Hyuga Clan Grounds

Before arriving at the Reception Room, Hinata said to the people inside, "Father, Naruto-kun has arrived."

A deep, vigorous voice came from within. "I know, Hinata. Go look after Hanabi for a while. She misses you quite a bit. Let Naruto and me talk alone. Come in, Naruto."

After hearing Hyuga Hiashi's words, Hinata nodded slightly and said to Naruto, "Then, Naruto-kun, I'll go take care of my little sister Hanabi first. Have a good talk with my father. He only looks stern, but he's actually a pretty nice person."

Naruto smiled at Hinata. "Don't worry, Hinata. I'll get along well with your father."

After Hinata left, Naruto slowly pushed open the door.

A middle-aged man was seated in the reception room, and the table had already been filled with food and drinks for the guests.

The moment he saw Naruto enter, Hyuga Hiashi looked him up and down, then pointed at the seat across from him.

"Please sit, Naruto."

Naruto sat down where Hyuga Hiashi had indicated.

Old man, I'm here. Can my Kurama park outside your house?

"Hello, Hyuga Clan Head. I'm Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto greeted Hyuga Hiashi politely. Setting everything else aside, the fact that he was Hinata's father alone made him extremely important.

Hyuga Hiashi smiled as he looked at Naruto. After observing him just now, he had to admit that Naruto's appearance was indeed quite good. Though he was only six years old, it was already clear that he would grow into a very handsome young man.

Handsome, and seemingly excellent in other respects as well.

The clan ninjas responsible for protecting Hinata had often reported Naruto's situation to him.

Thus, he had long heard of Naruto's various performances at the Ninja Academy. Judging by his usual behavior, Hyuga Hiashi was fairly satisfied with Naruto.

At the same time, Hiashi knew that Hinata's changes over this period could not be separated from Naruto's influence. After training with Naruto for the past three months, both Hinata's mentality and willpower had improved considerably. Even Hyuga Hiashi, who was quite strict with her, acknowledged her efforts in cultivation.

All of this could be credited to Naruto's subtle influence.

"Naruto, I've heard about how you've looked after Hinata at school, and I'm truly grateful. Hinata's progress has pleased me greatly. She has become stronger. She is no longer as weak as she used to be, and now she truly has the bearing of a ninja," Hyuga Hiashi said sincerely.

"I believe that if this continues, Hinata will certainly become a qualified heir of the Main Family and lead our Hyuga Clan toward glory."

It was clear that Hinata's changes after being influenced by Naruto were indeed obvious enough to earn Hyuga Hiashi's approval.

One had to know that in the original story, Hinata had failed to display outstanding talent, and Hyuga Hiashi had eventually been forced to give up on her and turn to raising Hinata's younger sister, Hanabi Hyuga.

The main account had truly been ruined, so he switched to raising an alt.

That alone showed how much Hinata had truly improved.

Naruto smiled slightly. "Hyuga Clan Head, there's something wrong with the way you put that. Hinata has always been a hardworking person. She was never weak; she was simply too kind to everyone. I didn't really do anything. I merely stayed by her side and helped her understand what the right thing to do was."

"Even if I hadn't appeared, I believe she would still have become an outstanding ninja. After all, you understand Hinata's true nature better than I do."

Hiashi nodded, showing his agreement with Naruto's words.

Then, changing the subject, Hyuga Hiashi first revealed a trace of nostalgia as he recalled certain events from the past before continuing, "Naruto, I heard that when you were young, you protected Hinata. When she was being mocked by other children, you stepped forward and protected her. I have always remembered that incident, and I am deeply grateful to you."

He truly meant it. Back then, it had merely been an accident. Hinata had run outside alone without any ninja protection following her and had been surrounded and mocked by a group of children.

They told Hinata to activate her Byakugan for them to see. They said, wasn't Hinata from the Hyuga Clan? If she was, then she should activate her Byakugan and show them!

Those ignorant children had no idea that even within the Hyuga Clan, the Byakugan was not something one could activate whenever one pleased.

Like the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan, the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan symbolized whether one possessed powerful talent.

The stronger the talent, the earlier one could awaken their eyes.

There was a misunderstanding here. As stated by Hyuga Hiashi in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan was not something they possessed from birth. It required extensive, arduous training to awaken.

However, there were special cases influenced by bloodline.

For example, Himawari Uzumaki could activate her Byakugan under mental stimulation. Himawari's method of awakening her eyes was similar to the Sharingan.

Later on, Himawari could actively control her Byakugan.

The Otsutsuki Clan was born with the Byakugan and did not need extensive training like the Hyuga Clan to awaken it. Their Eye Power was also greater than that of the Hyuga Clan.

Therefore, although the original story mentioned the Hyuga Clan, every member who appeared possessed the ability to use the Byakugan!

The Byakugan was an ability. Members of the Hyuga Clan were born with white eyes, but white eyes did not mean they possessed the Byakugan!

The Byakugan's abilities needed to be awakened through training!

Even Neji, who was currently called a genius, had yet to awaken the ability to use the Byakugan.

The Hyuga Clan's earliest recorded awakening was by a ninja during the Warring States Period. He awakened the Byakugan at the age of eight, which was already incredibly remarkable. Later, he became the strongest member of the Hyuga Clan at the time.

He could be said to have made quite a name for himself.

At the time, Hinata had no ninja secretly protecting her, and she was naturally rather introverted. She was so anxious that she could not say a word, which only made those children become more aggressive. They thought Hinata was easy to bully, despite being from a major clan, and felt very impressive themselves.

Just as Hinata was being bullied, Naruto, who had nothing to do at home, saw what was happening. With his sense of justice overflowing, Naruto naturally would not choose to stand by and watch. He stepped forward directly and demanded to know what those children were doing.

At that time, Naruto had not yet been reborn. He had acted entirely according to the original Naruto's own will.

However, even if he had already been reborn into this world back then, he would still have made the same decision as the original Naruto.

But Naruto had not possessed much strength at the time. Years of going hungry and lacking warm clothing had left young Naruto in poor physical condition. Although he had the Uzumaki Clan bloodline, he could not even defeat several children. With their advantage in numbers, young Naruto was beaten back step by step.

Although he was beaten terribly in the end, he still protected Hinata well and did not let her suffer even the slightest injury.

When the Hyuga Clan's ninjas discovered that Lady Hinata had gone missing, they hurried out to search for her. In the end, they found Hinata safe and sound, along with Uzumaki Naruto, who had been beaten badly.

It was from that time onward that Hinata began to grow somewhat stronger, insisting on bringing Naruto back for treatment.

The Hyuga Clan's ninjas also recognized Naruto as the ominous person rumored throughout the village to possibly possess the identity of the Demon Fox.

They were therefore somewhat troubled. It was also the first time Hinata had used her status as a member of the Main Family to demand that the two Hyuga ninjas bring Naruto back for treatment no matter what.

So when Hyuga Hiashi saw that Hinata had gone missing, he had originally been extremely anxious. When he saw that she had brought Uzumaki Naruto back, he was utterly dumbfounded.

My dear daughter, what a huge disaster have you brought back for your father?

After hearing that Naruto had desperately protected his daughter, Hyuga Hiashi's gaze softened somewhat, and he gave the order that Naruto's injuries had to be treated.

Hyuga Hiashi was not some ignorant villager. As the head of one of Konoha's major clans, he naturally knew Naruto's true identity.

Precisely because of this, Hyuga Hiashi knew that this matter would not be easy to handle.

Activating his Byakugan, he saw several Anbu ninjas secretly lurking around his home.

Hyuga Hiashi also knew that these ninjas were secretly protecting Naruto.

They turned a blind eye to children's minor scuffles.

But if anything truly threatened Naruto's life, they would still intervene in time to stop it.

Hyuga Hiashi waved toward the hidden Anbu, knowing that their disguises were useless before the Byakugan.

One of the leading Anbu emerged from the shadows.

Hyuga Hiashi said to him, "I know Naruto has always been under your surveillance, and you must have already sent someone to report the news of our Hyuga Clan's contact with Naruto to Hokage-sama."

"I hope you can tell Hokage-sama that our Hyuga Clan had no intention of contacting Naruto. Naruto merely protected the daughter of our Hyuga Clan's Main Family this time. At my daughter's strong request, we had no choice but to bring Naruto back to treat his injuries. I hope you will report this truthfully."

The leading Anbu ninja nodded, while the other Anbu ninjas remained behind to continue monitoring the Hyuga Clan.

After the Anbu ninja left, the Hyuga Clan instructed its clansmen to take good care of Naruto's injuries. They could not allow anything to happen to him on the Hyuga Clan Grounds.

The leading Anbu ninja headed toward the Hokage's Office to report Hyuga Hiashi's message.

At this moment, an Anbu ninja who had gone ahead had already arrived at the Hokage's Office. When Hiruzen Sarutobi saw him, he told him to report the situation.

"Hokage-sama, we discovered that Hyuga Clan ninjas are making contact with Uzumaki Naruto, so we came to report to you immediately. What are your orders?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately slammed his hand on the table. "What? The Hyuga Clan actually dares to contact Naruto? Do they not know Naruto is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? If they provoke him, can the Hyuga Clan bear the consequences?"

"Hiruzen, I heard that the Hyuga Clan is making contact with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. It seems the Hyuga Clan has thoughts of rebellion. They actually dare to contact a Jinchuriki—this is something they absolutely must not touch."

At that moment, the door to the Hokage's Office was flung open with a bang. The person who entered was Hiruzen Sarutobi's close friend, Shimura Danzō.

"You're here, Danzō. Your information network is quite efficient too. It seems Root's ninjas have been secretly following and monitoring Naruto quite a lot."

Upon seeing Danzō arrive, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat back down in his seat.

Danzō sat in the chair across from Hiruzen Sarutobi and said, "Hiruzen, I have always believed that after the Uchiha Clan was suppressed, the Hyuga Clan has been secretly developing its own power, hoping to quietly make a fortune. I believe this contact with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was also arranged by them in secret, all for the sake of secretly controlling the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

Danzō truly was a master at lying through his teeth. He pinned everything he wanted to do to Naruto onto others. So the Hyuga Clan was your scapegoat? As expected of Pot Kage Danzō—his reputation was well deserved.

After hearing Danzō's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had always liked opposing Danzō, immediately came to his senses. Indeed, wasn't Danzō the one who had always wanted to contact Naruto, brainwash him in secret, and control him? The Hyuga Clan did not have that kind of nerve or power.

"Danzō, I believe there must be something more to this!" Whenever Hiruzen Sarutobi encountered Shimura Danzō, he triggered an instant clarity buff. Anything Danzō wanted was definitely no good.

"Hiruzen, at a time like this, you're still talking about hidden circumstances? I say we should have my Root first surround the Hyuga Clan, force them to hand over the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and then let my Root take proper care of Naruto. I guarantee that I will take very good care of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

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