Ino, trembling with unease, and Shikamaru, oddly feeling a stir of curiosity and excitement… As the two of them reacted in completely opposite ways, Naruto slowly came to a halt. He stood just a step or two away from them—so close, their faces might as well be touching. Then, he bent down slightly and gently let the blushing, face-covered Hinata stand firmly on the ground, only to wrap his arms around her again in a secure embrace.
"Oh—! Right, right, I just remembered. You asked me something a little while ago, didn't you?"
As he spoke, Naruto shifted his gaze slightly past Shikamaru's shoulder, looking at Ino, who was trying her hardest to shrink behind him and hide her presence. His smile widened with amusement, his eyes curving gently.
"I remember you asking who I was, didn't you?"
Hearing Naruto change the subject—and realizing that the focus was now on her—Ino instinctively curled up even more. Her eyes darted around in a panic, as if desperately searching the ground for a crack to crawl into and escape Naruto's gaze.
'...! No, no no no—! I didn't, I swear!'
In a flustered panic, Ino shook her head rapidly and weakly denied it, her words losing all their usual sass and bite. Faced with Naruto's calm and gentle voice, she looked like she might collapse and burst into tears at any second.
"No, I'm pretty sure you did... You asked me just moments ago. There's no way you've forgotten already, right?"
Seeing Ino's frazzled, barely coherent state, the smile in Naruto's eyes deepened. Tilting his head and blinking innocently, he continued with a tone that was both pointed and absolutely self-assured.
"Especially after the kind of impression you left on me... I remember your question very clearly."
Before the two could react, Naruto slipped his right hand out from around Hinata's waist and slowly extended it toward them—toward Ino—who looked up at him with growing dread and helplessness.
That movement, paired with the earlier question and the subtle oppressive pressure that had started to fill the air, instantly made both Shikamaru and Ino assume the worst—that Naruto was about to get serious and settle a score.
"Tch… troublesome. So in the end, we couldn't avoid this, huh?"
Despite complaining as usual out of his aversion to hassle, Shikamaru stood his ground. He remained firmly in place, shielding the panicked Ino behind him. His gaze held steady, locked with Naruto's without flinching. Even his once-shaking legs had somehow stilled, his body planted like a nail in the earth.
"Oh? Still not moving? Are you planning to protect her no matter what?"
Naruto's hand froze mid-air, halted by the roadblock before him. Raising a brow, he asked clearly and deliberately.
"Yeah, that's the plan... Sorry, I might not like trouble, but with how my old man raised me, I know at least this much—"
Shikamaru spoke without panic now, as if a weight had lifted. His smile sharpened slightly—confident, composed, unyielding.
"Even when things are at their absolute worst… even when everything's gone to hell… as a man, I can't just abandon my teammate and run away like some useless coward!"
"A man, huh… I see."
Naruto's tone remained calm, unreadable. As he replied, he tilted his head slightly upward to hide the fleeting glimmer of approval in his eyes. Then, slowly, he reached his hand forward again.
"If you're that determined… then I'll respect that. Let's start with you."
"Hmph, just what I wanted."
Now that he'd accepted their team's likely elimination, Shikamaru actually felt more at ease. His expression returned to its usual lazy look, and he began mentally preparing excuses for his mom—trying to figure out how to explain their loss without earning a bonus dinner of whisked egg and feather duster stir-fry.
But just as Shikamaru was about to give up completely, Naruto did something totally unexpected—so unexpected it shocked him to his core, flipping him from despair straight to joy.
Naruto's hand didn't strike. Instead, it gently took one of Shikamaru's hands and gave it a soft shake.
This gesture, completely out of left field, snapped Shikamaru back to reality. For a moment, he simply blinked—his thoughts scattered. At this distance, he could tell clearly: Naruto's gaze held no malice. Not toward him, nor toward Ino. Quite the opposite, in fact. His action was so unexpected, so generous, that it made Shikamaru feel like he was dreaming.
"Huh…?"
His body responded instinctively, lightly returning the handshake. But his brain still lagged behind, confused and stunned. The brave front he'd put on earlier melted away in an instant, and he blurted out the question that now consumed him.
"What… what's going on? Weren't you going to… eliminate us?"
"Pfft—HAHAHAHAHA!"
Naruto burst out laughing, finally unable to hold it in. He tilted his head back and let out a loud, hearty laugh.
"What were you thinking? Eliminate you? Why would I do that?"
Still chuckling, Naruto wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes as he let go of Shikamaru's hand and stepped back a bit. He smiled brightly at the two of them, who were now frozen in shock.
"I already told you. Didn't you guys ask me earlier who I was?"
After a brief pause, he gently lifted his right hand, brushed away the last tear, and looked at them with a grin.
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to meet you."