"That day, Sister Kurenai and I made a promise: if I became a great hero that Sister Kurenai acknowledged, she would say to me, 'You're very handsome, I have feelings for you.'"
"Can Sister Kurenai fulfill her promise now?"
Seeing Nojuro Ryun smiling smugly, Yūhi Kurenai felt a surge of annoyance, yet deep within, an uncontrollable joy also arose.
Sensing that Ryun wouldn't let this topic go so easily, she slowly spoke, saying, "You are indeed very handsome, but making me fall for you—that's still a bit off."
"Also, don't do things like this for me anymore. Don't you have better choices?..."
Yūhi Kurenai's admonition came to an abrupt halt because Tenten knocked on the door.
Before Kurenai could respond, four heads poked through the doorway, their faces lighting up with surprise as they looked at Ryun.
They hadn't expected that Ryun would have recovered in such a short time, and even the doctor had already left.
"It looks like you're going to be busy now. I'll take my leave."
Kurenai breathed a quiet sigh of relief. If Ryun had insisted she give him an answer, she might have been too embarrassed to face him.
"Tokubetsu Jōnin Kurenai, how is Ryun-kun doing now?"
Tenten and the others didn't enter immediately but remained standing politely at the door, afraid of disturbing Ryun.
Kurenai beckoned them over, saying, "Come in, he's fine. He might not have his strength back yet, but his injuries have healed."
"Really? Which medical ninja treated him? We must thank them properly afterward!"
"He healed himself. I'll leave the rest for you all to discuss."
After the girls had entered, Kurenai went to the door and added a final, worried instruction.
"No matter what you talk about next, the patient's health must be the top priority. If there's anything, you can settle it after Ryun is discharged."
She knew about Ryun's desire to build a large family and had guessed he intended to confess to several people.
So, for her little brother's safety, she felt it necessary to caution the girls.
The girls hadn't thought that far ahead yet; they nodded gratefully, each thinking Kurenai was truly a kind and wonderful older sister.
Only then did Kurenai leave the ward, but she still felt uneasy.
Ultimately, she decided not to leave and sat down outside the ward, prepared to wait until Ryun had gotten through this situation.
What she didn't know was that there was now another person outside the ward window—Anko, who had just rushed over upon hearing the news.
Although Anko lacked Kurenai's sensory abilities, eavesdropping was basic for a Tokubetsu Jōnin. From there, she could ensure Ryun's safety.
The only one who knew the exact number of people currently in the ward was Ryun himself. He was even perfectly aware of what had just happened on the rooftop. Everything was mostly within his expectations; the biggest surprises were Kurenai and Anko showing up.
But Anko was already Ryun's wife. As for Kurenai, even if Ryun invited her in, she wouldn't dare enter. So, the current situation was within Ryun's acceptable range.
Seeing the four girls staring intently at him, Ryun smiled and stretched out his arms, saying, "If you don't know how to start, how about a hug?"
The next second, they all rushed over.
Tenten claimed the spot in Ryun's arms, Ino tugged at his ear, Sakura lifted his shirt, and only Hinata thoughtfully used the blanket to cover his waist.
"Next time you do something dangerous, you have to take us along! I'm the real ninja here. Abandoning me, are you looking down on my abilities?" That was Tenten.
"Your admiration for the First Hokage needs to have limits. You're not even a ninja! Sacrificing yourself to save others—what are we supposed to do?" That was Ino.
Sakura, meanwhile, stared intently at Ryun's stomach: "Wow, you really have recovered! Ryun-kun's abs are so defined—"
"Sakura, you can't just touch him!"
Hinata tried to stop the three from getting too excited, but no one listened. She could only activate her Byakugan to check Ryun's chakra flow, ensuring he had no hidden internal injuries.
The sounds of the girls around him comforted Ryun; this feeling of youthful vitality and simple concern was intoxicating.
But soon, they all quieted down, a glimmer of tears welling up in their eyes.
Ryun gestured for them to come closer, placed their hands together in a pile, and finally covered them with his own, saying, "I'm sorry for making you all worry."
"But rest assured, this is the last time I'll make you worry."
"Really?"
"Really!"
Seeing Ryun's solemn promise, the girls finally relaxed for the moment.
As a result, the atmosphere gradually returned to normal, and the doubts in the four girls' hearts could no longer be suppressed.
Ino and Sakura both signaled to Tenten with their eyes. Tenten then took out the letter, saying, "Um, A-Zhen, here's your letter back."
"We're sorry for opening it without your permission. We were worried there might be important information inside."
Tenten stuck out her tongue; she wasn't very good at lying, so her face immediately turned red.
Ino quickly picked up the thread, saying, "By the way, Ryun-kun, who did you write this letter to?"
"That's right, that's right! We can deliver it for you right now. It must be for a girl, right?" Sakura chimed in immediately.
Even Hinata, usually the shyest, seemed to have grown bolder: "It must be for someone Ryun-kun likes, right?"
Tenten and the others turned to look at Hinata, startling her.
But then the three girls secretly gave Hinata a thumbs-up—Hinata really came through in a pinch!
"This..."
Ryun also seemed to get shy, his gaze uncharacteristically darting away.
This reaction immediately made the four girls' hearts race, their emotions nearly boiling over as they all leaned in.
Tenten and Ino sat on either side of the bed, Sakura lay directly on the bed, leaving only one spot on the bed for Hinata to sit.
But thinking heaven knows what, as if to compensate for being too far away, she inexplicably slipped her hand under the covers, grasped Ryun's foot, and began massaging his pressure points with a clumsy technique.
The corner of Ryun's mouth twitched slightly, but the girls interpreted this as a sign of his guilt.
So they intensified their offensive, saying, "Ryun-kun, tell us! Who exactly do you like?"
"Yeah, yeah! We can even be your assistants and help you win her over!"
"Alright, I guess I have to tell you."
Ryun sighed and said, "She's a kunoichi around my age, skilled in taijutsu, lively, cheerful, and full of energy."
Hearing this, Tenten's face flushed all the way to her ears. She didn't dare meet Ryun's gaze, nor did she want to see the disappointed looks from the others.
But then she immediately felt her blood run cold.
"In her daily life, she really likes flowers. She has a gentle, flower-like personality, delicate and sincere."
Ino pursed her lips and couldn't help but flip her hair.
So, in Ryun's eyes, she was full of energy? Well, that wasn't wrong; she really was energetic around him!
"But I also admire her ordinary yet extraordinary tenacious character. I believe she will definitely become one of the strongest kunoichi in the ninja world, blooming with the most beautiful radiance."
Sakura subconsciously pointed to herself. Ryun actually thought so highly of her?
She supposed she was also energetic and liked flowers.
Sakura smiled foolishly, but then Ryun's next words made her look behind her.
"Of course, what moves me most is her courage to give up everything to protect her family and friends. In this world, how many people can you truly trust to watch your back?"
Seeing three pairs of eyes staring intently at her, Hinata pulled her hands back and waved them frantically, saying, "But I'm not an energetic person, and I don't really like flowers..."
Tenten and the others then looked at Ryun in confusion, their eyes filled with disappointment, yet they had to respond.
"Do we know someone like that?"
"Likes flowers, energetic, from an ordinary background, and willing to sacrifice herself—that's so hard to guess!"
"Hey, Ryun-kun, you're not just making up some excuse to brush us off, are you!"
Just as Tenten, Ino, and Sakura were looking suspicious, Hinata blushed and smiled.
Her understanding of Ryun was second only to Anko and Kurenai, so she naturally knew he didn't intend to marry just one.
Before, she hadn't known how to face Ryun or the other girls, but now that Ryun had brought it up himself, it wouldn't hurt to say a little more, right?
"Hinata, what are you smiling about?"
"Did you figure it out?"
"Tell us quickly, Hinata!"
Hinata took a deep breath and slowly began to speak: "That person is right here... All four of us are Ryun-kun's ideal type."
"Haven't you guessed yet? That letter was actually written to us."
***
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📖 Like the story? Read 120 chapters ahead!
🔗 patreon.com/atomelectron
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━