The Impending Purge and Hinata's Change

Hokage's Office.

The Third withdrew his gaze from the crystal ball.

"Naruto's Kekkei Genkai has developed well. For now, its potential appears to be very high."

"Hiruzen, you should have handed Naruto over to Root. I would have systematically developed his Kekkei Genkai. This Kekkei Genkai is far from simple. If nothing unexpected happens, we may even be able to mass-produce it," Danzo said with a frown from the side.

"Naruto is Minato's only son." The Third said unhappily.

"So what? You have already failed Minato's expectations." Danzo snorted disdainfully.

"No, you were the one behind all of it." At the sensitive mention of Minato, the Third immediately said with displeasure, "If you had not rashly spread those rumors back then, Naruto would not have grown up surrounded by such immense malice. If he had grown up surrounded by bonds, as I planned, with a happy childhood, perhaps he would have fully inherited the Will of Fire by now and become a ninja others could rely on."

At the mention of Minato, the Third was filled with rage.

He had never intended for Naruto to endure the villagers' malice, but an unexpected complication had arisen midway through.

"Tch, you didn't stop the rumors back then either. Didn't you tacitly approve of what I did? Now that you regret it, you push all the blame onto me. Hiruzen, you have no sense of responsibility as Hokage at all." Danzo's temper flared as well, his tone dripping with mockery.

"Enough. Let's not talk about this anymore." The Third cut off the subject of Minato and drew hard on his pipe.

As though all his worries could drift away with the smoke rings.

The office then fell into silence.

After a long while, Danzo finally spoke.

"Everything over there is ready, correct?"

"Mm." The Third answered dully as he looked out the window. Under Konoha's dark night sky, ninja could occasionally be seen moving through the streets.

A trace of sorrow appeared in his eyes as he murmured, "So it has still come to this."

"Put away your mercy, Hiruzen. Traitors deserve what they get. All we are doing is putting everything back on track. It is all for the sake of protecting Konoha." Danzo's tone grew heavier.

"This is the Konoha our teacher protected. It will become better through our joint efforts. Since there are rotten apples, we must remove them."

"This was their choice. We had no other choice."

Under the night sky, Danzo and the Third looked out over Konoha in silence, their gazes gradually turning ruthless.

The purge would begin very soon!

After returning home, Naruto took off his weights and briefly cleaned his exhausted body.

He lay on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

A year had passed in the blink of an eye.

For now, everything was progressing along the right track.

Remembering all the moments of the past, Naruto's lips curled into a smile.

First were the Nine-Tails and Minato inside him.

The two who had once been enemies had unexpectedly become roommates.

The Internet-addicted evil fox immersed himself in computer games every day, shouting and yelling until Minato could barely stand it. He had even protested to Naruto countless times.

It could be said that the wheel had turned. Minato, who had no interest in games, was constantly harassed by the Nine-Tails.

Rock Lee's growth over the past year had been especially obvious. Under Naruto's influence and guidance, he was no longer the simple-minded boy he used to be. At the very least, he had gained a bit of sense.

For Rock Lee, following Naruto was his goal.

In his own words, "My brain doesn't work well. If something can be solved with fists, then I definitely won't use my brain. There can't be any problem with following Naruto. With Naruto around, I don't need a brain."

Sasuke Uchiha's growth was even more apparent. Although he was still tsundere, Naruto could feel Sasuke's approval of him, and even his admiration.

That tsundere brat trained with Naruto every day.

Of course, whenever Itachi finished a mission and came home, Sasuke would ditch training without hesitation to spend time alone with his older brother.

Sakura Haruno still tried to curry favor with Naruto, making him rather uncomfortable.

As for Ino Yamanaka, she still liked Sasuke, but she was easygoing by nature. If she could have him, she would; if not, she would not force it.

The other friends were more or less the same. Nothing had changed much, and their relationships with Naruto were fairly good.

The one who surprised Naruto the most was Hinata.

He vaguely remembered that it had been one morning about half a year ago. Naruto had been walking down the street, preparing to buy some ingredients.

Having absorbed knowledge from the world of Bleach, he was not exactly a master chef, but he had achieved some skill in cooking.

Whether it was the fresh, fragrant, spicy flavors of Chinese cuisine or the refined plating of Western dishes, he could handle them with ease.

Every so often, Naruto would prepare an exquisite meal for himself.

In his view, life was already difficult enough. Without a little sense of ritual, he would be letting himself down too much.

As he walked, Naruto suddenly heard familiar sounds of scolding and beating. Following the noise, he discovered a group of bratty children bullying a girl.

It filled him with anger.

He had thought those brats would turn over a new leaf after he taught them a lesson, but their nature was hard to change, so he immediately prepared to intervene.

Then, a figure suddenly appeared before the brats and punched the wall without warning.

With a thunderous bang, a deep fist print appeared in the wall.

Seeing this, Naruto retreated into hiding and watched quietly.

After the mysterious figure appeared, the rowdy children all fell silent, trembling in fear.

"Are you bullying people again?" A familiar, crisp female voice rang out. The mysterious figure turned to look at the children.

At that moment, Naruto saw her face clearly.

It was actually Hinata Hyuga?!

That timid little girl?

"Hey, you." Hinata was completely different from the shy, adorable image Naruto had of her. Her eyes had turned into eerie Byakugan, veins bulging around them and adding a chilling touch to her appearance.

Hinata shielded the bullied girl behind her, cornered the children, and braced one hand against the wall as she glared at them murderously.

"If I catch you bullying someone again, this fist will land on your heads."

The children were instantly terrified and fled in panic.

"Big sister, you're so cool!" The girl Hinata had protected looked at her with admiration.

Hinata turned around, revealing a gentle smile much like Naruto's. She softly rubbed the girl's head. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"Mhm, I'm fine. Big sister, join our Five Combine! Can you be our boss?" The girl hugged Hinata admiringly, her eyes shining.

"So that punching bag has changed already." Naruto withdrew his gaze and murmured with a soft laugh.

So everyone was working hard. Everyone was getting better.

"Everyone in this world is constantly changing. Only by continuously improving can one adapt to the world," he muttered, a smile appearing on his lips.

Then he added silently in his heart, But I will transcend this world.

Hinata's change made Naruto very pleased. It meant she was no longer someone who simply endured being bullied.

In the days that followed, Naruto noticed that Hinata still acted gentle and slightly shy whenever she was at school.

However, she no longer feared communicating with others. Like him, she enjoyed listening and sharing.

It was just that after school, whenever she saw injustice, she would step in and help with her Gentle Fist.

In less than a few months, Hinata had won over all the troublesome children and become the boss they looked up to.

There was a short Hinata subplot. I didn't particularly like the timid Hinata from the original story, so I wanted to write a different Hinata.