During dinner at the Hyuga household, at this moment, in the Aoba household, the aroma of food filled the air.
Uzuki Yugao and Aoba were in the kitchen, preparing dinner.
Meanwhile, Tenten, Ino, and Sakura were huddled together in the living room, whispering to each other.
It seemed like they were discussing something, but the atmosphere of their discussion didn't seem too pleasant.
After all, none of the three had particularly good expressions on their faces.
Naturally, Uzuki Yugao and Aoba, who were busy in the kitchen, didn't have the time to bother with them.
"I didn't expect you to know so much, Aoba," Uzuki Yugao skillfully flipped the fish in the pan, casually taking some seasoning from the cabinet and sprinkling it in.
She had been coming over to take care of Aoba since she was around ten years old. It could be said that she was more familiar with this household than even Hayame and Aoba themselves.
"Haha, I just heard these things from the ninjas at the ramen shop," Aoba explained with a slightly embarrassed expression, but because of the rising wisps of smoke, Uzuki Yugao didn't notice.
"Is that so? Looking at it this way, ramen shops really are great places to gather information. I should visit more often."
"Otherwise, after being a ninja for so long, I still wouldn't have known about the Third Hokage and Elder Danzo...", Uzuki Yugao paused, feeling a little too embarrassed to continue, and quickly changed the subject, "I just don't know who spread these rumors. If the Third Hokage finds out, they'll definitely be in trouble."
"Heh, they'd probably end up mysteriously stabbing themselves in the back with eight kunai."
"Eh?"
The two continued their casual conversation, something that had long become the norm in their daily lives.
Meanwhile, in the living room, the three girls abandoned their discussion and instead stood outside the kitchen, peeking in with their heads sticking out.
Just as Aoba was skillfully transferring the stir-fried green pepper and pork to a bowl, he noticed them.
It was worth mentioning that, in Konoha, green peppers were usually bitter and sour, but there were some that had a mild spiciness to them, though not too strong.
"What are you guys doing?", Aoba looked at the three peeking girls with an amused smile.
"It smells so good!", Ino was the first to react, taking a deep breath and then running over with a face full of delight.
She went straight to the stove, leaning on the counter, standing on her tiptoes to peek into the bowl, trying to see what Aoba had cooked.
Since Aoba was standing on a small step stool, otherwise, it would have been difficult for him to handle the iron wok at his current height. Ino, who was a whole head shorter than him, could barely see into the bowl.
"Wow, what's this? Is this green pepper? This is my first time seeing green peppers stir-fried like this," Ino's eyes were full of curiosity, like a little cat sniffing around.
To be fair, Aoba's direct stir-frying and wok-flipping technique was quite rare in this area, especially for a girl like Ino, who came from a prestigious family.
Aoba was about to explain, but before he could say anything—
Tenten ran over right after, directly grabbing the curious Ino and holding her in place, "Don't disturb Aoba while he's cooking."
"I just want to know what Aoba is making, it smells so good!", Ino started struggling.
"No way!", Tenten increased her grip, "You're too short. If you move around too much, you'll interfere with Aoba. Just wait until I take a look, and then I'll tell you, okay?"
"Pfft," Aoba and Uzuki Yugao couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"What are you guys laughing at?", Tenten looked at them in confusion while still keeping Ino restrained.
"I just thought of something funny."
"What is it?"
"Tonight's dinner might be something you've never had before in your life."
"Really? But I remember green peppers being really hard to eat."
"That's because you've been using the wrong kind of green peppers. But they're very nutritious, so you can't be picky," As he spoke, Aoba scooped up a piece with his spatula, blew on it to cool it down a little, and then brought it close to Tenten's mouth.
"Tenten, do you want to try it?"
Tenten's big eyes sparkled as she was about to open her mouth.
But suddenly, she felt herself being pulled back by something, preventing her from getting closer.
"Ino!", Tenten was a little angry. She didn't expect this girl to cause trouble at such a moment.
Seeing that Tenten had paused, Ino immediately lunged forward to snatch a bite, but was also stopped by Tenten.
Watching the two of them start to wrestle, Aoba held up the spatula, looking speechless.
Then, he noticed someone else standing hesitantly at the kitchen entrance.
It was Sakura.
Their eyes met.
Aoba gave her a questioning look.
Then, Sakura happily skipped past the struggling duo and dashed inside.
With a swift "Ahh," she took a bite of the meat on Aoba's spatula.
Sakura chewed carefully, her eyes lighting up, "It's spicy, salty, and a little sweet—so delicious!"
Hearing the praise, Aoba was in a great mood and grinned, I'm glad you like it, Sakura. Make sure to eat two extra bowls of rice later."
"Mm-hmm!", Sakura closed her eyes in satisfaction. But soon, she suddenly felt a chill.
Her neck stiffened, and she turned her head to see her dear friends, Ino and Tenten, standing behind her, seemingly on fire with rage.
"Sa-ku-ra!"
"Haruno Sakura!"
Then, Sakura was dragged away by the two, where she faced a 'merciless' punishment.
Sakura's Tragic Fate!
Aoba could do nothing about it.
In an instant, the kitchen was left with only Aoba and Uzuki Yugao once more.
Aoba plated the stir-fried green peppers and pork, planning to cook another small dish.
Suddenly, he felt a finger poke his cheek.
Curious, he turned his head, only to have a pair of chopsticks shoved into his mouth.
"Mm!", Just as he was about to ask what was going on, he tasted a piece of fish on the chopsticks.
"Is it good?"
"It's delicious!", After swallowing, Aoba didn't hesitate to give his praise, even giving a thumbs-up.
Uzuki Yugao smiled as well.
But as Aoba turned back to cooking, she let out a quiet sigh in her heart, her gaze complicated as she looked at the boy she had watched grow up.
'Aoba, you really are popular.'
Seeing Aoba and the three girls getting along so well, Uzuki Yugao sometimes had the urge to lock him away. Or chase those three away.
Before long—
"Dinner's ready! Time to eat!", Aoba called out to the three girls, who were still messing around on the couch.
"Go wash your hands and get your rice," Then, seeing Sakura's tear-streaked yet still smiling face, he added another sentence.
"Sakura, you should wash your face first."
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.
https://discord.gg/bYAfGyp98y