297. we should get married

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"Naruto-kun, what made you suddenly decide to give me flowers?" Hinata beamed, hugging the bouquet that Naruto had unceremoniously shoved into her arms.

"Why…?" Naruto scratched his cheek, answering with blunt honesty, "I just realized that after knowing you for so long, I've never properly given you flowers before."

Hinata: "..."

'That's… quite a reason' Hinata felt both amused and exasperated. 'My boyfriend is way too straightforward. What do I do? The only choice, of course, was to forgive him'

She brought the flowers closer, inhaling their fragrance. With little expectation, she asked, "Then… does Naruto-Kun know what these flowers mean?"

"This, I do!" Naruto quickly seized the opportunity to show off the knowledge he had just learned from Ino. "Pink roses represent 'engraved in my heart' and 'first love.' I like your bright and cheerful smile…"

Though he couldn't recall every detail Ino had shared, he remembered the keywords.

Hinata's smile grew wider as he spoke. When he got to 'eternal love and promise, lifelong devotion and joy,' her face turned completely red.

Naruto grinned at her. A shy and blushing Hinata was even prettier than the flowers. "She's my wife. Moon-dwelling someone or other, if you dare try to take her, I'll break your head!"

They strolled through the village, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. Seeing how well things were going, Naruto playfully blinked at her.

"Hinata, why don't you ask me, what's prettier, the flowers or you?"

"T-That…" Hinata hesitated, feeling too shy to say it out loud. But under Naruto's encouraging gaze, she finally worked up the courage. "Naruto-kun, which do you think is prettier the flowers… or me?"

Naruto pretended to contemplate, looking at the flowers, then at Hinata. Flowers, Hinata. Flowers, Hinata. Finally, with an exaggeratedly serious expression, he answered:

"The flowers."

"Eh?" Hinata's expectant and bashful expression froze in place. 'This guy…'

She suddenly felt the urge to unleash Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists right on his face.

Teasing Hinata was fun, but making her actually mad wouldn't be good. Naruto quickly corrected himself. "I was just joking! Of course, Hinata is the prettiest!"

"Hmph~" Hinata gave a small huff, but seeing his eager attempt to make amends, she let it slide for now.

"Hey, Hinata, you've heard about the war, right?" Naruto smoothly changed the subject.

"Mm, things at home have been tense lately," Hinata admitted. "In war, a lot of people will be hurt… and some will die, right?"

Naruto asked, "Has anyone complained? Like blaming the Hokage for starting a war?"

Hinata shook her head. "No. The Hokage explained everything clearly we're working together with the other villages to stop those who want to overthrow the world. In the end, everyone is fighting to protect their families and friends. No matter what happens, they won't back down."

Then, after a brief pause, she looked up at him. "Naruto-kun… you're one of their main targets, aren't you?"

"Yeah." Naruto patted his stomach and smirked. "They're all after this lazy, gluttonous fox that spends its time bullying Shukaku."

Inside the seal, Kurama cracked open an eye. 'What kind of description is that?! Did Naruto want to die today? Lazy and gluttonous? Just because I don't feel like powering that overly complicated floating fortress?'

Hinata, however, defended Kurama. "Don't say that… he's helped you a lot, hasn't he?"

"Well, yeah, that's true," Naruto admitted. If even Hinata was speaking up for the fox, he'd let it slide.

Naruto had an interesting talent he could take a romantic date and somehow turn the conversation into a discussion about war.

Because of this, Hinata lost her appetite. The stall owners, who had been eagerly expecting two loyal customers, watched in dismay as Naruto and Hinata simply strolled past.

"I don't know what others think, but for me… I'm joining this war to protect you, Naruto-kun," Hinata confessed. "Maybe all my training until now was leading up to this moment."

Even after Naruto walked her home, her words echoed in his mind. He admitted to himself he was deeply moved.

At that moment, he nearly blurted out something reckless, like, "Let's get married after the war."

Luckily, he caught himself. 'Wait, I'm still underage! That was a close call'

As he walked home, he casually picked up a small stone and flicked it against a nearby utility pole. Ding!

"Alright, come out. You've been following us the whole way are you looking for a beating?"

"Hehe~" Konohamaru sheepishly ran up to Naruto. "Big Bro Naruto, I want to fight to protect you too!"

Naruto grabbed him in a headlock. "Fight what? You finished your homework yet, brat?"

"I can't breathe!" Konohamaru flailed, gripping Naruto's arm and doing an involuntary pull-up. His legs kicked wildly in the air.

Naruto finally let go and gave him a light flick on the forehead. "Do you even know what war is? Quit running your mouth. You're almost graduating give your grandpa some peace of mind, will you?"

"Of course, I know! I also know that this war is about protecting the entire world!" Konohamaru protested.

"Nope. That's just the official reason. There's a deeper truth behind it," Naruto ruffled Konohamaru's hair.

"The deeper truth?"

"Yeah. People from my generation are fighting… so that your generation won't have to."

Naruto shook his head, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and walked away, leaving behind a mysterious, brooding silhouette.

"…Whoa." Konohamaru's eyes sparkled with admiration. "Big Bro Naruto always says such profound things."

A moment later, he scratched his head. "Wait a sec… but Naruto is only fifteen. How does that make him 'old generation'?"

---

Somewhere Else in the Village

"Kurenai, we should get married after this war," he declared without hesitation.

He had no fear of saying what Naruto had barely stopped himself from blurting out.

Of course, part of the reason was that Kurenai's belly was becoming harder to conceal. Last night, Asuma had endured a long, harsh scolding from Biwako Sarutobi "You got her pregnant early, and now you want to delay the wedding?! Do you even plan to take responsibility?!"

On top of that, Ino had been constantly nagging him about it. Worse, she even roped in Shikamaru and Chōji. They had stolen his cigarettes and lighter and that lighter was expensive!

Shikamaru was lazy about everything else, but when it came to this, he was suddenly full of energy.

And Chōji? He was usually so kind, how did Ino corrupt him into helping her distract me?!

Seriously, could they stop using the Ino-Shika-Chō formation for this?

Asuma sighed. He had thought about proposing before, but he had never made up his mind. And now, the words had just slipped out.

Kurenai stared at him, exasperated. "I thought you'd only say that after the baby was born."

"Ha ha…" Asuma laughed awkwardly, instinctively reaching for his cigarettes only to remember they had been stolen. "So… you agree?"

"In your dreams!" Kurenai rolled her eyes. "At least bring a flower or something. Give me a reason to say yes."

"After this war, if you don't propose properly, this child won't bear the Sarutobi name!" She shut the door on him, leaned against it, and looked up at the ceiling.

"…Come back safely, okay?"

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