After all five returned to the room and shut the door behind them, Naruto stretched and plopped down in the middle of the bed.
"Alright, so how are you four planning to sleep? Because I'm taking the middle," he announced, already getting comfortable.
Karin smirked. "Obviously, I'm on the right."
Hinata, still blushing, nodded. "M-Me too…" she murmured, settling beside him.
Ino grinned. "Then, that means Sakura and I get the left side."
Sakura sighed but didn't protest as she lay down next to him.
Naruto stared at the ceiling, a goofy grin spreading across his face. "Man, do you guys even realize? This is like a dream come true for most guys. Heck, even for me."
"Don't get used to it, though," Sakura huffed, turning to her side. "Just because we love you doesn't mean we'll spoil you every day."
Ino smirked. "Speak for yourself, Forehead. I might just make him my prince and pamper him all day."
Naruto grinned. "I like the sound of that."
Karin rolled her eyes. "Nii-san, you better not let this get to your head."
Hinata, still blushing, whispered, "I-It's okay if he does… just a little."
Naruto chuckled, staring at the ceiling. "Man, I never thought I'd be this lucky."
The room fell into a comfortable silence, the warmth of their presence making the moment even more surreal.
After a few moments, Sakura spoke. "Oi, Naruto?"
"Hmm?"
"...Don't ever break our hearts."
Naruto turned his head to look at her. Seeing the seriousness in her eyes, he nodded firmly. "Never. I promise."
One by one, the girls drifted off to sleep.
Naruto, feeling the soft warmth from both sides, closed his eyes, a peaceful smile on his face.
Best. Night. Ever.
All five slept deeply, completely missing their morning training.
Sasuke, who had initially planned to wake Naruto up, took one look at the scene before him and immediately turned away. He didn't even know how to process what he was seeing—Naruto surrounded by four girls, all tangled up in an unexplainable way.
"Tch. Idiot," he muttered, deciding this was beyond his concern.
It wasn't until noon that they finally woke up—though not by choice.
"HEY! ALL FIVE OF YOU, WAKE UP!" Kushina's voice boomed through the house, shaking the walls.
Slowly, one by one, they stirred.
Naruto groggily cracked open an eye, yawning. "Mmm… good morning, Mom."
"Good morning?!" Kushina rubbed her temples in frustration. "Naruto, IT'S ALREADY NOON!"
At that, all four girls jolted awake, realizing they had massively overslept.
Naruto blinked a few times, still half-asleep. "Huh? Noon? That's crazy… time must be broken."
Karin groaned, burying her face in the pillow. "Ugh, I feel like I got hit by a sleep jutsu…"
Sakura stretched, yawning. "We really slept in, huh?"
Hinata's face was still red from waking up in such… proximity to Naruto. "I-It seems so."
Ino smirked at the situation. "Well, at least we know we sleep well together. That's a good sign for the future, right?"
Kushina crossed her arms, looking between them all. "Future, huh?" Her gaze locked onto Naruto. "You've got some explaining to do, mister."
Naruto sat up, rubbing the back of his head. "Ehehe… Well, you see, Mom, it's a long story…"
Kushina sighed, shaking her head. "We'll talk about it later. For now, all of you—get up and eat. You missed training, so you better not miss lunch too!"
With that, the five of them finally dragged themselves out of bed, stepping into the chaos of a new day.
After freshening up, they all gathered at the dining table for lunch.
"Here, drink this soup. It'll help you wake up properly," Kushina said, placing bowls of hot, herb-infused soup in front of them.
Naruto took a cautious sip. "Whoa! This tastes… healthy."
Karin sniffed hers suspiciously. "Are you sure this isn't some kind of secret punishment, Kaa-san?"
Kushina smirked. "Just drink it. You all overslept like a bunch of lazy cats."
Once the soup was down, she served them a hearty lunch and finally took a seat herself, arms crossed, eyes sharp.
"Alright, spill it. What exactly was going on in that bedroom?" she demanded.
Naruto, caught mid-bite, choked on his food. He coughed and pounded his chest. "Gah! M-Mom, can we not do this during lunch?!"
Kushina raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Oh, so you can sleep in with four girls, but you can't explain it over lunch?"
Ino smirked. "She's got a point, Naruto."
Karin sipped her soup, clearly enjoying Naruto's suffering. "Yeah, Nii-san, tell her the long story."
Naruto sighed, realizing there was no escape. He put down his chopsticks and took a deep breath. "Alright, fine. Here's what happened…"
And so, he started explaining—well, summarizing—the events of the previous night. How they all confessed under the moonlight, how they decided to be together, and how they just fell asleep after a long day.
Kushina listened intently, arms crossed, face unreadable.
When he finished, there was a long silence.
Then, suddenly—SMACK!
Kushina delivered a light (but still strong enough to rattle his soul) hit to his head. "You little brat! How did you end up with four girlfriends at once?! And in one night?!"
Naruto groaned, rubbing his head. "Owww! I don't know, okay?! It just happened!"
Sakura, Hinata, Ino, and Karin all blushed but nodded.
Kushina sighed deeply, massaging her temples. "I don't even know what to say. Minato would've been speechless."
Naruto chuckled nervously. "So… you're not mad?"
Kushina narrowed her eyes. "I didn't say that. But…" She sighed again. "As long as you treat them all right and don't break anyone's heart, I won't interfere. Got it?"
Naruto grinned. "Got it, Mom!"
The girls smiled as well, relieved.
Kushina shook her head, taking a sip of her soup. "Four girlfriends… This boy is really something else."
After finishing lunch, everyone returned to their respective duties.
Sakura headed to the hospital, Ino and Hinata rejoined their teams, while Naruto and Karin set out on a so-called "mission"—finding Kakashi.
But let's be real: that was just the official reason. The real reason? A sneaky little date disguised as a task.
Hand in hand, Naruto and Karin strolled through the village, pretending to be on an urgent search for their elusive sensei. In reality, they were just enjoying each other's company, taking their sweet time, and making detours for snacks along the way.
As they walked through the streets of Konoha, Naruto stretched his arms lazily. "So, technically, we're searching for Kakashi… but actually, we're on a date. Genius plan, Karin."
Karin smirked, adjusting her glasses. "Of course! If we told everyone we were just going on a date, they'd never say yes to it. This way, it's mission first, romance second."
Naruto chuckled. "You're really smart, huh?"
Karin flicked her hair dramatically. "Of course! You didn't fall for just anyone, Nii-san."
Hand in hand, they wandered around, occasionally asking shopkeepers and villagers if they had seen Kakashi. Some people laughed, others gave them vague directions, and one old man even said, "If you find him, tell him he still owes me money!"
Naruto sighed. "This is hopeless. That guy is like a ghost—appears when he wants, disappears when he wants."
Karin shrugged. "Well, if we don't find him, at least we got to spend time together."
Naruto grinned. "That's true. Want some dango?"
Karin's eyes lit up. "Are you treating me?"
"Of course!" Naruto said proudly, puffing out his chest. "What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't?"
Karin smiled warmly. "Then I accept. Let's go, Nii-san!"
And with that, their search for Kakashi turned into a casual stroll to the dango shop, their fingers still interlocked.
Their peaceful stroll was rudely interrupted by a loud voice.
"Oi, oi, oi! What do we have here?!"
Naruto and Karin froze mid-step, slowly turning their heads. Standing before them, hands on her hips, was none other than Anko Mitarashi, smirking like a fox who just caught two clueless rabbits.
Beside her, Kurenai looked amused, her crimson eyes analyzing the situation with a knowing smile. But the real danger… was Hinata, standing with Kiba and Shino. Kiba looked utterly confused, while Shino's sunglasses hid any reaction he might have had.
The Hyūga princess was staring at their interlocked hands, her expression unreadable.
Karin gulped. "Nii-san… we're dead."
Naruto, being Naruto, decided to wing it. He grinned. "Yo! Fancy meeting you three here."
Anko leaned closer, her grin widening. "Oh-ho! Look at you two, all lovey-dovey, holding hands like a couple of newlyweds! Didn't take you for the type, brat."
Kurenai chuckled. "Naruto, I knew you'd be popular, but I didn't expect you to be this smooth."
Meanwhile, Hinata remained silent.
Kiba, oblivious as ever, blinked. "Wait, are they dating? But isn't Naruto also with—"
Shino, adjusting his glasses, simply said, "…Illogical imbalance detected."
Naruto, sweating slightly, quickly tried to explain. "I-It's not what it looks like! We were just—uh—searching for Kakashi!"
Anko raised an eyebrow. "By holding hands?"
Kurenai shook her head with a sigh. "Naruto, Naruto… that's the worst excuse I've ever heard."
Karin whispered, "Abort mission, abort mission!"
Hinata finally spoke. "Naruto-kun… do you like holding hands with Karin?"
Naruto blinked. He felt like he was walking into a trap. "Uh… well… yeah, she's my girlfriend, so—"
Anko gasped dramatically. "Oho! He admits it! Kurenai, did you hear that? This brat is a full-fledged playboy now!"
Kurenai smirked. "Seems like it."
Naruto turned to Hinata, expecting her to be flustered or upset. Instead, she smiled.
"I see," she said softly. Then, before he could react, she stepped forward and took his other hand.
Naruto's brain short-circuited. "W-Wha—"
Karin's jaw dropped. "H-Hey! What's this supposed to be?!"
Hinata just gave her a serene smile. "If Karin can hold one hand, I can hold the other, right?"
Anko burst into laughter. "This is getting good! I'm gonna need some popcorn!"
Kurenai sighed but smiled. "Come on, Anko, let's leave them be. This is their mess to handle."
As the two jonin walked away with the other two boys, Naruto stared at his hands—one held by Karin, the other by Hinata.
Karin huffed. "You sneaky little Hyūga…"
Hinata just smiled sweetly. "What? I'm just following the logic."
Naruto sighed. This is my life now, huh?