In the Hokage mansion.

After having a talk with Mitsuki and agreeing to participate in the chunin exams, Boruto finally returned home two hours before sundown.

“Welcome home, Boruto,” Naruto called out from the couch as he saw Boruto entering.

“Yeah,” The blonde kid gave a lackluster response and waved at who he thought to be his father’s shadow clone. “What’s for dinner, mom?” He turned to Hinata, who was working in the kitchen and asked.

The mother of two shook her head at Boruto’s disrespect toward his father but didn’t reprimand him. It would only lead to the kid lashing out at her and locking himself in his room. “I’m making sushi. Go wash your hands and change up.”

“Okay,” Boruto, almost deliberately making an effort not to look at Naruto, slipped upstairs.

“You should tell him that it’s the real you, Tou-chan …” Himawari spoke to Naruto from his lap. “He will throw another tantrum otherwise.”

“It’s okay,” Naruto said with a smile, “my Hima is here to comfort me after Boruto hurts my feelings, isn’t she?” He brought his hand to her hair and ran his fingers through it, pushing some strands back.

“Mhm,” The girl happily nodded, humming to Naruto’s caresses.

“It would be better to tell him, Naruto-kun. He would be happy to see that you’re home for once,” Hinata gave her two cents from the kitchen, fondly overlooking the father-daughter spending some rare bonding time together.

“I would’ve kept it to a small joke, Hinata,” Naruto said, “but Boruto is making a mistake right now. My telling him that he’s making a mistake isn’t going to solve anything. He has to follow through with that mess up, only then will he understand. It’s better for now that he thinks that I’m just a clone.”

Hearing Naruto’s words, Hinata stopped her work and turned her head around to glance at Naruto, only to see a familiar smile on his face, full of warmth. She didn’t say anything and smiled back at him before getting on with her work.

“Tou-chan,” Himawari pulled Naruto’s sleeve, distracting him, “will you trick me as well in case I’m making a mistake?” She looked up at him with big blue eyes.

“How could my Hima ever make a mistake?” Naruto acted offended. “She’s the Hokage’s super-smart-super-daughter. She could never make a mistake.”

Naruto’s words made Himawari giggle, “I’m serious, Tou-chan,” She said. “Tell me.”

Naruto smiled at her, “Give Tou-chan a kiss first,” He extended his cheek toward her expectantly.

“Mou~” She feigned grievance but quickly kissed his cheek before pulling away.

“My Hima is the best~” Naruto didn’t let her get away, hugging her tightly as she let out a squeal.

“Tell me …” She whined.

“Fine,” Naruto smiled, loosening his arms and allowing Himawari to comfortably sit beside him. “Unlike Boruto, who is boneheaded and doesn’t listen to anyone, you are much more understanding. In case you are ever making a mistake, I will just have to tell you your mistake and you will reflect on it. As for your brother … I think you know how he would react if someone — especially me — told him that he is making a mistake.”

“I see …” Himawari said.

Naruto smiled at her before sneakily looking around and making exaggerated movements with his head as if making sure that there wasn’t anyone close by. He then whispered to Himawari, “Also, if you really want to, I’ll teach you a super special jutsu to identify my shadow clones from my real body.”

His words had Himawari’s eyes light up, “Really!” She exclaimed, only to be shushed by Naruto.

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“Don’t tell anyone, okay?” Naruto said. “It’s going to be a secret between you and me.”

Himawari showed a serious expression which looked slightly comical to Naruto as she said, “A secret between me and Tou-chan. Done!” She whispered to him.

“That’s my girl,” Naruto nodded, hugging her tightly once again as she squealed, trying to push him away.

“Dinner’s ready,” Hinata smiled at the antics of both father and daughter pair and called loud enough that Boruto, who was inside his room would be able to hear as well.

Naruto finally freed Himawari, laughing as she let out a tired breath as if having fought in a war, “Stop overacting.” Naruto said to Himawari, walking toward the dining table with her. “Also, Hima, remind me to not give you espionage missions when you become a genin.”

“What, why?” Himawari asked confusedly.

“Your acting is horrible,” Naruto said as he took a seat at the head of the dining table.

Himawari showed an expression full of hurt, “Kaa-chan!” She called out, “Tou-chan is mean to me!” Tears appeared in her eyes as she stood beside Naruto and started hitting his shoulder with both fists.

“Naruto …” Hinata looked at Naruto with disappointment as she laid out the plats on the table.

The man in question, on the other hand only showed an appreciative smile at Hinata’s expression, “You mother and daughter are ganging up on me, I see.” He said, glancing between Himawari, who was still hitting him, and Hinata, who showed a light smile on her face. Naruto turned to Himawari and wrapped an arm around her to stop her from hitting him, then, leaning closer, he whispered, “Doesn’t Hima want me to learn my super special jutsu to identify my shadow clones?”

The girl instantly stopped her struggling as the tears in her eyes disappeared, “Hm …” She showed a thoughtful expression, “That’s not enough anymore.”

“Fine then, no deal,” Naruto called her bluff, turning away.

“Noo~” She whined, “You’re supposed to offer me something more.”

“Take it or leave it,” Naruto said. “If you want something more, then you can ask me for it as your birthday gift.”

At this point, Boruto also came down and saw Himawari stomping her foot as she walked away from Naruto and sat on the seat at his left. “What did you say to my little sister, old man?” Boruto asked aggressively.

“Boruto,” Hinata said sternly. “Sit down. It’s time we eat.”

The reprimanded kid looked at Himawari and saw her looking at him with disapproval. “Yeah, I’m the bad guy, dattebasa,” He raised his arms in annoyance and walked to the other end of the table, opposite Naruto.

Hinata sighed and moved the plate she’d set for Boruto to his seat before taking her seat at Naruto’s other side, in front of Himawari. “You should stop being so impulsive, my son.” She said after seeing that Naruto stayed quiet despite the tense atmosphere in the room. “Let me serve some of the rolls for you, Naruto-kun,” Hinata said, grabbing his plate and slowly putting the sushi rolls on Naruto’s plate.

“Thanks, Hinata,” Naruto smiled after she placed his plate back in front of him. “As always, you’re an amazing cook,” He said after taking a bite, acting as if the tense atmosphere in the home didn’t exist.

Unconsciously, both kids were influenced by Naruto’s casual demeanor and started eating as well. The tense atmosphere in the room naturally disappeared as Naruto made occasional comments to Hinata and Himawari.

“Boruto, did Mitsuki give you the form for the chunin exams?” Naruto asked, startling Boruto into dropping his sushi roll back on the plate after just having picked it up.

“Huh?” He looked up. “Yeah, he did.” Looking back down, he picked up another roll and ate it.

“And? Are you participating?” Naruto asked patiently. “You wouldn’t want to let down your teammates, would you?”

“What do you know?” Boruto mumbled under his breath before cowering under the stern gaze of his mother. “I’m participating. Mitsuki talked to me.”

“Good,” Naruto nodded before focusing on his food.

“Tou-chan, what’s the chunin exam like?” Himawari asked with food still in her mouth.

“Swallow before speaking, Hima,” Hinata said as Himawari audibly gulped her bite and repeated the question.

Naruto smiled when he saw Boruto perking his ears, listening closely despite trying his best to act like he didn’t care. “The chunin exam,” Naruto said, “is a very important event not only for Konoha but also for the other four hidden villages. It serves two main purposes — the first is to evaluate the genins of each village to decide on their promotion to chunin class shinobi, and the second is to showcase the prowess of each village’s younger generation. And it is much more than a simple competition between the genins of each village. To add real value to the competition, all five elemental nations are also involved behind the scenes. The village with the best performance will naturally result in more support from the daimyo of their respective nation and more.”

“Naruto-kun,” Hinata said. “Didn’t we agree not to discuss too much politics at the dinner table? Look, Hima is already confused.”

The hokage let out an awkward laugh, “My bad, Hinata,” He said before turning to Himawari. “You don’t need to worry about these things, my Hima. Your chunin exam is still far away. If everything goes according to plan, your chunin exam will probably take place in Suna.”

“But Onii-chan is taking his exam in Konoha …” Himawari said.

“This year, it’s our turn to host the exam. Three years later, it will be Suna’s turn to host the exam. That’s when you will give it.” Naruto told her as she nodded thoughtfully while eating another roll of sushi.