"So, Aoba-kun, the reason you were like that just now was all because of Sakura, right?", Ino narrowed her eyes slightly as she stared at Aoba and Sakura.
"Ahem! Not exactly. Mainly, I didn't expect the senses in the mental world to actually affect the real world."
Aoba took the blame on himself, and it really was because his willpower was not firm enough that he fell into Sakura's and Inner Sakura's trap.
Even though Sakura and Ino had already helped him before, when he saw Sakura and Inner Sakura in the mental world, he still could not hold himself back.
After all, unlike Ino, the two of them looked exactly the same. The only differences were that one had long hair and the other short hair, and the subtle differences in expression between their brows and eyes.
How could he possibly endure that?
Sakura really wanted to say that this was all Inner Sakura's fault, but after thinking about it, she decided to forget it.
It seemed she could not blame everything on Inner Sakura either.
Ino looked at Aoba with grievance and could not help pursing her lips. She had thought it was because he was holding her while sleeping.
Seriously, and she had been so serious just now.
Seeing this, Aoba pulled the aggrieved Ino into his arms and comforted her softly, "It's still early. How about we sleep a bit more?"
Ino rolled her eyes and directly broke free from his embrace.
"Forget it. Look at the time now. We should go see if there are any other fun places in the Land of Hot Water."
"This… alright then."
Aoba glanced at the wall clock and realized it was already almost four o'clock. It seemed he really had indulged too much in that earlier bliss.
To be so carried away by wine and lust, it looked like he needed to quit drinking.
As for going out on a date, Sakura had no objections either.
So after changing back into their yukata, the three of them held hands again and went out.
They did not continue wandering around the city, but planned to go see scenery they normally could not see in Konoha.
———
[The Seaside Beach]
The Land of Hot Water was a long, narrow coastal country, and most of its cities were along the coast.
While the three of them were walking together by the sea, they ended up with a pleasant surprise.
In order for the upcoming New Year fireworks festival to go smoothly, there would be a rehearsal held today.
Some smaller fireworks would be set off in advance today.
The location was over the sea, and the time was seven o'clock.
This made the three of them, who had already been thinking about leaving, stay instead. After buying quite a bit of food from nearby snack stalls, they sat down on the beach, eating while they waited.
As night gradually fell, a straight line formed by boats had already appeared on the distant surface of the sea.
The crowd also gradually gathered on the beach.
Even though it was just a rehearsal, it still attracted quite a lot of people.
"It's starting! It's starting!"
Both Ino and Sakura could not suppress the excitement on their faces.
"Yeah, but today is just a rehearsal. The scale probably isn't as big as Konoha's fireworks festival."
Aoba felt the two girls were a bit too excited.
"But in Konoha, there's only a fireworks festival once a year, during the New Year," Ino said regretfully, and Sakura nodded in agreement.
But what the two girls regretted was not that the fireworks festival only happened once a year, but that they could only watch fireworks once a year with the person they liked.
Aoba thought for a moment and came up with a solution.
"In that case, after I become Hokage, I'll arrange for fireworks festivals to be held a few more times on other special occasions."
"Really?", Both girls looked at him with sparkling eyes.
"Of course. They'll be specially prepared just for you two," Aoba held their hands and said with a smile.
"Mm."
The girls gazed at the boy in front of them with crystal-clear eyes, the smiles on their lips growing even brighter.
In the girls' hearts, a sharp whistling sound rang out.
Bang!
Immediately after, a huge, brilliant firework exploded in the night sky, lighting up the pitch-black world in an instant.
"Wow!"
Exclamations rose one after another from the crowd.
Aoba did not look at the fireworks right away, but instead looked at Sakura, and then at Ino.
Their beautiful faces were also dyed in dazzling colors by the fireworks overhead.
The fireworks seemed to bloom in their eyes, one after another.
"Aoba-kun, look, look! It's really so beautiful!"
Ino shouted in delight, one hand holding Aoba's hand and shaking it nonstop.
"..."
When she got no response and turned her head, she saw that he was not looking at the fireworks at all, but at her.
"Yes, it really is beautiful."
Aoba smiled slightly, his eyes reflecting only Ino's figure.
"Id-idiot!"
Ino shyly twisted him, then turned her head back to look at the fireworks again out of embarrassment.
Seeing this, Aoba immediately turned to look at Sakura as well, who was also excitedly turning to look at him.
With his astonishing perception, he could now easily sense everyone's gaze directed at him.
That was why he could respond to both girls' looks in time, making each of them feel as if they were watching the fireworks alone with him.
'Ah, as expected of me.'
Only after the two of them returned their attention to the fireworks in the sky did Aoba lift his head to enjoy the display.
He had to admit, fireworks over the sea were different. A long row of fireworks stretching nearly a hundred meters shot up and crossed together.
Not only was the scene shocking, but the patterns were much more varied, with the sense of impact coming in wave after wave.
Fireworks were brief yet brilliant, rising to the sky in an instant and then bursting into the most dazzling moment of the entire night.
Aoba tightly held Ino's and Sakura's hands. Fortunately, there were only the two of them here this time. Otherwise, his two hands would not have been enough.
After all, during Konoha's fireworks festivals in previous years, it was basically packed to the brim, and he would still have to hold little Hanabi in his arms.
At this moment, a sudden commotion came from not far away. Aoba turned to look and saw that it was a young man proposing.
So even in the ninja world, there were scenes like proposing at a fireworks festival?
Aoba sighed inwardly and then noticed two burning gazes.
Following them, he saw that Ino and Sakura, who now understood what was happening, were looking at him with eager, yearning eyes.
Aoba immediately understood. Without the slightest hesitation, he leaned close to the girls' ears and said, "When we get married, the fireworks will definitely be even more grand than this!"
In Aoba's eyes, the smiles on the two girls' faces were indeed more dazzling than the fireworks in the night sky.
And when the last giant firework rose into the sky, today's fireworks festival was declared over.
The crowd fell into a brief silence, but after that moment of silence.
The beach quickly became lively again. Many people stayed by the sea, continuing to feel the sea breeze, disturbing the calm surface of the water and stirring up circles of ripples.
After cleaning up the trash, Aoba once again took hold of the girls' small hands.
"Let's go back too."
"Mm."
Both Sakura and Ino had looks of deep satisfaction on their faces.
Although the hot spring trip in the morning had been the main purpose of the day for the two of them, tonight's fireworks festival had clearly satisfied them even more.
Aoba was naturally very satisfied with today's date as well, after all, he was full and content.
It was just that because of the fireworks festival, they returned a bit late, and the expressions of the two future fathers-in-law were not very pleasant.
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