Naruto-kun Likes Me!

After passing through the bustling streets, Uzumaki Naruto arrived at the edge of the Forest of Death.

Even at the edge of the Forest of Death, towering trees stood everywhere, their trunks so thick they must have been growing for decades.

A few mushrooms grew sparsely around the roots of the trees.

"Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet... I wouldn't dare eat poisonous mushrooms like these even if you gave them to me. One bite and I'd probably see Uchiha Madara doing a spicy dance..."

Uzumaki Naruto shook his head and tossed away the colorful mushrooms in his hand.

This was his first time approaching the Forest of Death. Before, he had been too weak to even tie up a chicken, so he had never dared to come near this dangerous forest.

He had originally planned to see whether there was any edible prey and roast it into meat with Scorch Release.

Instead of ferocious beasts, though, he had found quite a few poisonous mushrooms.

He gave up on the idea of finding food at the edge of the Forest of Death.

On his way back,

Uzumaki Naruto suddenly stopped when he heard a girl crying.

"Hm!?"

Uzumaki Naruto frowned and walked toward the bushes.

That voice...

Why did it sound like Little Hinata, whom he had parted with not long ago!?

Passing through the bushes and peering through the tangled grass, Uzumaki Naruto saw what was happening inside.

Three bratty children surrounded Little Hinata, constantly laughing at her loudly and throwing stones at her.

"Monster, white-eyed monster..."

"So ugly, so ugly, what a monster..."

"Hand over all your money..."

"..."

Little Hinata held a lunchbox in her hands, crouching on the ground and covering her white eyes as she cried in grievance.

The three bratty children felt no shame. Instead, they took pride in it.

Their shrill voices were filled with smug laughter, as if they had done something extraordinary.

"Little Hinata!?"

A rare trace of coldness appeared in Uzumaki Naruto's azure eyes.

"Get lost!"

Uzumaki Naruto strode over to Hinata, kicked the leading bratty child flying, then hugged Little Hinata.

"Little Hinata, are you okay?"

Uzumaki Naruto held Little Hinata in his arms, stroking her hair as he comforted her softly. "Don't be afraid. Little Hinata is the prettiest, and your white eyes are beautiful too."

"Naruto-kun..."

Little Hinata revealed a hint of surprise and looked at Uzumaki Naruto with her little face flushed red.

Her face grew redder and redder.

Redder and redder.

In the end, a puff of white smoke rose from her head, and she dizzily collapsed unconscious into Uzumaki Naruto's arms.

"Naruto-kun... hugged me..."

Uzumaki Naruto smiled helplessly and gently placed Little Hinata beneath a large tree.

Then he turned around and looked at the three bratty children. Uzumaki Naruto's smile gradually faded, replaced by a coldness he had never shown before.

"Do you... want to die!?"

Just because of a pair of white eyes, they treated Little Hinata like a monster.

A monster!?

Compared to a pair of white eyes, fallen human hearts were the real monsters, weren't they!?

The bratty child Uzumaki Naruto had kicked away twisted his face and shouted loudly.

"Beat this damned monster to death!"

The other two bratty children sneered, raised their fists, and viciously charged at Uzumaki Naruto.

Uzumaki Naruto sneered, clenching his five fingers into a fist as dark red flames burned within it.

"Scorch Release: Scorch Kill!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Uzumaki Naruto only threw three punches, yet the three bratty children lost their ability to fight, clutching their shoulders and screaming in agony.

Their cries were utterly miserable, as though they were being sliced apart by a thousand blades.

And that was indeed the case.

Scorching flames penetrated their skin and burned their bones and marrow, causing pain dozens of times worse than physical blows.

It was not merely pain.

Part of their bone marrow had evaporated. Their bodies would become extremely weak in the future, and they might even die.

But Uzumaki Naruto showed no mercy. He threw several more vicious punches, beating the three bratty children until they cried for their fathers and mothers.

Uzumaki Naruto cast a cold glance at the three bratty children kneeling on the ground and begging for mercy, then tore the money pouches from their bodies and said coldly.

"Get lost. Don't let me see you bullying anyone again."

The three bratty children looked as though they had seen a demon. They scrambled away on all fours, crying as they fled the terrifying bushes.

After Little Hinata woke up,

Uzumaki Naruto rubbed Little Hinata's head and let her rest it against his shoulder, saying helplessly.

"Little Hinata, why didn't you fight them?"

"With your Gentle Fist, dealing with those three bratty children should have been more than easy, right?"

Do not let Little Hinata's young age fool you.

Little Hinata was the princess of the Hyuga Clan. She had practiced Gentle Fist since childhood, and her strength ranked among the best in her class.

Even if she was not good at fighting, she could easily handle a few bratty children her own age.

Little Hinata's face was flushed red. She lowered her head and said softly, "But... that would hurt a lot..."

Uzumaki Naruto smiled helplessly and sighed. "Little Hinata, being too kind is not a good thing."

"Kind people are always bullied. That way, you can't protect yourself, nor can you protect the people you want to protect."

Little Hinata blinked and looked at Uzumaki Naruto in confusion.

"Naruto-kun, I don't understand..."

Uzumaki Naruto thought for a moment, then smiled. "For example, if I were the one being bullied, Little Hinata, would you protect me?"

Little Hinata's eyes instantly widened. She clenched her little fists and said firmly, "I will definitely protect Naruto-kun."

Uzumaki Naruto smiled and rubbed Little Hinata's head again.

"That's what I mean."

"I like Little Hinata, so I want to protect Little Hinata. I don't want anyone to bully Little Hinata."

"But Little Hinata is too kind and doesn't want to hurt anyone. That troubles me greatly."

"So... can Little Hinata choose me?"

"..."

Uzumaki Naruto received no response and lowered his head in confusion.

Then,

Uzumaki Naruto could not help laughing.

Little Hinata, in his arms, had a face as red as a big apple. White smoke rose from her head as she dizzily murmured.

"Naruto-kun likes me, Naruto-kun likes me, Naruto-kun likes me..."