Morning.
"Haa… thank goodness Mom didn't just say yes right away."
Naruto sat up, still feeling his heart race as he thought back on last night's dream.
An engagement?
He'd only just become a genin, and even thinking about those two words made his head hurt.
Luckily, Dream-Mom had declined. Otherwise he wouldn't even know how to face Hinata now.
But compared to that, there was something else he cared about more.
Naruto rolled out of bed, grabbed the rubber ball he'd prepared yesterday, and weighed it in his hand.
He closed his eyes, replayed the feeling from the dream, and slowly poured chakra into the ball.
At first, nothing seemed to change, but inside the ball, chakra was hammering and tearing at it nonstop.
Naruto stared intently. Sweat beaded on his brow; his expression grew serious.
One minute. Two minutes.
Time trickled by in the quiet room. His hands shook; he could feel himself running out of steam.
But he didn't give up, forcing himself to remember the successful rhythm from the dream.
Dream-him had done it casually!
"Just a bit more—any second now—"
Pop!
With a crisp crack, the ball's surface split. An instant later it burst into pieces.
He did it?
Naruto stared blankly at the shredded rubber in his hands. Then he broke into a grin so wide it might split his face.
"Yes! I did it! Second stage complete!"
He pumped a fist, exhilaration surging through him.
So even in reality, he could grow stronger with the experience he gained in the dream.
Sure, it had been far harder here, taking much longer and demanding way more control—
but he'd succeeded.
Once he calmed down, though, he noticed one thing.
The exact same training had taken him half a day in the dream.
In reality, it was slower, clunkier. Chakra control was nowhere near as smooth.
Naruto frowned.
"Does that mean… real me isn't as good as dream me?"
The thought stung.
But he quickly shook it off, eyes lighting with confidence.
"Whatever! Then I'll just keep practicing in my dreams!"
With that, he felt lighter again.
He shoved the broken ball under his bed, tidied up, pulled on his signature orange outfit, and headed out.
The moment he opened his door, crisp morning air hit his face.
Naruto strode down Konoha's streets toward Team Seven's usual training ground.
Along the way, villagers who saw him wore complicated looks—
disgust, wariness, cold distance…
Like he wasn't a living boy, but a dangerous beast.
Naruto had been used to those eyes since he was little.
He puffed his cheeks in annoyance. He liked the dream world better.
In the dream, they'd greeted him warmly as "Young Master Naruto," always smiling and waving.
Naruto shook his head and sped up, refusing to look at the people whispering about him.
He only wanted to get to his teammates sooner.
…
At the training ground, only one girl was waiting.
Pink hair glinted in the morning light. She stood with arms folded, looking distracted.
" Sakura!" Naruto spotted her from afar and ran over, beaming. Sasuke wasn't here, so Naruto's mood instantly lifted.
"Morning!"
But the moment Sakura turned and saw him, her expression sank.
She took several quick steps back with obvious disgust, staring at him like he was something foul.
Naruto's bright smile froze. He stopped walking.
"Sa… Sakura-chan? What's wrong?"
He scratched his head, baffled.
This was way too weird. He hadn't done anything to upset her, right?
Sakura snorted and turned her head away.
"Hmph. You know exactly what you did. You jerk."
"Huh?" Naruto blinked hard. "J-jerk? Me?"
"Who else?" Sakura planted her hands on her hips, eyes wide with outrage. "Didn't expect it from you. You look like a fool most of the time, but your dreams are pretty damn flirtatious, huh?"
"Dreams?" Naruto was even more lost.
Wait—could Sakura somehow know what he dreamed?
No way.
He was full of grievance, but Sakura refused to explain further. She just glared at him like he was trash.
Naruto got chills under that look. He was about to press her—
when footsteps sounded nearby.
Sakura instantly dropped her hostile face, turned around, and waved brightly past Naruto.
"Good morning, Sasuke!"
Naruto spun around.
Sure enough, Uchiha Sasuke was strolling over with that infuriating smug face.
Only… for some reason, there were heavy dark circles under his eyes, like he hadn't slept at all.
Sakura hurried to greet him, fussing with concern.
"Sasuke, are you okay? Didn't sleep well?"
Her worry almost overflowed.
Naruto felt sour just watching.
He marched up too, eyeing Sasuke's dark circles with glee.
"Hey, Sasuke, what's with you? Hah! Don't tell me you had nightmares about me beating you and couldn't sleep!"
Sasuke frowned, then scoffed.
"Idiot."
I'm not like you, sinking into fake dreams.
I stayed awake training last night.
…
Not far away, in the shadow of a wall, a slender figure was hiding and peeking out.
Hinata gripped the edge of the wall tightly. Her cheeks were flushed, her expression unbearably nervous.
No, no… so embarrassing!
She watched Naruto in the field, and her mind kept replaying last night's heart-thumping scenes.
It had been "dream Hinata" doing all that…
but that dream Hinata was still her. Remembering it now made her want to burrow into the ground.
She'd come early hoping to catch Sakura alone and ask about last night.
But before she could show herself, Naruto appeared.
That made it even harder for her to step out. So she hid and watched.
Just as Hinata was spiraling helplessly, a familiar childish voice chirped from behind her.
"Hinata-nee, you're peeking at Naruto-nii again~!"
"Ah!"
Hinata jolted like she'd been struck, whirling around.
Her little sister Hanabi was standing there, wearing a mischievous grin.
"H-Hanabi?!"
Hinata flushed scarlet, stammering a denial.
"I-I'm not peeking! Don't say nonsense!"
Hanabi giggled.
"Then why are you so red~?"
"I—!"
Hinata was too mortified to find words. She grabbed her troublemaker sister and bolted.
"D-don't say things like that! Come home with me!"
The two sisters ran off one after the other.
Back at the Hyuga estate, Hinata buried herself in her blanket. Only then did her racing heart begin to settle.
"Haa… Hanabi is the worst…"
She curled in the covers, leaving only a pair of anxious eyes visible.
Her mind drifted back to the training ground—Sakura and Naruto standing side by side.
A pang of sadness rose in her chest… along with a tiny, stubborn trace of emptiness.
Hinata gave a small, bitter smile and pressed her palm to her still-warm cheeks.
Last night's dream…
If she hadn't lived it herself, she never would've believed it.
As she kept thinking, the mysterious "dream theater" surfaced again.
If she could go there again tonight… she'd ask Sakura and Kakashi-sensei what was really happening.
-------
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