Chapter 435: Lap Pillow
"Big sister, are you secretly watching Big Brother Naruto again?"
The speaker was the young Hanabi, her face round and adorably cute.
She was tugging at the corner of young Hinata's clothes with her small hand, silently mouthing the words, her pure white eyes blinking mischievously.
Following her gaze, the slightly older and flustered young Hinata was hiding behind a large tree, stealing glances at the blonde boy in the training ground who was drenched in sweat while practicing Taijutsu.
The afternoon sun filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on him; every punch and kick he threw was filled with a sense of focus and power that belied his age.
"Didn't Big Brother say we could train with him?"
Being "caught in the act" by her sister, young Hinata's face instantly turned as red as a ripe apple, and even the tips of her ears were tinged with pink.
She waved her hands frantically, trying to explain herself, but her shyness and nervousness prevented her from speaking a complete sentence: "No, I'm not... I was just... passing by..."
"Hee-hee, it's not right to lie, Big Sister!"
Little Hanabi wasn't so easily fooled. She pursed her lips and smiled, then grabbed her sister's hand without taking no for an answer. "Come on, Big Sister! Just watching is no fun. Let's go find Big Brother and train together!"
"Wait, Hanabi!"
Young Hinata cried out, but whether she couldn't resist or secretly wanted to, she was half-pulled and half-dragged from behind the tree by young Hanabi, heading toward Naruto who was practicing in the training ground.
"Big Brother, we've come to train with you!"
Little Hanabi's voice arrived before she did, her crisp childish voice ringing out clearly in the empty training ground.
She pulled her sister—who was so red-faced she wished she could find a hole to crawl into—and walked light-footedly behind little Naruto, who had just finished a set of kicks and was facing away from them to catch his breath.
"It's little Hanabi!"
Hearing the familiar voice, little Naruto turned around happily, sweat still dripping from his face, a bright smile on his lips.
At that very moment, after his repeated kicks, the large tree in front of him finally fell.
With a crisp crack followed by a dull thud, the tree next to him, as thick as a bowl, was actually kicked in half by his waist-high strike.
The upper half of the trunk, along with its dense branches and leaves, crashed down, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Wow!"
Little Hanabi exclaimed in wonder, her eyes sparkling. "Big Brother is so amazing!"
Little Hinata forgot her shyness for a moment and covered her mouth in surprise.
Little Naruto himself was stunned for a moment, then scratched his head somewhat sheepishly: "Ahaha... after all, I don't have any talent for Ninjutsu, so I can only learn some Taijutsu."
However, just as little Naruto was showing that silly grin.
The dream suddenly changed!
With little Naruto as the center, the air, sunlight, courtyard, and trees around him... even his own form and smile, all became covered in countless pitch-black cracks, like a mirror struck by a heavy hammer.
"Eh?"
Both little Hanabi and little Hinata were dazed, not understanding what was happening.
In the next moment, the dream space shattered!
Little Naruto's figure disappeared like a broken illusion, replaced by the figure of the teenage Naruto.
Teenage Naruto's Rinnegan turned back into blue eyes, and he reached out his hand toward the two sisters.
"It's time to go back."
The moment he reached out, the figures of little Hanabi and little Hinata, along with the entire training ground scene, shook and distorted violently like a reflection in water when a stone is thrown in, then quickly blurred and finally shattered completely like morning mist dispersed by the wind.
Light shone in from an irregular, slanted crack at the top of the cave.
The shape of the crack was somewhat peculiar; looking up from inside, combined with the shadowy contours of the cave walls, it actually looked a bit like a long, narrow, and mysterious eye at first glance, and the sun-like presence seen through the crack happened to look like the pupil of this "eye."
Hinata's long eyelashes fluttered a few times before she slowly opened her eyes.
The first thing that came into view was that peculiar, "eye-like" crack at the top of the cave and the light filtering through, making her feel a bit dazed, unable to distinguish between dream and reality for a moment.
Then, she felt the place where the back of her head rested was warm and solid, and her nose was filled with a familiar scent of sunlight that made her feel at ease.
She tilted her head slightly, and her gaze met a pair of blue eyes close at hand, filled with a gentle smile.
Naruto-kun?
Hinata was still a bit groggy, calling out softly by instinct.
Her voice carried a hint of soft sleepiness from just waking up.
"You're awake, Hinata."
Uzumaki Naruto's voice sounded in her ear; he was leaning against the rock wall of the cave, while Hinata... and Hanabi on the other side, who was still sleeping soundly with her little face flushed, were both resting their heads on his lap.
Clearly, while they were trapped in the dream and drifting unconsciously, Naruto had brought them out of the water pool passage and placed them here to rest.
After a brief moment of recovery, Hinata suddenly realized that she and her sister were lying on Naruto's lap in such an intimate posture!
A surge of heat rushed to her cheeks, and her heart began to pound uncontrollably; she almost cried out in alarm, her body instinctively wanting to sit up.
However, just as she was about to move, Naruto was a step faster.
He extended his right hand, his slender index finger gently pressing against Hinata's soft lips.
"Shh—"
Naruto shook his head slightly with a reassuring smile, lowering his voice to a near-whisper. "Don't wake Hanabi. She's sleeping soundly."
The tip of his finger felt slightly cool, yet it seemed to carry an electric current, causing Hinata to freeze entirely.
The gentle touch on her lips and Naruto's gentle face so close at hand made her brain go blank instantly; all the words she wanted to say and the movements she wanted to make were blocked back, leaving only the rising heat on her face and her heart thumping like a drum.
"Ah? Um... um..."
Hinata could only manage a few meaningless sounds, her cheeks turning so red they looked ready to bleed. She nodded frantically, indicating she understood and would stay quiet.
She could even feel Naruto's warm breath brushing against her forehead as he spoke.
Naruto looked at her extremely bashful state, like a startled little rabbit, and the smile in his eyes deepened with a hint of helplessness and doting.
He withdrew his finger from her lips but didn't look away, instead continuing to gaze at her tenderly, saying softly:
"We've known each other for so long, why do you still get so shy every time you see me?"
These words were like a feather lightly scratching the tip of Hinata's heart, making her feel even more embarrassed, yet also bringing an indescribable sense of sweetness and peace because of the undisguised closeness and acceptance in Naruto's words.
She stole a glance, meeting Naruto's smiling eyes, then quickly lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously twisting the corner of her clothes, her heart racing like a jumping deer.
Naruto-kun... is so close!
This realization, coupled with the lingering memories of the dream and the overly intimate contact in reality, caused an interplay of extreme shyness, indescribable joy, and a faint sense of anticipation and unease within Hinata's heart.0
Loving Book So Far? Check Out 30+ Advanced Chapters At PA Treon
patreon.com/FictionOP