[It was here that Naruto returned after mastering Sage Mode, and had a god-level battle with Pain.]
[In a battle of this scale, a normal teammate would only affect Naruto's "draw speed," but Hinata still stepped forward.]
[This wasn't because Hinata overestimated herself, but because of her Byakugan.]
[Seeing Naruto pinned to the ground by Pain's black rods, the legendary King of Wordplay almost doubted himself from Pain's taunts.]
[Hinata couldn't just watch the person she liked fall into danger. Even though she knew what she could do was insignificant, she couldn't stop herself from rushing forward, just like Naruto once did to save her, without caring for the danger.]
[Sometimes, emotions can overpower reason.]
[Hinata: Because I like Naruto-kun the most.]
[This time, Naruto finally understood Hinata's feelings, but what he saw next was Hinata being ruthlessly beaten by Pain with Shinra Tensei and Universal Pull.]
[Hinata used her newly learned move, Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists, but against an opponent like Pain, all she could do was so much.]
[When Hinata exhausted all her strength and rushed to Naruto to remove the black rods from his body, Pain suddenly struck, throwing her high into the air, then slamming her hard to the ground.]
[Naruto was stunned. A girl who had been so weak was now challenging an enemy as powerful as a god for his sake. Meanwhile, he could only lie on the ground, questioning his own life.]
[When Naruto saw Pain thrust the black rods into Hinata's body, he lost control and began to rampage in his tailed beast form.]
[Naruto, now out of control with eight tails flaring, fought fiercely against Pain.]
[If it hadn't been for his dad showing up at the last moment to pat his head, Naruto would have unleashed the Nine-Tails over Hinata's "death."]
"Wuwuwu~"
On the screen, Hinata was knocked away by Pain again and again, only to stand up each time, trying to help Naruto pull out the black rods in him.
Such a touching and tragic scene brought tears of emotion from Kushina and Kurenai.
"Son~ If you dare disappoint Hinata, I'll make you regret it."
This time, Naruto did not argue.
He just stared blankly at the screen, watching the girl who confessed to liking him, and remained silent.
Hinata showed, through her actions, just how much she liked Naruto.
Such a level of affection even influenced Naruto from reality.
At this moment, he was reflecting on himself, asking deep inside, "Do I really like Sakura?"
Could it be because of Sasuke?
As everyone knows, during their time at the ninja academy, Naruto was always competing with Sasuke over everything.
Sakura liked Sasuke, so Naruto thought he had to win her over. At that time, he could mock Sasuke freely: "Look, the girl who once liked you now likes me instead."
Naruto, with all his thinking power, started to realize.
The reason he thought he liked Sakura was probably just to outdo Sasuke.
That kind of affection wasn't love at all.
It was incredibly unfair to Sakura, to Hinata, and even to himself.
So, why did this happen?
As he pondered, Naruto suddenly turned his gaze to Sasuke, who was watching the screen with interest.
"Damned Sasuke, it's all your fault."
Sasuke: ???
"What are you losing it about?"
Sasuke was also getting numb to this.
He was watching the screen, thinking how stupid Naruto was to have such an amazing girl liking him, when he suddenly heard Naruto's words.
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have thought I liked Sakura."
"Why does it matter to me whether you like Sakura or not?"
"If you didn't always oppose me, I wouldn't have had the illusion that I liked Sakura."
"I swear, you're the one who keeps going against me, you damn idiot."
If the situation hadn't been so tense, Sasuke really would've punched Naruto.
It was just so confusing.
In response, Naruto really wanted to punch Sasuke too.
"Arrogant Sasuke~"
"Idiot~"
Neither of them would back down, their foreheads pushing against each other in a headbutt contest.
To outdo Sasuke, Naruto borrowed some power from Kurama and activated his Tailed Beast cloak.
Seeing this, Sasuke scoffed and activated his Sharingan, using Lightning Release chakra to stimulate his body, determined to beat the idiot in front of him.
"Alright, you two, stop messing around."
In the end, it was Orochimaru and Minato who intervened, separating the two and bringing peace to the situation.
"Mom, I think I might be able to feel Hinata's feelings for me now."
Sitting back down, Naruto's small face was full of melancholy. "What should I do?"
Seeing her son finally get it, Kushina was overjoyed and, ignoring the intense battle on the screen, quietly began telling Naruto some methods for courting girls.
[After the battle ended, Nagato used the Rinne Rebirth technique to revive everyone.]
[But Hinata didn't actually die, so she wasn't revived by Nagato, but was saved by Sakura.]
Tsunade: This girl named Sakura is really good at medical ninjutsu.
[Naruto protected the entire village from Pain, and the villagers' attitude toward Naruto completely changed, a 180-degree turnaround.]
[When Naruto returned after handling Nagato's aftermath, the whole village gathered at the village entrance to welcome their great hero.]
[Hinata was also among them, her eyes filled with tears.]
[That boy she had liked for many years, the one who had once been seen as a monster by the whole village, was now becoming more and more outstanding.]
[She also needed to continue working hard toward Naruto's goals.]
". I've said so much, did you remember it?"
Under the light screen, Kushina taught Naruto many love techniques.
But some things made Minato, who was eavesdropping, feel something was off.
For example: High-level hunters often appear as prey.
Upon hearing this, Minato kept thinking.
Was it that back then, Kushina acted so annoyingly toward him because she was playing hard to get?
"Minato... Minato, what are you thinking about?"
Once Kushina finished explaining to Naruto, she looked up and saw Minato lost in thought.
"It's nothing. I was just thinking about when to go to the Hyuga clan to propose."
". Dad, isn't it a bit too soon for that?"
Naruto swallowed nervously and looked at Minato awkwardly, "The light screen is the light screen, but what if Hinata doesn't like me in real life?"
"Not bad, son. If you can say that, it means you've been thinking."
Minato praised Naruto first, then discussed with Kushina, and finally continued speaking to Naruto, "Alright, though the chance is small, you do have a point. Let's put off the proposal for now. We'll talk about it once you and Hinata confirm your relationship."
For now, his focus was entirely on Naruto.
As for whether Kushina had played him, that no longer mattered.
*********
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