Hinata: I'm in charge of Konoha.

into the night.

Goodbye, Hinata~

Goodnight, Hinata~

See you next time!

In front of the Konoha Akimichi yakiniku restaurant, familiar figures waved and said goodbye to Hinata.

After most of the people had left, Hinata turned to look at the few familiar faces she recognized.

"Tch, what are you looking at? I'm waiting for Sakura to leave!"

Perhaps because Hinata was treating, Naruto, who usually called her "violent woman," surprisingly changed his address to "you bastard."

"I wasn't even looking at you, what are you babbling about?"

Hinata rolled her eyes at the blond-haired man, then addressed the remaining group:

"I'm leaving. The bill has already been paid."

Bye-bye~~

After Hinata finished speaking, she turned and left, and Toneri and Neji immediately followed her.

"Hehe, Sakura, I'll take you home."

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Hyuga the Great Demon King had finally left, and quickly walked up to Sakura and said with a grin.

"Naruto, I'm sorry, but I need to talk to Hinata for a bit. You can go home by yourself."

Sakura gave Naruto an apologetic look, then ignored his petrified expression and quickly caught up with Hinata, who was about to leave.

Naruto stood alone under the dim light, staring blankly at Sakura as she left, and subconsciously reached out his hand.

No, my Sakura...

How could you go after that violent woman?

Don't be fooled by her appearance!

"idiot."

A cold voice rang out beside Naruto, which immediately enraged him.

That smug tone of his, he knew who it was even without looking!

"Damn Sasuke!"

"You keep calling me an idiot, but I got points on my exams!"

"Don't you dare insult me!"

Naruto was so angry that he jumped up and down, looking at the black-haired boy who was passing by.

"Does that mean I should choose C for all multiple-choice questions?"

Sasuke, hands in his pockets, paid no attention to Naruto's words and simply walked back alone.

"You bastard!"

Having his sore spot hit by Sasuke, Naruto immediately chased after him, determined to fight Sasuke to the death!

-

"Hinata, wait a minute!"

Sakura, who had just said goodbye to Naruto, caught up with him, panting.

Hinata and Neji looked at Sakura with some confusion.

"What's wrong, Sakura?"

Hinata spoke with a smile.

Compared to boys, Hinata has always been very patient with girls.

"that……"

Sakura took a small box out of her pocket, a little embarrassed.

"Toneri and I are leaving now. Hinata, remember to go back early."

Neji understood immediately upon seeing this and pulled the bewildered Toneri away.

"What is this?"

Ignoring Neji and Toneri's departure, Hinata looked curiously at the box in Sakura's hand.

"It's a gift!"

"It's a gift to celebrate Hinata's graduation from the Ninja Academy."

Sakura nervously opened the small box in front of Hinata.

Inside was a very ordinary-looking black hairband.

The only highlight is the gold thread lace trim.

It looks like one of those cheap headbands you'd buy at a roadside stall.

It's probably not even worth as much as the box that held the hairband.

"Oh, it's so beautiful, is it for me?" Hinata looked surprised.

"Hmm!" Seeing Hinata's expression, Sakura breathed a sigh of relief.

Her family was just an ordinary family, unlike Hinata's wealthy family. She was worried that Hinata would look down on her, but now it seems she was overthinking it.

"Sakura, put it on me."

Hinata sat on a roadside bench, waving to Sakura under the dim streetlights.

"good!"

Sakura stood behind Hinata with the hairband in her hand and awkwardly began to tie it on Hinata.

After tying her hairband, Hinata shook her head, and her ponytail swayed behind her, making her look much the same as usual.

"Give."

Sakura handed Hinata the hairband Hinata had taken off.

"Sakura gave me a new hairband, so I'll give this to Sakura."

Hinata smiled and shook her head as she looked at the hairband Sakura handed her.

"Eh?"

Sakura looked at Hinata with a surprised expression.

"Consider this a gift from me to Sakura, if Sakura doesn't mind that I used it."

"And I think Sakura would look even better if she wore her hair in a ponytail."

Hinata reached out and patted Sakura's head, smiling as she spoke.

"Is...is this how it is?"

"Then... Hinata, can you help me?"

Sakura scratched her head a little embarrassedly.

"Oh, this..."

"I won't……"

Hinata scratched her head somewhat awkwardly.

Hinata usually has Hyuga Natsu comb her hair; she's too lazy to do these things herself. If she could, she would just leave her hair down.

Growing long hair, hmm...

It's mainly for the sake of looking cool.

Hinata is honest about this.

"Is that so..."

Sakura felt a little regretful, but she still silently remembered the matter of keeping a ponytail.

"In that case, it's getting late, so I'll be going now."

After saying her piece, Sakura prepared to take her leave.

"Does Sakura have something to say?"

Hinata looked at Sakura in front of her and spoke.

"..."

"Was it really that obvious?"

Sakura scratched her head awkwardly.

"That's right, it's written all over their faces."

Hinata nodded seriously.

If you want to give a gift, you can do it during the meal; there's no need to make a separate trip.

"……actually."

"Hinata, do you remember four years ago, that day?"

Sakura hesitated for a moment, but still mustered up the courage to speak.

Which day?

Hinata was stunned for a moment and couldn't remember. How could she possibly remember all 300-plus days in a year?

"The day Sasuke first challenged Hinata..."

Sakura didn't keep Hinata waiting long. With a hint of reminiscence in her emerald eyes, she continued speaking:

Hinata defeated Sasuke without any mercy.

"Back then, I thought Hinata was cold-hearted and lacked compassion, especially considering what Sasuke had gone through..."

"But what happened later made me realize I was wrong."

Hinata treats everyone equally, whether it's Sasuke, Naruto, or anyone else.

"If anyone challenges her, Hinata will defeat him."

"Besides that, Hinata also beat up all the bullies at school."

"Because of Hinata, there haven't been any bullying incidents at school for a long time."

"Looking back now, I realize I misunderstood Hinata all along."

"Compared to others, Hinata has always cared about everyone."

???

Do I have one?

That's so true to me!

Hinata was a little confused, but she gladly accepted her new role.

"Anyway, Hinata, you're such a good person!"

I apologize for my initial thoughts!

"I hope that one day, I and others can stand beside Hinata like Toneri and Neji!"

Sakura, mustering her courage, spoke loudly, then gave Hinata an apologetic smile before quickly disappearing into the night, leaving Hinata standing there dumbfounded.

So this is how I am in Sakura's eyes?

Wow, I'm so amazing!