"Sensei, and everyone else, you're all really too much."
Naruto, who had quickly finished his ramen, put down his bowl and chopsticks and said to everyone.
Shikamaru and the others touched their noses, looking embarrassed. They had wanted to give him a surprise, but it ended up making Naruto cry.
"Naruto-kun..." Hinata looked conflicted.
Seeing everyone's embarrassed expressions, Naruto smiled and said, "But, I really like it! Thank you, everyone!"
Shinji pointed to a pile of gift boxes on Naruto's bed and said, "Alright, Naruto, everyone has prepared gifts for you."
"Go take a look."
"Really!" Naruto's eyes lit up, and he quickly got up and ran to the bed.
"Wow, this is... new goggles?"
The first thing Naruto opened was a pink box, from which he took out a brand new black forged pair of goggles.
"Naruto-kun, this is from me. I hope you like them." Hinata followed behind, nervously rubbing her fingers, afraid Naruto wouldn't like them.
"Thank you, Hinata, I love them." Naruto said.
Then, he immediately took off his old goggles and put on the ones Hinata gave him. He proudly showed them off to everyone.
"My gift is clothes. Don't you always like orange?" Shinji pointed to the box that the Shadow Clone had brought back.
Hearing this, Naruto quickly picked up the box. After opening it, he saw that inside were two sets of clothes and pants, predominantly orange, with black on the shoulder pads, collar, and sleeves.
On both sides of the arms and on the back was the Uzumaki clan symbol, exactly the outfit Naruto wore during Shippuden.
"So cool!" Naruto shouted loudly.
It was the first time he thought clothes could be so cool.
Shinji said gently, "As long as you like it."
With his feeding, Naruto was no longer a shorty. At least by the time he graduated, he wouldn't be the shortest in Team 7. So, this outfit now suited Naruto's physique.
"Naruto, Choji and I got you shoes, since sensei has already taken care of everything else for you." Shikamaru said, putting his arm around Choji's shoulder.
Choji nodded and said, "I hope you like them, Naruto."
"Thank you."
Ino said, "I got you ointment. Try not to get hurt too much during training, even though your recovery is very fast."
Ino tossed her long hair, then added, "Oh, some of it was also prepared by Hinata."
Hinata nodded, her face flushed. "Mm, I hope Naruto-kun takes good care of himself and is careful during training."
"Thank you, everyone." Naruto thanked everyone again.
"This is for you." Sasuke pointed to the only box placed under the bed.
Naruto paused, then curiously reached out to pick it up. But he found the box unusually heavy, and he asked with a hint of disbelief, "Sasuke, what's in here?"
With his current arm strength, if he found something difficult to carry, it had to be exceptionally heavy.
Sasuke said, turning his head away a little embarrassed, "Compressed weighted bands. I asked my brother to prepare them for me."
Shinji was surprised to hear this. Compressed weighted bands were very difficult to obtain. After all, the metal that could be compressed was even rarer than Chakra metal. This was no longer something that could be done with money alone.
However, considering that the Uchiha clan seemed to have a deep relationship with the weapon manufacturer, Nekobaa, it wasn't surprising that they could get such large compressed weighted bands.
"Thank you, Sasuke." Naruto looked happy.
Almost everyone's gifts were chosen based on his preferences or things that could be used during his daily training. Most importantly, everyone came to celebrate his birthday, which made Naruto feel that a lot of his fatigue had dissipated.
"As long as you like it." Sasuke mumbled in response.
Seeing this, Shinji clapped his hands and said, "Alright, Naruto, it's time to eat the cake. It's getting late."
"Yes, sensei." Naruto nodded quickly.
—
"Everyone, thank you very much for today." At the door, Naruto said again.
Shinji shook his head and said, "Alright, we're leaving now. Naruto, get some rest early."
Shikamaru yawned and waved his hand. "See you tomorrow, Naruto."
"Naruto-kun, see you tomorrow." Hinata whispered to Naruto, then followed Shinji's footsteps.
Being out so late today was only possible after Shinji had spoken with her father. So, Shinji had to take Hinata home first.
...
At the entrance of the Hyuga clan, Hiashi was waiting with his hands in his pockets.
Upon seeing Shinji, he first nodded in greeting, then said to Hinata, "Hinata, you go in first."
"Yes, father."
Although Hinata was curious about what her father wanted to say to Shinji, she still nodded obediently in response.
Hiashi then looked at Shinji and said steadily, "Shinji, thank you for taking care of Hinata these past few days."
Shinji shook his head and said, "It's not necessary, Hiashi-senpai."
Hiashi asked, "I heard from Shikaku that their children have all become your disciples?"
Shinji paused at this, then looked at Hiashi with a somewhat inexplicable expression. "Yes, that's right. After all, they are all very good children."
Hiashi said, "Hinata is quite shy, I hope you will teach her well in the future."
At this point, Hiashi seemed a little embarrassed. After nodding to Shinji, he turned and went inside.
'What's going on?' Shinji thought helplessly.
Hiashi's behavior just now was not like his usual demeanor.
Shaking his head and no longer thinking about it, Shinji turned and left. He had some things to do.
[Due to disciple Naruto's extreme gratitude for his birthday celebration, a critical reward has been triggered.]
[Reward: Disciple Slot +1, Chakra +2000]
Shinji, seeing this reward, had a strange expression and looked at the Hyuga compound behind him.
He murmured, "So, he wanted me to take Hinata as a disciple, but felt a bit embarrassed for not having said anything before?"
If he hadn't received this disciple slot, he really wouldn't have thought in this direction.
Never mind, he hadn't taken Hinata as a disciple before because he didn't have a disciple slot. Now that he had a slot, he naturally had to accept her.
He just didn't know if he could get the reward for teaching Hinata Eternal Fist.
—
"Kurama! It's my birthday today. Sensei and Shikamaru all came to celebrate with me."
In the sealed space, Naruto looked around as soon as he arrived. Seeing that his father was still not there, he then looked up and shouted at Kurama.
Inside the cage, Kurama lied down, its tail constantly swaying.
Seeing the happy Naruto, it was stunned. It hadn't expected Naruto to come and share this with him.