Relax, and See What Happens Next

"Bastard!"

Watching the unconscious Akamaru get tossed into the air by Naruto, Kiba Inuzuka cursed and sprang high into the air, carefully catching Akamaru in his arms. He then crouched down and examined him closely.

"Whimper..."

It took quite a while before Akamaru woke up, but he kept trembling. His body curled into a ball as he desperately burrowed into Kiba Inuzuka's arms, continuously letting out aggrieved whimpers.

"Uzumaki Naruto! I'll fight you—huh? Where's that bastard?!"

Kiba Inuzuka rose to his feet in a fury, intending to settle the score with Naruto, but only Shikamaru and Shino remained at the scene.

Shino stepped forward, adjusted his sunglasses, and said flatly, "Naruto left while you were catching Akamaru. He should be on his way home now. If you want to cause trouble for him, you can."

"Enough!"

Kiba Inuzuka's eyes turned red with anger.

"Hey! Shikamaru! You know where that damn bastard lives, right?!"

Shikamaru's gaze hardened. "Kiba, why did you have Akamaru attack Naruto?"

Naruto had clearly warned him, yet Kiba still wanted to pick a fight with him. Shikamaru vividly remembered what Naruto had once told him.

He was dangerous by nature!

"Hmph!" Kiba Inuzuka glanced at Akamaru in his arms. "That guy has no skills, yet he always acts cool. And that bastard almost strangled Akamaru to death. It's unforgivable!"

Shino adjusted his sunglasses again and cut in, "The responsibility for this lies with you. If you hadn't provoked him first, Naruto wouldn't have—"

"Shut up! I just didn't like the look of him and wanted to scare him a little!"

He had actually provoked Naruto for such a ridiculous reason.

Shikamaru shook his head slightly, turned around, and headed home. He had no right to interfere with how others viewed Naruto, nor was he obligated to teach anyone how to get along with him.

His father had specifically reminded him that someone was always watching Naruto.

Meanwhile, Naruto was leading several Anbu who were following him in circles through the alleys outside the academy. Unexpectedly, he ran into Hinata. She looked like she had just been crying, and when she saw Naruto approach, she immediately moved to the side of the alley and lowered her head.

Naruto stopped in front of Hinata. "Going home?"

Hearing Naruto's voice, Hinata said nothing and merely nodded gently.

"Did someone bully you?"

"N-no one bullied me."

Seeing how unconvincing Hinata's denial was, Naruto shook his head. From the story he knew so well, he was certain that Hinata had once again been bullied by some bratty kids in Konoha.

"It seems like an older man used to come pick you up. Didn't he come today?"

Naruto remembered that the person who came to take Hinata home seemed to be named Hyuuga Ko.

Hinata silently shook her head, her mood growing even lower.

"Come on. I'll take you home."

Naruto smiled faintly, gently took Hinata's hand, and headed toward the Hyuga Clan compound he had visited years ago.

Whoosh!

After Naruto and Hinata disappeared, two Anbu appeared in the alley.

"Captain, should we continue following and monitoring them?"

"Not for now. The target is escorting Hinata Hyuga home. It isn't convenient for us to appear at the Hyuga Clan compound for the moment. You know about their clan's bloodline ability."

"Then what do we do next?"

"One group will wait along the target's route home. The rest will come with me to the target's house!"

~~~~~~~~

"Heh. As expected, they didn't keep following us."

After Naruto led Hinata farther away, he sensed that the Anbu monitoring him had all withdrawn in different directions.

"Konoha's higher-ups have clearly prepared for a decisive battle with the Uchiha, yet they don't want the other clans in the village to know. They're probably afraid the other clans will take advantage of the situation."

"Yo! Isn't that the Byakugan freak?!"

A voice interrupted Naruto's thoughts. At the same time, he felt Hinata's hand tighten around his as she hid behind him.

"Heh, the dead last is here too."

"Shh, Firebee. I heard that guy is the Demon Fox."

Naruto looked toward the source of the voices. Three boys with thuggish faces stood there, and he did not recognize a single one of them.

"Naruto-kun..."

Hinata's voice trembled slightly from behind Naruto. It seemed she had often been bullied by these three.

"Don't be afraid. We'll just keep walking. Your house is close."

Naruto calmly led Hinata forward, acting as though he could not see anyone else.

"A dead last actually dares to act so arrogant!"

When Naruto led Hinata past the three of them, the leader, Firebee, immediately wanted to make a move. But for some reason, he gave up. Then he noticed his two lackeys looking at him strangely, and his face flushed with anger.

I'm not even afraid of the Hyuga Clan's eldest daughter. Why would I be afraid of him?!

Watching Naruto and Hinata move some distance away, he quietly crouched down, picked up a stone, and hurled it at Naruto's head.

Whoosh!

It missed. Naruto seemed completely unaware as he continued leading Hinata onward.

How is that possible? I actually missed from this close?!

A vicious glint flashed through Firebee's eyes. He called to his two lackeys, and the three of them immediately picked up stones and threw them at Naruto and Hinata.

Hearing the whistling attacks coming from behind, Naruto instantly turned around, shielding Hinata behind him as he easily dodged the barrage.

Seeing the three still throwing stones at him, Naruto's eyes flashed. He casually caught one of the incoming stones and swung his arm hard.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Naruto's stone collided with the other stones in midair one after another, intercepting every attack. Then, under Firebee and the others' disbelieving gazes, it knocked the stones from their hands before they could throw them.

After seeing that the three no longer dared to make any moves, Naruto turned back, took Hinata's hand, and continued on their way.

"Naruto-kun, am I very weak...?"

After passing through several more alleys, the silent Hinata suddenly looked up and spoke.

"No. You're just too kind."

Naruto stopped and smiled. "I know you're very strong, aren't you?"

Hinata blushed when Naruto looked at her, and she lowered her little head again.

"Hinata, you have a younger sister, right?"

"Mm."

"Do you want your younger sister to be bullied?"

Hearing that, Hinata raised her head firmly and looked straight into Naruto's eyes. "No! I want to protect my sister!"

A bright light flowed through Naruto's eyes. "Then you have to become strong enough. If you keep letting others bully you, you won't be able to protect your sister."

Hinata looked a little nervous. "But I don't want to hurt anyone."

"Don't be nervous." Naruto smiled as he led Hinata onward. "You only need to make sure that neither you nor your sister gets hurt. Is that difficult?"

Hinata's expression brightened. She suddenly remembered that one of the Hyuga Clan's secret Gentle Fist techniques had extremely strong defensive power. As long as she activated her Byakugan, she could practice it.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun! I understand now!"

"Mm, Hinata, remember this: kindness is not weakness! Kindness has limits. We won't hurt others, but we will never allow others to hurt us either. There, you're home."

~~~~~~~

"Naruto, what are you trying to do? Do you like that little girl, or are you interested in the Byakugan?"

Not long after Naruto said goodbye to Hinata and started walking home, Minato Namikaze abruptly asked him this question.

Naruto's eyes flickered as his consciousness entered the Sealed Space. "What do you think, Father?"

Minato Namikaze fell silent for a moment before speaking solemnly. "Although I feel that you have an inexplicable fondness for that little girl, you seem more interested in the Byakugan."

"The Hyuga Clan's Byakugan requires a certain level of training before it can be activated, but that little girl hasn't activated hers yet. You guided her step by step through hints to make her train harder. Were you trying to lead her into activating the Byakugan as soon as possible?"

Naruto looked somewhat surprised. "Do you think I'm that calculating, Father? Can't I find a girl I like at the academy, just like you did back then?"

Minato Namikaze looked a little embarrassed. "Uh... I just... I only..."

"Relax, Father." Naruto waved his hand. "I have no ill intentions toward Hinata. But I do want to see whether, under my guidance, she can activate the Byakugan sooner."

"By the way, do you think the village's other clans know that the Uchiha want to stage a coup?"

Minato Namikaze's expression turned grave. "They should have guessed!"