Chapter 39: Eh…? You Actually Finished It All?
In half an hour,
Naruto barely managed to finish one bowl.
Meanwhile, his little wife Hinata had already polished off nine bowls.
And from the look of it, she was only about seventy percent full.
Naruto was truly done.
Finishing one bowl was already a blessing from the heavens.
"Eh?? You two actually finished everything?"
Ayame came over to check, her face full of shock.
She looked utterly dumbfounded and incredulous.
That amount of food combined—
even three starving grown men might not finish it.
"Yes, Ayame-neechan—according to what you said, does that mean we get it for free?"
"Ah~ Yes, yes… but little Naruto, did you really finish your big eater set all by yourself?"
Ayame asked suspiciously.
The number of empty bowls on both sides of the table was the same.
Five on Naruto's side.
Five on Hinata's side too.
This was Hinata's own suggestion.
The little girl was worried about Naruto's pride, so she did it this way.
Even though Naruto had repeatedly said there was no need.
Because Ayame had already said:
as long as the two of them finished everything together, it would all be free.
But in this situation,
little Hinata still separated the empty bowls.
If this wasn't the behavior of a virtuous little wife, then what was?
So young and already considerate of a boy's feelings.
When she grows up, won't she be the ultimate perfect wife and mother?
"Ayame-neechan, you guys have a leaderboard here, right? I just took a look—the top fifteen all get their names up there."
"Also, successful challengers can leave their signature on the board."
Naruto asked with a smile.
Ayame nodded.
"That's right. You two can go sign it later—as a memento. The chalk is in the little box under the board."
"Cool…"
After saying that, Naruto leaned close to Hinata's ear and whispered softly:
"Hinata—are you interested in that leaderboard up there?"
"I glanced at it—the fifteenth place only ate eight bowls."
"You could knock him off~ If you don't want to, just pretend I didn't say anything."
The two were almost pressed together.
Hinata felt Naruto's warm breath against her ear.
Her ears tickled, and her face flushed bright red in an instant.
She didn't mind such intimate gestures from the boy she liked.
If it were any other boy,
she'd activate Byakugan immediately!
Even if she couldn't win, she'd cripple his legs!
"…I want to hear Naruto-kun's opinion."
Hinata nodded slightly, her voice tiny.
So young and already knows "husband handles outside affairs, wife handles inside."
Letting her husband take charge of external matters.
How nice.
"Great~ Since you want to listen to me, I hope you'll get your photo up there—as a memento."
"Of course, next time we're free we can come back and try to refresh the big eater leaderboard—aim for first place."
"What do you think?"
As he spoke,
Naruto occasionally blew a soft breath.
Little Hinata shivered all over—where had she ever experienced treatment like this?
This was pure torture!!!
Ahhh!!
Her little head buried even lower.
"…Everything will be as Naruto-kun says."
"Hinata, you're amazing. Marrying you one day will definitely be one of the greatest joys of my life!"
Naruto didn't use words like "if" or "suppose."
Because Hinata—
he was determined to have her!
No one could take her away!
Anyone who dared try—he wouldn't just break their legs.
He'd kill them outright.
Heaven arranges marriages as the highest authority.
To openly defy the heavens like that?
They must be tired of living?
"Ah? I… I'm not as amazing as Naruto-kun says"
"Words can't describe it—you're just perfect."
"I… I'm not…"
"Tsk tsk… still denying it? Your husband says you are, so you are. Take this!"
"Hisss… ow… Naruto… Naruto-kun, you… you actually…"
Caught off guard,
little Hinata—who had just been lightly bitten on the ear—
turned completely red and stammered incoherently for a long time.
After eating, the two went out and wandered around together for a while longer.
Until the sun set and the afterglow of sunset dyed the entire village gold.
"Sigh… so tired. In the end, I couldn't even get a bell from Kakashi-sensei."
"I thought Sasuke and Naruto-kun would both get one."
"Who knew it wouldn't work… Was Naruto-kun hiding his strength all along?"
Sakura trudged down the street, holding her empty bento box, looking utterly disheveled.
Her clothes were covered in dust.
Her face and head were filthy.
She had no energy left.
Not long ago, she had seen Naruto snatch a bell from Kakashi
with effortless ease.
She thought—if she just tried a little harder,
she could do it too.
But reality slapped her hard—several times.
Too difficult!!!!!
Kakashi was a veteran Konoha jonin—one of the elite among elites.
She was just an average-talent fresh genin.
A near 50-50 chance?
She must've been dreaming.
She wasn't too surprised by her own failure.
Just let it be.
But even Sasuke failed!
That completely shattered Sakura's worldview.
The image of Sasuke as the strongest among their peers
crumbled in an instant!
Sakura gave a self-deprecating laugh.
"Heh heh heh… I suddenly realize how stupid I really am."
"The Naruto-kun I never even looked at properly was actually the strongest!"
"Back then he chased after me so desperately."
"And I… actually refused him…"
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