Naruto stared blankly as he accepted the delicate gift box.
Looking down, he saw it was wrapped with a beautiful red satin ribbon.
"This… is for me?"
Still dazed, he blinked and looked at Hinata in astonishment.
He couldn't tell if it was just his imagination, but it felt like Hinata was trembling slightly as she handed him the gift.
The room was dead silent.
Standing beside him, Uzumaki Kushina sighed and rubbed her forehead, unable to hide her exasperation at her son's reaction.
"What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and thank her! Haven't I taught you to be polite?"
Though her tone sounded like scolding, there was a warm smile on her face.
"Ah! R-Right!" Naruto snapped back to his senses and quickly bowed deeply to Hinata.
"Thank you, Hinata!"
A faint flush colored his cheeks.
This was the first time in his life a girl had ever given him a present.
Seeing Naruto thank her so sincerely, Hinata panicked instead—she instinctively stepped back half a pace, whispered a soft "Mm…" in reply, and lowered her head, too flustered to even look at him.
Kushina chuckled at the sight, then turned to Hiashi with a smile, apologizing on behalf of her clueless son.
"So sorry, Lord Hiashi. Naruto is usually much more well-mannered. I really don't know what got into him today…"
She cast Naruto a meaningful glance, signaling for him to sit properly and not lose composure.
Hiashi waved his hand lightly and responded with a hearty laugh.
"No need to worry, no need at all."
As he spoke, his eyes swept over his daughter and Naruto, a subtle glint flickering in his gaze.
"From the looks of it… these two have gotten along quite well since they were little. There's a strong mutual affection between them."
Kushina raised an eyebrow, sensing something behind his words.
"Lord Hiashi, please speak plainly. You didn't bring Lady Hinata here just to deliver a gift, did you?"
She knew very well—someone like Hiashi wouldn't have come all this way with Hinata just to hand over a present.
Hiashi's smile deepened, but he didn't answer immediately. Instead, he hesitated briefly, cleared his throat, and then solemnly declared:
"Very well, then I'll speak directly. Both Naruto and Hinata have already graduated from the Ninja Academy. They've just turned twelve this year. Back in the Warring States period, this age would already be considered suitable for engagement."
"These two children have always had a close bond. My daughter Hinata has admired Naruto deeply for a long time. So I was thinking—perhaps this would be a good opportunity to establish a formal engagement between them."
The room fell into stunned silence.
Naruto froze, completely uncomprehending for a full two seconds—then as if struck by lightning, his eyes flew open and he nearly jumped out of his seat.
"W-What?! E-Engaged?!"
[Ding! Emotional fluctuation from Uzumaki Naruto detected! +1000 Emotion Points!]
—
In the viewing seats.
Three figures stared at the screen in shock.
"Wh-What the hell?!" Sakura stared hard at the scene playing out before her, utterly dumbfounded.
She felt her entire worldview shatter.
Naruto… getting engaged to Hinata?! In his dream?!
Her head buzzed as a wave of anger and anxiety surged through her.
"They say dreams reflect your deepest thoughts… So this idiot says he likes me during the day, but dreams about marrying Hinata at night?!"
The moment that thought surfaced, her chest tightened with fury.
Unbelievable!
So that blockhead Naruto, who always seemed so dense, turns out to be a total two-faced jerk?!
What does Hinata have that I don't?!
Her face puffed up with indignation.
[Ding! Emotional fluctuation from Haruno Sakura detected! +300 Emotion Points!]
Next to her, even Hatake Kakashi looked visibly stunned by Hiashi's bold proposal.
But being the calm and composed type, Kakashi quickly collected himself, his brows furrowing as he sank into thought.
The scene seemed absurd at first—but thinking more carefully, it wasn't entirely illogical.
He recalled the conclusions they'd reached last night while analyzing Naruto's dream.
Before their downfall, the Uchiha were nominally the strongest clan in Konoha. However, due to various reasons, there had always been a rift between them and the village leadership.
Even with their numbers and power, the Uchiha's influence within the village had always been overshadowed by clans like the Hyuga.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed as he followed the chain of logic.
In Naruto's dream, Minato had not died—he was still the Fourth Hokage, and had a good relationship with the Uchiha. That would've greatly diminished the divide between the Uchiha and the village.
Naturally, this shift in dynamics would affect the Hyuga clan's political standing.
As clan head, Hiashi would certainly take measures to protect and bolster the Hyuga's position.
With that in mind, Kakashi couldn't help but click his tongue.
Still, who would've thought Hiashi would actually go the route of arranging a marriage between his daughter and Naruto?
Meanwhile, Sakura was finally starting to recover from her shock.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hinata beside her had turned completely red, fingers poking each other nervously as she kept muttering under her breath:
"Why would Naruto-kun have this kind of dream… why would Naruto-kun…"
Steam practically rose from her head. She looked like she was about to boil over.
Sakura was dumbfounded.
"???"
She never expected the normally timid and reserved Hinata to be repeating the same line like a broken recorder.
Over and over and over.
Suddenly, Hinata's vision went black. Her legs gave out, and with a soft gasp, her eyes rolled back—she fainted on the spot.
Sakura quickly reached out to catch her, calling out in alarm.
"Hey! Hinata, are you okay?!"
As Hinata collapsed, the audience seats around them began to blur and fade.
Sakura's heart skipped a beat—she knew the dream was coming to an end.
"Kakashi-sensei! The dream's ending!"
Kakashi calmly gave a small nod.
In the next instant, the scenery twisted and warped—the enormous silver screen and the dim theater quickly melted away…
—
In the hidden chamber behind the dreamscape, Shiyu watched with glee as the system panel rapidly refreshed with new notifications.
Hinata's emotional outburst tonight had been like a tidal wave—completely overwhelming the system!
By the time the dream concluded, the system automatically displayed the results of the dream round:
Dream Subject: Uzumaki Naruto
Viewers: Hyuga Hinata, Haruno Sakura, Hatake Kakashi
Total Emotion Points Gained: 15,350!
Current Emotion Point Balance: 45,950!
"Not bad at all!"
Shiyu nodded in satisfaction.
Tonight's haul had exceeded his expectations. With his balance now close to fifty thousand, he was ecstatic.
Counting what remained from previous expenses—he should easily meet the upgrade requirements!
Excited, Shiyu quickly pulled up the system panel.
Sure enough, the center of the interface was flashing with a prompt:
Current Dreammaking Level: Lv.1 (100,450 / 100,000)
Congratulations, Host! Upgrade conditions fulfilled! Proceed with upgrade?
"Are you kidding? Of course! Do it now—upgrade, now!"
Without hesitation, Shiyu confirmed the command.