First Meeting with Hinata, the Devouring Will of Fire

Hokage Rock?

Will of Fire?

Naruto knew about Hokage Rock. In his previous life, there had been a beautiful Mount Rushmore in the real world.

Thinking it over carefully, the first, second, third, fourth... they seemed to match up exactly.

Google searched TWKAN.

Even the underlying logic was the same.

Just then, Sarutobi Hiruzen said, "Wherever the leaves of Konoha dance, fire burns on without end. The fire's shadow shall illuminate the village and make new leaves sprout."

Naruto mocked him inwardly. Simply put, wasn't the Will of Fire in your mouth just sacrifice and dedication?

The victim even had to enjoy the process of being violated.

Better yet, they should howl a couple of times for everyone to see.

Of course, besides the Will of Fire, there was also the Will of Water, the Will of Lightning, and so on.

Wasn't it this murderous, devouring Will of Fire that killed Konoha White Fang?

Old man, your rhetoric isn't even as good as those insurance salesmen trying to sell me policies, and you still want to brainwash me?

Fine, my cheap old man, the Yellow Flash, was an obedient White Fang.

Though he did not want to admit it, his old man had indeed risen to power through a woman...

"So amazing!"

Naruto's eyes sparkled.

"Alright, it's getting late. I should be leaving too."

Seeing Naruto's expression, Sarutobi Hiruzen knew the seed had been planted. He only needed to wait patiently for it to sprout.

"Wow! You're amazing!"

Kotentent looked at the bucket overflowing with fish, then at Naruto, drenched in sweat.

Her eyes shone as she looked at him with a hint of admiration.

"Big sister, can these fish pay off my debt?"

"Of course!"

"If you can catch that many fish every day from now on... hmm, I could even give you this fishing gear!"

Unexpectedly, Xiaotiantian was especially easygoing today.

She did not look like a little landlady at all.

"This is for you."

After saying goodbye to Kotentent, Naruto was about to leave.

But Tenten suddenly ran over.

She took out a small cake and stuffed it into Naruto's hand.

"This cake is really delicious."

As she said that, Kotentent could not help glancing at the cake again, her eyes full of reluctance.

But she quickly turned her head away.

"Consider it big sister's reward for catching so many fish."

After saying that, she did not care whether Naruto accepted it or not, and jogged away again.

Naruto stood there blankly for quite a while before finally taking the little cake home.

He unwrapped it and took a bite.

"So sweet. The flatbread smells nice, but that's only painted. What you can hold in your hand and eat is the real thing."

Over the following days, Naruto continued developing himself in secret.

In just half a month, he had grown around two centimeters taller and gained ten jin.

He no longer looked like a malnourished child.

At last... he looked like a normal kid.

Those half a month passed slowly.

Because winter had arrived.

The disaster brought by the Nine-Tails' Rampage had not ended with Fourth Hokage Minato's death.

On the contrary, that was when it truly began.

That day, Kumogakure sent an envoy to sign a peace treaty with Konoha. Then, that very night, they abducted the Byakugan Princess, young Hinata.

As a result, Hyuga Hiashi killed him with a single strike.

Kumogakure had merely tested Konoha, yet Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately caved.

In truth, Kumogakure at this time was nothing more than a paper tiger.

The other villages were not much better off.

And just like that, a scapegoat appeared.

Hizashi Hyuga had been born only a few minutes after his older brother.

Yet their fates were completely different.

All because he found his fate unfair, and his son's fate unfair.

Then he was ruthlessly suppressed by his own older brother.

He had not even moved. He had merely entertained a thought... but he was not even allowed to think it.

Then, after Sarutobi Hiruzen arrived, he acted like a loyal dog again... Did he not know he would die in his brother's place?

And he still had to put on that hypocritical act.

His death was probably meant to add another layer of protection for Neji.

Anyone who had watched it knew why Neji said so much during his fight with Naruto.

Was he interested?

No. When he fought Hinata, they were all family. When he fought Naruto, there were so many outsiders watching.

And then Hyuga Hiashi immediately knelt.

Neji, there were too many people outside just now...

The Hyūga Main Family had only a few members, while the Branch Family came batch after batch... like leeks waiting to be harvested.

The Caged Bird restricted the power of the bloodline.

At the same time, the Caged Bird existed to serve those few people of the Main Family.

That alone showed just how talented Neji was.

Unfortunately, he still ended up as a scapegoat.

But he took the place of the entire Hyūga Branch Family.

Unfortunately, the people who made all those grand promises never fulfilled them in the end.

Naruto looked at the snowflakes drifting past the window, a mocking smile curling across his lips.

"The Hyuga Clan, huh? Heh heh, there are plenty of interesting things there."

"If I remember correctly, the Caged Bird isn't 'x,' but 'manji.'"

"When Neji died, a bird happened to be stabbed through by the Planting Technique. How ironic. You say I'm a genius? Hahaha~"

"I rather like you, kid, so I won't feed you empty promises. As for Talk no Jutsu..."

Naruto rolled his eyes.

Should he go take a look at the level of Naruto's Talk no Jutsu in the original work?

And at Neji's Talk no Jutsu?

He was one of the few geniuses in the original work who actually made sense.

He had merely accepted his fate. Before the fight, he was a dead last. After the fight, he became a great landlord.

"Right, my cheap old man's guard... Shiranui Genma?"

Naruto thought back for a moment, then repeated:

"Hmph... as long as a captured bird is smart enough, it will use its own beak to open the cage door."

"Because it has not yet given up hope of soaring through the sky on its own."

Rude, unable to distinguish right from wrong, ignorant of reason, arrogant.

Of course, the most important thing was that Shiranui Genma's words reflected the views of many Konoha ninja.

"Konoha White Fang was quite an impressive man."

Turning his head, Naruto looked out the window.

"Hizashi Hyuga's corpse... the Byakugan?"

"No, I still don't have the strength to carry out the plan."

Though he was interested in Hizashi Hyuga's corpse, all he could do for now was stare helplessly.

Shaking his head, he walked out of the small house.

Night had fallen, and the snow clad the earth in a layer of armor.

"Uchiha Shisui died when Uchiha Sasuke was around five years old."

"Before his death, he gave Another Eye to Filial Son, then jumped into the river and killed himself."

"That river... connects to the Naka River and is near the Uchiha Clan Compound... I roughly know where it is now. I just need to wait downstream when the time comes."

"A necessary condition for carrying out the plan: Shadow Clone Technique—Wood Clone."

"Or develop my Devil Fruit ability to the point where its roots can directly spread across most of Konoha... For now, I should stop dreaming."

"Someone will soon bring me a method for refining Chakra."

"After all, I'm a Jinchuriki."

"Sarutobi Hiruzen has that 'Live Streaming Artifact.' He checks on me from time to time. So annoying."

The village was rather quiet today.

After all, someone from the Hyuga Clan had sacrificed himself for Konoha.

No matter what, the funeral had to put on a convincing show.

Tonight was one of the rare days when he could take a quiet stroll.

Naruto enjoyed this brief peace.

Suddenly, a petite figure entered his field of vision.

With her head lowered, she ran along the road, her little hands constantly rubbing her eyes as Little Pearl poured down without restraint.

As though it had been destined.

That petite figure eventually stopped not far in front of him.

She crouched down, curled herself into a ball, and kept sobbing.

Naruto walked over without saying anything, quietly waiting for her to finish crying.

After a while, the little girl finally cried enough.

She raised her head and looked around.

Wah... where am I? How do I get home? What should I do?

There she went again.

Helpless, Naruto could only take the initiative and speak to her.

"Still not done crying?"

Hearing a voice beside her, the short-haired girl immediately turned around.

She saw a child with deep blue eyes standing behind her.

"Don't just cry. Can't find your way home?"

Up close, she really was adorable.

White eyes, blue hair, and clothing that perfectly suited a Yamato Nadeshiko.

Fine, flirting with girls had to start young.

In that respect, he truly was exactly like his cheap old man.

"Mm..."

Seeing that she did not seem capable of communicating normally, Naruto asked directly:

"Where do you live?"

Little Hinata immediately shook her head, even flinging away some tears.

"No choice, then. I can only take you around and look for it."

"Come on."

With that, Naruto headed in the direction she had come from.

After taking a few steps, he realized Hinata was still crouching where she was.

"Not coming? Then I'm going home."

The moment he said that, Hinata hurriedly ran after him.

As for holding hands... damn it, she was only a little over three!

It would not have been a problem if he were the original Naruto.

But if he held her hand, heh.

Though Naruto did not take the initiative, Hinata clutched the corner of his clothes as though she had found a lifeline.

Before long, the two stopped at the gates of the Hyuga Clan.

Something about the atmosphere felt off, and Naruto did not intend to linger.

"You're home now, so go back inside. In weather this cold, don't run around alone again."

After saying that, Naruto waved and left.

Hinata kept watching his retreating figure until he vanished completely.