Tenten and the others were not fools.
Although their emotions had been thrown into complete disarray by Ryun the day before, after the Hokage arrived and they left the hospital together, reviewing the situation as they walked, they realized they had been led astray by Ryun.
Originally, they could have joined forces to teach Ryun a harsh lesson, but instead, he had picked them off one by one, and even succeeded in confessing to all of them.
Driven by this embarrassment and unwillingness to accept it, they decided to unite and come back to cause trouble for Ryun again.
They also agreed that today, no one would secretly undermine their fellow sisters.
That was how this scene of them confronting Ryun with such ferocious momentum came to be.
Unfortunately, their momentum was shattered by a single sentence from Ryun.
The surrounding doctors, nurses, and patients stared at this scene with wide eyes and gaping mouths; given Konoha's size, what happened here would probably soon be known throughout the entire village.
Therefore, what the girls now had to face was no longer just about how to cause trouble for Ryun.
It was about what they were going to do when their friends and parents questioned them?
Frustrated and annoyed, they covered Ryun's mouth, hoisted him by his arms, and carried him straight out of the hospital.
After a few leaps and bounds, they arrived at a deserted street, and only then was Ryun thrown to the ground.
Naturally, Ryun didn't fall clumsily; instead, he flipped over and landed steadily, looking at the girls with a smile.
Tenten was the angriest, followed by Ino, while Sakura seemed more balanced. As for Hinata, she seemed more curious than anything, as if considering how Ryun would eventually get out of this mess.
"You, you confessed to the four of us and tricked us into agreeing, that's one thing."
"But today you go and spread this all over the place; don't you know I'll get scolded by my dad and mom?!"
Tenten poked Ryun's chest, while Ryun said calmly, "Then let me go and talk to your parents."
"N-No way! I'm not letting you meet them, what if you end up fighting?!"
Tenten spoke loudly, but she felt a bit guilty.
If her parents were swayed by Ryun's silver tongue, wouldn't that mean she'd have no authority left at all?
"That's right, Ryun-kun, just you wait for my father to secretly control you and make you bang your head against the wall!"
Ino could almost imagine Yamanaka Inoichi going berserk again after finding out about this; his goodwill towards Ryun wouldn't just drop to zero instantly, it might even become negative.
"If it's just banging my head against the wall, then I can accept that pain too. I think I can gain your father's approval."
Seeing that Ryun seemed impervious to reason, Ino gave Sakura a push.
Sakura hemmed and hawed for a long time, then said, "Ryun-kun, there's no way even my parents would agree to something like this."
"Is that so? I think my advantages are still significant. For example, the fact that I'm not a ninja—that's something your parents would really like."
A vein bulged on Sakura's forehead; this guy had really completely figured out her parents' temper. This feeling of being completely manipulated...
It really made you want to punch him!
The helpless three girls looked towards Hinata. Surely Hinata, being the young lady of the main family, would be the most opposed to this kind of thing?
Under this pressure, Hinata could only speak up and say, "Ryun-kun, starting today, you'll need to be careful of sneak attacks from the young ninja of the Hyūga clan."
"Then if I get sneak-attacked, Hinata, will you help me treat my chakra points?"
Hinata subconsciously nodded, then realized something was wrong and quickly shook her head.
Seeing the three girls still staring at her discontentedly, Hinata blushed and said, "I'm sorry, but regarding this matter, I really can't bring myself to be angry with Ryun-kun."
The moment Hinata said this, the remaining three's resolve crumbled as well.
Ino and Sakura each grabbed one of Hinata's arms and began to exploit her weak spots. Ryun was just about to visually assess Hinata's development when Tenten held his face and turned his head away.
Amidst Hinata's screams, Tenten was pondering how to lecture Ryun when she felt a cool sensation on her cheek.
She mechanically turned her head to look at Ryun, who secretly winked at her.
Tenten's mind went completely blank, all reason vanished, and her body softly leaned against Ryun, wishing this moment could last forever.
What was this about four girls uniting? If they united, wouldn't she still be the one to suffer in the end?
Anyway, Ryun had said it himself, his favorite was still her.
"So what are you all doing?"
"Tenten!"
Ino and Sakura had already walked over, looking at Tenten as if disappointed in her.
Tenten was also defeated; she simply covered her face and stayed hidden in Ryun's embrace, refusing to come out. There was no way she was telling them what just happened.
What if, later on, Ino and the others secretly tried to do the same thing?
"Ah... it's hopeless."
Ino sighed and said, "One is always thinking about stealing a march, the other always wants to throw herself at him. And the two of us left—"
Ino and Sakura looked at each other; as eternal rivals, how could they possibly cooperate when it came to snatching a boyfriend?
"Are we four really going to become his girlfriends?"
"What's wrong with that?"
Ryun patted Tenten's shoulder and nudged her back towards the others, saying, "I will definitely make you all happy."
His firm words, combined with his increasingly refined and otherworldly demeanor, made the appearance-obsessed Ino and Sakura's eyes sparkle for a moment.
Faced with someone as outstanding as Ryun, they really couldn't bring themselves to say they didn't like him or that they'd never see him again.
"Alright, it's about that time."
Ryun looked at the sky and said, "Although I confessed to you four, and you agreed, that doesn't mean you have to marry me tomorrow. We can take a few years to slowly get along, can't we?"
"Who said anything about marrying you!"
Sakura clenched her fists, and the other girls quickly nodded in agreement.
However, the way they looked at each other seemed, no matter how you saw it, to be harboring ulterior motives. This atmosphere eventually made the four girls give up and laugh, each in their own way.
"Ahhh, I don't care anymore!"
Ino said angrily as she pulled Sakura away, walking off while saying, "Anyway, you're on your own from now on, Ryun-kun!"
"We two are going to wait for our team leader. Hinata, you come too!"
"O-Okay!"
Hinata said okay, but her feet didn't move.
Tenten, for her part, sighed helplessly and said, "I'm leaving on a mission tomorrow. Guy-sensei probably won't beat you up over this... but don't go on secret dates with them while I'm away, got it?"
"Don't worry, no matter what, you'll always be number one in my heart."
Tenten gave a light snort, pretending to be angry, but inside she was overjoyed by Ryun's promise.
Seeing that Hinata still had something to say, she chose to leave first.
Ryun was also curious about what Hinata wanted to say. And this time, facing Ryun alone, Hinata didn't faint from shyness but mustered her courage and stepped forward.
"Um, Ryun-kun, does what you said that day still count?"
"Which day?"
"I mean the second time you came to our house, when you said my father wanted to betroth me to you as your wife—"
Hinata's courage ran out, and she dizzily fell into Ryun's arms.
It was only then that Ryun realized she had taken his joking words from that day seriously.
But Ryun certainly wasn't going to say it was a joke; instead, he conveniently treated those words as fact.
He ruffled Hinata's little head and said, "If you want, you can start calling yourself Nojuro Hinata from today."
Hinata's eyes rolled back, and she lost consciousness.
Ryun pinched her nose, but she still didn't wake up.
With no other choice, Ryun could only pick her up and carry her towards the school. He only caught up to Ino and Sakura at the gate.
"Wow, Ryun, what did you do to Hinata?!"
Ino asked in a tone tinged with jealousy. Sakura quickly stood with Ino and said, "You didn't secretly do something shameful while Hinata was passed out from embarrassment, did you?"
"N-No!"
It wasn't Ryun who answered, but Hinata herself, who jumped down from Ryun's arms first.
Many graduating students were already looking their way. Much as Hinata hated to leave Ryun's embrace, she had to say goodbye to him for now.
However, Ino and Sakura still underestimated Ryun's intention to deliberately stir things up. He went for a second helping, saying, "If you two want to experience being carried like a princess, I'd be happy to oblige."
Ino and Sakura instantly turned bright red, then both swung their fists at him, shouting "Just go die already!" as they chased him out of the school.
Then, she and Sakura, these two long-time rival fan-club leaders, now entered the classroom covering their faces, their footsteps unsteady, under the amused gazes of many classmates.
They finally seemed to understand what it felt like to experience public embarrassment.
But their mood soon improved, because someone else's embarrassment was even worse than theirs.
Naruto and Sasuke had actually kissed in public.
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