Naruto: Freeloading is Great! [12]

The flowers were rejected.

Hoshino’s very first attempt at giving flowers in his life—flatly refused by Ino without the slightest hesitation.

Yes, his motives weren’t pure, but still…

“Before I turn a hundred years old, I won’t consider anything outside of studying.” What the hell was that supposed to mean? Could she have made it any clearer!?

Damn this trash reality. Even a little loli was this hard to win over.

Snuffed out by the girl who had caught his eye, Hoshino staggered out of the flower shop carrying the kind of negative emotions that screamed “I’m going to take it out on society.” And there, he saw those two dead gaylords, Naruto and Sasuke, happily chatting away.

The two of you, laughing and joking—are you deliberately flaunting your couple-y sweetness in front of a heartbroken man!?

Overloaded with negativity, Hoshino flashed them an evil smile, then beckoned Naruto over.

“What do you need me for?”

Full of energy, Naruto bounded over—only for Hoshino to press the bouquet of “first-love confession” flowers into his hands and whisper:

“Naruto, go. Give these flowers to Sasuke.”

“You want me to give them? But you picked these—”

“Stop yapping. I’m telling you to give them, so give them. And when you do, make sure you say, ‘I like you.’”

“Huh? Why do I have to say ‘I like you’? Isn’t that something you’d say to the opposite—”

“Didn’t I just tell you to quit yapping? Go! Don’t keep Sasuke waiting~!”

After the whispering, with Hoshino’s attitude so forceful, Naruto gave a simple “oh” of acknowledgement. Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he ran over and handed the bouquet to Sasuke, who was already blushing bright red.

“Here. These flowers are for you. And also… uh… what was I supposed to say again? Something like… oh! I remember now—I like you!”

The moment Naruto blurted out the confession, Hoshino knew—it worked, damn it!

Yes, exactly like this! Uzumaki Naruto, confess to your beloved Sasuke! Then, after you get rejected, fall into heartbreak alongside me. Hahaha—hahahahaha!

As Hoshino grinned wickedly, savoring his “successful revenge on society”—

“L-like… like me…!?”

Sasuke’s hands trembled as she took the bouquet Naruto had delivered on behalf of Hoshino—Hoshino, who was now hiding his shyness with laughter. Sasuke’s feelings tangled into a knot.

She was happy—so happy—that Hoshino liked her enough to ignore gender altogether, even picking out for her, with such care, a bouquet of first-love confession flowers. But at the same time, she was heartsick. Because for now, she couldn’t return Hoshino’s feelings.

At least, not until Itachi’s terminal Brother-Complex Cancer was cured. Until then, she still had to remain a “boy.”

She bit down hard, suppressing the words she longed to say—“Please, give me some time to think.” Instead, she steeled herself, hurled the bouquet to the ground, and even stomped on it twice.

“Get lost—! Don’t give me such disgusting things!!”

Hearing Sasuke shout those words, Hoshino almost burst out laughing with joy.

Hahaha—congratulations, Naruto, welcome to the Broken-Heart Alliance.

Of course, while he snickered inside, Hoshino still put on the proper face. He quickly wiped away his smirk, replacing it with a sorrowful expression, glancing at Naruto as though waiting for the “heartbroken” boy to come seeking comfort.

But Sasuke—seeing that “sorrowful” look directed at “herself”—found she couldn’t bear the crushing guilt of trampling on Hoshino’s feelings. Heart twisting, she lowered her head and fled at full speed.

No one noticed the guilty tears slipping from Sasuke’s eyes, hidden beneath her bangs…

I’m sorry, Hoshino. I’ll make it up to you someday. Please… don’t be disappointed in me.

Once Sasuke had fled, sickened by Naruto’s “confession,” Hoshino immediately rushed over and wrapped the sorrowful Naruto in a big hug.

Sure, this was kind of a nasty thing to do. But…

It wasn’t entirely revenge-driven. Hoshino had another thought: if Naruto got rejected by Sasuke, maybe—just maybe—his... tendencies would improve.

If Naruto could be reshaped, then poor Hinata wouldn’t have to spend her whole life pining after “Gaylord Naruto.” Maybe the two of them could even walk down the aisle together someday.

As Hoshino embraced Naruto in his “heartbreak,” Naruto, too, was thinking something similar. In truth, the instant Sasuke hurled the bouquet to the ground, Naruto had already realized it—Hoshino had used his hands to confess to Sasuke.

Poor Hoshino. So that’s why you wasted over an hour dithering over which flowers to choose—you couldn’t decide whether to confess to Sasuke or not. And just when you finally made up your mind, entrusting me to carry your words… Sasuke rejected you so cruelly. Ugh… so tragic.

At that moment, as they clung to each other—each grieving for the other’s rejection—the two of them shared the same thought:

For these next few days, let’s treat him more gently. ×2

After a long while, once they figured the other had calmed down enough from Sasuke’s rejection, they released each other. Both decided to head home, intending to offer comfort slowly, bit by bit.

“I absolutely won’t hand Sasuke over to you!”

Suddenly, Ino burst out of the flower shop, having witnessed everything, and declared her love-war against Naruto.

Hoshino was left clutching his head. Didn’t you just say you wouldn’t think about anything besides studying until you were a hundred!? How are you flipping sides this fast!?

Seeing the girl who had snuffed out his candle now light up another guy’s, Hoshino was once again forced to face the cruelty of reality. He realized a hard truth: in any world, getting the girl always came down to looks.

So he resolved it—he’d live single forever. No more wasting time, money, or energy on meaningless girl-chasing.

But then Naruto shook his head at Ino.

“You have no chance. Sasuke will never be with you.”

“Hah? And what makes you so sure?”

“Because you and Sasuke… your genders don’t match.”

Knowing Sasuke’s real gender, Naruto picked up the discarded bouquet, ignored the dumbstruck Ino, and started home first.

But Ino wasn’t the only one stunned. Hoshino, too, was bewildered.

How the hell did Naruto know so surely that Sasuke was into men and not just a straight guy? Could it be… he was just lying to himself?

Seeing Naruto so hopelessly in love with Sasuke, Hoshino was touched.

There’s no true love between men and women—only bros for life! That saying really wasn’t wrong!

So, over a fart-sized disappointment, Hoshino cast aside his disillusionment with women as a whole. He dropped his prejudice against “Gaylord Naruto.” Between Hinata and Sasuke, he chose to support Naruto in chasing the one true love of his life—Uchiha Nii-chan Jr.

Having realized the truth of the world, Hoshino put bros first. Ignoring Ino as well, he walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Naruto, the two of them heading back to their shared doghouse.

“Brat, don’t worry. I won’t let Sasuke slip away again.”

“Hoshino, you’ve finally gotten your drive back—!? That’s great! I’ll do my best too, so the next confession works!”

On the very last day of the year, the two of them walked on, arms slung around each other’s shoulders, full of renewed energy—for the sake of each other’s “romance.”

Go for it, Hoshino (Naruto). I’ll give you the perfect assist!

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T/N: yuayyyy character development! lmaoooo ALMAOAOAOO

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!