"You can change!"
The one who roared those words was an angry Naruto.
Beside him, Sakura and Sasuke looked at Naruto in surprise, then understanding dawned on their faces.
That emotionally charged shout drew everyone's attention. Neji and Hinata naturally heard it too. Neji turned to look at Naruto and suddenly realized that Naruto Uzumaki seemed to be a living example of someone who had changed himself...
He had heard a little about Naruto's old reputation as the eternal dead last. As for how strong Naruto was now, everyone present had seen it for themselves. It was strength enough to make even him despair.
Ugh, seriously? I'd barely finished showing off, and someone immediately came along to slap me in the face! Could you even call it showing off if you couldn't pull it off properly?
As Hinata watched the furious Naruto, her gaze trembled, and she stopped what she had been about to do to surrender. Honestly, her mind was a tangled mess right then. She had already lost the ability to think, like a puppet on strings.
Naruto continued shouting:
"Hinata, say something back to him! Anyone who dismisses what's in someone else's heart like that is nothing but a bastard! Hinata! If you give up on yourself, then you really won't have a chance to change! What kind of ninja gives up without even trying?! You'd look down on yourself too, wouldn't you?! Come on, Hinata!"
Hinata's heart shook. Naruto's words echoed through her blank mind. "If you give up without trying, you'd look down on yourself too," and, "If you don't try, then you really won't have a chance."
*That's right. If I don't even have the resolve to act, how can I possibly seek the strength to change myself? If I don't even have the