"Sir, did you mean... standing side by side on the Dam at dawn to watch the sunrise, passing each other and reuniting at the Thunder Train station, and a heartfelt confession beside the Red Well at sunset?"
The female reporter from earlier spoke at a measured pace, her voice rising and falling gracefully. It sounded less like a follow-up question than an impromptu, poetic commentary.
"Though that certainly sounds romantic, full of stories and vivid imagery..."
The reporter changed tack. "But if we're talking about the 'Three Great Sage Lands of dating,' there seem to be... other choices that fit the popular idea better!
"For example, our Amusement Park's Ferris Wheel, where you can take in all of Konoha from the very top; or our Amusement Park's Aquarium, which has such a lovely atmosphere; or the Cherry Blossom Path beside the Naka River, which is beautiful this time of year..."
She rattled them off with practiced familiarity, but her inquisitive, curious gaze never left Young Naruto.
Clearly, Young Naruto's answer and the story that might lie behind it had piqued her interest.
It really was a shame this reporter hadn't become a host.
Her quick reactions, her way with words, and her ability to instantly imagine abstract descriptions as concrete romantic scenes and narrate them hardly resembled a simple street interview. She seemed more like an experienced show host who knew how to steer a conversation and uncover its highlights.
Compared with the image of reporters in Young Naruto's memories, she certainly had more of a host's style.
The "Thunder Train" she mentioned was a new form of transport that had gradually spread across the Shinobi World in recent years, created by Raimon Erekishi, the father of Raimon Electric.
Fast and capable of carrying large loads, it had gradually replaced