Naruto: Freeloading is Great! 2 [5]

Hoshino stared at Gorilla Sakura sitting in the spot he had conned out my Walking Wallet, and felt an almost irresistible urge to throw this self-proclaimed “manly man” straight out the window.

Who the hell wants thanks from a lunatic like you! A brain full of nothing but muscles—don’t block me from my studious deskmate… huh?

Thinking carefully, sure, Walking Wallet is a genius, but during the Chūnin Exams he cheated using the Sharingan, didn’t he?

Naruto, that moron who handed in a blank sheet, can be ignored. But Sakura, who relied purely on flawless foundational knowledge to complete that impossible exam on her own… she’s way past a mere top student. She’s a god of study!

All right, now here’s the real problem.

Do I choose to sit beside this muscle-brained little loli study-god, or sit beside the homosexual prodigy who’s been eyeing my body?

…Such a simple problem doesn’t even need thinking.

One moment Hoshino’s face was dark with fury, the next it bloomed into a sunny smile.

“Mm, good brother. From today on, we’re brothers, Sakura.”

Ka–!

The veins popped on Sasuke’s forehead the instant she saw Hoshino’s expression.

She didn’t even know why she was so mad, only that this suffocating sense of being sold out yet again made her blood boil.

How many times has it been now? How many times has this bastard betrayed her already!?

Three times. At least three. And every damn time, it was tied to this muscle gorilla!

Blinded by rage, Sasuke stopped being the obedient child. Her face was cold as she strode to the second-to-last row, murderous eyes locking onto the brat sitting next to Gorilla Sakura.

“This seat is mine. I’ll give you two choices: one, move. Two, get dragged off by the Uchiha police force and vanish from existence. Pick.”

“…I… I’m sorry! I’ll take the first one!”

The kid, who didn’t even have a single redeeming trait, apologized with tears in his eyes. Then, just like Inuzuka Kiba earlier, he bolted upright and scurried off to some crappy, unlucky corner seat.

Pitiful child. The one in the wrong was Walking Wallet, yet he still got so scared he apologized to her.

“Sasuke, it was bad enough you drove one out, but you actually went and forced out another? That’s too much!”

A weak-looking little girl, in a moment where no one else dared speak against Sasuke, suddenly stood up with courage.

“Tch. What, so Hinata, you’re in this class too?”

“It took you this long to notice me? Is my presence really that faint!?”

Hoshino stared speechlessly at Hinata, who had basically blown herself up. So this girl actually minded that much about being ignored, huh.

Thinking about it, yeah, makes sense. Clearly she’s the Hyūga clan’s young lady, yet people constantly overlook her. Whereas Sasuke? Everywhere she walks, people step aside on their own. Feeling unbalanced is only natural.

Under everyone’s stunned looks—who the hell is this girl, daring to challenge the Uchiha Socialite?—Hinata walked straight to the very last row. Stealing a quick glance at Hoshino, she spoke to the person sitting beside Naruto:

“I am the future clan head of the Hyūga, Hyūga Hinata. Please give our clan some face and yield this seat. I want to sit here, to keep watch over and restrain the arrogant Uchiha Sasuke.”

Her words were polite, and sure enough, the second forgettable extra that Hoshino couldn’t be bothered to remember was so moved he gave up the seat with tears in his eyes.

But Hoshino couldn’t shake the feeling something was off.

Hinata didn’t seem like she was stepping up out of some sense of justice against Sasuke. More like—after realizing just how useful Sasuke’s family background could be—she used it as a cover, and now seized the chance to grab this position.

Carrot and stick, all in one. Smarter than that Walking Wallet, at least—she knew how to dress up her dirty little schemes with a shell of justice woven from lies.

After all this drama, the seating now looked like this—

—Podium—

...

Gorilla Sakura — Sasuke — X

Hoshino — Naruto — Hinata

—Wall—

Then Hoshino noticed Hinata kept sneaking glances at Naruto. That only confirmed his suspicion.

This Hyūga brat who once slandered him was obviously here for her beloved “Naruto-kun.”

Meanwhile, Hinata, who had been stealing peeks at Hoshino, instantly switched her gaze to Naruto the moment Hoshino almost caught her, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Th-thank goodness! I wasn’t caught! If the person I was peeking at found out I was peeking… uuu, I’d die of shame…!

Hoshino, who wasn’t paying her any further attention, sighed in gloomy silence.

Man, Walking Wallet and Naruto have it good. Girls throwing themselves at them, and not halfheartedly either—dead set, the whole way.

Thinking of his own twenty years on Earth, plus six more after transmigrating here—twenty-six years in total—and he hadn’t even held a girl’s hand. That was just plain depressing…

Now, boxed in between SasuSaku! on one side and HinaNaru! on the other, Hoshino felt like he was taking direct, heavy damage.

The four of them surrounding him, stinking of love and affection—it was unbearable.

First day of school, and they’re already stuffing me with dog food whether I can swallow it or not… what am I, a pig!?

If he hadn’t already understood just how deep Naruto’s love for Sasuke ran, and hadn’t personally witnessed that little “beyond friendship” stunt in the bathroom, Hoshino would’ve fled in tears to find another seat.

Because seriously, two pairs of rabidly PDA-ing lovebirds—who the hell could survive that?

Once the whole seating fiasco involving the Uchiha heir and Hyūga heiress finally died down, Iruka—who’d been pretending to “admire the scenery” by the window the whole time—clapped his hands to announce the start of the homeroom session and self-introductions.

In his own way, Iruka was impressive. Not only could he completely ignore the pleading eyes of innocent children and refuse to intervene in Sasuke and Hinata’s mess, he could even continue with class despite the contemptuous looks from his students.

Sure, he no longer dared meet their eyes directly, but Hoshino still had to give him some credit.

You can keep your job even after this? Thick-skinned bastard!

After everyone finished self-introductions, since textbooks hadn’t arrived yet, and also to give the first-years some buffer time, Iruka spent the whole morning blowing hot air, then dismissed the class.

All nonsense about how Konoha was unmatched compared to other villages, how this academy—hailed as the world’s greatest—had produced countless legends… blah blah.

Then, knowing that without sticking to Sasuke he’d never make it home alive, Hoshino and Naruto clung to the stone-faced Sasuke and, under the furious stares of parents, safely went back home.

Even though the academy was lenient with new first-years—only a half-day of class for the opening—Hoshino already felt completely exhausted. That half-day had dragged on like a century, leaving him utterly drained in both body and soul.

---

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!