[After Hinata's injuries healed, she went to the training ground where Naruto often practiced before. Coincidentally, Naruto arrived at the same time.
[Speaking of Naruto, he talks a big game when it comes to others, but he actually lacks self-confidence.
[During the final phase of the Chūnin Exams, he was also filled with worry when facing Neji.
[For many years, Hinata had received a lot of encouragement from Naruto, and now it was her turn to encourage him.
[Hinata: "You can definitely win. Even if you fail, to me, you're a proud failure. Though not perfect, it's because of failure that you can rise up stronger. That's real strength. Also, I think you're a really amazing person, Naruto."
[After hearing Hinata's words, Naruto finally showed a relieved smile.
[Naruto: "I always thought you were a quiet and hesitant person, but I really like people like you!"]
"Ahh, hahaha, what? Looks like you're quite the ladies' man after all, huh?"
Under the light, Kushina didn't care about anyone else and started laughing loudly.
While laughing, she patted Naruto's back.
"Hehe, I told you! Our son, born of Minato and me, couldn't possibly be a total dense guy."
Minato also smiled.
On the screen, Naruto's words were spot on, and the smile he showed at the end, in Minato's eyes, was flawless.
"Uh, Mom, Dad, are you two getting a little too excited?"
At this point, Naruto seemed a bit embarrassed.
The screen displayed many scenes of Hinata and him, including the sight of her blushing while looking at him.
Even if Naruto was a little slow, he finally realized.
Hinata... seems to like me?
But I like Sakura!
Thinking of Sakura, Naruto suddenly gathered the courage from somewhere and looked at Kushina firmly. "Mom, when I said I liked Hinata before, it wasn't that kind of liking. The person I truly like is Sakura."
Hearing this, Sasuke couldn't help but mutter, "This idiot."
"Guess it's true. Naruto really is the most unpredictable ninja."
Kakashi sighed too.
The situation was clear: Kushina obviously liked Hinata, but Naruto didn't follow her wishes. Instead, he stubbornly said that he liked Sakura.
Let's not forget, Sakura was currently learning sealing jutsu from Kushina.
"You brat!"
Sure enough, Kushina got very angry and smacked Naruto on the head.
"Hinata is kind-hearted, soft-spoken, yet resilient. What's wrong with her?"
"I don't know, but I like Sakura."
"You—"
Seeing that Kushina was about to scold Naruto again, Minato quickly stopped her.
"Alright, Kushina, don't break Naruto's head. He's just a kid. Let things flow naturally. Maybe after seeing Hinata's review, he'll change his mind."
"Hmph, fine. I'll let you off this time, for your father's sake."
Sitting in the chair, Naruto looked very aggrieved.
He had only told his mom that the person he liked was Sakura, so why did he have to suffer from a motherly beating?!
He couldn't understand it.
But because he couldn't understand, he became even more serious as he stared at the light screen.
[In Naruto's match against Neji, Hinata watched from the sidelines, worried the whole time. In the end, her old injuries flared up, and she even fainted.]
[Luckily, the kind ninja from the Anbu, Kabuto, helped out, and Hinata was alright.]
[It's a bit of a shame though, as Hinata didn't get to witness Naruto defeat Neji in his cool style. He even got Neji to call their side the allies.]
[After Naruto's verbal smackdown, Neji didn't just hate Hinata anymore—he evolved right there into a protective brother freak.]
[As for Hinata and Naruto's romance, after their mutual encouragement in the training field, they've been stuck in place.]
[I guess it's because of Hinata's shy personality. Every time she sees Naruto, she faints—this isn't going anywhere.]
[Later, Naruto spent two and a half years training with Jiraiya. When he returned and saw Hinata again, he scared her twice in one day, causing her to faint both times. Naruto didn't get it.]
[Hinata almost had "I like Naruto" written all over her face, and Naruto still didn't notice. I suspect his intelligence is all focused on Sasuke.]
Sasuke: Tch~ What does that have to do with me.
[If things keep going like this, Naruto might never realize that Hinata likes him.]
[Luckily, not long after, a certain man appeared in Konoha, creating an opportunity for Hinata to confess her feelings.]
[Pain, controlled by Nagato, invaded Konoha, and in the end, he used the Almighty Push to level the village.]
"No matter how many times I see it, this scene is still so shocking."
The scene of Nagato destroying Konoha wasn't something the crowd was seeing for the first time.
Every time they saw it, they couldn't help but marvel at the immense power of this technique.
While everyone else was still diligently forming hand seals and using the five elements ninjutsu, the power of the "Super Shinra Tensei" was simply on another level, far beyond what the current environment could handle.
"Luckily, with Yahiko and Konan around, once Nagato is resurrected, he can be considered half a Konoha citizen, so we don't have to worry about him unleashing the Super Shinra Tensei on the village anymore."
"But I wonder what kind of expression Fourth Raikage A will have when he finds out Konoha has taken Nagato in."
"What expression could that be?"
Looking at Orochimaru, who was clearly enjoying the situation, Jiraiya nonchalantly continued, "It's nothing more than him threatening us to hand over Nagato. If we don't, he'll do this or that. Does he really think we're scared of him?
Back when Minato sacrificed himself, and when Tsunade and I were away from the village, he came to blackmail us. If he dares to make a move this time, then we'll show him that Konoha isn't afraid to go to war."
Jiraiya said this with full confidence.
Currently, Konoha had sufficient high-level combat power, and its core strength was at the top of the Five Great Shinobi Countries.
He wasn't afraid of fighting against the Hidden Cloud.
In the past, he might have worried that if the two villages went to war, many of Konoha's lower-ranked ninjas would be lost.
But after Nagato wiped out the Hidden Cloud, they no longer had the strength to cause significant damage to Konoha.
"Old man, what do you think?"
"Mm, I agree with you. If the Fourth Raikage wants to keep playing thug tactics, Konoha will show him that times have changed!"
"What if the Hidden Cloud and the Hidden Stone join forces? Should we fight both?"
Jiraiya glanced at Orochimaru, who had spoken, and calmly replied, "Unless Onoki has developed dementia, there's no way the Hidden Stone will join forces with the Hidden Cloud to fight Konoha, not with the Hidden Cloud in its current state."
Orochimaru: "What if Onoki really has dementia?"
Jiraiya: "Then I'll send you, this stubborn snake, to deal with Iwagakure!"
Orochimaru: "I'm not going."
Jiraiya: "If you don't, I'll cut your research funding."
Orochimaru: "Hah, with what you're saying, Iwagakure definitely won't join forces with Kumo, that's what I, Orochimaru, say."
Jiraiya: "Shameless."
Upon hearing this, Orochimaru immediately peeled off the skin from his face, revealing the face of an unfamiliar woman.
"I truly have no shame."
Seeing this, Jiraiya couldn't help but give him a thumbs up.
"You're impressive."
*********
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