Naruto: Freeloading is Great! 2 [27]

The phrase "notorious far and wide" probably described this very situation.

Not only was Hoshino friends with the demon fox, he was also a scumbag who hit girls—and worst of all, he’d even frame innocent girls with erotic novels.

Originally, only his classmates disliked him, but now his infamy would likely rise to a school-wide level.

As the saying goes, school is the easiest place for love stories to bloom—but now, breaking out of singledom at school had become completely impossible for a guy whose reputation had utterly rotted away.

“He… hehe… Although I never really wanted to marry a ninja, a profession with such a high fatality rate… still, this feeling of being rejected by all the girls at school is just unbearable.”

“Don’t be sad! At least I know that book actually belongs to Hinata, so I won’t look at you weirdly like everyone else. Because I’ve always known from the start that you were an irredeemable scumbag. So it’s totally fine!”

After the Uchiha and Hyūga clans left, Naruto was the first to step forward and comfort Hoshino.

It was just that her way of comforting…

Made Hoshino want to kick her to death.

“Darling, don’t be afraid! You don’t need troublesome creatures like women. Isn’t having me by your side enough? Although everyone despises you, I absolutely love you just the way you are! You even heroically took all the blame like a true man, and now you're despised by the whole school… Ah! If they knew I was your girlfriend, surely they’d drag me down with you and humiliate me in all sorts of ways… Oh~!”

Is this drooling Gorilla bastard trying to comfort me, or stab me with an extra knife?!

Once his two closest friends had finished their so-called comforting, the traitor Sasuke also came forward.

“Aren’t you bastards done yet? How many times do you plan to stab me? Can you all just shut up already?”

“Huh?! Why do those two get to talk, but I don’t? I wanna talk too!”

“Tch~ Fine, say whatever you want if you’re that desperate. I’d love to hear just how cutting your remarks can be.”

Seeing Hoshino’s clearly unhappy expression, Sasuke was confused.

Though he’d taken on a pretty terrible reputation, wasn’t the outcome actually great?

Before leaving, all the clan members had praised Hoshino’s efforts in sabotaging the Hyūga heiress. They’d even greeted him warmly, telling him he should come visit the Uchiha compound anytime.

And on top of that…

“Before leaving, my father-sama asked me to pass along that he'll invite you to our home as a guest very soon.”

When Sasuke thought about how both her clansmen and father approved of Hoshino, she was practically bubbling with joy.

In the future, being together would be a smooth sailing.

So wonderful~!

However, upon hearing this piece of devastating news, Hoshino was on the verge of tears.

Are these guys really in such a rush to kill me…?!

This whole mess was created entirely by you bastards who had nothing better to do. Didn’t I only step up and take the blame because I didn’t want to be dragged into your chaos?

I just wanted to peacefully live my little life—just who the hell did I provoke?!

Every time Hoshino recalled the seemingly friendly but secretly murderous words the Uchiha members said before leaving—clearly wanting to force him into their territory and quietly erase him from existence—he sank deeper into sadness.

He was certain that Fugaku’s earlier “meaningful glance” confirmed all his fears.

Under those warm, friendly smiles was undoubtedly a heart filled with murderous intent.

“Walking Wallet… C-can I refuse the invitation to your home?”

“Why wouldn't you come?! It’s a rare—ah, no, don’t misunderstand me! Actually… actually, I don’t particularly want you to visit, but… but it’s father’s orders! Even if you refuse to come, I’ll… my father will have people drag you there anyway!”

Hearing Sasuke’s stammering voice, Hoshino became even more convinced—it was absolutely a trap.

“Of course you wouldn’t want me there. After all… Ah, forget it. I’ll just cross that bridge when I get there...”

Seeing Hoshino acting so timidly, Sasuke obviously “understood” what he was thinking.

It was only natural to feel nervous meeting your crush’s parents. And besides, Hoshino was so utterly “obsessed” with her. How could he not be scared?

“It’s… It’s okay. I’ll be by your side at that time…”

“Mhm, thanks.”

Hoshino responded half-heartedly. After all, Sasuke’s words held no weight within her clan. If she were the adult heir, maybe things would be better, but unfortunately, she was just a second-born minor.

Seeing Hoshino so “shy” he was practically terrified, Sasuke momentarily didn’t know what else to say.

Just as both fell silent, the most central figure of the incident gently tugged Hoshino’s sleeve.

“I-I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to push the blame onto you… A-also, father-sama wanted me to pass along a message—he’ll also invite you to our home very soon.”

“…”

Hoshino had now sunk fully into despair, silently covering his eyes with one hand.

Hehe… I’m really finished this time, aren’t I?

Disasters came one after another. Leaving aside that he’d never leave the Uchiha compound alive, just the fact that the Hyūga were also inviting him was enough to make him hopeless.

If fate really was determined to kill him, then what was next—

Whoosh~!

“…Hello, Cao Cao.” (Cao Cao—a Chinese idiom meaning ‘speak of the devil.’)

Lifelessly, Hoshino greeted the masked figure who had appeared right on cue.

“Not bad, kid. You actually predicted my arrival and still stayed calm.”

“If I said I’m only calm because I’ve given up hope… would you believe me?”

“Ah… yeah, I can tell. Anyway, I can’t loaf around any longer—I’m on duty. Hokage-sama asked me to inform you: he’ll soon call you to his office for a chat. Be prepared.”

Whoosh~!

Having delivered his message, the ANBU vanished just as suddenly as he’d appeared.

At this Ninja Academy, students only had one and a half days off each week—Saturday afternoon and all of Sunday.

Though that morning’s classes were disrupted by the two clans, everyone except Hoshino and Naruto resumed class as usual.

Why didn’t those two have to attend class? The reason was simple. Before leaving campus, Hoshino went straight to Iruka-sensei’s office and said:

“I want to admire the world’s scenery one last time before I die. Can I have some time off?”

His leave slip was instantly approved.

As for Naruto…

“Oh right, I’d like to take Naruto with me as my funeral companion. That brat’s just an annoying demon fox, anyway—and she also drags down our class’s average grades. No problem, right?”

“Wonderful! Killing two dead-last birds with one stone! If possible, could you also take Shikamaru—cough! Sorry, I got too excited there. Hoshino-kun, thank you for your noble contribution to our class. Your request to have Naruto accompany you in death—er, I mean, take time off—is approved. Have a pleasant final journey~!”

“Mhm, Old Ka, rest assured—I’ll never forget this kindness even as a ghost.”

“Ah, please make sure to forget it once you become a ghost. I’m only doing my duty, after all.”

“Isn’t your duty supposed to be saving me?!”

“Oh my, suddenly I can’t hear anything. How strange—my ears must’ve gone deaf.”

“You trash teacher!”

Though there were some heated arguments midway, eventually, a certain scumbag who dreamed of unleashing the Nine-Tails to exact revenge on society, and a shameless bastard utterly devoid of teaching ethics, successfully concluded their dirty deal to screw Naruto over.

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This is a fan translation of 火影之软饭真好吃 by 肾亏能力者 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!