Intense Aroma

Of course, it's not suitable to pinch her cheeks right now. Naruto knows that those ANBU has been silently monitoring him. Even though one of the ANBU group has transferred away, there is one remaining following him.

To relax ANBU's vigilance, Naruto started to become very low-key, which is one of the reasons why ANBU has changed from two teams to only one still following him.

"Na-Naruto, is the grilled fish ready?"

Hinata's melodious voice sounded again.

Naruto smiled when he heard her. Knowing that Hinata was a glutton, he picked up a grilled fish and passed it to her.

"Now, try it quickly."

"Thank you, Naruto."

Hinata lightly smiled at Naruto, then quickly took the grilled fish from him.

Being a glutton, she had been anticipating for quite a bit now, and so she quickly ate the food without hesitance.

"It smells and tastes great."

Hinata took a bite, her eyes lighting up slightly, then looked towards Naruto with admiration.

It was the first time she had eaten something that looked and smelled this great.

This made her admire Naruto even more.

[Experience +1]

Naruto saw the experience value go up and smiled.

"If you want more, have some. We have five fishes enough for both of us."

"Alright Naruto, but you eat too. It's delicious." Hinata said while taking a bite out of the fish.

Naruto picked up one of the grilled fish and then ate it slowly.

The two of them had lunch together while enjoying the warm sunlight and the gentle breeze.

After a while, Naruto, who had eaten two fish, nodded in satisfaction, then looked towards Hinata and found that she was staring at the last fish in a trance.

Naruto understood what she wanted. Then picked up the last grilled fish and handed it over, "Here you eat it."

"N-no, I don't want it. You can eat it." Hinata said embarrassedly while still drooling at the fish.

"Don't worry; I am already full. Eat it quickly; otherwise, it would get cold." Naruto spoke indifferently.

"Th-Then I'll eat it. Thank you, Naruto."

Seeing Hinata eating, Naruto felt very happy. In his dark world, Hinata added a touch of brilliance.

"There is another ray of hope.". Naruto murmured while looking at the experience value prompt.

"What did you say, Naruto?"

Hinata looked up towards Naruto when she heard his voice.

"Nothing, I just thought it would be nice if we had some oranges," Naruto said, changing the subject.

"Oranges? Oh right."

Hinata said, while quickly taking out two oranges from her pocket and handing them to Naruto.

"Naruto, this is for you."

"Oranges?"

Seeing the two oranges in Hinata's hands, Naruto was really surprised. He didn't expect Hinata to have oranges, but then he remembered the scene of him buying oranges.

He knew that Hinata must have seen that he couldn't buy oranges. So she secretly bought two and wanted to give them to him.

"It's so nice of you, thank you, Hinata."

Naruto smiled and thanked her, then reached out to take the orange that Hinata handed over.

The moment he took it, he felt her hands against his. They were soft like expensive silk.

[Experience +1]

Opposite to Naruto, Hinata also felt something when she touched him. It was like an electric shock going through her body.

The atmosphere between the two became a bit strange.

Naruto broke the strange atmosphere and gave a peeled orange to Hinata.

"Ok."

Hinata took a small bite of the orange, her head hanging low. Too embarrassed to look at Naruto.

Far away from the two, above a big tree.

The four ANBU stood quietly on the trunk and looked toward Naruto, taking deep breaths occasionally.

"Captain, I smell such an intense aroma every day but can't eat it. This makes my life really hard.". The fox masked ANBU said.

"Yeah, we have been enduring it for a long time now. Since the kid started cooking outside, the smell has become more and more appetizing, but I cannot eat but only watch from afar."

Another ANBU spoke up, talking about his own depressing experience, and the ANBU next to him also nodded in approval.

"You can't stand a little fragrance? You are an elite ANBU member."

The ANBU commander reprimanded sharply, but you could see he too was drooling at the aroma.

"Captain, it's not that we can't stand a little fragrance. It's just we can see and smell the excellent food every day, yet we cannot eat it. It just makes us very uncomfortable.

The fox masked explained again.

"Huh, can't stand the aroma? You are an elite..."

The ANBU captain started reprimanding again, but his stomach groaned halfway through the conversation, making the atmosphere a bit strange.

The ANBU captain blushed, but fortunately, he was wearing a mask so no one else could see. He changed the subject and said, "Have you checked out the fishing net?"

"I checked it out, and it's an excellent idea. I have reported it to the Hokage, but Hokage didn't take it seriously." Fox ANBU replied.

"Well, only civilians can use it. So it's natural for the Hokage to look down upon it. After all, even a Genin could easily catch fish faster. Naruto is a bit sharp, but it doesn't matter if he can't become strong." The ANBU captain said.

"Captain, does the village want to train Naruto to become a powerhouse? Didn't the previous order say to delay his practice? Even the chakra refinement technique was explained very late to him." One of the ANBU asked suspiciously.

"That was before. I received news that the village elders are preparing to train Naruto, become a powerhouse so that he can protect the village." The ANBU captain said calmly.

"Isn't it a bit late? Although Naruto is very good at hunting fish, he does not get other vitamins, and his diet is very unbalanced. It is not even as good as an ordinary civilian not to mention a ninja."

"Yeah, Naruto is short for his age, he is undernourished, and he barely eats any fruits or vegetables. I am afraid it will be very challenging for him to become powerful."

The ANBU ninjas talked among themselves, not very optimistic about Naruto's growth.

"Don't worry about it. The elders already have a plan for what to do."

The ANBU captain replied and continued to monitor Naruto.

Back to the riverside.

After lunch, Naruto walked Hinata to her house, then went toward his own house, checking his own situation because of the mechanical voice that rang in his ear.

[Ding! The experience value has reached 100. The infinite comprehensive system has become activated. ]

Hearing this message, Naruto was excited but did not show it on his face. He was silently checking the system while going toward his house because he knew that the opportunity to change his fate had finally arrived.