"I... I... waaaah ~"
Sakura couldn't finish her sentence before tears gushed from her eyes.
Naruto felt a bit embarrassed.
"Sorry, let me be the 'it' now."
Indeed, making someone 'it' for a whole morning was a bit much.
"Alright, Sakura, let's go hide quickly. Naruto will never find us ~"
"Mm ~!"
Ino saw Naruto's flustered look and knew he wasn't good at comforting people.
She immediately stepped forward, took Sakura's small hand, and left.
Naruto looked at Ino with a grateful expression.
Ino turned back and winked at him.
"Well then, it's my turn to be 'it' now. You all better hide well ~"
Naruto took a deep breath, calming himself down.
Next, he had to be a good 'it' and make sure everyone could kick the can he was guarding.
He closed his eyes, silently counting to sixty seconds.
Naruto slowly opened his eyes.
In the park, not a single child was in sight.
But... with just one glance.
Naruto noticed the pink-haired girl in the bushes.
'Sakura couldn't possibly think that if she hides her front, she won't be found, right?'
'No, this round, I must let Sakura kick the can once, otherwise she'll be very upset.'
Thinking this, Naruto began to walk in that direction.
"Where is everyone?"
"Could they be hiding in the bushes?"
"If you don't hide well, I'm going to find you ~"
"Huh, what's that?"
"It looks like someone's foot... Wait, there's movement behind me!"
Naruto suddenly changed direction and ran backward.
Hearing the sound so close, Sakura trembled all over.
Suddenly, she felt a chill on her bottom.
'Oh no! Naruto will find me like this!'
She then quickly hid her exposed lower body in the bushes.
Naruto didn't leave. Looking at the trembling Sakura, he shook his head helplessly.
Sakura: "..."
"Hahaha ~" Ino naturally burst out laughing.
Sakura clenched her fists, her head down, her cheeks flushed.
What was the difference between having her embarrassing moment seen and doing her business in public on the street?
"It's okay, Sakura!"
Ino stifled her laughter and patted Sakura's shoulder.
"But, even though Naruto had an agenda, he was quite gentle."
"Otherwise, someone would be crying again."
Sakura still kept her head down and said resentfully, "When the comparison viewing is over, Naruto, you're dead!"
Naruto, who was watching with great interest below, suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
"Shikamaru, I found you."
"Chōji, you're here."
"Ino, it's easy to fall if you hide here. Come down first."
Before long, Naruto had found everyone.
When they were hiding earlier, Naruto had paid attention to their favorite hiding spots.
"Naruto, you're amazing. You found us so quickly," Chōji said helplessly.
"If you didn't eat potato chips when you hid, I might not have found you so quickly," Naruto explained with a smile.
"Huh? Sakura hasn't been found yet?" Ino asked in disbelief.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes, his hands clasped behind his head.
"This is troublesome."
Seeing this, Ino thoughtfully followed Shikamaru's gaze.
Sure enough, she saw the pink-haired girl hiding in the bushes.
Too obvious.
In Ino's opinion, she could easily find her, let alone Naruto.
'Is this... Naruto deliberately not finding Sakura?'
'Then he must want Sakura to kick the can once and save us, right?'
Thinking this, Ino looked at Naruto with a different expression.
"Sakura!"
"You're the only one left. Please hide well and find a chance to save us ~!" Ino shouted.
The other children, seeing Ino shout like this, also cheered for Sakura.
"I'll find Sakura soon," Naruto said with a chuckle.
Then he deliberately ran into the distance.
Precisely, to where Sakura was.
Hearing the approaching footsteps, Sakura was so scared she didn't dare to breathe.
However, she soon felt a gentle breeze and the footsteps grew further and further away.
"They must be hiding by the fountain, right?"
Naruto deliberately left a message for Sakura to hear, who was hiding in the bushes.
The fountain was almost the furthest location from here.
Watching Naruto disappear from the corner of her eye.
Sakura sighed in relief but still didn't dare to move.
After a long while, Ino couldn't stand it anymore and quickly urged Sakura to come out and save them.
Finally, Sakura mustered her courage and rushed out.
Clang —
Watching the can fly far away, Sakura's small face turned red.
This was her first time kicking the can.
"Sakura, you're so amazing ~!"
As the childhood leader, Ino naturally wouldn't be stingy with praise.
"Ah! Sakura actually kicked it!" Naruto quickly appeared.
Everyone scattered again.
Next, under Naruto's direction.
Almost everyone kicked the can once.
Everyone's faces were filled with smiles.
Only Ino and Shikamaru noticed Naruto's intention.
Shikamaru, with his hands clasped behind his head, walked up to Naruto.
"This is troublesome... Let me be 'it'," Shikamaru said.
"Mm, I can be 'it' too." Ino came up beside Naruto and pinched his arm.
"Did you really think we wouldn't notice?"
"You actually don't need to do this!"
Ino lowered her voice, saying in a fiercely cute tone.
'Was I discovered?' Naruto was stunned for a moment.
But on second thought, it was normal. Shikamaru looked lazy but was quite smart, and Ino was very observant.
Moreover, he only treated them as children and didn't hide it too much.
Didn't the other children, besides Shikamaru and Ino, all have fun?
Yamanaka Ino: "Hmph hmph, did you really think you could hide it from my sharp eyes?"
Uchiha Izuna: This child... what a pity. If it weren't for that fool Tobirama Senju, Naruto, no, both Narutos would have grown up very healthy.
Tobirama Senju: Are you never going to let this go? Is it my fault?!
Uchiha Izuna: If it's not yours, then whose is it?
Hashirama Senju: Mine, mine.
Uchiha Madara: Hashirama, it's good you know.
Ino shrunk her neck. She didn't dare to interrupt these ancestors arguing in the chat room.
And on the large screen with the black border, the game was already nearing its end.
Naruto didn't continue to be 'it'.
Instead, Shikamaru became 'it'.
Sakura, after Ino's explanation, also understood the situation behind her only time kicking the can.
With Ino's exaggerated storytelling, Sakura was moved to tears.
Crying? Crying also counts as time, and soon, the 'crybaby' was the first to be found again.
Before long, Shikamaru had found everyone.
After finding Sakura first, Shikamaru focused on finding Naruto.
The game ended, and the children were all a bit reluctant for it to be over.
At this moment, three people appeared at the park entrance.
"Is that the child?"
"Yes, he's practically a template of Minato."
"Inoichi, Ino seems to really like that child."
"Uh... Shikaku, let's not talk about that for now. Is it really okay to let the children interact...?"
....
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