Path Of War-Chapter 331: Overwhelming Sensation I

"Let's make a promise," she proposed.

"A promise?" he echoed, intrigued.

"Yes. A vow to support each other no matter what."

This increased his smile. "Okay, I can promise that!"

They then sat there, enjoying the end of the afternoon.

With her fingers nervously brushing against his arm, she asked, "So... do you still want to be Hokage?"

Naruto was taken aback by the question. While yes, that was his dream. But with everything happening around him, he hadn't thought about it much lately.

After a moment, he replied, "Yeah, that's never gonna change. But right now, I'm thinking about starting my own restaurant."

"Really? That sounds exciting!"

"You think so?!" he happily yelled. "Jada and Will thought I shouldn't." He continued, "I mean, I've learned to cook so well that Teuchi thought I'd run him out of business. I think starting something on my own shouldn't be too hard!"

Hinata continued to encourage him with softened eyes. "You're a really good cook, Naruto, and I love your ramen."

Her compliment made his cheeks flush. So he scratched the back of his head and said, "Thanks," trying not to let her words affect him too much. It was always nice to hear, though he wasn't quite sure how to respond.

"Have you thought about how you would manage it?" she remarked. "You'd need to hire some workers."

Naruto shrugged. "I could always use my shadow clones." The image of an active restaurant filled with his clones brightened his mood—it seemed like a solid plan.

Hinata laughed at the idea. "Even though that sounds funny, wouldn't it be better to hire real people? More jobs would also help the village."

Naruto considered this. He hadn't thought about it that way. "You're right! It makes sense. I guess I was just looking for the easiest way."

For a moment, Hinata's laughter made Naruto feel light and carefree, like a child again.

"Naruto, you've come a long way. It's truly inspiring."

Her words made him smile, though his gaze faltered. "Thank you. I owe a lot to my friends, especially Will."

"That's good," she said. "But is everything really okay?"

Naruto leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"After we left the flower shop, it made me think how many of those friends we've lost. There's also this guy named John, and I want a rematch because he beat me."

He would also confess how, although he's somewhat tamed the Nine-Tails, he hasn't quite felt like he's been honing up on what it truly means to be a ninja.

Of all the matches he's undergone, a lot of his victories lately haven't balanced out his few losses.

There was the time he was in the Land of Waves and trained diligently with his cousin. Then there were the written exams that he passed because his friends told him not to worry. Afterwards were the preliminaries, where he only defeated Kiba because his friends advised he solely use taijutsu.

During the final exam, he wasn't able to make his debut because of the invasion. Even more, he didn't feel like he was much help in that invasion since the same opponent in the preliminaries had died.

Once things seemingly returned to normal, he was attacked in the Land of Tea and suffered a loss. He felt like if he had won that fight, Sasuke would have respected him a bit more and not turned against the village.

"I should have never gone to that stupid tournament," he believed. "Sasuke was feeling down, and I should have been there for him."

Hinata would continue to hear the rest of the travails he's faced, such as his loss to John and his ambush from the deceased Sound Ninjas.

Her brow furrowed with concern after he declared that he wants to get stronger. "Do you want my help with your training?" He felt gratitude and accepted this. Then she became a tad worried. "Just how many enemies do you have?"

He paused, recalling the list in his mind.

"A lot," he admitted. "Most are from the Akatsuki. And Will told me that my biggest issue is gonna be someone named Obito Uchiha. It's his fault Kurama went crazy in the village, and he was also responsible for my parents dying."

In a silent gesture of support, Hinata placed her hand on his. "You're not mad, are you?"

Naruto clenched his fist. "I am, actually. He's gonna pay for what he did, and I'm not gonna let him get away."

"I meant with me for having brought up the question."

"Oh! Haha! No way I can get mad at you!"

As Naruto's thoughts wandered, he understood how much he could depend on Hinata. The comfort of her presence filled a part of him he hadn't known was that empty. Her support made him feel stronger, and he felt grateful.

The two would eventually end up taking a short, unexpected nap with one another at the park. By the time they arose, the sun was already starting to set. So they carried their time toward Ichiraku Ramen.

Once they arrived and sat at the counter, Alice also entered the restaurant. "Glad to see you two together!"

Naruto cheerfully responded, "We just had a great afternoon."

With a teasing expression, she replied, "Hopefully, this relationship lasts until marriage!"

At the mention of "marriage," Hinata blushed furiously. She fidgeted with her fingers, looking down and unable to meet anyone's gaze.

"Whoa, Alice!" Naruto chuckled. "Aren't you rushing things a bit?"

"It was just an idea!" Alice insisted with mischievous eyes. "You two just always look so cute together. Don't forget that I can sense almost everything that goes on in the village."

Hinata turned to Naruto with an even redder face. "It's okay! I'm fine with how things are now!"

"That's why I like you so much, Hinata," he smiled.

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Although she looked like a tomato, she stammered, "I-I like you too, Naruto! And one day I'll be Mrs. Hinata Uzumaki!"

Everyone around who heard that turned their heads and gawked. To think the shy girl would ever declare this out loud and in the open. The great thing was, Naruto didn't mind at all.

Alice leaned against the counter, laughing. "You see? Perfect match!"

After settling down, Alice would apologize for having teased them this way; she actually had been minding her own business for most of the day to preserve her chakra. It wouldn't replenish unless she recovered correctly with some nutrients.

That's why she stopped by in her busy day.

The group would later laugh and enjoy themselves while eating ramen. Once Alice's meal was finished, he decided to exercise her sensing range with a technique. And just as she had, her expression dropped.

"I'm sorry," she said, straightening up, "but I have to leave now. An emergency just came up."

"Alice, what's wrong?" Hinata wondered.

Alice waved her hand dismissively and said, "It's nothing I can't handle. Just stay here, okay?"

Naruto scowled after exchanging worried looks with Hinata. "No way, we can help!"

Alice shook her head and urged, "Really, no. You two stay here. I'll be back soon."

Teuchi overheard from behind the kitchen counter. "It's fine if she goes. Naruto, you've already had three bowls. You don't need to make a scene."

Before Naruto could even voice his thoughts, Alice had already hurried out the door. The two couples were now left with a choice.

"Should we follow her?" Hinata asked, feeling worried.

"You bet," Naruto replied, getting up.

As they rushed out after, they could see that this matter truly was serious; Alice was moving at incredible speeds.

"Do you have any idea what it might be?" Hinata asked, keeping pace with Naruto.

"No idea, but it's gotta be pretty important for her to be going this fast."

In Naruto's apartment, there was an unexpected turn. Four individuals were roaming around, two of whom should not be here: Hiruzen, Tsunade, and the parents of Naruto Uzumaki, Minato and Kushina.

Hiruzen sat at the small kitchen table with a worried expression as he surveyed the sparsely furnished space. Tsunade stood beside him. Naruto's parents, specifically Kushina, were walking around with a concerned look.

Kushina took in the empty shelves and the lone kotatsu in the corner that was nearly overrun with scattered bowls and crumpled takeout menus.

"Our son can't be living like this!" she said in disbelief.

"This place does kind of look deserted," Minato remarked with a smile. "I thought you said his cousin lived with him."

Hiruzen tried to reassure them by saying, "I didn't think his home was this messy, and he does; he's in a great relationship with his cousin William, and Jiraiya is his teacher. You don't need to worry about him."

However, Hiruzen's attempt at reassurance did little to ease Kushina's anxiety.

"But look at this place!" she said. "It's practically bare! No decorations, no family pictures. How can he be happy in such an environment?"

Tsunade honestly couldn't keep a straight face. "He's used to living like this, Kushina. He's been through a lot. This is part of his—"

"Is he eating properly at all?" Kushina interrupted. She marched into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, only to be disgusted. "This milk has gone bad! How could this go unnoticed?"

"I didn't know!" Hiruzen exclaimed with a panic-stricken voice. "I thought he was handling things fine on his own. He never mentioned anything about this since he was a child."

Kushina spun around in frustration. She then shouted, "Our son's been living like this for how long now?!"

Tsunade attempted to intervene. "Calm down, Kushina. It's alright. He hasn't complained because he's used to it."

Kushina's anger only intensified.

"How is this acceptable?" she yelled. "This is far less than he deserves! Our son shouldn't have to endure such filthy living conditions! What if he has no hot water? Does he even get to take warm baths at night?"

"I... I don't know," Hiruzen stammered, seeing how grim everything sounded. "I can—we can look into this immediately!"

Minato placed a calming hand on Kushina's shoulder to soothe her. "Don't worry, Kushina. We'll make this right. We just need to talk to them."

Suddenly, the door swung open, and Naruto, Alice, and Hinata entered. Their eyes flicked between Naruto and the adults as they paused to take in the unfolding scene.

"Naruto?" Tsunade and Hiruzen gasped in surprise.

Upon noticing his parents, Naruto's bewilderment turned to astonishment.

"Mom?! Dad?!"

He stepped closer as he saw their warm smiles and familiar features. Was it really them in the flesh?

"Long time no see, son," Minato said.

"Naruto," his mother gently declared, "it's really us."

Just the sight of them caused Naruto's heart to race. It also caused his fingers to tremble slightly.

For Hiruzen, Tsunade, and Alice to all be here and not say anything confirmed this was indeed real.

With a knowing look that made Naruto's heart race even more, Kushina gestured for her son to embrace her. "It's okay." He stood in shock at first, looking at her joyful blush. "We won't hurt you."

Then the tears began to well up in his eyes as he ran toward her due to the overwhelming sensation. For the first time, everyone in the room saw him cry so incredulously that they almost teared up themselves.

"Is... is that really Naruto's parents?" Hinata hesitated to ask.

Alice looked at Kushina and Tsunade for more confirmation. It was clear in her eyes what she wanted to ask: "Why's the late fourth Hokage and his wife in the village?"

Minato offered Alice a warm smile as he broke the tension, saying, "I don't believe we've met you two before. I'm Minato, and this is Kushina."

Naruto finally stopped and wiped his eyes. He had met their chakra forms before, but that was only for a brief moment. Now felt like forever.

Tsunade urged everyone to gather around the small kitchen table, saying, "Let's sit down so we can explain. There's a lot we need to talk about."