The Hot Spring water flowed slowly, steam curling around him.
Naruto now felt that the water, which had been just the right temperature moments ago, was getting a little too hot.
"Uh..." Naruto murmured, raising a hand to wipe the fine beads of sweat from his forehead. After thinking for ages, he managed to squeeze out, "The Hot Spring... the Hot Spring feels really nice."
"...Mm."
"The stars, the stars in the sky are really pretty, too!"
"...Mm."
Hinata's faint replies drifted over from the other side. Even with Naruto's sharp hearing, he could barely catch her voice unless he listened closely.
"Um..."
Just as Naruto was racking his brain for another topic, even considering dragging Kurama and his father in to help him think, Hinata spoke first.
"Naruto-kun, about what my father said earlier, I'll find a way to resolve it."
"Huh? You mean... you and Hanabi?"
"Yes, so you don't need to worry too much about it."
Why does Hinata sound so strange?
Naruto paused. He felt that he could hear an unfamiliar stiffness and unease in her words.
"How could I not worry? Of course I'll help you work it out!"
Naruto hurriedly said.
But after he spoke, there was a moment of silence.
"...That would be fine, too."
Only after a long while did those words drift over.
Something's wrong!
Naruto immediately closed his eyes. Red markings appeared around them, and when he opened them again, his pupils had become red, vertical fox slits. Nervous and cautious, he asked, "Hinata, did something happen today that upset you?"
"...No..."
There really is something wrong! Something seriously wrong!
Fox Sage Mode (Sage Mode) greatly enhanced his sensory abilities. With Naruto concentrating fully this time, he finally picked up the trace of trembling and unease in Hinata's voice, subtle