A Date with Hinata

The two of them made their way to the little river together. Naruto turned to Hinata and said, "Hinata, let's eat fish later. Wait here for me."

"Eat... fish? Are we going fishing? We didn't bring any fishing gear." Hinata gathered her courage and finally managed to say something.

"We're not fishing. That would be too slow. I have a better way," Naruto said confidently.

"A better way? What kind of way?" Hinata looked at Naruto with a hint of anticipation.

"You'll find out soon enough."

Naruto gave a mysterious smile, walked over to the aquatic plants by the riverbank, then crouched down and began pulling them aside. Before long, he lifted out a fish trap covered in weeds.

The moment he raised the trap, several plump fish leaped about wildly inside it.

"So many big fish! What is this net-like fishing tool called? Its structure is so strange. Is this what you use to catch fish?"

Hinata ran to Naruto's side and curiously examined the large fish trap, obvious curiosity gleaming in her eyes.

"This tool for catching fish is called a fish trap. As long as you put it in the water with bait inside, you'll definitely catch fish by the next day," Naruto explained with a smile. He had used fish traps in his previous life too, but he had only caught small fish. However...

This world was clearly different. The fish here were huge, and there were so many of them. He caught several fish every time. He had even considered selling them for money, but ultimately gave up on the idea.

After that incident, Naruto understood that Hidden Leaf Village was even darker than he had imagined. Before he had strength, keeping a low profile could only benefit him.

Of course.

Playing with Hinata was still fine. They had known each other for years and often talked together. Going out to have fun like this was perfectly normal. No one would stop them.

So, completely at ease, he placed the fish trap on the grass for Hinata to inspect.

"Naruto, did you make this fish trap? It has such an amazing design. The fish can't get out at all." Hinata crouched beside the trap and looked at the large fish inside.

"That's right. This fish trap only lets fish in, not out. Of course, I only wanted to catch big fish, so the mesh openings are fairly large. Small fish can leave, but the big ones can't escape."

Naruto pointed at the structure of the fish trap and began explaining how it worked.

After hearing Naruto's explanation, Hinata felt that it sounded incredibly impressive. She blinked her big eyes and praised him.

"Naruto, you're amazing. How did you come up with this? I've never seen anyone in the village catch fish this way."

"What can I say? Life forced me to learn."

Naruto tried his best to maintain a smile, but it was a bitter one. When even getting enough to eat was a problem, all he could do was rely on himself.

"Naruto."

Worry surfaced in Hinata's eyes when she heard that. Though she was young, she was very sensitive, and she instantly understood the bitterness behind Naruto's smile.

"It's fine, it's fine. Go gather some firewood. I'll clean the fish. There's a stove and some cooking tools I made over there. We'll have grilled fish later," Naruto said, changing the subject.

"Mm, I'll go right away."

Hinata nodded her little head and trotted toward the distance. Yet her eyes kept drifting back to Naruto from time to time; she was clearly still worried about how he felt.

[Experience Points +1]

The Experience Points prompt appeared again. Naruto calmly took out a kunai, removed the large fish from the trap, and began cleaning them.

During his conversation with Hinata just now, he had continuously gained Experience Points. Such gains made Naruto very happy, and he was especially full of anticipation for what Experience Points could do.

"I wonder what they'll be used for. I really can't wait," Naruto muttered.

"What's wrong, Naruto?"

Hinata's pleasant voice drifted over from afar. She had clearly been watching him the whole time.

"It's nothing. Hurry up and gather the firewood. I'll have the fish cleaned soon," Naruto called back.

"Okay."

[Experience Points +1]

Over the next stretch of time, Naruto and Hinata busied themselves, quickly getting everything ready to begin cooking.

"Naruto, let me cook."

Hinata was fairly skilled at cooking, so she decided to take on the task.

"How about this? You make fish soup, and I'll grill the fish. We'll work together," Naruto suggested.

"Mm-hmm, okay."

[Experience Points +1]

As Hinata began busying herself with the fish soup, Naruto started grilling fish over the nearby fire.

Considering that they trained every day and used up a great deal of energy, their appetites were rather large. Naruto grilled a total of five fish.

The fish were huge. Given their ages, two fish each should be enough, while the extra one could serve as a backup.

After deciding that, Naruto took seasonings from the cooking supplies he had hidden away and began grilling the fish.

He had a large amount of these ingredients, all of which he had gathered in the wild. Since he did not have enough money to meet his daily needs, he had to save wherever he could.

Fortunately, nature in this world was a treasure trove, filled with abundant materials for daily life. Naruto could find everything he needed and even have some left over.

More importantly, the ingredients here were exceptionally good. There was no pollution, no forced growth, no pesticides, and no chemical fertilizer. Everything was organic, so naturally the flavor was much better.

That was even why he kept his cooking tools and ingredients outside. Unfortunately, there were no orange trees nearby, so he could not eat his favorite oranges. That was his greatest regret.

Shaking his head, Naruto stopped letting his thoughts wander. He quickly set up the grill rack, placed the large fish on it one by one, and began his great grilled-fish endeavor.

However, Naruto, who often ate alone, did not realize that when the grilling methods from his previous life combined with this world's superb ingredients, the resulting aroma was enough to make food lovers drool.

Hinata, who was cooking fish soup beside him, was a perfect example. At first, she had been diligently making the soup, but she soon caught the astonishing fragrance. She quickly turned to look at Naruto, watching him sprinkle ingredients little by little as he grilled the fish to a golden color.

"It smells so good! Naruto, what ingredients did you put on the fish? How can it smell so amazing?"

Hinata blinked her big eyes at the grilled fish, her fair throat moving slightly as though she were secretly swallowing.

As the young lady of the Hyuga Clan, Hinata had eaten a great many delicacies and knew far more about food than ordinary people. Yet she had never seen this grilling method or these ingredients before. They were truly unusual.

She watched Naruto skillfully grill the fish until they were golden, breathing in the rich aroma. To her surprise, she discovered that her best friend had such an outstanding side to him. It truly made her see him in a new light.

Grrr.

The sound of her stomach growling rang out. Hinata's little face flushed red, and she lowered her head in embarrassment. Her two fair little hands covered her stomach as she dared not look at Naruto.

"It'll be ready soon. Just wait a little longer, and we'll eat grilled fish."

Naruto smiled faintly. He felt that Hinata was even cuter like this. Her rosy little face made him want to pinch it.

[Experience Points +1]