Naruto: Freeloading is Great! 2 [25]

It was common knowledge that the Uchiha and Hyūga clans were always at odds.

So, if the Hyūga heiress was holding onto a book she absolutely refused to show anyone else,
and if the book's contents supposedly contained "human research," then what would happen?

Who knew which bastard had snitched to the teachers, who then immediately leaked the news…

Soon, the Ninja Academy was surrounded by a crowd of Uchiha clan members, led by a stern-faced man with prominent nasolabial folds.

Then, the Hyūga arrived as well. Both sides confronted each other on the academy grounds, each gripping weapons, ready to explode at any moment.

“You Uchiha bastards, how could you take a child's joke seriously?! If we were actually performing human experiments, ANBU would’ve stormed us by now!”

“You Hyūga dogs, stop making excuses! We’ve received concrete intel that your heiress is holding onto highly classified research data—that’s irrefutable proof of your human experimentation! Hand it over now!”

Ah… what familiar dialogue, what familiar imagery.

Hoshino watched wordlessly as Itachi confronted that man called Kūsū.

What kind of scenario was this supposed to be—were these guys street thugs or prestigious clans?

Honestly…

One side was dressed in black, their eyes spinning red with tiny black beans inside—the Uchiha, bearing their fan symbols.

The other side wore white, their pupil-less eyes bulging with veins—the Hyūga, bearing folded fan symbols.

The scene was both impressive and awe-inspiring.

Unfortunately, as the instigator of this whole incident, Hoshino couldn’t just sit back and enjoy the show. He and Hinata had already become the center of attention.

“Wh-what do we do…? This is practically a public execution… My life… My life is over, Hoshino… You have to take responsibility for this…”

Hinata clung desperately to her H-book, squatting on the ground, unable to move.

If she didn't reveal the contents, the Uchiha would keep biting down and refuse to let go, escalating things even further.

But if she did reveal it… the Uchiha would definitely broadcast it everywhere.

For Hinata personally, going public would be even worse. By then, she'd probably wish she were dead.

“I-I can't take responsibility for something this big! Sasuke, save me! Just what is your clan thinking? Are they really this bored?! Hurry and tell them to leave!!”

“…It’s not that I don't want to help you, but my word doesn’t carry any weight here. My brother is the clan’s heir, I'm just the second child. They respect my brother way more than me, so right now they won’t listen to me.”

“Why are you this useless, you piece of trash?!”

“Hey! If you're gonna insult me, fine—I won't help you anymore!”

As Sasuke finished speaking, she immediately ran over to Itachi’s side, officially joining the Uchiha ranks.

Right now, all the students of Class 1-B were squatting on the ground in the schoolyard.

Ever since Hoshino’s slip of the tongue triggered the catastrophe, their scum teacher, Iruka—completely devoid of teacherly ethics—had kicked everyone out of the classroom, secretly hiding away to disassociate himself from the mess.

That damned trash teacher!

Despite their contempt, as soon as the students were forced outside…

The fully armed Police Force shouted at them, “Police business! All of you squat down with your hands on your heads!”

Right afterward, the Hyūga clan arrived. The poor students were now trapped right in the middle of a showdown between the Sharingan and the Byakugan.

This is all the dead-last's fault!!! x N

Facing the furious glares of his classmates, Hoshino could only swallow his bitterness silently.

Thanks to Naruto, this demon fox, Hoshino had never been liked by these small fry from the start.

Especially as a dead-last who’d displayed such despicable behavior during the comprehensive test, he’d already started getting ostracized.

Now, aside from his handful of friends, the attitude of these brats toward him had officially escalated from isolation to outright hatred.

Although Hoshino didn't care about these small fry who weren’t chosen by fate, nor did he particularly care about getting along with them…

But I really didn’t want it to turn out like this either!

Who could've guessed the Uchiha clan was bored enough to kick up such a fuss? I'm the victim here too, alright?!

The standoff didn’t last long.

Soon, Hoshino heard both Sasuke and Hinata simultaneously call out, “Father-sama!”

The two groups instantly parted to make way, and from each side emerged an imposing, middle-aged man.

“Fugaku, I didn't expect you'd personally come out over something so trivial.”

“Your Hyūga clan secretly performing human experiments—how could this be considered trivial?”

The two middle-aged men seemed calm, but the collision of their gazes sparked an invisible inferno.

“Clan head!” x N

After each clan leader spoke, the members behind them immediately greeted their respective leaders in unison.

Among the students, Hoshino—forced to stand beside Hinata without needing to squat—had his head lowered at some point, lips pressed tightly, sweat dripping continuously down his chin…

Why the hell did even the clan heads show up?!

I-I’m finished… I'm so finished, finished, finished, finished!

It’s just an H-book! Is it really necessary to mobilize such a huge crowd…?!

“Hoshino… Do you have any last wishes? If possible… I-I'll do my best to fulfill them.”

The voice of a certain blonde brat who had apparently decided that Hoshino was definitely going to die today rang out.

Is it really that serious? Has it really reached the point where even Naruto can see I’m doomed?!

“This atmosphere so thick I can't even breathe… becoming the target of hatred for causing a bloody clash between two giant clans… even the Hokage-sama himself will soon be forced to step in… Uchiha, Hyūga, and Hokage-sama chasing after my darling—ah, ahhh… I'm so jealous! To be hunted by three terrifying powers… if only it were me… Haah, haah~”

Hearing the voice of a certain Gorilla panting heavily and muttering to himself, Hoshino sank into even deeper despair.

If these two clans actually started a desperate, full-scale battle, he'd definitely end up taking all the blame.

He could only hope that they wouldn't…

“Hiashi, have your daughter hand over that book immediately and submit to investigation, otherwise—!”

Swish!

The moment the Uchiha heard their clan head’s battle intent, they all assumed combat stances.

“For the sake of my daughter and our clan’s honor, that book absolutely cannot fall into your hands!”

Swish!

The Hyūga clan members similarly recognized their leader’s aggressive intent and took battle stances as well.

How did it escalate to this point?!

What was this Hiashi guy thinking?! If you refuse to cooperate with the investigation, isn't that automatically your fault? Why… could it be…?

Did you give that book to Hinata yourself?!

Though Hoshino and Hinata were certainly in trouble, in truth, Hyūga Hiashi wasn't faring much better himself.

He also hadn't expected things to escalate so drastically. He'd simply noticed his daughter’s curiosity about the affairs between men and women, and since Hinata had been training diligently lately, he'd casually bought an H-book as a gift to her.

But now those damned Uchiha had found an excuse to trap him in a scandal!

Meanwhile, Uchiha Fugaku was also cursing furiously inside.

What the fuck! What medicine did Hiashi take today? Why’s he ready to fight me tooth and nail over a single book?

Why can’t you just obediently cooperate like usual and let us mock you a bit? Could it be…

Could that book really contain genuine research about their human experiments?!

---

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!