In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

Even though he had spent the entire day with Sakura, Naruto didn't feel tired at all.

His steps were steady, without the slightest wobble.

As he walked next to Hinata, he could smell the faint fragrance coming from her. Glancing at her nervously tugging at her clothes, he thought she probably didn't realize how much her current appearance made his heart itch.

It made him want to bully her a bit.

After all, she is so easy to bully, and she probably won't make a sound even if he bullies her. Even if her face turned as red as a tomato, she would probably endure it without making a sound.

"N-Naruto-kun, what's wrong?"

"Huh?"

"You were staring at me just now."

"Oh, nothing. I just felt like bullying you."

"Wha…?" Whatever Hinata had prepared to say immediately vanished upon hearing this. She was clearly frightened and looked at him with some panic in her white eyes.

She glanced down at the hair ornament he'd given her, her face showing serious hesitation.

"If I give the gift back, can you not bully me?"

"No need to return it." Naruto reached out and pinched her cheek, his slender fingertips sliding down her face. It felt like he was playing with a delicate piece of art.

His fingers continued sliding down to her neck, tracing a circle around her collarbone. The wonderful touch from the tip of his index finger was a little strange, like the cool and smooth skin soaked in milk.

"N-Naruto-kun, if you do that, I'll..." Hinata's face turned red as she let out a light breath, and then she took a few deep breaths, as if she was about to drown.

"What's wrong?" He asked, leaning in closer, with his finers lingering on her shoulder.

"Someone might see us."

In the distance, a few shadowy figures could be seen wandering under the streetlights. In fact, they were far enough away that they wouldn't be able to see anything clearly, but Naruto still let go of her.

"Come on, let's go eat. You said you'd treat me." He said, casually and without any shyness.

He reached out to tidy her bangs with a serious expression, his gaze especially focused. Ino once joked that even when he looked at a dog, his gaze was full of affection… that's just how focused his eyes seemed to be.

In fact, when Naruto was concentrating on something, his gaze would naturally fixate. But as soon as he focused on something specific, it would blur again before refocusing.

If someone happened to catch him in this process, they might feel like their heart skipped a beat from being stared at so intensely.

"Okay…" Hinata, who had never experienced the world, was so confused that her brain was about to overheat. Her legs felt weak, and she stammered out her response, wishing she could find a hole to hide in.

'I made a fool of myself again. Even though I had already prepared myself mentally for an hour at home before coming here.'

Naruto, of course, was unaware of Hinata's internal struggles. And even if he knew, he would just laugh it off and not take it to heart. He was starting to feel hungry, and hoped that Hinata would not treat him to eat something sweet.

Maybe his prayers worked, because after a hearty meal, Naruto leaned back in his chair, full and content. Hinata had eaten quite reservedly, but seeing that Naruto was satisfied, she finally allowed herself a small smile.

Hinata was carefully sipping her drink when Naruto glanced at her. According to the script of the book he read, this was the moment when he should accidentally spill the drink on her.

Then, he could use the excuse of her wet dress to take her home, and under the pretext of drying her clothes, tricked her into taking a shower. That's how the scenario would unfold in those books.

The loose long skirt couldn't hide her figure, which was close to an S-shape, and Naruto finally understood why Hinata preferred to wear conservative clothes.

Having eaten his fill, he leaned back lazily. He looked at Hinata for a few times and then retracted his gaze, letting his mind drift. He didn't bother thinking about Kiba's situation or whether Sakura had passed the message to Tsunade.

If a person spent all day worrying about this or that, they'd be exhausted to death.

Naruto had full confidence in Tsunade. After all, she was his direct female superior. If there is something that Tsunade can't handle, then it was likely no one could do anything about it either.

"N-Naruto-kun, do you want something to drink?" Hinata asked cautiously.

Her voice suddenly pulled him back to reality. He had almost forgotten he was still with Hinata at the restaurant. His Adam's apple moved as he swallowed, and his first instinct was to ask for some alcohol.

He wasn't particularly fond of drinking, and he didn't have a habit of it. He just wanted something strong to burn his throat.

But after thinking about it carefully, he realized he was still a year or two away from being allowed to drink, so the word that had been on the tip of his tongue was swallowed back down.

After a while, he opened his mouth and finally said, "Soda will do."

"Alright, but they don't sell it here. Wait for me." Hinata said in a gentle voice. She then quietly pulled her chair back and ran out to buy him some soda.

Naruto initially wanted to tell her not to bother, but seeing her blushing face as she got up, he decided against it. After all, relationships are about mutual effort. Next time, he could just use this as an excuse to give her a gift.

After a while, Hinata still hadn't returned, and Naruto recalled that there was a store right across from the restaurant. He wondered where she had gone to buy it and decided to get up, casually paying the bill on his way out.

He walked to the door and stood there for a while, scanning the street. He suddenly thought of the Inuzuka Clan and felt a little worried.

Fortunately, after less than half a minute, Hinata appeared from the left side of the long street, holding the hem of her skirt in one hand and holding a bottle of something in the other.

Before she even had a chance to catch her breath, Naruto asked her directly, "Isn't there soda for sale right across the street?"

"They... they didn't have orange-flavored soda. I remember Naruto-kun likes that flavor." Hinata replied with her head lowered, as if she had done something wrong.

Seeing this, Naruto suddenly didn't know what to say. It wasn't that he particularly liked orange-flavored soda. It was just that the store near his house only sold that flavor, and he wasn't the type to fuss about it.

Over time, he got used to taking the same type of soda wherever he went. For him, the flavor wasn't important at all, and he just liked the refreshing, cold sensation of soda in the summer, cooling him from the inside out.

"If they didn't have it, it's no big deal. It's not like I can't drink other flavors." Naruto sighed. What else could he say?

He reached out and patted her head, then asked, "Where did you go to buy it? Was it far?"

Hinata remained silent, her lips tightly pressed together.

Naruto sighed again, "Come on, tell me. I won't bully you."

"I-I went to the store at Ueno... it's not that far, but... but running in a skirt is hard... I almost fell." She whispered as she tightly grasped the bottle of soda. The mouth of the bottle was cooling and white condensation formed around the cold soda.

"Please don't be mad, okay? I-I chose to go buy it on my own. If... if it's a big deal, you can bully me a little." Hinata trembled as she spoke, her small frame shaking.

"Forget it, forget it, I won't bully you." Naruto rubbed his forehead and looked out at the distant night sky. "Let's go. I've already paid the bill. Just consider it my return gift for the soda you bought me."

"Go... go where?"

"I'll take you home. Where else can you go at this late hour?" Naruto couldn't bear it after all, so he added with a hint of concern, "Konoha hasn't been safe lately. Don't wander around at night."

"N-Naruto-kun, um... do you still want the soda?" Hinata asked shyly.

........

Author's Notes:

To make a brief summary, the protagonists are approaching adulthood, so their relationships are transitioning from childishness to the innocent romance of sixteen-year-olds. Their emotional growth will be tender and sincere.

When you turn eighteen, it's adult love. From teenage years at sixteen to adulthood at eighteen, each phase of relationships will bring new surprises.

Hinata, who had been invisible for hundreds of thousands of words, is finally starting to appear in the story. Because the Hyuga Clan was conservative, they would not let Hinata, who was 13 or 14 years old, wander around and mingle with others. But at sixteen, she is already considered mature and capable of standing on her own.

I haven't forgotten about Tayuya either. Sixteen-year-old Tayuya is still quite the beauty.

Every stage of a boy and girl's feelings is different, and the way they're portrayed should reflect that. As they near adulthood, hormones naturally run high, and both the topics and events will lean more toward mature themes.

In terms of plot, the storyline involving the Land of Whirlpools is still archived, and the forces of the Shinigami and Jashin have begun to reveal themselves. The system has combined the powers of the Otsutsuki with those of the Shinigami and Jashin to give out rewards.

The Akatsuki has withered by half, and Danzo's influence has greatly diminished, leaving his Root barely hanging on.

The Child of Prophecy still appears, and Asura's Chakra has been transferred.

Jiraiya has not returned from his investigation.

The village faces new uncertainties, with Tsunade now in control of the majority of its power.

Kakashi is still on his way, and the issue of restoring his Chakra had not been solved yet.

Looking ahead, the Amegakure's arc and the Lost Tower's storyline are about to begin.

Also, I'm actually better at writing 18+ content!