Chapter 37: Awakening the Mangekyō
From time to time, Hinata glanced at Naruto from the corner of her eye, lowering her head shyly.
The awkward atmosphere lingered in the room for a while, making both of them very uncomfortable.
Soon, just as Naruto was about to say something, the shy Hinata broke the silence first and said softly:
"Naru… Naruto-kun, are you done with what you needed to do?"
Naruto paused for a moment, smiled faintly, nodded, and said:
"Yeah."
"Then… then I'll walk you out."
Hinata raised her head slightly, her beautiful eyes flickering as she looked at Naruto shyly.
Naruto was stunned for a moment. After thinking about it, he figured it wouldn't hurt, so he nodded and said:
"Okay. But I'll keep myself hidden so no one finds out."
Hearing that Naruto agreed, Hinata nodded happily.
Just as Hinata was about to get up, she suddenly remembered that she was only wearing her pajamas.
She noticed Naruto's gaze, and her face flushed quickly.
Naruto touched his nose awkwardly, pointed at Hinata, and said:
"Hinata, do you want to change clothes?"
Hinata nodded shyly, lowering her head in silence.
"Naru… Naruto-kun, turn around first."
After a moment, Hinata said to Naruto, her voice full of shyness.
Naruto quickly understood. He smiled awkwardly and quickly turned around, not looking at Hinata.
Just after Naruto turned, he heard the sound of changing clothes behind him. Soon, Hinata's voice sounded again:
"Naruto-kun, I'm done."
Naruto nodded and turned his head to look.
Hinata had already put on the soft, pretty clothes she had worn earlier that day. She stood there delicately.
Curious, Naruto couldn't help but glance at the clothes rack. He noticed that the pink items were no longer there. Obviously, Hinata was now wearing them.
Noticing Naruto's gaze, Hinata seemed to realize what Naruto had just seen. Her little face flushed like a ripe apple.
"Naru… Naruto-kun, let's go." Hinata blushed, poked her fingers together, and spoke shyly and flustered.
Naruto paused for a moment, quickly looked away, and nodded with an embarrassed smile.
Led by Hinata, the two quietly walked out of the room.
Before coming out, Naruto had cast Bent Light again to hide his form.
After casting Bent Light, Naruto disappeared once more, becoming invisible to Hinata.
Seeing this, Hinata was slightly surprised. Even when she activated her Byakugan, she couldn't find where Naruto was. But fortunately, she knew that Naruto was right beside her, so she didn't panic. Instead, she felt a little amazed by this scene and wondered very curiously how Naruto had done it.
Soon, the two walked out of the Hyuga clan's mansion.
During their walk, they encountered patrolling ninja. Hinata was a little worried that Naruto might be discovered.
But in truth, her worries were unnecessary.
The patrolling ninja could only see Hinata walking alone, so he didn't find anything suspicious. What's more, Naruto had used Kidō: Bent Light and White Clothes to hide himself, so the patrolling ninja couldn't detect him at all.
Hinata simply told the patrolling ninja that she was just going out for a walk and would be back soon, and then she left.
Even so, Hinata let out a deep breath.
It wasn't until they reached a spot not far from the Hyuga mansion that Naruto called out to Hinata and stopped.
"Hinata, you can send me off here."
Hearing Naruto's voice, Hinata paused for a moment, then stopped immediately and nodded shyly.
Naruto still didn't reveal himself, because he noticed that the Hyuga patrolling ninja was watching this area with his Byakugan.
Maybe the patrolling ninja was worried about Hinata's safety, so he kept watching with his Byakugan.
It didn't matter. As long as Naruto didn't show himself, they wouldn't be able to find him.
"I'm leaving now, Hinata. You should go back and rest quickly. It's getting late." Naruto said with a light smile.
Hinata lowered her head shyly and said softly:
"Okay. Then… Naruto-kun, please be careful on the road."
Naruto nodded and gently touched Hinata's head.
Feeling the warmth of Naruto's palm, Hinata's body trembled. But she didn't pull away. Instead, she was very well-behaved and seemed to enjoy it a little. Her face, however, became even redder, and she lowered her head further.
Then, Naruto used Shunpo and vanished from the spot.
After Naruto left, Hinata stood there for more than half an hour before finally turning around and heading home.
Home
With a sigh of relief, Naruto quickly returned home after using Shunpo. He lay down on his bed and canceled the hiding effects of Kidō: Bent Light and White Clothes.
Thinking about the wonderful experience from tonight, Naruto couldn't help but smile as he stared blankly at the ceiling.
Then Naruto closed his eyes and began processing the rewards from the night.
First was the Mangekyō Sharingan Awakening Card, which was still sitting unused in his system space.
Back at the Hyuga clan, if he had awakened the Mangekyō there and not hidden it well, it would have been bad if the Hyuga clan had discovered him.
Now that he was back home, Naruto could safely evolve his Sharingan.
"System, use the Mangekyō Sharingan Awakening Card."
Naruto silently muttered in his heart.
Soon, the system's voice sounded:
"Ding… Using the Mangekyō Sharingan Awakening Card!"
"Used successfully. Evolving the host's Sharingan and awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan!"