Naruto Birdcage

The next day, as promised, Ayari brought a girl over to introduce to Makoto.

Makoto was called to her house and saw a girl with short brown-green hair and Byakugan sitting in the living room.

She had a cute and delicate appearance, looking very obedient.

Ayari, with excitement, said, "Makoto's here."

The Byakugan girl immediately stood up upon seeing Makoto, her eyes filled with curiosity.

This was someone she had only heard about in the clan but had never met in person.

"This is Natsu. You should know her," Ayari said to Makoto.

Makoto nodded.

He did indeed recognize the girl—there were only so many people of his age in the clan.

Even if they didn't interact much, they were still aware of each other.

Hyuga Ayano's maid, Haruka, is her older sister.

"This is Makoto."

"Hello."

"...Hello."

"So, do you think Natsu is cute?" Ayari asked with a smile.

"We have so many little boys who try to win her favor every day."

Hyuga Natsu became a little embarrassed and quickly spoke up to stop her: "Ayari-nee."

"She is quite cute," Makoto replied.

"...Thank you," Hyuga Natsu said politely in response.

Makoto noticed that she kept glancing at him, and whenever their eyes met, she quickly looked away—probably curious about his eyes.

Makoto noticed Ayari was giving him a hint and helplessly said, "It's almost noon. How about we go eat together?"

"Now that you mention it, I am a bit hungry," Ayari immediately responded, giving Makoto a "good job" look.

Makoto felt a bit helpless.

He only agreed because he saw Ayari was keen on this, and he didn't want to disappoint her.

"What do you want to eat?" he casually asked.

"I don't mind, how about you, Natsu?" Ayari replied.

"I can eat anything," Hyuga Natsu softly said.

Makoto: "..."

Realizing he had asked the wrong question, Makoto quickly decided, "Let's go have ramen."

"R...Ramen?" Ayari blinked in surprise, looking at Makoto in disbelief.

Her expression seemed to say, "Why are you asking a girl out for ramen for your first date?"

Hyuga Natsu was also a bit surprised.

When other boys invited her out, they usually chose more carefully selected restaurants—dessert cafes, barbecue joints, sushi places.

Makoto was the first to ask her to eat ramen.

"You..." Ayari furrowed her brows and thought for a moment.

"Are you sure? Shouldn't you think about it some more?"

"No need to think, let's just have ramen," Makoto said.

Ayari was quite speechless.

She had once thought this kid was teachable, but now she realized she had overestimated him.

Hyuga Natsu didn't feel anything was inappropriate.

The main reason she came today, aside from being curious about this person who had lost his Byakugan, was out of consideration for Ayari's wishes.

It was just meeting a boy.

At most, they would eat a meal together.

Makoto didn't pay much attention to their thoughts.

What he was thinking about was how he had seen a "Ichiraku Ramen" shop in the village a few days ago.

To his surprise, Ichiraku had opened a store in Konoha, and he just wanted to give it a try.

The three of them left the Hyuga clan's territory together.

"I heard that Makoto-kun has already become a Chunin."

Along the way, Hyuga Natsu noticed that Ayari was giving Makoto numerous hints with her eyes, but it seemed like he didn't notice.

Finding it interesting, Natsu decided to kindly initiate a conversation to spare Ayari the awkwardness.

"Yeah, I was lucky to pass the Chunin exam back then," Makoto replied.

"I've heard that the Chunin exams are very strict, so passing them surely isn't just luck," Hyuga Natsu said. "I'm still just a Genin."

"Being a Genin is also fine. Becoming a Chunin is just a matter of time, it doesn't mean much," Makoto replied.

In the Hyuga clan, no one stays a Genin forever.

"Makoto-kun is too modest. I heard that Makoto-kun achieved great things on the front lines," Hyuga Natsu said softly, her words making one feel good.

Makoto merely smiled faintly. "It was just luck that I didn't die."

Ayari suddenly interjected, "At that time, you had already infiltrated near the enemy's camp. Even a Jounin wouldn't be guaranteed a safe retreat."

Hyuga Natsu exclaimed in surprise, "Was it that dangerous?"

Ayari replied matter-of-factly, "If it wasn't dangerous, how could we have brought back useful intelligence?"

She said these things to improve Makoto's image, and it did indeed help change Hyuga Natsu's impression of him.

Although she was a ninja, she had never been to the battlefield.

Most of her understanding of war came from hearsay and seeing the wounded soldiers returning from the front lines, which gave her some sense of the brutality of war.

She felt a lot of respect for someone like Makoto, who had been to the battlefield.

But Makoto wasn't proud of it.

When it came to matters of the front line, he let Ayari speak without interrupting, as though the story being told wasn't about him at all.

Soon, they reached the front of the Ichiraku Ramen shop.

It was a rather simple little shop, and upon seeing it, Ayari sighed even more.

She felt that her efforts today were in vain and that she would have to give Makoto a proper talking-to when they got back.

"This place is actually quite good," Hyuga Natsu said with a gentle smile, not showing any signs of disdain.

"I think so too," Makoto said with a faint smile, feeling a bit sentimental for some reason. He then lifted the curtain and walked inside.

"Welcome!"

The owner was a young man wearing a white chef's hat, an apron, and with eyes that seemed barely open.

When he smiled, it became even harder to see his eyes.

"What would you like to order?"

"I'll have the signature ramen," Makoto said.

"I'll have the same," Ayari replied weakly.

"I'll have a bowl of tonkotsu chashu ramen."

"Please wait a moment."

The three of them took a seat, with Hyuga Natsu sitting in the middle, mainly because Ayari had already sat one seat away from Makoto, and Natsu felt it would be rude to sit on the other side of her.

"I passed by here when the shop first opened. There was a long line at that time" Hyuga Natsu said.

"Too bad you didn't come back then," Makoto replied.

"It's okay, you can come often in the future," the ramen shop owner, who was stretching the noodles, smiled and said. "Regulars can get discounts occasionally."

Ayari scoffed slightly, thinking to herself that there was nothing special about a ramen shop.

"Looks like Makoto-kun really likes ramen," Hyuga Natsu said with a smile.

"No," Makoto replied, resting one hand on the table and propping his chin, glancing sideways at Hyuga Natsu.

"As long as it's delicious, I like it. If you only love one type of food and ignore others, wouldn't that be too much of a waste?"

He then noticed Ayari looking at him. When their eyes met, Ayari shot him a glare.

Makoto understood she wasn't happy with his response.

Hyuga Natsu, listening to what he said, was slightly taken aback, then nodded: "What Makoto-kun said... makes sense."

The steaming ramen was quickly served, with a light layer of oil floating on the broth, and a rich fragrance filling the air.

"Itadakimasu." Makoto said.

End of chapter

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