Naruto: Naruto Hosted by the System

Hinata blushed at the thought of being alone in a room with Naruto.

Naruto scratched his head: "Nothing, I just wanted to ask you..."

"Want to go get some ramen together?"

Chapter 151 Snowy Night, Date, Confession

Inside Ichiraku Ramen.

Hinata was still feeling a little dizzy. Somehow, she had accepted Naruto's invitation and even came to this ramen shop together.

The ramen shop's interior was very ordinary, but the owner was very enthusiastic and seemed to know Naruto well.

"Hey, Naruto, it's been a long time since I've seen you eat ramen."

"Ah, I have been quite busy lately."

Naruto greeted the owner, Uncle Tetsu, and then sat down with Hinata.

"You brought a friend with you today? Just tell me what you'd like to eat, it's on me today!" Uncle Tsubasa noticed Hinata next to Naruto and smiled even more enthusiastically.

"I can't accept this..."

"You've become Hokage, and I haven't even celebrated with you yet. No need for further words, let's just leave it at that."

Naruto couldn't refuse the old man's kindness and silently remembered it in his heart.

Hinata sat down opposite Naruto, looking around the store with a sense of novelty.

Because of Hinata's strict upbringing, she rarely ate out in the past.

Furthermore, in order to better learn Soft Fist, the family always arranges meals with a focus on "nutritional balance," and they don't eat much oily food like ramen.

Hinata, what kind of ramen would you like to order?

Hinata snapped out of her daze when she heard Naruto calling her, and stammered, "Huh? Me? Me?"

Naruto handed the menu to Hinata and pointed to the dishes, saying, "Look, here we have tonkotsu ramen, miso ramen, chashu ramen... and you can also order different combinations."

There aren't many varieties of ramen; they're all fairly common flavors.

Hinata's mind wasn't on choosing the ramen flavor at that moment, because Naruto had moved closer to her to explain the differences between the flavors, and their heads were very close. Hinata could clearly see the trembling of Naruto's beard as he spoke.

Too...too close!

Because Hinata hadn't replied for a while, Naruto looked at her strangely: "Hinata, could it be...?"

"W-what's wrong?"

"Do you have decision-making difficulties like me?!"

Naruto looked like he understood everything, crossed his arms and nodded to himself.

"I can understand that. After all, every kind of ramen is so delicious, it's really hard to make a decision."

Hinata stared blankly at Naruto, and blurted out instinctively, "So, Naruto-kun, how did you make your choice?"

"Well..." Naruto scratched his cheek a little embarrassedly.

"I ordered one of each flavor. Anyway, I have a big appetite now, so I won't waste any."

Upon hearing Naruto's reply, Hinata unconsciously looked at the floor and murmured softly, "So that's what Naruto-kun was thinking..."

"Huh? Hinata, what did you say?"

"It's nothing." Hinata shook her head, looked up at Naruto, and gave a slightly shy smile.

"I said, I want to be like Naruto too."

After placing their order, the two sat facing each other and chatted while waiting for their ramen, although Naruto did most of the talking.

"Hinata, do you remember? There was a time during a practical lesson when I said I would take on the whole class by myself, and I even knocked Iruka-sensei unconscious. I still remember the funny expression on his face when he woke up."

Naruto recounted the events with great enthusiasm, while Hinata listened quietly, her head propped up by her hands.

"Yes, I remember. Everyone was surprised by how much Naruto had changed."

"Huh? Is the change big? It can't be so big that it feels like you've become a completely different person, can it?" Naruto scratched his cheek and asked casually.

Hinata shook her head: "Naruto is Naruto. Although he sometimes gets very serious, I can tell that Naruto-kun is still the same as before—warm, friendly, generous, and as dazzling as the sun."

"I'm not that good. I'll feel embarrassed if you praise me like that," Naruto smiled.

But Hinata looked at Naruto seriously, her eyes no longer filled with shyness as before.

"Naruto is just that good!"

Naruto was taken aback.

"Naruto-kun, do you remember? One snowy night when I was a child, I got separated from my clan. That day, a few children surrounded me when I was alone. They insulted me and threw snowballs and stones at me."

"At that time, it was Naruto who stood up for me and protected me."

Hinata smiled sweetly.

"Even though it was nighttime, it felt like my vision was filled with light."

Naruto stared blankly at Hinata, sensing that she seemed a little different from usual.

Hinata continued her story.

"Naruto-kun, do you know? The Hyuga clan... has changed a lot."

"The distinction between the main family and the branch family... Although the term no longer exists, people still often quarrel because of the past. My father often stays up very late to work on clan matters."

"However, my life has also changed a lot. My dad is no longer as strict as before. Occasionally, when he has some free time to accompany my sister and me to training, he will praise me."

"I'm stupid and can't tell what's right or wrong, but I think what Naruto-kun did is definitely right, and the changes Naruto-kun brought to the Hyuga clan are definitely right."

"These are all my honest thoughts."

Hinata looked at Naruto, her eyes filled with an indescribable emotion. She hesitated several times before finally mustering all her courage.

"Naruto-kun, I..."

"Ramen is served!"

The middle-aged man, carrying a plate in each hand with three bowls of ramen on them, staggered toward the two.

"Hey, Uncle Hand-Strike, be careful."

Seeing that the ramen was becoming unstable and looked like it was about to fall, Naruto quickly stepped forward and took it.

"Hey, I'm getting old."

The middle-aged man sighed.

"Please enjoy your meal. Call me if you're still hungry."

After saying that, Uncle Hand-Struck went back to the kitchen.

Naruto placed the ramen noodles in front of himself and Hinata respectively, and handed her chopsticks, but she didn't take them for a long time.

Hinata?

Hearing Naruto's call, Hinata snapped out of her daze, hurriedly took the chopsticks, and her flustered appearance returned to normal.

"Hinata, what were you about to say?" Naruto asked curiously.

"me……"

Interrupted like this, Hinata's hard-won courage vanished.

"What?"

"It's nothing! Hurry up and eat your ramen, or it'll get soggy!"

Hinata suddenly shouted something, then lowered her head and started slurping her ramen.

Naruto was a little confused, but he didn't ask too many questions.

Since things have come to this, let's eat ramen first.

To Naruto's surprise, Hinata, though eating ramen silently, had an unexpectedly large appetite, eventually eating more than forty bowls!

Uncle Hand-Strike was clearly surprised by Hinata's appetite, but he refused Naruto's offer to pay, since he had promised to keep his word.

Not only that, Naruto also received a lifetime free ramen voucher (exclusively for Naruto).

On the way back, Naruto personally escorted Hinata back to her clan's territory, just like he had done years before.

As the two walked out of Ichiraku Ramen, it was snowing outside, just like back then.

The two walked side by side, heading forward.

Sometimes Hinata would fall behind a few steps because she was lost in thought. Whenever this happened, Naruto would notice, turn around to look back, make sure Hinata was beside him, and then stand still and wait until Hinata caught up before continuing to walk forward.

"I didn't expect Hinata to like ramen so much. If we have the chance, we can go eat it a few more times in the future."

Thinking about how Hinata had silently eaten more than forty bowls of ramen earlier, Naruto felt a little emotional and subconsciously looked at Hinata's little belly.

How did they manage to put it in...?

Hinata felt a little embarrassed by the stares and lowered her head.

"I'm sorry...did I eat too much...?"

"How could that be!" Naruto quickly waved his hand.

"It's a good thing that she can eat, and Hinata likes Ichiraku Ramen just like me. I'm happy that we share the same hobby."

"Really? That's great..."

Hinata casually placed her finger on her chin, a smile appearing on her face.

The two continued walking forward side by side.

The snow was quite heavy, and it quickly accumulated on the roadside.

Seeing this, Naruto was suddenly seized by a playful impulse, squatted down, picked up a handful of snow, and squeezed it.

"Ta-da!"

Naruto opened his hand, revealing the snowman inside.

Well, perhaps it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing, but this snowman is crooked and twisted, with a rather large head that seems to be trying to represent hair. It picked up two small white pebbles from the roadside to use as eyes, but they look strange because they are not the right size.