บท 23: TSoL Chapter 21 - Feelings and Seals
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Approaching the Ten Ten store, Naruto and Hinata entered inside, where they were immediately greeted by a large scar-faced man.
"Good morning, Togata-san. Is Ten Ten home?" Naruto greeted the man with a bright smile.
"Ah, Naruto-kun. Yes, Muffin is in her room," Togata kindly replied.
Naruto forced a smile and reprimanded, "Togata-san, Ten Ten asked you not to call her that around friends. She'll definitely get angry."
"Haha, that's right. She asked not to call her that around friends, but she's not here right now, so I am following her words completely, hehe..." The man appeared surprisingly joyful, which did not really suit his stern appearance.
"Haha..." Hinata giggled slightly, finding the whole situation amusing. She truly enjoyed the good-natured relationship between the father and daughter. Secretly wishing for something similar in her own family.
Secretly glancing at the blonde next to her, Hinata thought to herself: "Maybe in the future, I'll really have something like this..." The young Hyuga blushed slightly.
Meanwhile, Naruto took a deep breath while looking at the happy man and replied, "I'll pretend I didn't hear anything. Wouldn't want Ten Ten to use her new weapon on you."
The man simply waved his hand, clearly not worrying about it. It seemed to be a common occurrence within the walls of this house.
Shrugging, Naruto and Hinata continued their way upstairs to the weapons enthusiast's room. Knocking on the door, they immediately heard the girl's voice.
"Dad, do you need help at the counter?"
"Ten Ten, it's us, Naruto and Hinata," Naruto shouted loudly enough for the girl behind the door to hear.
After just a second, they heard a strange rustling and noise, followed by the sound of running feet and the opening of the door. When the door opened, they saw a joyful Ten Ten, dressed in tight black sports shorts and a pink top over black sports clothing.
"Naruto, Hinata, you finally came. Come in quickly, I want to show you something!" Ten Ten brightly smiled, inviting them into the room.
Hinata entered first, but Naruto hesitated a bit, staring at Ten Ten. He saw her in such attire for the first time, and it could not help but affect his hormones. He blushed slightly and could hardly take his eyes off the girl, insecurely entering the room.
What Naruto didn't know was that both girls noticed his focused gaze on Ten Ten's hips and legs, especially Hinata, who looked at her with envious discontent.
«So Naruto-kun is attracted to things like this? Did this cunning fox dress up on purpose?» Hinata kept staring at Ten Ten, while thinking.
Seeing this, Ten Ten only smirked smugly, though inside she was extremely embarrassed because she didn't expect such a reaction from Naruto towards her body. No one had ever looked at her this way before, so she had a low opinion of her body. However, Naruto's entranced gaze seemed to awaken her feminine side even more than anything else.
"She's definitely doing this on purpose..." Seeing the girl's smug smile, Hinata's frown grew even more, "Well, although it's embarrassing, two people can play this game."
Having made up her mind, Hinata suddenly stood up and said:
"Oh, Ten Ten-chan, it's a little stuffy in your room, it's probably not very comfortable to stay in a jacket," with these words, the young Hyuuga began to unzip the jacket, slowly dropping it from her slender body, exposing her mesh T-shirt, that tightly fits her shape, as well as a small chest that has already grown, which was covered with a fabric layer in the mesh.
(Only Example. I couldn't find it with a young Hinata.)
Seeing this, Naruto was once again stunned and his gaze was fixed on the girl's body, but this time on Hinata. Seeing this, Tenten was also embarrassed, but now she is the one who felt a slight sting of jealousy, so as not to give up her position, she decided to play along with Hinata's performance:
"It's true, Hinata-chan, I feel it too, it's really hot here," Tenten said, taking off her light pink top, revealing another black athletic top underneath, hugging the girl's breasts and showing small and attractive bumps.
While the two girls were staring at each other, a flustered and confused Naruto was watching this and thinking:
«What the hell is going on? Why are they suddenly behaving like this? Do they even remember that there's a guy in the room with them? My will is not made of iron, dattebayo!» Naruto protested, praying that nothing unexpected would happen in his pants.
"To make matters worse, his system suddenly decided to remind him:
[New mission - Open Person.]
[The goal - Vocalize any thoughts that come to mind for five minutes.]
[Reward - Mind Stilling Technique.]
[Time to decide - 10 seconds. In case of refusal or failure, the owner will become mute for two days.]
After reading the system mission, Naruto literally screamed in his mind:
"What the hell is this mission!? This is not even close to a ninja mission! And to be mute for a two days, that's just awful. This system literally doesn't give me a choice, dattebayo!" Quickly pulling himself together, Naruto looked at the timer: "Okay, even if I'll be ashamed later, I'll handle it. Accept!
[Mission accepted, remaining time 4 minutes 49 seconds.]
Looking at the incredibly attractive girls before him, Naruto could think only of one thing:
"Hinata-chan, Tenten-chan," Naruto drew the attention of the girls who finally looked away from each other, "if you continue to sit like this, I'm afraid I won't be able to concentrate on Tenten's seals. You both mean too much to me, and are too attractive for me to resist the temptation to look at you. I am not made of iron," the girls looked at him with slightly open mouths, "so please don't be angry if you suddenly notice me... um... getting 'tense' in a certain place."
Saying this, Naruto was incredibly red-faced and embarrassed. It was really not easy for him to express such thoughts, especially since the day had started so calmly. He will definitely hold a grudge against his system, no matter how useful it is.
The girls standing in front of him, in turn, could not believe that they had heard such a thing from Naruto. They turned crimson, and on their faces, a smile that was difficult to recognize seemed to be inexorably rising.
Hinata was near fainting, which hadn't happened to her in a long time because of the blonde's words that he likes her, but she tried to keep it together, realizing that what she had just heard could be an excellent opportunity for her to take her relationship with Naruto to the next level, finally crossing the threshold of simple friendship.
Tenten literally melted at the blonde's words. If there was anything that she considered her weakness, it was definitely her appearance. She never paid too much attention to it, but secretly hoped that one day she would blossom and be noticed just like the other girls. And now, she hears similar words not from just anyone, but from a guy, which makes her want to really show her feminine side. It was literally a direct shot to her dreamy heart.
The girls stood without saying a word, their mouths opening and closing in attempts to say something, but nothing came out. They weren't ready for this, so they weren't sure how to respond.
"Sorry if I confused you… but, to be honest, I'm incredibly embarrassed too, dattebayo, hehe…" Naruto began to feel even more awkward, so he quickly decided to return to the original topic:
"So, Tenten, did you want to show something?"
The girl was still a little shocked and replied too absentmindedly:
"Huh, what? I… don't remember?..." Then the girl finally came to her senses, "Oh, I mean, seals. I was able to use your discovery in the seals!"
Taking a relaxed breath, Naruto nodded and looked at Hinata, asking:
"Hinata-chan, are you okay? Sorry if I embarrassed you, I know you're usually shy about this kind of thing, but I just couldn't stay quiet about your attractiveness, so I apologize. How about we take a break from that and see what Tenten wants to show us?"
Hinata, who was already ready to relax, received another unexpected blow to her trembling heart, but this time she withstood it confidently enough, and quickly calmed down. She nodded and replied:
"Y-yes, Naruto-kun. L-let's see what she came up with, but," the girl looked seriously into the blonde's eyes, "I would like to talk to you after this, i-if you don't mind," she said with obvious embarrassment.
Naruto nodded and replied:
"Of course, Hinata-chan."
At this point, they finally turned their attention to Tenten and her seals. At that moment, Naruto also received a notification from the system:
[Time is up. The mission is completed. The reward will be received the next morning.]
Naruto took a relaxed breath, realizing that the mission was completed, and it was at this moment that Tenten finally began to talk about her success:
"As you already know, Naruto's recent discovery with the compounds of the element into the seal has greatly impressed me."
At her words, Naruto and Hinata nodded, remembering how her eyes had lit up at that moment. The girl continued:
"So, after Naruto explained what it was and how it should work, I was literally filled with enthusiasm to apply it to my weapon scrolls," seeing the increased interest of her listeners, Tenten became slightly more self-confident.
Taking out some unsuccessful seal samples along with a couple of kunai, she continued:
"I experimented a lot, and with each new experience learned more about the topic of elemental compounds in chakra."
Spreading everything before them, Tenten continued:
"I tried to make my weapons stronger using one of the elements, but for some reason, nothing worked. And my unsuccessful attempts would have continued if I hadn't discovered predispositions."
"Predispositions?" Naruto and Hinata repeated the word with confusion, looking at the girl in question.
Smiling slightly, Ten Ten confidently replied:
"Yes, I was able to find out that each ninja's chakra has a predisposition towards a certain element. That's why all of my attempts were unsuccessful. I simply didn't know my element, and furthermore, even if I did, I still need to transform my chakra into it."
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, and he asked excitedly:
"So, does that mean you were able to learn this transformation technique?" Naruto practically glowed, looking at the chestnut-haired girl.
Taken aback by his sudden enthusiasm, Ten Ten hesitated for a moment and answered with a slight bitterness:
"Um, no. It's incredibly difficult and requires the supervision of an experienced instructor."
After hearing these words, Naruto's excitement dropped suddenly. However, the girl decided to add:
"But I was able to find out the method for testing chakra for elements."
And once again, Naruto's childish enthusiasm was aroused, causing Hinata to quietly laugh into her fist. Ten Ten took out two more small sheets of paper and handed them to Hinata and Naruto, explaining:
"This is special chakra paper that helps determine your element. It wasn't easy for me to obtain them, as these kinds of things aren't studied in the academy for some reason, and they're quite pricey."
These words made Naruto hold the sheet of paper with greater care, which couldn't be said for Hinata who had never suffered from lack of money. At this time, Ten Ten continued:
"There are a total of five elements: fire, wind, lightning, earth, and water. There are also special elements possessed by people with an 'enhanced genome,' as my teacher calls them, but that's unlikely to apply to us, except perhaps for the Huyga clan's special trait," the girl looked at Hinata.
Naruto looked at the sheet of paper in his hands and asked eagerly:
"So... how do I use it?"
Hinata also looked at the girl expectantly. Ten Ten nodded with satisfaction and replied: "It's simple, all you have to do is channel your chakra into it, and depending on what happens to the paper, we'll be able to determine which element you belong to."
"Is it really that simple?" Naruto was surprised, but he nodded happily and said, "Great, then I'll try it right away!"
Saying this, Naruto immediately tried to infuse his chakra into the unfamiliar object, under the watchful eyes of the girls. It took Naruto some time to direct his chakra into the object.
After a few seconds, Naruto's paper shook slightly before breaking into two parts. Seeing this, Naruto panicked and quickly looked at Ten Ten before apologizing:
"Damn it, sorry! I tore it by accident, dattebayo!"
Chuckling at his cute reaction, Ten Ten just waved her hand and replied:
"It's fine, Naruto. That's how it's supposed to be," she explained, seeing the blond's confused expression. "Remember I said that the paper will change depending on your chakra?"
Naruto nodded, and Ten Ten continued:
"Well, the paper being cut in half symbolizes your predisposition towards wind!" Ten Ten said in surprisingly cheerful manner.
"So, that means wind techniques suit me the best?" Naruto tilted his head to one side, looking at the girl.
Nodding, Ten Ten smiled delightedly and replied, "Yes, but more importantly, now we can learn new techniques together!"
"What do you mean?" Naruto was a bit confused by her words.
Smiling, Ten Ten declared, "I mean that I, too, have a predisposition towards wind!"
This statement surprised the blonde, and a smile spread across his face as she spoke:
"Wow, that's amazing news, dattebayo! I can't wait to start learning new ninja techniques. Oh, and yes, Hinata-chan!" Naruto turned to the shy girl in the middle of all this, "hurry up and infuse the paper with your chakra, I can't wait to find out what element you have."
Nodding, the white-eyed girl looked unsurely at the piece of paper in her hand, and, closing her eyes, began to stimulate her chakra channels, directing the flow of chakra to the sheet of paper.
After a few seconds, the piece of paper in Hinata's hand crumpled, shrinking to half its size, and to Naruto and Tenten's astonishment, it suddenly began to char until it was completely burned in her hands.
This sight surprised the Hyuga girl, as the reaction of the paper was too strange. Hinata and Naruto looked questioningly at Tenten, expecting an explanation, which quickly snapped the chestnut-haired girl out of her stupor. She coughed slightly into her fist and began to explain:
"As you may have noticed, the reaction of the chakra paper to Hinata's chakra was different from Naruto's chakra, as two changes occurred simultaneously," the girl raised her finger to explain, "the first change was the compression of the paper, which means a predisposition to lightning. The second change, as you may have guessed, represents the element of fire."
Astonished, Naruto looked at Hinata admiringly, then back at Tenten and asked, "So does this mean that Hinata has two elements at once?"
The admiring look of the boy made the white-eyed girl feel uneasy, as she was not used to being looked at in such a way. Tenten simply nodded and replied with a slight envy:
"Yes, it happens that a ninja can have a predisposition to several elements, though it's not very common. More often, members of certain clans have such predispositions," the girl remembered something and approached her desk, taking out a book, "I learned many of these things from this book," she handed it to Naruto, "it contains almost all the information about elemental transformation. Well... mostly it's descriptions and some basics, but even this information is limited for most shinobi. Ordinary genin begin to study this topic only after graduation from the academy with the designated jonin, and only some clan offspring learn about this in advance from their clan and parents. It was not easy for me to get this book from my sensei at the academy, so be careful with it."
Hearing this, Naruto looked at the book as if it were a treasure. Having already seen a large part of the books in the academy and the village library, he realized the value of this book, as he had not seen anything like it before. He had not even come across any mention of chakra transformation into elements. Now, he understood some previously unclear topics in other books. He was determined to read this book as soon as possible.
At this point, Naruto thought of something and looked at Hinata, saying:
"Oh, Hinata-chan, since there's only one book, how do you feel about reading it together?"
Upon hearing his proposal, Hinata's eyes lit up, and she was ready to agree when she was interrupted by Tenten, who sensed danger and spoke up:
"Don't worry, Naruto-kun. Hinata is from a prominent clan, and I'm sure there are much more detailed materials available to her in her clan's extensive library."
Upon hearing these words, Naruto understood that this was likely true, but he still turned to the somehow gloomy Hinata and asked:
"Hinata-chan, is that true?"
For a moment, Hinata stared disapprovingly at the smiling Tenten, but then turned to Naruto and replied:
"Yes, in our clan there is indeed an extensive library of various scrolls and books. However, as you know, my clan doesn't treat me very well, so I probably won't be allowed to use this library. So I would be happy to accept your invitation."
"Oh, I had already forgotten about that. Your grandfather still doesn't realize how talented you are? He has such eyes, but can't see beyond his own nose, dattebayo!"
While Naruto was talking about the strange Hyuuga, the girls were staring at each other until Ten Ten said:
"You know, Naruto. There are some complex moments in the book, so I think I'll join you to explain some of them. Besides, it's good for me to review the material."
"Really? That's great, Doing it together is much better!" Naruto didn't notice that right next to him, the two girls were sending lightning glares at each other, as if they both possessed that element.
After some time, Tenten finally showed her new seals and began to explain their use:
"So now that you know about basic transformation, let's move on to the most interesting part," she pointed to a specific seal. "Usually, my seals serve as a helper to release stored throwing weapons, but with some modifications, they can actually shoot out those weapons."
The girl looked at the audience, and raising her finger, she continued to explain:
"But regular throwing shuriken, kunai and other 'metal' won't be effective against people who have mastered large-scale techniques with basic transformation. So I thought it would be a good idea to create seals that could launch weapons with this basic transformation. In my case, using wind."
Naruto and Hinata looked at the girl in surprise, and Naruto immediately thought over all the possible solutions to this problem and asked:
"So, you want to learn how to transform your chakra into wind and seal it together with your weapons?"
Tenten looked at the blonde in surprise and replied:
"Actually, I wanted to make the seal transform my chakra into wind for me, but your idea was the first solution I thought of. But with my chakra reserves and average control, it's almost impossible. Although if I train for at least another year, I think I could make something work. But for now, I tried my idea with the seal."
The girl pulled out another scroll with the seal and handed it to Naruto, saying:
"This is my attempt to make a similar seal, but as you can see, I ran into many problems and I'm not sure how to solve them."
Naruto and Hinata nodded and looked at the seal in surprise, realizing that its structure was quite complex and no longer resembled a storage seal.
Suddenly, a familiar voice was heard behind Naruto:
"Wow, the girl is talented. This formula is far from being as bad as it could be."
Hearing this, Naruto jumped slightly in surprise and turned around to see Kushina appearing behind him. The woman put her finger to her lips and said:
"Shh... don't act like you see anyone. I just wanted to take a look at your girlfriend's seal."
Naruto immediately blushed wildly and mentally responded to his mother:
«She's not my... girlfriend... at least not yet...» Naruto was embarrassed and tense because it was the first time one of his parents appeared during his interaction with his friends.
While Kushina was smirking at her child's reaction, Hinata and Tenten looked at the blonde strangely as he suddenly stared into space. Hinata touched his shoulder, causing him to jump slightly, and asked:
"N-Naruto-kun, is something wrong?"
"Oh, no, Hinata-chan, everything's fine. I just thought I heard something," he returned his gaze to Tenten and said, "Tenten, you really surprised me. Your formula is quite impressive. Thanks to it, I have some ideas to try to improve it. Even so, I'm not sure we can finish this seal. Your idea is extremely difficult to implement. We still lack many tips and tricks in the field of fuinjutsu to create something like this, but even so, what you've achieved is amazing."
The girl was greatly embarrassed and blushed from his assessment. After all, he was the most experienced in everything related to fuinjutsu in their group, so she was truly flattered by his words.
At this time, Kushina behind Naruto said:
"That's right, son, praise your girlfriends more often. Many girls love to be showered with nice words," touched by her son's next embarrassment, she added, "And by the way, about the fact that you do not have enough knowledge to complete this seal, it's true. Your girlfriend crossed many topics to start creating a seal like this, so it's no wonder she got stuck, but even so it's an amazing achievement for her. Proud of your choice."
And so, the discussion of the Ten-Ten group's new seal continued. After that, they agreed to meet at Naruto's apartment for a joint reading of the book of elements. All this time, Kushina happily watched her son's interaction with the girls and made mental notes to begin teaching him how to communicate with girls.
Still, she had learned a lot from watching her son with his friends, so she began to think:
"My son misses too many details when it comes to girls. I think he takes after his father in that respect. They literally show in every way that they are interested in him. But it's alright, mommy will teach you, and you will soon give me beautiful grandchildren."
With these thoughts, Kushina followed her son from the apartment of the chestnut-haired girl to see how Konoha had changed during her absence, which could not but strain the young blond. He was simply not used to having his mother with him somewhere else besides home.
But what neither he nor his mother knew was that all this time they were being watched by another individual, with nine tails and a strange grin. Apparently, he found watching Naruto's life quite amusing.
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Author's Note:
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Silent_Dude
Silent_Dude Here's a new chapter, and I've decided to finally start pushing some of the characters' relationships a little more active, and a little unsure of the way I've chosen, so I'd love to hear your feedback on that.
And yes, as usual, thanks to everyone who is still with me.
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