NOVEL NEXT Chapter 33: Chapter 33
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Ikeno walked down from the second floor, carrying a beautifully wrapped gift box.
"Happy birthday, Naruto!" he said as he handed it over.
Naruto eagerly tore the wrapping open and pulled out... a pair of pants. He looked at it in confusion.
"What is this?" he asked, puzzled.
The pants had a zipper and a pocket on the back, with a little frog embroidered on it. The material was wool.
Though perplexed, Naruto accepted the gift with a big smile, clearly excited.
"Haha, Sasuke! Look! Ikeno gave me this! Do you have anything like it?" Naruto taunted playfully.
Sasuke sneered, unimpressed. "It's just woolen underwear."
Ikeno laughed. "These are anti-theft underwear—the zipper is sewn inside."
Without hesitation, Naruto changed into the new underwear right in front of everyone.
"How does it feel?" Ikeno asked, grinning.
"It's... kinda itchy..." Naruto admitted, scratching awkwardly.
After they all laughed, Ikeno revealed another gift. This time, it was a royal robe, modeled after the one worn by the Fourth Hokage. The robe was all red, cool, and incredibly stylish.
In the past, Ikeno hadn't thought much of his tailoring skills, but now he was proud of them. Naruto, overjoyed, put on the robe right away. Paired with the woolen underwear, he looked like some bizarre Hokage-Superman hybrid.
However, the next day, the robe would be banned. Naruto had taken his last bit of living expenses to a tailor shop and had them embroider huge golden letters on the back: "I am the Hokage".
Later that evening, Ikeno brought out a third gift: three cans of adult milk powder.
"This stuff has a long shelf life and won't spoil easily," he explained.
Naruto was speechless but deeply moved by the gesture.
While Naruto was still riding the high of his birthday gifts, he couldn't resist showing off in front of Sasuke.
"Hey, what did Ikeno give you for your birthday?" he asked, grinning.
Sasuke smirked and replied coolly, "He gave me a sky full of stars and fireworks."
Ikeno was stunned by Sasuke's response. Was he embellishing?
Naruto, feeling outdone, looked down at his robe and then at his scratchy woolen underwear. The whole room fell into silence, the atmosphere suddenly growing awkward.
Ikeno, trying to lighten the mood, laughed and said, "I swear on my honor, I didn't give Sasuke any stars or fireworks!"
After a long pause, Naruto burst out, "I don't care! I want stars and fireworks too!"
Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Ikeno led Naruto and Sasuke to the rooftop. Just then, a meteor shower began to streak across the night sky.
"Meteor shower!" Naruto exclaimed, his earlier complaints forgotten as he gazed in awe.
All three of them sat down on the rooftop, silently watching the celestial display. For a brief moment, the beauty of the stars reminded them of their missing loved ones. Ikeno gently placed a hand on Naruto and Sasuke's shoulders.
The three of them were orphans, but they were also three of the strongest people Konoha had.
As they sat there in silence, a familiar melody began to play in Ikeno's mind, though he couldn't quite recall the lyrics. It was a song, likely sung by four boys, that evoked both warmth and sadness.
But Naruto, ever the boisterous one, broke the somber mood.
"Haha, Ikeno, how about I call you big brother from now on?"
Ikeno smiled faintly. "I haven't been anyone's big brother for years…"
Naruto, scratching his head, suddenly had another idea. "Then I'll call you 'man!'"
Sasuke shot Naruto a cold glare. "Don't use that word."
The term "man" was something Sasuke associated with someone he despised—Uchiha Itachi.
Ikeno quickly defused the tension. "Let's just call each other by our names—it's more personal."
At that moment, there was a knock on the courtyard door. Ikeno rushed downstairs to answer it, finding Ino and Sakura standing there, carrying flower baskets and boxes of Anko cakes.
"Why are you two here?" Ikeno asked, surprised.
Ino beamed and said, "Naruto told us he was celebrating his birthday here tonight!"
Naruto's big mouth had gotten him into trouble again. Ino was secretly hoping to see Ikeno, while Sakura, of course, had her eyes on Sasuke.
Ikeno let them in, and the first thing they noticed was Naruto in his woolen underwear and Hokage robe. They both stared, confused.
"What are you wearing?" Sakura asked, bewildered.
Naruto, however, was more excited than ever to see Sakura join the party, while Sasuke remained as stoic as ever.
Suddenly, Ikeno noticed Hinata watching them from an attic window next door, looking a bit forlorn.
"Hinata!" Ikeno called out. "Come join us!"
Hinata hesitated and shook her head. Ikeno then remembered that the strict Hyuga family rules wouldn't allow her to visit a boy's house alone at night.
Seeing this, Ino took charge. "Sakura and I will go talk to Clan Leader Hiashi."
They rushed off, and soon enough, Hinata arrived at the rooftop, carrying a small gift.
Ikeno brought out a birthday cake, which had the words "Happy Birthday to the Prince" written on it.
No one seemed to understand why it said "Prince." So, Ikeno explained some of the historical titles from his past world.
Then, Ikeno suddenly thought of an interesting question...
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