95: Chapter 95 The Hunter and Three PreyAs dawn broke, a ray of morning sunlight entered Naruto's bedroom.
With a rare moment of free time, the warm sun filled the room with a cozy warmth.
Enjoying the sunshine is also part of Naruto's ninja way!
Just then.
The sound of high heels came from downstairs at the apartment building.
Ta-da~
Her gait is steady; she's not Hinata.
Someone is coming; Naruto senses that the target is coming to his location.
He frowned and thought for a few seconds, figuring they must have come to visit someone in the hospital.
Naruto lightly formed a Wind Release: Rasenshuriken with his right hand, deliberately severing the meridians in his right hand without causing it to bleed profusely.
He grabbed a bandage and wiped his hands haphazardly.
Just as I finished doing all this, a knock sounded at the door.
Knock knock knock.
It was very rhythmic, unhurried, and carried a sense of cautious probing.
The coldness on Naruto's face vanished in a fraction of a second.
The gloomy, calculating, and even slightly bloody atmosphere vanished instantly.
Instead, he wore a carefree and nonchalant expression.
"Here I am!Who is it so early in the morning!"
As he shouted, he casually kicked the pile of blood-stained bandages under the sofa and ran to open the door in his slippers.
Squeak.
The door opened.
A faint scent of iris wafted over.
Good morning, Naruto.
Ino stood at the door.
Instead of her usual cropped ninja outfit, she changed into a loose purple knit sweater with a low neckline that revealed her collarbone.
She wore a pair of tight-fitting jeans that accentuated her long, slender legs.
She was carrying an overly exquisite fruit basket and a bunch of lilies covered in dew.
"Ino." Naruto scratched the back of his head, feigning surprise."What brings you here?"
Here it comes, the emotion provider has arrived!
"What?You're my savior, I've come to visit you, and you won't welcome me in?"
Ino smiled and, without waiting for Naruto's reply, slipped inside.
In the instant they brushed past each other, the tip of his hair brushed against Naruto's nose.
It smells very good.
I took a shower before coming.
Ino placed the fruit basket on the clean and tidy table, frowned slightly, and then relaxed.
He secretly wondered, "Naruto has been away on missions for so long, does anyone actually clean his house?"
She turned around, her emerald green eyes fixed on Naruto's right hand, which hadn't been bandaged yet.
"Oh my god."
She covered her mouth, her eyes instantly reddening.
Good acting skills.
Naruto gave himself an evaluation.
"It's nothing, just a minor injury, it'll be fine in a couple of days—"
Before he could finish speaking, Ino had already walked over.
Instead of keeping her distance like ordinary friends, she sat directly on the armrest of the sofa next to Naruto.
The distance was dangerously close.
"Don't move."
Ino's voice softened, carrying a unique mix of doting affection and assertiveness characteristic of an older sister.
She stretched out her fingers, the tips of which were icy cold, and gently placed them on Naruto's scarred palm.
My fingertips slowly traced along the pink new flesh, the movement as gentle as caressing a fragile piece of porcelain.
"It must hurt a lot, right?"
Ino looked up, her eyes glistening with tears."When you stood in front of us back then.you were so incredibly cool."
That was the truth.
But it also contains other things.
Ever since Ino witnessed the power of that Rasenshuriken, the way she looked at Naruto changed.
It's no longer about watching a "fool who likes Sakura," but about watching a powerful individual with unlimited potential.
"Um.we're all comrades, right?" Naruto turned his face away shyly, his ears turning slightly red.
"Just companions?"
Ino leaned forward, and the fragrance of irises became even stronger.
Her breath hit Naruto's neck, warm and comforting.
"To thank you for saving my life, how about I treat you to barbecue?"
Ino's fingers slid up Naruto's palm and gently gripped his wrist.
"It's just the two of us.You can eat as much as you want."
[Ding!500 points of ambiguous emotion detected from Yamanaka Ino!]
Naruto felt nothing; he even wanted to laugh.
Is this considered a honey trap?
Unfortunately, the rank is still a bit low.
Just as Naruto was about to respond.
Bang!
The door was suddenly pushed open from the outside, slamming against the wall with a loud bang.
"Naruto!I brought some special soldier rations!"
A pink figure burst in with a gust of wind.
Sakura was panting, beads of sweat still on her forehead, and she was carrying a thermal bag with the "Konoha Hospital" logo on it.
Her smile froze on her face as soon as she entered the room.
His gaze, like radar, precisely locked onto Ino, who was gripping Naruto's wrist and whose body was almost pressed against Naruto's.
The air froze for three seconds.
"Well Boar?"
Sakura's eyebrows shot up, and her voice instantly dropped eight octaves, "What are you doing here?"
"Oh dear, isn't this a broad forehead?"
Ino didn't let go of Naruto's hand.Instead, she deliberately leaned closer to Naruto with a provocative smile on her face.
"What?You're allowed to come, but I'm not allowed to visit the wounded?"
"visit?"
Sakura strode over and slammed the insulated bag she was carrying heavily onto the table.
Thump.
The bottles and jars inside were clanging and rattling.
"You call that a visit?I think you're trying to take advantage of his weakness!" Sakura pointed at the fruit basket on the table, her face full of disdain."These fruits with excessive sugar content will only increase the burden on his body.Naruto's meridians are damaged right now; he needs professional medicinal diet therapy!"
"I am a medical ninja, and I am fully responsible for his rehabilitation plan."
Sakura stood tall, not as well-endowed as Ino, but she didn't back down in terms of presence.
"Huh?Medical ninjas have quite the airs of authority."
Ino stood up, crossed her arms, and glanced disdainfully at the group of onlookers.The pills taste terrible when you take them.
"Naruto has just gone through a great battle and is exhausted both physically and mentally.Are you trying to poison him by giving him those bitter pills?"
"What he needs is relaxation!He needs to be in a good mood!Don't you understand, you violent woman?"
"Who are you calling a violent woman?"
"What's wrong with me?You have no femininity at all.No wonder Sasuke ignored you back then."
"you..."
The smell of gunpowder instantly became overwhelming.
The two exchanged sharp glances through the air, separated by Naruto.
Naruto, sandwiched in the middle, hunched his shoulders and put on an innocent expression that seemed to say, "Who am I?Where am I?"
"Um.Sakura-chan, Ino.please stop arguing."
He offered a weak word of advice.
"Shut up!"
The two shouted back in unison.
Naruto immediately shut up, and even shuddered in response.
But in my mind, the system's notification sound was like firecrackers going off.
[Ding!You have received 2000 [Jealousy] from Sakura Haruno!]
[Ding!You have received 1500 [Competitive Spirit] from Yamanaka Ino!]
They started fighting.
Be even fiercer.
Hiss~ Ah~
Primitive emotions arising from the competition for male attention.
Just as the two were arguing fiercely and it seemed that their verbal exchange was about to escalate into a physical fight.
Knock knock.
It wasn't a knocking sound.
The sound came from the balcony window.
It was very light, but it sounded exceptionally clear in this tense atmosphere.
Sakura and Ino stopped arguing at the same time and turned to look.
The curtains were blown up by the wind.
A figure gracefully flipped in, landing silently, like an elegant cat.
The veins around his white pupils were slightly bulging and had not completely faded.
That's the state when the Byakugan is activated.
"Hin.Hinata?"
Sakura was stunned.
Hinata was dressed in light purple casual clothes and was carrying a multi-tiered, black food box with the Hyuga clan crest on it.
She didn't even glance at Sakura and Ino, who were facing off.
He walked straight up to Naruto.
"Naruto-kun, I'm back."
The voice was soft, yet it carried an undeniable firmness.
Hinata squatted down, placed the food box on the coffee table, and then took out a small, crystal-clear porcelain bottle from her bosom.
"This is a bone-setting and blood-repairing ointment made by the Hyuga main family."
She opened the bottle, and a refreshing medicinal fragrance instantly overpowered Ino's floral scent and Sakura's medicinal smell.
"hand."
Hinata reached out her hand.
Naruto paused for a moment, then instinctively offered his injured hand.
Without hesitation, Hinata dipped her fingertip in the ointment and gently applied it to Naruto's wound.
At this moment, she hadn't closed her eyes yet.
"The meridians here.are still a bit blocked." Hinata's fingers pressed precisely on an acupoint on Naruto's wrist, channeling a gentle chakra into him.
"The aftereffects of Wind Release are still there.If they are not cleared, hand seals will not be smooth in the future."
In short.
The entire room fell silent.
Sakura's expression changed.
As a medical ninja, she failed to notice the hidden blockage in the meridians.
Ino was also stunned.
Although she wanted to use her beauty to seduce him, Hinata's attitude of "I know his body better than any of you" was simply a case of being outmatched.
Hinata lowered her head and carefully applied medicine to Naruto.
Her cheeks were actually burning red, and her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of her throat.
But she held on.
She knew that if she continued to hide in the back as before, she would only ever be able to see his back.
She wanted to fight for it.
"alright."
Hinata finished bandaging her wound, raised her head, and gave Naruto a shy yet brave smile.
Then, as if she had just discovered that there were other people in the room, she turned around and gave a slight bow to the stunned Sakura and Ino.
Good morning, Sakura-san, Ino-san.
Polite, aloof, and with the composure of an empress.
"You." Ino opened her mouth, only to find herself being suppressed by this girl who usually stuttered when she spoke.
Sakura clenched her fists, looking at the food box, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
The atmosphere inside the room became even more eerie.
It's like three powder kegs piled together; a single spark could send them exploding into the sky.
"Haha!I knew I was hungry!"
Naruto suddenly burst into laughter, breaking the deadlock.
He grabbed everything on the table.
He held Ino's fruit basket in his left hand, carried Sakura's medicine bag in his right, and Hinata's food box in front of him.
"Everyone has been so kind to me, I'm so touched!"
Naruto sniffed, looking at the three girls with teary eyes, "Since everyone brought delicious food, how about.we cook hot pot at home?"
"Hot pot?" The three of them were taken aback at the same time.
"That's right!Let's cook all these fruits, tonics, and the vegetables Hinata brought together!"
Naruto, beaming with excitement like a complete idiot oblivious to the world around him, exclaimed, "Celebrating the completion of Team 10's mission, and also celebrating that I.well, I'm still alive!"
This tactic is called muddying the waters.
Since a chaotic scene is inevitable, let's turn it into a big, mixed mess.
Half an hour later.
The induction cooker hummed in the small living room.
The broth in the pot was boiling and steaming, blurring everyone's faces.
But the meal was far from peaceful.
"Naruto, eat this beef.I had the chef at home cut it specially." Hinata picked up a slice of meat, dipped it in the pot for three seconds, and placed it precisely into Naruto's bowl.
"Hmph, how can we eat only meat?The tonic soup base is ready, Naruto, drink it quickly!" Sakura retorted, ladling out a bowl of dark soup and handing it to him.
"Oh dear, you need some fruit to cleanse your palate after eating something so greasy." Ino peeled a grape and held it directly to Naruto's lips."Ah—"
The chopsticks were fighting in the pot.
Their eyes clashed in mid-air.
Naruto sat in the middle, taking a bite of meat on his left, a sip of soup on his right, and even opening his mouth to catch grapes.
He looked incredibly busy, like a fool blinded by happiness.
But he held the teacup with the frog pattern on it in his hand and slowly raised it to his lips.
Using the cup as a cover.
That憨厚 smile vanished instantly.
The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, forming a meaningful arc.
His gaze swept over the three blushing girls beside him, each lost in their own thoughts.
Jealousy, possessiveness, infatuation.
Various colored emotion values floated above my head, so intense they were almost suffocating.
"Really."
Naruto took a sip of tea, his Adam's apple bobbing.
"What a delicious meal!"
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