Konoha's Fearless Boss

"Boss, what does marrying into a family mean?"

The next day, Naruto asked during a break.

"Marrying into a family? It probably means finding yourself a wife to marry into her family."

Yue Guanhai had no idea why Naruto was asking, so he answered casually.

"I see. If I want to marry into a family, do you have any suggestions?"

Naruto had a basic understanding of marriage. It was probably just two people living together and then having children. Very simple.

"Hmm, if you're marrying into a family, you should pick a powerful clan. The Uchiha Clan, Konoha's number one great clan, has plenty of men. There haven't been any daughters born in recent years, and the youngest girl is already ten, so they're not suitable for you. Next would be the second-largest great clan, the Hyuga Clan. The Byakugan is a good thing, and the clan head just happens to have a daughter your age."

Yue Guanhai was bored anyway, so he seriously analyzed Naruto's options and ultimately decided that the Hyuga Clan was the best fit.

"Hey, brat?"

Since he hadn't gotten an answer, Yue Guanhai pushed Naruto. With a bang, Naruto's body turned into a wooden log.

"The Substitution Technique? That brat actually dared to skip work!!!"

"So this is the Hyuga Clan? Alright!"

As a great clan second only to the Uchiha Clan, the Hyuga Clan naturally possessed a vast estate. It was also located very close to the center of the village, making it even better situated than the Uchiha Clan.

"Here I come, aaah~"

Holding a three-meter bamboo pole, Naruto took a running start for over ten meters. He then planted the pole against the wall, launched himself into the air with the rebound, and easily flipped over the Hyuga Clan's outer wall.

"I can't stop, aaah!"

While airborne, Naruto realized a serious problem—he had no way to land. His body traced a beautiful arc through the air, and when he instinctively looked down, he saw two people standing in the courtyard: a boy and a girl. They seemed to be practicing stances. When they saw Naruto suddenly fly in, both unconsciously opened their mouths wide.

With a smack, his body crashed onto the roof. As expected of a Hyuga Clan house, aside from a few shattered tiles, it didn't even budge. Just as Naruto was rejoicing that he hadn't fallen to his death, more than a dozen burly men instantly appeared around him, surrounded him, tied him up tightly, and dragged him into the main hall.

"A spy?"

A middle-aged man sat upright in the seat of honor. Unlike ordinary people with black pupils, his eyes were entirely white with a faint gray tint.

He was Hyuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuga Clan. The Byakugan might not have been Konoha's strongest Bloodline Limit, but it was certainly the most useful. Support, reconnaissance, combat—it was an all-purpose Bloodline Limit. Naturally, many people coveted it, and safeguarding the main family had always been his duty as clan head.

"A spy? Is there really such a stupid spy in this world?"

Another middle-aged man who looked very similar to Hiashi stood beside him and looked at Naruto's youthful face.

"I'm not a spy. I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"

Naruto twisted his body and wriggled up to Hiashi like a caterpillar. He had known since childhood that when speaking, he had to look the other person in the eyes and sound confident. That way, he would at least have some dignity when he got beaten up.

"Naruto Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails'... What do you want?"

Hiashi muttered Naruto's name, remembered who he was, and asked evenly. He held no particular hostility. The Hyuga Clan had not suffered greatly in that disaster, and they had faith in the Fourth Hokage's seal. There was no need to make things difficult for a child who knew nothing.

"I'm here to marry into your family!"

"?"

"My friend told me that if you want to get rich, marry into a family first."

"So you want to marry into our family?"

"That's right."

"Clan Head, did you have such plans?"

Hizashi Hyuga looked at his older brother strangely, assuming Naruto was a prospective son-in-law who had come after hearing rumors.

"No, I never said I was seeking a son-in-law. But Hizashi, don't you feel that there's something strangely familiar about him? As if he carries the bloodline of the Byakugan?"

Hiashi looked at Naruto in confusion. He had felt that sensation from the moment he first saw him. As clan head, he recognized the feeling—it was as though Naruto were a child of the Hyuga Clan.

"The Byakugan!"

Hizashi immediately activated his Byakugan. The veins around his eyes emerged under the stimulation of Chakra. He stared at Naruto for a long time before finally deactivating it.

"No. He isn't one of us, and I don't feel the familiarity you mentioned."

"Hey, Mister, can you agree to let me marry into your family?"

"I'll consider it. Take him outside, and don't hurt him."

Hiashi rubbed the bridge of his nose. His first child was a daughter, and judging from the potential she had shown, she was far inferior to Neji from the Branch Family. Taking in a son-in-law was not something he had never considered. In the ninja world, strength was supreme. If he could bring in a powerful jonin, it would not be impossible—but definitely not a Jinchuriki.

"What? I'm really strong. Don't brush me off. Just let me marry into your family."

A burly Byakugan user tucked Naruto under his arm and carried him out of the main hall. Naruto had barely shouted twice before he saw the two children from the courtyard standing beside the main hall and watching him. The little girl in particular had a flushed face. She had probably heard what Naruto said, and at that moment, their gazes met.

"Hinata, don't look. Your eyes will get dirty."

Neji blocked Naruto from Hinata's view, shot him a disdainful glance, and led Hinata back inside.

"What do you mean, her eyes will get dirty?!"

"That brat actually dared to skip work!"

The moment Yue Guanhai saw Naruto return, he kicked him in the butt. Naruto desperately wanted to dodge, but no matter how he moved, that foot followed him like a shadow. In the end, it still sent him flying with a heavy kick.

"Ow! Why can't I dodge Boss's kick?"

"If you could dodge it, I wouldn't be able to keep doing this job. Tell me, where did you go?"

"I went to the Hyuga Clan."

Naruto rubbed his butt as he stood up and told Yue Guanhai everything that had happened.

"You really dared to do it, you brat."

Yue Guanhai was speechless. This brat truly dared to act on every wild idea he had. It was a miracle the Hyuga Clan hadn't beaten him up.

"Alright, nothing else for you to do. Get lost."

After a day's work, Yue Guanhai didn't pay Naruto and once again chased him out. Naruto returned to his empty home and lay down on his bed.

"Nine-Tails, thanks for your advice. I went to the Hyuga Clan today, and it felt pretty nice."

After falling asleep, Naruto returned to the place where the Nine-Tails was. Grinning, he climbed onto one of its paws, his eyes shining.

"Mm, as long as you're happy."

The Nine-Tails had not gotten to see the humiliation it had expected, which left it very displeased. It had no mood to play with Naruto and continued plotting how to trick him.

"The Hyuga Clan? It would be nice if they were willing to take Naruto in, but he'd have to change his name. Would Kushina beat me to death if she found out? Though she's already dead..."

Minato stroked his chin and muttered to himself. Back when he was alive, he had a good relationship with the Hyuga Clan. They were also dutiful and loyal to Konoha, so there was nothing to worry about. Hyuga Naruto didn't sound bad either.

"By the way, brat, that Hyuga kid did say he would consider it, right?"

The Nine-Tails' mind worked quickly, and it soon found a way to set Naruto up. Like a devil's whisper, it tempted him. In terms of age, Hyuga Hiashi was merely a kid too.

"Yeah."

"What that really means is that you should launch a nighttime raid. If you can pass through the Hyuga Clan's layers of defenses and reach his daughter's room, that means you've passed. You've seen their defenses, right?"

"Oh, so that's what it meant! As expected of the Nine-Tails!"

Naruto suddenly understood and looked at the Nine-Tails with sincere eyes. The Nine-Tails was slightly dazed beneath that gaze. How long had it been since it had seen such pure eyes? Since its birth, apart from that Old Man, everyone who looked at it had either feared it or coveted it.

"Anyway, stop sleeping like a lump. Get up and move. I'll assist you from the side."

"Got it!"

After saying that, Naruto woke from his dream. He got dressed, jumped out through the window, and lightly leaped across the rooftops of the village. Though still young, he already possessed an excellent ninja foundation.

The Hyuga Clan's defenses would never be weak, even in the middle of the night. However, the Nine-Tails inside Naruto possessed an almost cheat-like ability to sense presences, and it guided him step by step. Before long, Naruto had entered the Hyuga Clan's residential area.

[Brat, it's time to sprint. Don't worry about anything. Run with all your strength and listen to me.]

"Okay!"

Naruto got into position and began running along the corridor. He stopped thinking and entrusted everything to the Nine-Tails.

[Left.]

[Right.]

[Up.]

[Down.]

[Open the door.]

[Pounce!]

Following the Nine-Tails' final command, Naruto slid open the paper door to a room and pounced toward the person sleeping on a floor mattress.

"Huh?"

The Byakugan boy who heard the door open rubbed his eyes and sat up. Seeing Naruto pouncing down from the air, he froze in place.

Half a minute later

"Eight Trigrams Palms!"

"Ahh!"

Naruto crashed through the second-floor window with a scream and flew out, landing in the pond in the courtyard.

"Neji, what happened?"

Hiashi rushed out after hearing the commotion. Seeing Naruto in the pond and Neji burning with rage, he asked in confusion.

"This person sneaked into my room. I don't know what he was trying to do."

Neji's Byakugan was fully activated with anger. If not for Naruto's status, he would have already jumped into the water and pinned him down there.

"Ptooey, ptooey! Who went into your room? I came to find Hinata!"

Naruto spat out the pond weeds in his mouth and loudly retorted.

"Hinata? Why?"

If it had been anyone else, Hiashi would have made them understand the consequences of launching a nighttime raid on the Hyuga Clan. But the faint familiarity Naruto gave him made him patiently ask.

"Huh? Wasn't this your test?"

"That's how you understood it? Still, you managed to break through so many layers of defenses. Is my Hyuga Clan truly that lax, or are you simply that strong?"

After hearing Naruto's explanation, Hiashi frowned. Several people on night duty immediately knelt down. No matter what, they could not explain how Naruto had slipped inside.

"Neji, how do you think we should handle this?"

Hiashi waved his hand, giving up on punishing the clan members, then turned to Neji. Naruto's situation was too special. As the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, he could not be punished casually. Besides, it would look too ugly for the head of a clan to make trouble for a child. The best choice was to let Neji, someone his age, handle it.

"Let's do this. Keep him like that until dawn. Teach him a lesson."

Neji pulled Naruto out of the pond and tied him to the wooden post they usually practiced striking.

"Hey, don't do that."

"Hahahaha! Did you see that? That brat actually did it! Hahahahaha!"

Inside Naruto, the Nine-Tails laughed so hard it nearly rolled over, pounding the ground wildly. It had replayed everything that happened along the way for Minato to see, and in the end, it could no longer hold it in.

"What, are you unhappy?"

After laughing for a while, the Nine-Tails noticed that Minato was neither furious nor frustrated. It stopped laughing and asked.

"No. I just didn't expect you to make that kind of expression too. I thought all you knew was how to get angry."

"Hmph. Boring."

The Nine-Tails was rendered speechless by Minato's words. It lay down on its paws and went to sleep.

PS: Should Neji's father be saved or not?