Naruto, We're Quite Alike

"You're seriously such a despicable jerk!"

Konoha, Ichiraku Ramen.

Naruto wolfed down his noodles with his head lowered while complaining to Hyuga Makoto beside him.

"You said you'd train me, but then you ate so much of my ramen and disappeared right afterward. How could you do something like that?"

"Tch. A mission came up out of nowhere. What's the point of complaining to me?"

Hyuga Makoto sat beside him and scratched his ear, his face full of disdain.

"If you've got what it takes, go complain to Hokage-sama!"

"..."

Naruto was eating noodles when he heard that and nearly choked.

He hadn't actually meant to complain. Although he really didn't pay much attention in class as the dead last, he still knew that as a shinobi, missions naturally took priority when one came up.

After thinking for a moment, he spoke softly.

"Hey, nothing went wrong when you went out this time, right?"

"Huh?"

Hyuga Makoto froze for a moment before laughing helplessly.

"Please, could you wish me a little better? If something had really gone wrong, would I still be here?"

"True..."

"Instead of worrying about me, you should take a look at yourself. With how useless you are, maybe I'll have to burn paper money for you someday."

"..."

"Oh, right. You're already the dead last. Whether you can even graduate is still up in the air."

"Bastard!!"

Naruto really couldn't take it anymore. He had met plenty of bastards, but he had never met one as shameless as this.

"I'll definitely graduate, and I'll definitely become Hokage!"

"Oh."

Hyuga Makoto merely nodded indifferently, then shrugged nonchalantly.

"Three Hokage-sama have already come and gone. One more won't make a difference."

"..."

Naruto fell silent. He really wanted to ask himself why he had met such a bastard.

But he had to admit one thing. Although he rarely saw this bastard during his daily life, this bastard's attitude toward him really was different from everyone else's.

He had taken Naruto home when he was little and helped him deal with some other little bastards, although that had all been because of Hinata...

But even without Hinata, this bastard had never distanced himself from Naruto because of his reputation as the "Demon Fox."

He just liked messing with Naruto far too much...

"Hey, Makoto."

After a while, little Naruto raised his head and looked curiously at Hyuga Makoto.

"Why does it seem like you're not afraid of me?"

"Huh?"

Hyuga Makoto was confused. He rubbed his chin and asked in return,

"Why should I be afraid of you?"

"There are so many... so many bad things people say in the village... You..."

"Are you one of them?"

"Of course not, but..."

"Then that's all that matters. Why are you thinking so much?"

Seeing Naruto like this, Hyuga Makoto couldn't help shaking his head.

This kid was only seven years old, after all. Many of his beliefs and ideas were not yet as firmly established as they had been in Makoto's memories.

In fact, even the thirteen-year-old Naruto from his memories had been confused and helpless at times, let alone the Naruto of now.

Thinking of this, Hyuga Makoto leaned against the table and spoke with a smile.

"I don't know what other people say. In my eyes, you're just a silly but somewhat kind little brat."

"I'm not silly..."

Naruto pouted, but his eyes flickered.

"Kind?"

"Yeah. At least, that's how I see you."

Hyuga Makoto nodded. More than kind, he even suspected that Asura Chakra had influenced Naruto a little too much.

But no matter what, the Naruto in his memories had always been like that.

And if his guess was right, the entire Konoha populace should kneel and kowtow in gratitude...

"A three-year-old kid grows up in an environment like this, yet still wants to help whenever he sees someone in trouble. Isn't that kindness?"

"Kind..."

Naruto pressed his lips together, but his eyes seemed to sparkle.

It was the first time anyone had described him that way. It was also the first time Hyuga Makoto had told him why he didn't dislike him, and why he would even help him.

Suddenly, Naruto felt something strange.

It seemed that someone had acknowledged him!

"Thanks, Big Brother Makoto..."

"Enough. Hurry up and eat. The noodles are going to get cold."

Looking at Naruto, Hyuga Makoto smiled and patted the little boy on the shoulder. Then he seemed to think of something else.

"Speaking of which, you and I are somewhat alike."

"Eh?! How are we alike?"

Naruto was instantly delighted, while Hyuga Makoto let out a faint sigh.

"We're both monsters. You're a fox demon, and I'm a Byakugan monster."

"Ha..."

"Besides that, neither of us has a family!"

"..."

Naruto's face turned green. He felt that he probably shouldn't have been moved just now.

This guy was a pure, unadulterated bastard!

"All right, take your time eating. I'll pay for you."

Hyuga Makoto didn't seem to care. He patted Naruto on the shoulder again and stood up.

"Also, don't worry about those rumors. You're you—the dead last who dreams of becoming Hokage. Keep working hard, Naruto Uzumaki."

With that, Hyuga Makoto turned and left.

All that remained was Naruto sitting there in a daze, watching his departing back.

"You really are a bastard..."

After a long while, Naruto couldn't help muttering softly. He was cursing him, but a smile had appeared on his face...

Hyuga Makoto didn't return directly after leaving. He found a suitable place and created a Shadow Clone.

After arranging for the Shadow Clone to return, he turned and headed toward the place where Shisui was hiding.

"Makoto, you're here?"

In a cave in a valley near the Uchiha Clan Compound, Uchiha Shisui seemed to sense something and raised his head.

"Yeah, it's me."

Hyuga Makoto walked in slowly. After looking Shisui over, he spoke.

"Looks like you've recovered pretty well."

Although Uchiha Shisui had been implanted with his Chakra Ball, Hyuga Makoto had discovered that as long as he didn't actively control or interfere with it, Shisui still retained his own thoughts and reasoning.

Only his will was completely inclined toward Makoto!

The effect satisfied him greatly. After all, a puppet that couldn't think and required him to control every little thing was truly of little use or value.

"It's all thanks to you saving me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have recovered."

Shisui spoke softly, then hesitated before asking,

"But I wanted to ask you something. How are the Uchiha doing now...?"

"..."

Hyuga Makoto rolled his eyes. This was the downside of not controlling him.

"The Uchiha are relatively quiet for now. After all, they think you committed suicide, and that dealt a heavy blow to their morale."

"Looks like what I did had some effect after all."

Shisui smiled, apparently quite pleased with the result, but Hyuga Makoto found it difficult to keep a straight face.

He had tried asking Shisui why he had committed suicide instead of telling Hiruzen Sarutobi the truth.

But the moment he did, Shisui's whole body began trembling, and his mind seemed to spiral out of control. That made Makoto afraid to ask any further.

Still, he felt that Shisui had chosen suicide mainly because he feared exposing the matter would give the Uchiha an excuse to start a war.

And because his Sharingan had been taken, the other Shinobi Clans might lean toward a more conservative stance, which would cause even greater harm to Konoha.

Besides, the situation outside the village was hardly stable. No matter how things ended for the Uchiha, Konoha would undoubtedly suffer heavy losses, giving outside forces an opportunity.

As for whether that was truly the reason, he couldn't be bothered to guess. He didn't care about the outcome anyway. All he wanted were talented people!

"Enough about that. I'm going to replace your eyes."

Shaking his head, Hyuga Makoto took out a scroll and walked over. Shisui was somewhat surprised.

"Eyes?"

"Yeah. Sharingan, obtained from outside the village."

"Outside the village?!"

"That's right. Also, we'll relocate once you've finished the transplant."

Hyuga Makoto didn't explain further. They really did need to move.

This place was in the Uchiha's autonomous territory. Although they didn't have to worry about barriers, the Uchiha had been searching for Shisui's corpse the entire time.

Staying here was not a good choice, especially since he remembered that Uchiha Obito would contact Uchiha Itachi in the future.

If we're discovered, things could get troublesome...

Hyuga Makoto helped Shisui replace his eyes while thinking to himself.

Although his Medical Ninjutsu knowledge had only been skimmed a few times, he had strangely found it exceptionally easy to learn.

It seemed that as long as something wasn't related to Chakra attributes, he could learn it with ease!

"Could this be a matter of bloodline?"

Hyuga Makoto was somewhat curious, but he couldn't be bothered to think about it any further.

As he watched Shisui adapt to his new eyes, he shifted his attention to Kakashi's Yin Release.

He had been back for so long. It was time to check his gains!

But...

The instant he guided this portion of Yin Release into his body, his expression turned rather strange...