Naruto stared blankly at the beautiful gift box in his hands.
A bright red ribbon was tied neatly around it.
"For… me?" he asked, still dazed.
He looked up at Hinata, blinking in confusion. She didn't say anything just stood there with her head lowered, her cheeks glowing red.
Naruto didn't know if he was imagining it, but he could've sworn she was trembling slightly when she handed him the box.
The room was silent for a moment.
Standing beside him, Kushina let out a soft sigh as she looked at her frozen son. "Why are you just standing there like that? Say thank you! Didn't I teach you how to be polite?"
Though her tone was mildly scolding, there was still warmth in her voice.
"Ah right! Yes!" Naruto finally snapped back to his senses.
He quickly bowed toward Hinata and said loudly, "Thank you, Hinata!"
His face was a little red too, embarrassed but sincere.
This was the first time in Naruto's life that he had ever received a gift from a girl.
When Hinata saw him bow and thank her so earnestly, she panicked and instinctively took a small step back.
"Hmm…" she murmured in a barely audible voice, her head bowed low. She was far too embarrassed to look up.
Watching from the side, Kushina smiled faintly. She turned toward Hiashi with a small sigh and said apologetically, "I'm really sorry, Lord Hiashi. Naruto's usually quite well-mannered I don't know what got into him today…"
She gave Naruto a playful glare and motioned for him to sit down and behave properly.
Hiashi simply chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. "No need to apologize it's quite alright."
As he spoke, he gave both children a thoughtful glance, eyes quietly observing them.
After a pause, he nodded slowly and said with a gentle smile, "It seems these two have gotten along well since they were young. There's a mutual fondness between them, I can tell…"
Kushina blinked in surprise. "Mr. Hiashi, if there's something you want to say, please don't hesitate."
She gave him a knowing look.
"You didn't come all this way just to drop off a gift, did you?"
Kushina could already tell there had to be more to this visit than just a polite gesture. The head of the Hyuga clan wouldn't personally escort his daughter for such a simple errand unless there was a deeper purpose.
Hearing Kushina's direct question, Hiashi's smile deepened, but he didn't answer right away.
Instead, he paused briefly, cleared his throat, and then spoke in a calm, measured tone:
"In that case, I'll be straightforward. Naruto and Hinata have both graduated from the Ninja Academy and are twelve this year. Back in the Warring States Period, that was already considered an appropriate age for engagement."
"The two children have been close since they were small. Hinata has always admired Naruto deeply. So I was thinking why not use this opportunity to arrange a formal marriage between them?"
The words landed like a thunderclap in the room.
A heavy silence fell over everyone.
Naruto didn't react at first. He sat frozen for two whole seconds then his eyes went wide, and he practically leapt out of his seat like he'd been electrocuted.
"W-What?! Engagement?!"
[Ding! Emotional fluctuation detected from Uzumaki Naruto! Emotional Value +1000!]
The three spectators were just as stunned by what they saw.
"W-What is even happening?!" Sakura shouted, her worldview cracking in real time. She clutched her head and stared at the screen in disbelief.
She had never expected this.
Of all the things Naruto could've dreamed about… this was definitely not on her list.
Naruto actually got engaged to Hinata… in his dream?
Sakura felt her vision blur for a second. Her mind spun with disbelief, anger, and confusion.
Wait a second doesn't the saying go, 'you dream about what's on your mind'?
But Naruto literally told me he liked me the other day! And now he's dreaming about marrying Hinata?! Behind my back?!
The thought hit her like a punch to the gut.
Her chest tightened with frustration. Her fists clenched.
Ugh! I can't believe it!
So that clueless, goofy Naruto is secretly a two-timing scumbag?!
Her face puffed up in anger, cheeks flushed bright red.
What does Hinata have that I don't?!
[Ding! Emotional fluctuation detected from Haruno Sakura! Emotional Value +300!]
Off to the side, even Kakashi's eyes widened a bit. A rare moment of visible surprise crossed his usually unreadable face.
He hadn't expected that either.
Hiashi's calm and formal proposal had completely caught him off guard.
But Kakashi, ever composed, quickly collected himself. The initial surprise faded from his face as he furrowed his brow and fell into deep thought.
At first glance, this dream scenario seems absurd… but if you look closer, it's not without logic.
He quietly analyzed the situation, mentally revisiting the reasoning he'd gone through the night before when trying to understand the structure of Naruto's dream world.
Before the Uchiha clan was destroyed, they were technically the largest clan in Konoha. But due to long-standing distrust and political tension, they were always kept at a distance from the village leadership.
Even though the Uchiha had numbers and strength, their influence within the village was far weaker than it appeared on paper especially compared to the Hyuga clan, who enjoyed a more stable relationship with the village's ruling elite.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed slightly, his thoughts accelerating.
But in Naruto's dream, the Fourth Hokage Minato never died. He lived, remained Hokage, and even formed a strong friendship with the Uchiha clan. That alone would drastically change the political dynamics.
With the Uchiha rising in influence, the Hyuga clan's status would naturally be challenged.
And Hiashi no, any Hyuga clan leader would never sit idly by if their family's position was being threatened.
As the clan head, it made perfect sense that Hiashi would take action for the benefit of the Hyuga clan's future.
Thinking this far, Kakashi couldn't help but click his tongue softly.
Still… I didn't expect Hiashi to go that far.
Of all things he chose to secure the clan's future by marrying Hinata off to Naruto.
Meanwhile, Sakura had finally snapped out of her earlier shock.
She glanced to the side and froze.
Hinata was completely red. Her face steamed like a kettle on full boil, and she was fidgeting with both index fingers, poking them together nervously.
Her head was lowered, and she was mumbling to herself over and over again like a broken record.
"Why would Naruto-kun have such a dream… Why would Naruto-kun have such a dream…"
Sakura stared, dumbfounded. "???"
This was the quiet, polite Hinata she knew?
Now she was muttering nonstop like she'd been possessed.
Then, just as suddenly
Hinata's eyes went dark. Her body swayed, then crumpled in place. Her eyes rolled back
And she fainted on the spot.
Sakura immediately caught Hinata as she collapsed, her voice filled with alarm.
"Ah! Hinata what's wrong with you?!"
Hinata remained unconscious, her face flushed, lips still twitching slightly from the emotional overload.
Just then, Sakura noticed the edges of the dream theater starting to blur.
Her eyes widened. "Kakashi-sensei the dream's ending!"
Kakashi gave a small nod, calm as ever. "I see it."
A moment later, the world around them began to distort. The giant screen faded. The soft red seats vanished into shadow. The walls of the dark theater peeled away like mist in the morning sun.
Meanwhile, hidden behind the dream, Aren watched it all unfold with barely concealed glee.
The system panel in front of him was flashing wildly, refreshing over and over as lines of emotional value data poured in.
He couldn't stop grinning.
In just one night… Hinata's emotional spikes surged like a tidal wave. The system tracker can barely keep up!
As the dream came to an end, a new window popped up on the system interface displaying the full settlement report from this session.
[Dream Subject: Uzumaki Naruto][Viewers: Hyuga Hinata, Haruno Sakura, Hatake Kakashi][Total Emotional Value Gained: 15,350 points][Current Emotional Value Balance: 45,950 points]
"Not bad not bad at all!"
Aren nodded with great satisfaction.
The emotional points he harvested tonight had far exceeded his expectations. His current balance was now pushing close to fifty thousand.
Even after accounting for past expenditures, this amount was more than enough to meet the requirements for his next upgrade.
Without wasting a second, he pulled up the system panel.
Sure enough, a glowing notification was flashing right at the center of the screen:
[Current Dream Fulfillment Level: Level 1 (100450 / 100000)][Congratulations, Host! You have met the conditions for an upgrade. Would you like to upgrade now?]
Aren grinned ear to ear. "Is that even a question? Upgrade! Hurry up and give me that upgrade!"
Without hesitation, he slammed the confirm button.
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