"Huh?"
Hinata looked at Karin in confusion.
'Is she not the one who looked so impatient just now? Why is she suddenly not in a hurry anymore?'
"Well..."
Karin was worried that Hinata might beat Temari to death, but she could not say that out loud, so she could only think of another excuse.
"Isn't it almost mealtime anyway? Even if we find Temari right away, it will not be easy to catch her. We might as well fill our stomachs first so we have some strength."
Hinata thought about it and felt that what Karin said made sense.
Temari was not weak, and they were inside Konoha Village, where many ninjutsu could not be used. It was better to eat lunch first and then go look for her when they had more energy.
"Then let's go to Ichiraku Ramen."
Ichiraku Ramen was closer to the center of Konoha, so it would be convenient to go look for her from there.
"Alright," Karin had no objections to that.
"I want to go too!", Seeing the two of them agree to go eat, Hanabi immediately raised her little hand high.
"No, we have serious business. Hanabi, you stay at home," Hinata rubbed her little head and refused her request to come along.
"Onee-san..."
Hanabi immediately put on a pitiful expression, her watery eyes blinking.
"No!"
Hinata's tone was a bit more serious this time.
This was adult business. Hanabi was still a child, and some things were not easy to explain.
"Mm..."
Seeing that Hinata still would not budge, Hanabi was curious about what it was but had no choice.
However, after Hinata and Karin left, the grievance on her face immediately disappeared, and she already had other thoughts in her mind.
She was very curious about what could make her sister this angry.
Running back to her bedroom, Hanabi picked out a cute outfit to change into, then hurried outside.
But she ran right into Hyuga Hiashi and Hyuga Ayako, who had just come back.
"Uh! Father, Mother, you are back."
Hanabi awkwardly smiled and greeted them.
"Hm? Hanabi, are you going out too?"
Seeing what she was wearing, Hyuga Hiashi immediately frowned.
He had seen Karin and the others leave and was just about to come back to properly have a talk with Hanabi.
"I want to go to the Hokage Building to see Aoba-nii."
Hanabi twisted her fingers in her hair as she replied.
Since Karin and Hinata were going to look for Temari, this definitely had something to do with Aoba, so she decided to go ask the person involved directly what was going on.
"See Aoba?", Hyuga Hiashi was slightly stunned.
Hanabi rolled her eyes and, after coming up with an excuse in her head, immediately straightened up confidently.
"Because Aoba-nii just became Hokage, and today is also New Year. As his disciple, I should definitely go pay him a visit, right?"
"That is true," Hearing her reasoning, Hyuga Hiashi nodded slightly.
A teacher becoming Hokage and a disciple offering congratulations made perfect sense.
"But the Hokage Building is in working hours right now. If you go now, you might disturb Aoba's work."
"It is almost lunch break anyway, and I am just going to take a look. I will not disturb Aoba-nii," Hanabi said very sensibly.
Hearing that, Hyuga Hiashi fell into brief thought.
Hyuga Ayako, seeing this, also asked Hanabi gently, "Then do you want to eat lunch at home before going?"
Hanabi shook her head, "No need. I will eat outside. If I eat lunch at home, I might miss the lunch break."
"Mm... then remember to eat lunch, and be careful on the way. The roads are very slippery today."
Hyuga Ayako did not try to stop her and instead reminded her about safety.
"I know."
Seeing her mother agree, Hanabi went back to smiling brightly.
Hyuga Hiashi also nodded and said seriously, "In that case, go. But remember not to lose your manners."
"Mm!"
———
[Elsewhere, Ichiraku Ramen]
Ayame smiled as she set the ramen down in front of Sakura and Ino.
"Your ramen is ready. Please enjoy."
"Huh? Ayame, why did today's ramen come with so much chashu?"
Looking at the large slices of chashu in her bowl, Sakura was a little surprised.
"This is a benefit to celebrate Aoba becoming Hokage. All ramen today has double the chashu."
Ayame smiled as she answered, then teased, "But since you two are future Hokage wives, your ramen can be free."
When Sakura and Ino heard the words "future Hokage wives," their faces both turned slightly red.
"Come on, Ayame, you always tease us."
Ino was thin skinned and could not help complaining softly.
"Haha!"
Seeing Ino embarrassed, Ayame laughed again, but there was also a bit of emotion on her face.
"It feels like Aoba was just this little kid not long ago, and suddenly today he is becoming Hokage."
"How is that sudden? Aoba is so outstanding. Becoming Hokage is only natural."
As soon as the topic turned to Baiyun Aoba, the shyness in Ino's heart was replaced by pride.
"That is right. There is no one in Konoha more suitable to be Hokage than Aoba," Sakura also agreed.
Seeing how eagerly the two girls defended him, Ayame's smile grew even wider, "I am just feeling how fast time passes. Forget you two, I watched Aoba grow up with my own eyes."
"Mm! I remember that kid Aoba started coming here to eat ramen when he was about two years old."
Teuchi, who was making ramen in the back, also spoke up kindly, "Back then Ayame was not very old either. Every time she came to help, she liked to pinch his cheeks."
"Kids' cheeks really are fun to pinch."
Ayame smiled, but then showed a regretful look, "But after Yugao started coming with him, I could not pinch them anymore."
"Back then Yugao watched Aoba like a hawk and would not let anyone touch him."
"That is right, that is right. One time when we went to look for Aoba, I even saw Yugao-nee make a really scary face."
Sakura took a bite of chashu and nodded vigorously, eyes wide, "I thought I was going to be killed."
"Why have I never seen that?", Ino scratched her head in confusion.
"That is because every time you went to look for Aoba you would start arguing with Tenten. I was always paying attention to Aoba and Yugao-nee's attitudes," Sakura said casually.
"Huh?", Ino did not expect Sakura to have been that observant since she was little.
"After all, Ino, you have always liked to compete with Tenten over everything since childhood. I just did not expect you to get along so well when you grew up," Ayame's smile never left her face.
"That is only because Aoba is such a jerk..."
The three of them chatted and laughed, reminiscing about all kinds of interesting things from when they were young.
And soon, Hinata and the others arrived at Ichiraku Ramen.
When the two groups saw each other, they were all surprised. None of them expected to run into each other today.
"Ayame, two more future Hokage wives are here. Are you still going to make it free?", After the brief surprise, Ino remembered Ayame's earlier teasing and covered her mouth as she teased back.
"Future Hokage wives?", Hinata and Karin had just sat down, and when they heard Ino's words, they were immediately stunned.
"..."
Ayame looked at the stunned Hinata, felt a stab of pain in her heart, and still waved her hand generously, "Free, all free. Today all of you eat on me!"
"Thank you, Ayame."
Hinata and the others had not yet come back to their senses from "Hokage wives," but when they heard Ayame say she was treating, they still thanked her first.
And when Sakura and Ino found out why Hinata and the others had come out, the original four person group immediately expanded to six.
After lunch, it expanded to eight...
———
Aoba had no idea that Temari was about to suffer. Right now he was comfortably enjoying Tsunade's lap pillow and massage.
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