Hinata Hyuga

Naruto Uzumaki did not know whether tomorrow or an accident would arrive first.

Therefore, the only thing he could truly rely on was his own strength.

However, three years old was an age too early to even refine chakra; there was not much he could do.

After much thought, the only thing he could do was train his body.

The body is the foundation of everything; whether it be ninjutsu, taijutsu, or genjutsu, no matter what type of ninja one is, possessing a strong body offers tremendous benefits.

Conversely, one would at most be a specialist, and specialists... do not go far.

In a secluded alley, three bratty kids were surrounding Hinata and bullying her.

"Hey, is this the Byakugan?"

"Oi, your eyes look so disgusting. You must be a Byakugan monster."

"Let's all attack together and drive the Byakugan monster away."

The brats laughed, ignorant and fearless; having never been beaten down by society, they did not understand the concept of the Hyuga clan's prestige and dared to bully even the young lady of the Hyuga family.

If their parents were here, they would likely have been terrified into kneeling and begging for forgiveness.

"I... I am not..."

Feeling wronged, pitiful, and helpless, Hinata had tears in the corners of her eyes. She stammered for a long time without being able to say a complete sentence before collapsing into the snow.

Instantly, her tears flowed more freely, and the laughter of the brats grew even more joyful.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The laughter came to an abrupt halt as three snowballs slammed heavily into the faces of the brats, turning their faces red.

Who was it?!

The brats looked over in anger to see Naruto Uzumaki, who had been passing by while running.

"Are you not going to get lost yet?"

As he spoke, Naruto threw three more snowballs in quick succession.

The brats were furious. What an arrogant kid; did he not know this street was their territory?

Just as they were about to make a move.

One of the brats noticed the six whisker-like marks on Naruto's cheeks and, recalling the warnings from the adults at home, his expression turned to one of extreme terror.

"Wait, don't... don't go, he... he is the Demon Fox!"

Reminded, the other two brats also recognized Naruto.

"Waaah! It really is the Demon Fox! Run, don't let the Demon Fox eat us!"

They dared to bully a "fake" Byakugan monster, but upon meeting the "real Demon Fox," the three brats screamed in terror and turned to run.

They even tripped several times because they were so scared.

But they dared not stop for a moment; wiping their noses, they immediately scrambled back up and continued running.

"..."

No way, have the rumors in the village become this exaggerated? They are even worse than in the original timeline.

But thinking about it carefully, it was not strange. In the original timeline, Naruto was a trash can for the villagers of Konoha to vent their negative emotions, but the current Naruto stood his ground against the unruly mob.

Not only could they not vent their negative emotions, but they actually increased them, along with the bumps on their heads.

Which one was more annoying went without saying.

But it didn't matter!

It was just the opinion of a bunch of unruly people; I couldn't care less.

Collecting his thoughts, Naruto cast his gaze toward Hinata.

He saw that Hinata had stood up at some point and was tiptoeing away secretly.

"What are you doing?"

Thump!

Hinata fell again, looking completely weak and trembling as she sat on the ground.

"Don't... don't eat me."

"..."

If it weren't for the fact that you might be my future wife, I would have punched you to teach you what politeness is.

After spending over ten minutes, Naruto finally made the little girl understand that he did not eat people, that he was not the Demon Fox, and that the lies told by those brats could not be trusted.

"I'm leaving. See you if there's a chance."

Waving his hand, he prepared to continue his run.

The next moment, he turned his head speechlessly, looking at Hinata, who was tightly gripping the corner of his clothes and refusing to let him go.

"Something up?"

"I..."

Hinata's expression was hesitant and aggrieved, tears swirling in her eyes, but she just couldn't get the words out.

Naruto Uzumaki was dying of impatience for her, his tone sharpening slightly: "If you have something to say, just say it, will you?"

As soon as he finished, Hinata's tears came pouring down, making her even more unable to speak.

Why was she crying? Was it really that serious?

Naruto Uzumaki was dumbfounded, suddenly realizing a truth—girls are a very troublesome species, and one must be extremely cautious when raising them!

For the sake of his future wife, Naruto Uzumaki spent over ten minutes comforting Hinata and finally learned the reason she didn't want him to leave.

"You got lost? You wanted me to help you find your way... getting lost even with the Byakugan, that's a first."

Giving Hinata a subtle look, Naruto Uzumaki had to admit.

Although his future wife was beautiful, came from a prestigious family, had a great figure, and was devoted to "him" heart and soul.

But... she was truly useless, and useless in an outstanding way at that, completely wasting a pair of high-purity Byakugan.

Hinata lowered her head in shame, her face turning bright red.

She didn't want to be this way, but... there was no helping it; if she couldn't do it, she just couldn't.

With a sigh, Naruto Uzumaki patted Hinata on the shoulder and said earnestly.

"Hinata, you have to work hard and strive for progress, otherwise, how will you be worthy of me in the future?"

"You should know that the future isn't set in stone. I can't even say for sure if I'll marry you; I can only say you have the highest probability."

"But don't get arrogant!"

"Being the canon pairing isn't a cure-all. Don't rely on your status as the canon pairing to just lie flat and be lazy. If you don't work hard, even the canon pairing can disappear or shift..."

"Alright, that's enough for now. Take my hand, I'll see you home."

The Hyuga compound.

"The young mistress has returned."

The clansmen who had gone out to search for Hinata approached Hiashi to report the details.

The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? How did Hinata come into contact with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?

Hiashi couldn't help but frown. For a great clan like the Hyuga, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was a very troublesome figure; they had always made it a point to avoid contact whenever possible.

Just like a while ago, after the Uchiha had a small interaction with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, they were immediately warned by the Third Hokage.

The mistakes of the past are the lessons for the future; the Hyuga could not afford to repeat those errors.

Especially since the timing was sensitive lately; if Konoha were to misunderstand and think the Hyuga were dissatisfied or harboring ulterior motives regarding the Nine-Tails, that would be bad.

Thinking of this, Hiashi couldn't help but clench his fists, feeling deeply stifled inside.

It was clearly the Hyuga who had suffered the heavy loss, yet now... now...

Sigh, Hizashi...

"Father."

Hinata had changed into a small kimono and walked up to Hiashi to greet him.

Looking at Hinata, Hiashi remained silent for a moment before saying slowly: "Hinata, tell me what happened while you were out."

Hinata nodded weakly and began to recount the events slowly.

Upon hearing that his daughter had been bullied by some bratty kids, Hiashi felt a surge of annoyance.

It was directed at the bratty kids, but even more so at Hinata.

Too cowardly!

As the dignified eldest daughter of the Hyuga main branch, she was actually bullied by a group of ordinary little brats; it was simply a disgrace.

Seeing her father's ugly expression, Hinata was too scared to speak.

This demeanor only made the old father angrier. With such timidity, how could she shoulder the heavy responsibilities of the clan in the future?

Taking a deep breath, Hiashi suppressed his anger and said as calmly as possible: "Continue, and focus on... how you met the boy who brought you home."

"...Yes, Father..."

But she subconsciously left out a few things...