When Aoba saw Hinata, he felt like his head was about to split open.
Tenten showing up was already strange enough, but now Hinata was here too.
Aoba felt like someone was trying to set him up.
But now was clearly not the time to think about these things. Tenten had already reached into her ninja tool pouch.
At this moment, he had to act first to gain control of the situation.
"No, you came just in time," Aoba smiled and waved at Hinata.
'But why does it feel like there are suddenly several more killing-intent-filled gazes locked onto him?'
He ignored it and continued, as if cheering Hinata on, "Hinata, it's okay. Come and play with us."
Hinata froze upon hearing this. She looked at the three people beside him, all filled with hostility, unsure if she should go over.
This morning, her father had told her that as long as she came here, she would meet Aoba-kun. So, she had come.
And then, she saw Aoba stroking that girl's hair.
For some reason, she suddenly felt a wave of discomfort.
She had always thought that Aoba was just like her. They were each other's only friends, friends who could entrust their lives to one another.
But now, seeing that he also had three other cute little girls like her, she felt extremely upset.
She didn't know why she felt this way.
'Aoba-kun is happy now. When a friend is happy, I should be happy for him too.'
'But why—'
'It hurts!'
A noble young lady from a deep boudoir had no understanding of what love was.
Even Tenten, Ino, and Sakura were just as clueless, still in a state of confusion.
They were only five or six years old. Their family environments allowed them to be carefree at this age, with no room for the intricate thoughts of adults.
Just like back then, when Tenten found out that Aoba had suddenly gained two new friends, Ino and Sakura.
Her only disappointment and sadness were that her Aoba no longer had just her as a playmate. She could no longer monopolize him.
Their practice time for throwing techniques was shortened.
The competition among the three girls was nothing more than a battle to spend more time playing with Aoba.
Perhaps this was childhood friendship.
One could say that if Tenten, Ino, and Sakura had developed any scheming tendencies, it was entirely because Aoba had forcefully accelerated their growth.
Hinata bit her lip. Since she had already come this far, she decided to gather her courage and walked toward the four of them.
Ino, Tenten, and Sakura remained frozen in place, their eyes all fixed on Aoba in perfect sync.
Their eyes were filled with disbelief at his actions.
"""Who is she?"""
Ino, Tenten, and Sakura all pointed at Hinata, gritting their teeth, speaking in unison.
If this were a scene between young lovers in a heated romance, discovering someone two-timing, it would be a catastrophic battlefield of emotions.
In anime, this was the kind of scenario where heads would roll.
But fortunately, they were still just 'friends'.
Even though Tenten had confessed her feelings, both of them had instinctively chosen to forget about it, maintaining a pure friendship.
This connection also gave him many chances to smooth things over.
Under the gazes of the three girls, Aoba naturally took Hinata's hand and introduced her.
"Her name is Hyuga Hinata. She's the eldest daughter of the Hyuga clan and has a rather introverted personality...", His introduction was incredibly detailed. He wanted to inspire some sympathy in the three girls for this quiet, easily brought-to-tears, white-eyed little girl.
'Introverted?'
'Cries for a long time after getting punched?'
The three girls looked at Hinata and felt something was off.
Although her little face was so red it seemed like steam might come out, they could clearly feel deep hostility in her gaze.
Seeing her flushed face and the steam rising from her head, they couldn't shake the feeling that she was charging up for a punch that would send them flying.
"We don't want to play with her," For the first time, Tenten aligned herself with Ino and Sakura, rejecting the newcomer, Hinata.
Their blunt rejection left Aoba momentarily stunned.
But how could he possibly agree to such a request? Now was not the time to back down. If he hesitated, he wouldn't be able to maintain control. How could he ever hope to establish a harem?
"I want Hinata to join us!"
"No! I don't want to!"
Tenten puffed up her cheeks, standing firm. It was because of her carelessness before that Ino and Sakura had joined. Now, another one? No way!
'I was here first!'
"Ino, Sakura, what about you two?"
Aoba turned to the two who had temporarily joined forces with Tenten.
"I don't want to! I don't need a new friend!"
Ino also firmly refused, while Sakura wore a wronged expression to express her opposition.
"You guys..."
"Aoba-kun!", Hinata suddenly spoke, her voice still soft and sweet.
Aoba looked at her and saw an expression that seemed like she was about to cry but was trying hard to hold it in, "Aoba-kun, if this makes things difficult for you, then I'll just leave. When you have time, you can come find me."
"I'll be fine on my own," As she spoke, Hinata gently pulled her hand away from Aoba, then turned around and walked back the way she came.
She didn't want to make Aoba-kun feel troubled. If she had known, she wouldn't have spoken up earlier.
Aoba could still see her shoulders trembling slightly, clearly holding back tears.
His heart ached.
Tenten, Ino, and Sakura were all stunned.
'Wait, sis, what happened to the hostility in your eyes just now?'
'What's with that expression? That look in your eyes? And those tears—'
'Shouldn't you be arguing with us and making Aoba choose?'
'Now that you're backing down, it looks like we're the bad guys bullying you.'
'How selfish!'
"Sigh..."
Aoba sighed and apologized to the three girls.
"Tenten, Ino, Sakura, I'm sorry. This time, I'll go with Hinata first. She usually has to practice Gentle Fist, so she might not have time to come out on other days."
"I'll take you guys to see Tsunade-sensei another day, okay?"
As expected, in this kind of situation, given Aoba's "villainous" personality, he was bound to side with Hinata.
'Damn it!'
Tenten's cheeks puffed up, her eyes filled with frustration, anger, and sadness.
"Fine! Whatever, Ino, Sakura, let's go... play?"
"Aoba, we're coming too!"
Tenten had wanted to stay firm and leave with Ino and Sakura, but those two had already run off after Aoba.
Their fragile alliance fell apart in less than a minute due to the foolishness of its two main members.
"Damn it! You traitors!", Tenten stomped her foot in frustration. But watching the four of them slowly walk away, she realized that if she didn't follow, she'd be missing out.
"Wait for me! I'm coming too!"
And so, with the five of them leaving together, the chaotic scene came to an abrupt end.
Not long after, four old stalkers emerged from the shadows. [T/N: Fathers of respective girls]
They exchanged glances and saw their bodies still trembling.
But in the end, they had no choice but to accept it.
"Shall we go have a drink?"
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