Naruto: Young Teacher
Chapter 26
Ren walked toward the gates of Konoha, where Sakura was already waiting. She stood there with visible excitement, clearly eager for her first mission outside the village.
"Yo, good morning, Sakura. Excited for the mission?" Ren asked, waving casually as he approached.
Sakura's eyes lit up the moment she saw him.
"Good morning, Ren!" she said brightly. "Of course I'm excited! We're finally going outside the village!"
Ren nodded with a small smile.
"Yeah, of course," he replied. Well, I can't exactly tell you I've already traveled across most of the Land of Fire looking for safe house locations, he thought to himself.
Just then, Naruto and Sasuke arrived at the gate.
"Sakura-chan, good morning!" Naruto said enthusiastically.
"Good morning, Naruto… Sasuke," Sakura replied, though her tone shifted slightly.
She instinctively stepped closer to Ren, still subconsciously affected by the awkward incident between Naruto and Sasuke. The memory clearly hadn't faded from her mind.
Sasuke noticed the movement immediately.
A few veins popped on his forehead as irritation flashed across his face. Damn it… he thought bitterly.
He knew exactly what that reaction meant.
Ever since that accidental kiss, people had been giving him strange looks, and Sakura's behavior only made it worse.
Before the tension could build further, Kakashi arrived with their client.
Tazuna, the bridge builder, stood beside him, holding a bottle as usual.
With everyone present, the group finally began their journey toward the Land of Waves.
Meanwhile, far away at the hidden safe house on the deserted island, Ino and Hinata continued their training.
Ino sat nearby, watching as Hinata trained her fire chakra with six shadow clones at once. Flames flickered around them as Hinata carefully maintained control.
After a moment of silence, Ino spoke.
"What do you think about Sakura?" she asked casually.
Hinata glanced at her briefly before responding.
"You're worried she might fall for Ren?" she asked softly.
Ino shook her head slightly.
"She already has a crush on him," Ino said bluntly. "Now they're going on missions together, and after that incident with Naruto and Sasuke, she's keeping her distance from Sasuke."
Hinata pressed her lips together but remained silent.
Ino continued, her tone growing more thoughtful.
"And what about us?" she said. "We're just his students… we train with him, tease him, and act like nothing's wrong."
Her expression softened slightly.
"But we've never told him how we actually feel."
Hinata sighed quietly at those words.
"So what do you want to do?" she asked. "Confess your feelings to him?"
Ino nodded without hesitation.
"I don't know about you," she said, "but I like him. I've liked him for a long time."
Hinata didn't respond.
Instead, she turned away and resumed her training, her movements slightly heavier than before.
Of course, her feelings weren't that simple.
She didn't just like Ren.
She loved him.
But she was a member of the Hyūga clan. If she confessed, she didn't know what kind of consequences Ren might face because of her status.
Ino noticed the conflicted expression on Hinata's face.
"Don't overthink the Hyūga clan," Ino said firmly.
She stood up and looked directly at her.
"You don't think your father allowed you to spend time with Ren for no reason, right?"
Hinata hesitated slightly.
"Just be honest with your feelings," Ino continued. "Confess to him openly. Ren will find a way to handle everything."
Hinata slowly nodded.
The doubt in her eyes didn't disappear completely, but there was now a small spark of determination.
Without another word, the two of them returned to their training.
Both of them knew that things would not remain the same for long.
(Sorry for late chapter. I was stuck in work}