Hoshiyomi and Tsunade didn't hide anything from the children and, almost like telling a story, they described how the two of them went from knowing each other to falling in love.
After listening, the children were full of amazement, and as they became absorbed in the story, their earlier shyness vanished. Hoshiyomi clapped his hands with a smile:
"Alright, the story of me and your Aunt Tsunade is finished. Now it's your turn to tell your stories. Let's see… among everyone here, Itachi, you're the oldest. You go first."
Itachi let out a soft, confused "Eh?"—an unexpectedly cute reaction from someone who normally acted so mature. The sight immediately drew laughter from the group.
Sasuke then flashed a mischievous grin and suddenly said:
"I know, I know! Last time, I saw big brother on a date with a girl."
Itachi gave his brother a helpless look for exposing him, but he didn't try to hide anything either. Since Sasuke already said it, he simply admitted:
"It wasn't really a date. Izumi just told me there's a shop in the village that sells really good tri-colored dango and took me there to try it."
"Oooh~~"
The group let out a collective, teasing sound, and Itachi's face turned bright red—something rarely seen.
Hoshiyomi actually remembered Izumi; she had been mentioned in the anime in his previous life.
In this life, thanks to Hoshiyomi's influence, the Uchiha clan was in a much better situation than in the original story, and Itachi no longer carried such heavy burdens.
Judging by this, if Izumi kept pursuing him, their relationship would likely blossom smoothly.
After Itachi, it was Kimimaro's turn. Feeling everyone's gaze on him, the usually cold-tempered Kimimaro looked slightly uncomfortable. He tilted his head a bit and said calmly:
"I don't have any girl I'm interested in at school. After graduation I've been training at home, and there hasn't been any girl I like."
Everyone stared at Kimimaro for a while and, seeing that he wasn't lying, felt a little disappointed. But considering his personality, it made perfect sense, so they simply shrugged and moved on.
When Haku noticed everyone looking at him, he smiled gently:
"My situation is similar to Kimimaro's. But a while back, when I was on duty at the hospital, I helped diagnose an illness for an aunt from the Uzumaki clan. Ever since then, her daughter has been coming to the hospital to see me.
It's not romantic or anything like that, and I don't think I like her in that sense. But her lively personality did leave a deep impression on me."
Hearing this, Hoshiyomi felt a spark of curiosity and asked:
"Do you know her name? If so, Tsunade might be able to ask Kushina about her."
Just as he finished speaking, Naruto—who had been wriggling excitedly like a caterpillar from overhearing so many secrets—suddenly jumped up and shouted:
"I know! I was wondering why Karin kept going to the hospital recently. Turns out she was going to see Big Brother Haku!"
This time, it wasn't just the others—even Hoshiyomi was stunned. It turned out Naruto had guessed right: the Uzumaki girl who kept visiting Haku was indeed Karin.
Thinking about it, it made perfect sense. Karin, with her Kagura Mind's Eye, was extremely sensitive to chakra signatures. And because of Haku's Ice Release and medical ninjutsu, his chakra stood out uniquely in the entire hospital.
Add to that his beautiful appearance—as a girl with "fangirl tendencies," Karin falling for him at first sight wasn't surprising at all.
This was a completely unexpected pairing. In the original story, Karin harbored an unrequited love for Sasuke and ended up alone even by the finale. But here, she met Haku before meeting Sasuke—it could be considered a fortunate twist of fate. Judging from Haku's tone, he seemed to have a pretty good impression of her too. Hoshiyomi genuinely hoped the two could end up together.
After the three older kids finished, the only ones left were Sasuke and Naruto—the two Hoshiyomi cared about the most.
The two of them clearly realized it was their turn. They had been enjoying everyone else's stories, but now they suddenly became awkward. After exchanging a glance, they both shouted at the same time:
"You go first!"
Tsunade, watching from the side, couldn't hold back a laugh. Honestly… the way they act, they might as well just be together.
Finally, Sasuke let out a cold snort and spoke first:
"I don't have anything to say. There aren't any girls at school that I'm interested in. All those girls do is crowd around me after class and argue with each other. So childish."
His "cool and aloof" act didn't last long—Itachi flicked him on the forehead.
Rubbing his head, Sasuke looked at his brother with indignation:
"I'm being serious! The moment class ends, they swarm around me. At first it's fine, and then they start fighting with each other. I'm really not interested in any of them."
Hoshiyomi tried probing:
"What about Haruno Sakura?"
He intentionally glanced at Naruto as he said it. Hearing Sakura's name, Naruto suddenly perked up. He jabbed Sasuke with his elbow:
"Yeah! Isn't Sakura the leader of your fan club? You never thought about it? Mmm~~ she just adores Sasuke-kun."
At the end, he even imitated Sakura's voice in a silly, exaggerated way.
Sasuke froze when he heard her name—the image of a certain pink-haired girl flashed across his mind. But after hearing Naruto's teasing, a tic mark popped up on his forehead. He punched Naruto's shoulder and shouted:
"Don't talk like that! It's disgusting! And Sakura never said anything like that!"
Then, as if trying to explain himself to Hoshiyomi, he turned back and said:
"Uncle Hoshiyomi, how do you even know about Sakura? Out of all the girls arguing around me, she's the loudest."
Hoshiyomi casually replied:
"Oh, I just heard the Third Hokage mention her once. Just thought I'd ask."
But inwardly he felt relieved—judging from Naruto's reaction, he didn't seem to have much interaction with Sakura at all.
In the original story, Naruto liked Sakura partly because she had unknowingly defended him a few times.
But now that Naruto's status was high and no one dared bully him, that situation never happened.
And judging by Sasuke's reaction, Sakura actually had a good chance. Looks like Sakura-chan will have to keep working hard.
Finally, everyone's gaze turned to Naruto. Other than the still-too-young Ryūshin and Rinne, he was the only one who hadn't spoken yet.
Feeling everyone staring at him, Naruto became visibly flustered. He originally wanted to imitate Sasuke's aloof attitude, but quickly realized he just couldn't pull it off. Blushing, he confessed honestly:
"I'll tell you, but you all better not tell anyone else. I… I like Hinata."
Everyone gasped loudly.
Up until now, the others had only vaguely mentioned "having a good impression" or "not really a date." But Naruto went straight to: I like Hinata!
Hoshiyomi felt a rush of gratification. Good, my anticipation wasn't for nothing.
...
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