Just as Naruto and Ino were enjoying their hug, Naruto suddenly felt one of his Flying Thunder God marks pulse.
He smiled slightly.
"Looks like Hinata is ready too."
Naruto gently released Ino.
"I'll bring her here."
Before Ino could respond, Naruto vanished.
In the very next blink, he reappeared again.
Hinata was now in Naruto's arms, still trying to process what had just happened.
Her lavender eyes blinked rapidly in confusion.
Ino clicked her tongue loudly.
"That FTG is seriously disgusting."
She crossed her arms and glared at Naruto.
"You literally teleported and kidnapped Hinata in the blink of an eye. That's cheating."
Naruto smirked proudly.
"Well… if you have space-time talent, you could learn it too."
Ino's eyes sparkled instantly.
"Really?!"
She grabbed Naruto's sleeve excitedly.
"You are the best!"
Hinata finally recovered from her confusion and softly spoke.
"That… was really fast."
Naruto grinned at her reaction.
"Well Hinata… are you ready for your seals?"
Hinata nodded shyly.
"Ye-yes, Naruto-kun."
Naruto gently held her wrist and began applying the seals.
First came the wrist storage seal, glowing briefly before sinking into her skin.
Next was the chakra storage seal, allowing her to store excess chakra for later use.
Then Naruto carefully placed the telepathy seal behind her ear, followed by giving her the gravity training gear.
Ino proudly helped explain everything.
"This seal lets you store ninja tools instantly."
She pointed at her wrist.
"And this one stores chakra so you can use it later."
Naruto nodded.
"And the gravity gear constantly pushes your body to grow stronger."
Hinata listened carefully, clearly amazed.
Naruto then paused suddenly.
"Oh… wait."
He turned toward Ino.
"I forgot something earlier."
Ino raised an eyebrow suspiciously.
"What now?"
Naruto gently grabbed her wrist again and placed another seal.
"There. Your chakra storage seal."
Ino narrowed her eyes.
"You forgot that because you were flirting with me earlier, didn't you?"
Naruto coughed awkwardly.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
Hinata giggled softly at their exchange.
Then her expression turned slightly worried.
"These seals are amazing…"
She looked down at her wrist.
"But Naruto-kun… are you sure this is safe?"
Naruto tilted his head.
Hinata explained softly.
"The Hyūga clan has the Byakugan."
She hesitated slightly.
"They might notice the seals."
Naruto simply grinned confidently.
"Don't worry."
He tapped the seal lightly.
"I mixed micro-concealment seals into all of them."
He crossed his arms proudly.
"Even the Byakugan won't easily notice them."
Hinata looked relieved.
"Thank you, Naruto-kun."
Naruto clapped his hands once.
"Alright, let's test the telepathy seal."
A moment later Naruto's voice echoed inside both girls' minds.
'Can you hear me?'
Ino's mental voice immediately responded.
'Woah… this feels weird.'
Hinata's gentle voice joined.
'Yes… I can hear you clearly.'
Ino suddenly giggled inside the mental connection.
'Hinata, your thoughts sound cute even in telepathy.'
Hinata instantly panicked.
'I-I'm not cute!'
Naruto laughed out loud.
Then Ino sent a private thought to Hinata.
'See? This is perfect for gossip.'
Hinata blushed deeply.
'Ino…!'
Naruto raised an eyebrow suspiciously.
"Hey… what are you two whispering about?"
Ino smirked.
"Girl talk."
Naruto sighed dramatically.
"Troublesome."
After a while Naruto stretched his arms.
"Alright, you two should head back."
His expression became slightly serious.
"If someone notices you're not home, it might cause problems."
Both girls nodded in agreement.
Naruto grabbed Ino's hand first.
In the next instant—
They disappeared.
And appeared inside Ino's bedroom.
Ino blinked once.
Then suddenly smiled.
Before Naruto could say anything, she leaned forward and kissed him quickly.
Naruto chuckled softly.
"Goodnight, Ino."
Then he vanished again.
Back in her room, Ino jumped onto her bed.
Her face was completely red.
"That shameless guy."
She buried her face into the pillow, remembering everything Naruto had shown her.
All the seals.
The training gear.
The Yang chakra.
And the truth about him.
Ino's expression slowly softened.
"Stupid Naruto."
She clenched the pillow tightly.
"Just you wait."
Her voice became determined.
"I'll become super strong… so you won't have to hide those emotions anymore."
Ino was a Yamanaka.
She had noticed something earlier.
The fear in Naruto's eyes when he revealed he was a Jinchūriki.
He tried to act confident.
But she had still seen it.
"Tsk…"
She looked toward the moon outside her window.
"You better take care of that fear, Hinata."
Earlier, she and Hinata had already talked about it through their private telepathy connection.
Hinata had promised.
She would help Naruto with that pain.
---
Back in Naruto's room, Naruto appeared again.
"Ino is back home."
Hinata nodded gently.
But when she touched Naruto's arm—
He didn't teleport.
Instead, Naruto pulled her closer and suddenly kissed her.
Hinata froze instantly.
"Na-Naruto!"
Her entire face turned red.
Naruto smirked slightly.
"Well… the kiss in the classroom was an accident."
He wrapped his arms around her.
Hinata tried to protest at first.
But eventually she hugged him back.
Then she suddenly remembered something.
Her face turned red again.
"Will… Kurama see this?"
Naruto immediately shook his head.
"Don't worry."
He waved his hand dismissively.
"That lazy fox barely even knows who you are."
Hinata blinked.
Naruto continued.
"He spends most of his time watching anime."
Hinata couldn't help laughing.
Naruto added casually.
"And I keep his point of view turned off during private moments."
He scratched his cheek.
"I'm not letting a thousand-year-old fox watch me bathe."
Hinata laughed again.
Naruto gently pecked her cheek.
"You look so beautiful when you smile."
Hinata blushed softly.
Then she surprised him by kissing him back.
Naruto blinked.
Hinata hugged him tightly.
"You also look very handsome… when you stop pretending you don't care."
Her voice became firm.
"We will never hate you for being a Jinchūriki."
She squeezed him tighter.
"Not me."
She smiled softly.
"And not that dramatic Ino either."
Naruto's face slowly lowered into shadow.
Hinata continued gently.
"You will always be our Naruto."
Naruto didn't respond.
But his hug tightened unconsciously.
Hinata gently stroked his back.
Moments later, she felt something warm on her shoulder.
Naruto's tears quietly fell.
He sniffed slightly.
"D-damn…"
His voice trembled.
"Why is it raining inside my house?"
Hinata smiled softly.
Naruto pulled back and looked directly into her eyes.
Then he finally admitted the truth.
"I… I was scared."
His voice shook slightly.
"I knew you two wouldn't hate me."
He looked down.
"But there was always a small doubt…"
His hands trembled slightly.
"I was scared you might leave me."
Hinata listened quietly until he finished.
Then she wiped his tears gently.
"It's okay."
Naruto took a deep breath and washed his face.
After calming down, he looked at her again.
Then he kissed her one last time.
In the next instant—
Hinata disappeared.
She reappeared safely inside her bedroom.
Naruto stood alone in his room.
But for the first time in his life—
The loneliness felt much lighter.
---