Love Is Like a Tornado

The sunset was a fiery red.

When the butcher handed him a bag full of beef, Naruto naturally reached out to take it.

Hinata pursed her lips, took out a wallet embroidered with the Hyuga clan crest, and pulled out four one-thousand Ryo notes from a thick stack of bills to pay.

Naruto remembered where Hinata lived.

When he was three years old, he had nothing to do in the middle of the night and went out for a walk in the heavy snow. He happened to run into Hinata, who was lost and crying in the snow, and took her home.

It was a large mansion outside the village, in the same direction he was heading.

"Classmate Hinata, thank you," Naruto said sincerely. "Can I walk you home?"

Hinata's mouth opened slightly, as if she wanted to speak, but she didn't. She nodded gently.

The two walked towards the outskirts of the village, bathed in the afterglow of the sunset, the streets behind them gradually darkening.

Naruto talked a lot, while Hinata's replies were few and far between, mostly nods and shakes of the head, but she always responded to every question.

When they reached the old apartment building, Naruto said, "I'll go up and put this away. Wait for me for a bit."

Hinata said, "Classmate Naruto, you should go home and cook. I can get back by myself."

Naruto shook his head firmly, "Wait for me."

With that, he darted up the iron staircase on the side of the apartment building.

Hinata watched Naruto's retreating figure, feeling happy about being rich for the first time.

Five minutes later, Naruto came down, still holding a folded letter in his left hand, on which were drawn two frogs, one green and one red.

The attentive Hinata noticed it at a glance, her Byakugan trembling uncontrollably.

Could it be, a love... love letter!

She panicked, a panic she had never felt before. Her face flushed, heat spreading from her neck to her ears.

She didn't even remember when Naruto called her to leave, how she crossed the bridge, or arrived outside her own courtyard.

Standing beneath the black-tiled wall, Naruto handed the letter to Hinata, saying a little sheepishly:

"This is my first time writing one. If there's anything wrong, point it out, and I'll change it right away."

Hinata took the letter with almost trembling hands, shaking her head repeatedly.

She was almost suffocating. She waved her hands vigorously and turned to run home.

Naruto called out anxiously, "Classmate Hinata! Look at it first! You haven't answered me yet!"

"I... I accept!!"

Hinata found even the gate too far, so she directly leaped over the wall, clutching the letter to her chest and gasping for breath against the wall.

She felt her heart pounding out of her chest and didn't dare to open the letter with the frogs on it.

At this moment, Naruto's voice came from outside the wall again: "Then I'll wait for you here!"

A tingly sensation spread through every bone in Hinata's body, making her want to jump and dance, to release her surging emotions in any way that would free her body.

A date? Are we going on a date now?

She looked at the sky, which had already darkened. Her strict upbringing made her refuse Naruto for the first time, "It's too late today! No! How about tomorrow afternoon!"

Naruto thought about it and agreed. Such things should be approved by parents. "See you tomorrow!"

With that, he left.

However, this loud conversation across the wall attracted a middle-aged man in a kimono who was practicing the Gentle Fist in the courtyard.

The man also possessed the Byakugan, his features stern and well-defined, his long black hair cascading over his shoulders.

As if doused with cold water, Hinata clutched the letter tightly and said, "Father."

The man was Hyuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuga clan's main family and Hinata's father.

Hyuga Hiashi reached out his hand, "Give it to me."

Hinata had always been obedient and well-behaved, but now she showed a look of resistance, yet she couldn't voice her objection.

Hyuga Hiashi frowned, his arm blurred, and he snatched the letter from Hinata before she could react.

Opening it, he saw two large characters – IOU.

Amount to be borrowed: 100,000 Ryo.

Next were the marked date, location, and borrower.

A message at the end.

"Classmate Hinata, thank you very much, but I can't take your beef for free. This money is also included in the loan. Three months, I will definitely return it with principal and interest. -- Uzumaki Naruto."

Hyuga Hiashi breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought his daughter was getting into a premature relationship.

As the eldest daughter of the Hyuga clan, Hinata had to maintain bloodline purity and would marry someone within the clan who had activated the Byakugan bloodline in the future.

He muttered "Uzumaki Naruto," and a surge of energy erupted from his palm, tearing the letter to shreds.

"Go inside. You are forbidden from contacting this boy anymore."

Hinata's pupils instantly dimmed; she knew there was no way she could defy her father.

The spark of love that had just ignited was extinguished before it could even begin.

She spoke in a tone honed by years of training, mechanical and flat, "I promised Naruto classmate I'd see him tomorrow. Please apologize for me, Father."

"I will handle it," Hyuga Hiashi said coldly. "Go inside!"

Night fell, and servants lit the stone lanterns in the courtyard.

Hinata silently crossed the lawn, following the marble path into the solemn mansion with its black glazed tiles and double-eaved hip-and-gable roof.

Hyuga Hiashi naturally knew all about Naruto's identity and had heard of his poor character.

But he hadn't expected the brat to be so greedy for money, setting his sights on his own daughter.

Money could be given, but he had to stay far away from his daughter!

The next day, a farm east of the village.

The three members of Team Seven dug sweet potatoes in silence, while Kakashi lay under a tree, reading that damned Icha Icha Paradise.

Because the field was so large, Sasuke and Haruno Sakura dug with exceptional effort, viewing it as a process of self-discipline.

Kakashi, like a supervisor, would occasionally get up and shout things like "Speed up," "Control," or "Wrap the sweet potatoes in Chakra" when he got bored of reading.

By the end of the morning, all the sweet potatoes were packed into crates by the three of them and moved into a shed.

The farm owner, a Chunin, praised Kakashi profusely, saying as he signed the mission scroll, "Your three subordinates are efficient workers. I'll call you again next time."

Back at the mission assignment hall.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Iruka were on duty today. A banner hung below the reception desk, reading--Everyone, please do your best!

Kakashi finished the handover. Hiruzen Sarutobi, puffing on his pipe, picked up the D-rank mission scroll and scanned it with his eyes moving up and down.

Seeing it was the Third Hokage, Naruto immediately stepped forward and slapped the table. "Hokage-sama, I want a higher-level mission."

Hiruzen Sarutobi blinked in surprise.

He's not even calling me Grandpa anymore...

Iruka slammed his hands on the table and shouted, "Naruto! Don't be ridiculous! New ninjas must gain experience through simple missions!"

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi placed a hand on Iruka's shoulder. "Alright, I'll assign you a C-rank mission."

Naruto smiled, and Sasuke smiled too.

"Hokage-sama!" Iruka still wanted to object.

Hiruzen Sarutobi said with certainty, "I have already decided."

Ever since he had spoken with Naruto, he had spent an hour every day observing his life.

Naruto didn't go around telling everyone his father was the Fourth Hokage, nor did he exhibit any vengeful rage or outbursts. He continued to live his life as usual.

This made Hiruzen Sarutobi's guilt grow even heavier.

He pulled out the highest-paying C-rank mission available, worth 80,000 Ryo, and handed it over.

Kakashi took it and read it carefully.

High-paying low-level missions like this were rare. After all, 80,000 Ryo was enough to commission a B-rank mission, and clients generally chose the lower end of higher-level missions.

Only clients who were truly unable to afford it, having exhausted all their resources, would offer such an unusual sum.

These missions often required careful attention and could not be treated lightly.

After noting all the information, Kakashi opened his "dead fish eyes" and said, "The mission is to protect the bridge-building expert Tazuna from the Land of Waves until the cross-sea bridge is completed."

"Disperse and go home. Pack your belongings, and we'll gather at the Konohagakure gate at 7 AM tomorrow morning."

"Yes," Sasuke and Haruno Sakura replied, and followed Kakashi out of the hall.

Naruto didn't rush to leave. "Iruka-sensei, has Team Eight's mission been assigned today?"

"No," Iruka replied, puzzled. In his impression, Naruto had no particular interactions with those three from the noble clans. "What do you want?"

"I'm waiting for Hinata classmate," Naruto said, full of anticipation, waiting for Hinata's arrival.

Haruno Sakura turned her head as if shocked, glanced at Naruto, then quickly looked forward again.