A Little Blondie Fell from the Sky

Naruto did not stay embarrassed for long before Hinata took out her little wallet and handed it to him. She was quite the little rich girl herself.

So, under the shop owner's meaningful gaze, Naruto paid with Hinata's money and continued Strolling and Eating while holding her hand.

Rather than feeling embarrassed, Naruto felt delighted. He casually fed Hinata another piece of pastry. Be jealous, you losers!

"Hinata, don't you think there are especially many people on the streets today?" According to the information his Shadow Clones had sent back before, the Human Flow on this street had never been this heavy.

"Maybe it's because the Chunin Exams are approaching." Hinata tapped her chin with a finger and pondered. "I heard that because the third round will feature a match between the Fourth Kazekage's son and the Fourth Hokage's son, many people have come from far away to watch."

"Huh?" Naruto tilted his head. He had not even known he had so many online fans. Thinking about it carefully, he realized he was being conceited; it was probably because his Old Dad was too famous.

Hinata turned to look at Naruto's profile. "Everyone is looking forward to Naruto-kun's performance."

Naruto turned to meet her eyes. "Including you, Hinata?"

"Mm." Hinata nodded. In her heart, Naruto-kun would absolutely never lose.

Naruto prepared to play a little trick on Hinata and sighed. "Sigh... but I'm not very confident myself."

Hinata did not understand. "Why? Naruto-kun is very strong."

"Because Gaara isn't an ordinary ninja. Judging solely by Chakra, he's even stronger than Teacher Kakashi." Naruto dared swear he was telling the truth. He absolutely was not lying to Hinata.

"How could that be..." Hinata began to worry. Stronger than Teacher Kakashi—wouldn't that mean Naruto-kun was in danger?

Feeling that he had laid enough groundwork, Naruto said, "I'll do my best to beat him, but if Hinata can give me a little motivation, I'll be even more confident."

"W-what should I do?" Hinata felt that something was off.

"Let's make a promise. If I win..." Naruto finally revealed his true intentions and leaned close to whisper something in Hinata's ear.

"Huh?" Hinata's face visibly turned red.

"Since Hinata doesn't object, it's settled then." Naruto smiled like a little fox that had stolen a chicken.

"Y-yes." Hinata lowered her head and answered softly.

Naruto happily bought a pair of popsicles, broke them apart, and handed half to Hinata to cool her down—with Hinata's money, of course.

Hinata enjoyed this feeling of sharing food with Naruto. She nibbled on her popsicle, temporarily casting her shyness aside.

They wandered around until evening. Naruto walked Hinata to her doorstep, gave her a light hug, and only then said goodbye and left.

On the way, Naruto was already planning his strategy for fighting Gaara. Little bro, you're definitely getting this beating. Even Shukaku won't be able to save you, mark my words.

"Big Fox, what posture should we use to beat up Shukaku then?" Naruto excitedly patted the fox beneath his chin.

Nine Tails gave him a contemptuous look. "You want to fight Shukaku just to sweet-talk a little girl?"

"Hey, don't put it like that. How can things between a couple be called sweet-talking?" Naruto argued casually.

Nine Tails bared his huge mouth and said wickedly, "Why don't you deal with him yourself? I've suddenly lost the desire to help you."

"Don't be like that. It's perfectly normal to wingman for your brother. At worst, if you ever take a liking to some vixen, I'll help you too."

"Get lost."

"Okay." Naruto climbed onto the fox's back, comfortably rolled around, and said, "I'm done getting lost. How about we practice our coordination tomorrow?"

His answer was a tail smashing down from above. Naruto rolled aside and said smugly, "Big Fox, you look just like those livestock swatting flies with their tails."

"Did you just call me livestock?"

Then nine tails danced through the air, and a Little Blondie fell from the sky.

Let us turn back time a little. While Naruto and Hinata were out shopping, somewhere in the Land of Wind Desert.

Orochimaru, Guren, and the Sound Ninja Four stood in a circle. Six people lay in the middle, one of whom was Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage.

Rasa was already on his last breath. Lying facedown on the sand, he used the last of his strength to raise his head and ask, "Why?"

Orochimaru extended his tongue—a tongue astonishing in both length and flexibility—and gave himself a lick across the face. In a hoarse voice, he said:

"What I want is the Third Hokage's life. That has been my goal from beginning to end. You merely want to gain a little benefit. Our purposes are different, but I need to borrow the power of Sand Hidden Village. That is all.

"Now that Sunagakure has dispatched its forces, all I need to do next is replace you. Keeping you alive would only become an obstacle."

Rasa struggled to rise. "I will never let you succeed. Even if I am... Agh!"

A red crystal spike pierced through Rasa's heart. Guren said coldly, "No one can obstruct Lord Orochimaru from achieving his goal."

Guren was a female ninja who possessed the Crystal Release Kekkei Genkai. She could condense red crystals into the shape of weapons, or crystallize people and shatter them like glass.

She was one of Orochimaru's candidate vessels. Her greatest wish was to become one with Lord Orochimaru. What kind of wild statement was that? In any case, she was one of the pitiful children Uncle Snake had lured away and brainwashed.

If this were a game world, there should have been a system notification at this moment:

Congratulations! Orochimaru's team has achieved the accomplishment: Kill the Fourth Kazekage. Orochimaru · Fourth Kazekage Limited Edition Skin unlocked.

After Orochimaru took some hair and tissue samples from Rasa, a strange white bird flew over their heads, circled a few times, then dove down.

Sai jumped down from the bird's back and said with a smile, "Senior Orochimaru, I have brought Lord Danzo's letter."

As he spoke, Sai took out a Scroll and handed it over.

"Oh? One of Danzo's people?" That lunatic Orochimaru still wore a smile as he spoke, yet he threw a Kunai that struck the boy in front of him.

Sai turned into a puddle of ink, and the Scroll in his hand fell to the ground.

Guren carefully picked up the Scroll, checked it several times from top to bottom, and only after confirming that there were no traps did she respectfully present it to Orochimaru with both hands.

Orochimaru took the Scroll and turned to look in a certain direction. "Using a Clone to speak with someone is rather impolite."

Sai crawled out of a concealed sand pit, still smiling. "When facing the legendary Senior Orochimaru, one cannot be too careful."

"Put away that disgusting fake smile of yours." Orochimaru opened the Scroll and began reading. Then his smile gradually grew unrestrained. "Interesting. To optimize a barrier to this extent—worthy of the Uzumaki Clan.

"And not only Jiraiya, even Tsunade has returned to the village? It has truly been a long time."