Old Enough to Get Engaged

Naruto stared blankly as he accepted the exquisite gift box.

Lowering his head, he saw a beautiful red ribbon tied around it.

"Is this... for me?"

He was still somewhat dazed, blinking as he stared blankly at Hinata.

Whether it was an illusion or not, he felt that Hinata's entire body was trembling slightly as she gave him the gift.

The surroundings fell silent.

Kushina Uzumaki stood beside Naruto, and seeing her son standing there foolishly, she could not help rubbing her forehead with a sigh. "What are you standing around for? Hurry up and thank her! Haven't I taught you to be polite?"

Though her tone carried a hint of reproach, she still wore a smile.

"Ah, y-yes!" Naruto finally came to his senses. He hurriedly gave Hinata a deep bow and shouted, "Thank you, Hinata!"

A faint, embarrassed blush rose to his face as well.

This was the first gift he had ever received from a girl.

Seeing Naruto thank her so solemnly, Hinata instead took a panicked half-step back. She softly responded, "Mm..." before becoming too embarrassed to lift her head.

Kushina smiled faintly at the sight and apologized to Hiashi on behalf of her foolish son. "I'm terribly sorry, Clan Head Hiashi. Naruto is usually very polite. I don't know what's gotten into him today..."

She shot Naruto a smiling glare, signaling for him to sit properly and stop making a spectacle of himself.

Hiashi Hyuga waved a hand and laughed heartily. "It's nothing, it's nothing."

As he spoke, he looked Naruto and his daughter over, then nodded meaningfully. "It seems these two children have had a rather good relationship since they were young. They're clearly quite fond of each other..."

Kushina looked puzzled at his words. "Mr. Hiashi, please speak frankly if you have something to say. You brought Miss Hinata here in person, so it surely wasn't just to give a gift, was it?"

She knew perfectly well that the head of the Hyuga Clan had not specifically brought Hinata to visit merely to deliver a present.

Upon hearing Kushina's direct question, Hiashi's smile deepened. Yet instead of answering at once, he hesitated briefly, cleared his throat, and solemnly announced, "Since that is the case, I'll speak plainly. Naruto and Hinata have both graduated from the Ninja Academy, and they have turned twelve this year. During the Warring States Period, this was already considered an age suitable for engagement."

"The two children have been close since childhood. My daughter Hinata has also always admired Naruto. So I was wondering whether we could take this opportunity to arrange a marriage engagement for them."

The moment those words were spoken, the atmosphere in the room abruptly fell still.

Naruto did not understand at first. After freezing for two seconds, his eyes widened as though he had been struck by lightning, and he nearly leaped out of his seat. "W-what?! E-engaged?!"

[ Ding! Emotional fluctuation from Naruto Uzumaki detected! Emotion Points +1000! ]

In the audience seats.

The three figures were equally dumbfounded by the development unfolding before them.

"Th-this... what is going on?!" Sakura Haruno stared fixedly at the scene on the screen, feeling as if her entire worldview had shattered as she cried out.

She had never imagined that she would see such a scene in Naruto's dream!

Naruto was actually getting engaged to Hinata in his dream?

Sakura felt dizzy, both angry and anxious.

They said what one thought of during the day appeared in one's dreams at night. Naruto kept saying he liked me during the day, but secretly, he wanted to marry Hinata?

The moment that thought surfaced, Sakura felt her chest tighten, and anger surged within her.

Damn it!

Who would have thought that Naruto, who looked so foolish and clueless, was actually a scumbag!

How was I inferior to Hinata in any way?

Her pretty face puffed up with anger.

[ Ding! Emotional fluctuation from Sakura Haruno detected! Emotion Points +300! ]

Beside her, Kakashi Hatake also revealed a rare look of shock. At first, Hiashi's proposal had startled him as well.

But Kakashi was composed by nature. He quickly calmed down, frowned slightly, and sank into thought.

This scene seemed utterly unreasonable, but upon closer consideration, it was not entirely illogical...

He recalled the deductions he had made while analyzing Naruto's dream the previous night and pondered silently.

Before its annihilation, the Uchiha had nominally been Leaf Village's foremost great clan. Yet for various reasons, there had been a significant divide between the Uchiha and the village's higher-ups.

Even though the Uchiha were numerous and powerful overall, their influence within Leaf Village was far inferior to that of the equally prominent Hyuga Clan.

Kakashi's gaze flickered as he continued his deductions.

Yet in Naruto's dream, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had not died in battle. He had become Hokage and maintained good relations with the Uchiha, greatly reducing the rift between the Uchiha and the village.

That would inevitably affect the Hyuga Clan's status and influence within the village.

As the clan head, Hiashi would certainly have to find a way to do something for the sake of his clan's interests...

At that thought, Kakashi could not help clicking his tongue.

He simply had not expected Hiashi to choose a method like marrying his daughter to Naruto!

On the other side, Sakura finally managed to recover from her shock.

With a glance from the corner of her eye, she noticed that Hinata beside her had turned completely red. Her hands kept poking her index fingers together, while she lowered her head and unconsciously muttered, "How could Naruto have a dream like this... How could Naruto have a dream like this..."

It was as though steam were rising from Hinata's head. She looked like she was about to boil over.

Sakura stared at her in a daze. "???"

She had never expected normally quiet and shy Hinata to keep murmuring like a broken record.

She continued murmuring under her breath.

Suddenly, Hinata's vision went black, and her body went limp with a snap. Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted on the spot.

Sakura hurriedly caught Hinata and cried anxiously, "Ah! Hinata, what's wrong?"

After Hinata fainted, the figures in the audience seats gradually began to blur.

Sakura was startled, realizing that the dream might be ending here. "Kakashi-sensei, the dream is ending!"

Kakashi nodded impassively.

The next instant, the three of them felt the scene before their eyes twist. The enormous screen and dim theater rapidly faded away...

Shigure, hidden behind the scenes of the dream, watched the series of notifications frantically refresh across the system panel and had long since been grinning from ear to ear.

In just one night, Hinata's intense emotional fluctuations had come flooding in like a tide, sending the system log flying!

As the dream ended, the system panel automatically displayed the settlement information for this dream.

[ Dream Fulfillment Target: Naruto Uzumaki ]

[ Viewers: Hinata Hyuga, Sakura Haruno, Kakashi Hatake ]

[ Total Emotion Points Earned: 15350! ]

[ Current Emotion Points Balance: 45950! ]

"Not bad, not bad!"

Shigure nodded in satisfaction.

The Emotion Points he had gained tonight exceeded even his expectations. His current balance had already accumulated to nearly fifty thousand points.

His heart filled with wild joy.

Adding the points left over after his previous spending, he had surely met the upgrade requirements!

With that thought, Shigure hurriedly summoned the system panel.

Sure enough, an upgrade notification was flashing in the center of the panel:

[ Current Dream Fulfillment Level: Level 1 (100450/100000) ]

[ Congratulations, Host. Upgrade requirements met! Upgrade immediately? ]

"Why even ask? Upgrade! Hurry up and upgrade it for me!"

Without another word, Shigure decisively chose to upgrade.