Ino and Sakura froze mid-squabble, and the atmosphere grew tense. Sasuke let out a soft scoff, turned his head, and closed his eyes—clearly unwilling to get involved.
"That's right~ Rather than letting those two rip each other apart, it's better to let Hinata play the female lead. That settles it, doesn't it?"
Yawning lazily, Shikamaru rubbed his eyes and smacked his lips, feeling like he was talking way too much lately.
"Makes sense. From a problem-solving perspective, Lady Hinata really is the only suitable choice left."
Kakashi scratched his head with a wry smile. Judging by the crushed expressions on Sakura and Ino's faces, neither had the courage to challenge Hinata. So, problem solved?
"Heh..."
Under everyone's gaze, Hinata leaned back against her cushion with an arrogant smirk.
"I refuse."
"Eh?!!"
The mood instantly shifted again. As the others looked on in confusion, Hinata casually twirled a strand of her hair before explaining:
"Don't get me wrong—I simply refuse to accept anyone weaker than me. So go ahead and keep discussing who the replacement should be."
Blowing on her nails, she cast her gaze toward Shikamaru and Shino.
"As the brains of this group, this is your job. I'm giving you one hour. When time's up, I expect filming to begin. Dismissed."
"Ugh... what an unreasonable demand..."
Shikamaru pressed a hand to his forehead and muttered, "You give off the same vibe as a future Hokage ordering people around..."
---
So here's the situation:
A kiss scene is essential.
But the main actor, Sasuke, and main actress, Naruto (in his transformed state), both refuse to perform it.
Backup options, Ino and Sakura, refuse to let the other play the role.
Hinata—too prideful to kiss someone as "weak" as Sasuke—also refused.
Leaving... all males. Sasuke won't accept that.
"Ugh... what a pain... I never should've brought lunch that day,"
Shikamaru muttered, slouching like a deflated balloon. But it was too late to back out.
Not to mention—Hinata held incriminating cross-dress photos of him, so rebellion was suicide.
"The situation's awful. We've listed all options, but none work,"
Shino said, sitting beside Shikamaru. He sketched out names on the ground with a stick—Sasuke in the center, the others around him.
Naruto and Hinata were already crossed out.
"No choice... I really hate thinking..."
After ten minutes of brooding, Shikamaru straightened, folded his hands, and closed his eyes—the classic Shikamaru "deep thought" pose.
Moments later, he opened them sharply.
"No choice! We'll do it this way. Shino, come here. I'll tell you the plan."
After whispering it, Shino pushed his sunglasses up with a knowing smirk.
"Got it. Let's begin."
---
Meanwhile, everyone else was handling manual labor.
To elevate the visual impact of this episode, Hinata had chosen to decorate the scene with 999 spider lilies° , symbolic of tragic, cyclical love.
If not for Ino's family flower shop, sourcing that many would've been impossible.
Sakura and Ino arranged the flowers indoors. Chōji and others worked the outdoor floral set.
"Forehead girl! I'm warning you—this time, I'm not backing down! Cry all you want!"
Ino carefully placed a white spider lily on the windowsill, her tone deadly serious.
"Ino-pig! That's what I was going to say! You can have anything else, but Sasuke-kun is off-limits!"
Sakura retorted as she straightened a rug, both girls fuming and glaring before turning away with synchronized huffs.
At the entrance, Shino cleared his throat.
"Sakura. Come out. We need to talk about the female lead replacement."
"Eh? Yes!!!"
Sakura's face flushed with excitement. After flashing a smug victory sign at Ino, she rushed out, leaving the blonde girl stunned.
"No way..."
Ino stepped back, knocking over a flowerpot—just in time for a surprised voice below the window.
"Whoa—Ino, you okay?"
It was Shikamaru. He'd just arrived and caught the falling pot in time.
"Shikamaru!!! What's your problem?!"
Ino exploded. Like a tiger, she leapt out the window, grabbed his collar, and shook him violently.
"We're friends, right?! Why'd you give the lead to that damn forehead?!"
"W-Wait! Don't shake me—listen first!"
Grimacing, Shikamaru managed to blurt out, "I'm here to find you, okay?!"
"Hmph! Sasuke-kun's first kiss has to be mine!"
Ino dropped him. "If not, we're done!"
"Alright, alright... geez. Shino's Hinata's guy, okay? He insisted on Sakura. I had no say."
Rubbing his neck, Shikamaru returned the flowerpot to the sill.
"But relax—I convinced Hinata to allow a mock shoot. You know what that means? You and Sakura each get a turn. We'll see who's a better match for Sasuke."
"Huh? Really? You're not lying?"
Ino narrowed her eyes, suspicious. Hinata never allowed trial runs.
"Suit yourself. If you don't believe me, we'll skip it and go with Sakura."
As Shikamaru turned to leave, Ino's eyes blazed. She yanked his ponytail.
"WAIT!! I'll do it!!"
"Ow ow ow! Let go, crazy flower girl!"
---
One hour passed swiftly.
"Time's up."
Hinata sat upright on her mat, sipped her matcha, and exhaled slowly.
"Well then~ Is everything ready, my dear team?"
"Keh~ It had some hiccups, but we're ready."
Kneeling before her, Shino adopted a formal posture. The usually reserved, serious boy clearly enjoyed this dramatic "lord and vassal" roleplay.
"Now, please proceed to the set."
---
Note:
°Lycoris radiata, known as the red spider lily, red magic lily, corpse flower, or equinox flower, is a plant in the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. It is originally from China, Japan, Korea and Nepal and spread from there to the United States and elsewhere.