even perform better than ever before.

"If that's really the case..."

Kakashi felt a secret tremor of shock, though he couldn't be certain just yet.

He decided to wait and see, continuing to watch the screen.

Sakura looked at Kakashi in surprise. "Naruto succeeded so easily? Kakashi-sensei, is the second stage of the Rasengan really that simple?"

Kakashi shook his head, his expression solemn. "It isn't simple at all. In fact, the Fourth Hokage spent three years developing this jutsu."

Hinata, listening from the side, only half-understood, but she didn't dwell on the technicalities. Instead, she stared at the Naruto on the screen with stars in her eyes, unable to help but whisper in admiration, "Naruto-kun is so amazing..."

Her face flushed slightly, a sweet sensation bubbling up in her heart.

The Naruto-kun in the dream was so strong and so excellent... looking closely, he seemed even more handsome and confident than the Naruto-kun in reality.

Hinata gazed at the golden-haired boy on the screen, looking spirited under the morning light, and became lost in a trance.

Her clear, white eyes reflected Naruto's figure, and even the corners of her eyes were tinged with a smile. "Naruto-kun... he looks so different."

"Huh?" Sakura tilted her head toward Hinata, feeling a mix of amusement and exasperation. "How is he different? Isn't he still that dead-last?"

"Um..." Hinata's face turned bright red. Realizing she had spoken her inner thoughts aloud, she waved her hands in a flustered panic. "No, that's not what I meant. I just meant... the Naruto-kun in the dream feels a bit more handsome and cheerful."

"Huh? Naruto... handsome?" Sakura repeated the assessment with a strange expression; she found it hard to imagine those two words appearing in the same sentence.

At the same time, the image of the real-life Naruto surfaced in her mind—

Always laughing like an idiot, careless, dressed sloppily, and unkempt...

But looking closely at the Naruto on the screen again.

There really was a bit of a difference.

The Naruto in the dream was dressed cleanly and neatly, his hair was tidy, his posture was upright, and he seemed a little taller. His face was full of confident, sunny smiles, and his whole being seemed to glow.

That dead-last she usually found so annoying was, without her realizing it, exuding a touch of youthful heroism.

"Hmph."

Sakura gave a light snort and turned her head away, refusing to look any longer. She wasn't about to admit that Naruto had a handsome side.

[Ding! Emotional fluctuation from Sakura Haruno captured! Emotion points +100!]

[Ding! Emotional fluctuation from Hinata Hyuga captured! Emotion points +200!]

On the screen, Naruto was still puzzled by his own progress.

He stood in place, pondering for a moment, and was just about to try again when he heard his mother Kushina calling from inside the house: "Naruto—someone is ringing the doorbell, go open it!"

"Oh!"

Naruto shouted back, quickly brushed the dust off his hands, and hurried out of the backyard toward the front door of the mansion.

When he reached the entrance, the doorbell was still ringing continuously; the visitor outside seemed quite patient.

"Who's visiting so early in the morning?"

Naruto scratched his head, feeling a bit confused, but he reached out to turn the doorknob and slowly pulled the door open.

As the scene outside the door came into view, Naruto couldn't help but widen his eyes.

Standing outside the door was the dignified and refined head of the Hyuga Clan, Hiashi Hyuga.

Half a step behind him stood his eldest daughter, Hinata Hyuga.

Hiashi Hyuga wore a loose, well-fitted dark kimono, draped with a white-based, clan-crested wide-sleeved robe. His ink-purple hair cascaded down his back like a waterfall.

His hands were clasped behind his back, his posture as straight as a pine. The forehead protector above his white eyes only added to his extraordinary bearing.

At this moment, the Hyuga clan head wore a warm smile, devoid of the cold severity he usually showed when lecturing his clansmen, and his gaze rested gently on the stunned Naruto before him.

Hinata, standing behind him, appeared somewhat uneasy.

The young girl stood demurely half a step behind her father, peeking at the surroundings of Naruto's home with a mix of curiosity and nervousness.

She held a rectangular gift box carefully wrapped in silk cloth in her hands, cautiously revealing only half her face as she stole glances at Naruto standing in the doorway.

"Good morning, Naruto." Hiashi nodded slightly, greeting him gently. "Sorry to bother you. I brought my daughter over; I hope we didn't disturb you?"

Naruto snapped out of his daze, just about to blurt out that she was the weird girl from his class before graduation.

But he remembered that if he said something like that, his mom would scold him.

He hurriedly waved his hands, feeling awkward, and said quickly, "Um... my dad, he's not home right now... uh, but my mom is!"

Unlike his usual habit of calling people "weird old man" or giving them nicknames, Naruto—who suddenly wanted to speak properly and be a good boy in front of his mom—didn't know how to phrase his words and became flustered, his speech turning stuttery.

He scratched the back of his head and managed a strained smile. "If you're looking for my dad, you might have to come back later..."