Let's Head to the Docks for Some Fries

Every problem in the ninja world could be traced back to one question: were ninjas even human?

But Hyuga Kiyonari had no time or inclination to investigate this philosophical question. The only thing on his mind right now was the script.

Of course, he couldn't just finish yelling and leave. It would be bad if he gave the kid some kind of psychological problem and the old Third Hokage came looking for him.

He took a deep breath and softened his tone. "What's your name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto." The boy timidly raised his head, looking a little dazed.

"My name is Hyuga Kiyonari. I don't believe that story about you being some kind of demon fox."

Kiyonari placed both hands on Naruto's shoulders and met his gaze. Calmly, he said, "Listen, you got thrown out, and I got hit. We're both victims. You don't owe me anything, and you don't owe anyone else anything. Take this money and go get yourself a good meal. Take the mask and go have some fun."

"Don't overthink it. Demon fox this, demon fox that— the meaning of life is to keep shit warm. Got it?"

Naruto stared at him with his mouth hanging open. After a long moment, he finally managed a single word: "Huh?"

"What do you mean, 'huh'?" Kiyonari furrowed his brows. "I asked if you understood."

"I-I understand."

"Louder!" Kiyonari suddenly raised his voice.

"I understand!" Naruto snapped upright, his booming voice drawing everyone on the street's attention.

"Good! That's the spirit!"

Kiyonari patted him on the shoulder, then turned and walked away, his good deed done in secret.

He rounded the corner with a steady gait, then, once he'd confirmed no one was around, immediately broke into a run toward the direction where the three had last appeared.

When he reached the place, they were long gone. Fortunately, an old woman selling dango was slowly packing up her stall nearby.

"Ma'am," Kiyonari said, approaching with feigned urgency. "Did you happen to see which way Ichiro and the other two went? I just heard someone say they were planning to do something bad..."

His reputation clearly preceded him. Before he could even finish, the old woman pointed him in the right direction.

The farther he went, the fewer people there were on the street. When Kiyonari passed an alley, the sight before him made his pupils contract sharply.

Three boys had Hinata cornered against a wall, pelting her with snowballs. Blue-violet hair was flecked with snow. She neither dodged nor flinched, only gazed at them with those pearly white eyes, looking past them.

More precisely, she was waiting for someone to show up.

"Hey, is that all the Byakugan freak can do?"

The ringleader, a boy named Ichiro, was getting bored with Hinata's lack of resistance. He could go even further with someone like her, right? It wasn't as if she'd dare tell anyone.

He grinned maliciously and picked up a pebble to pack into a freshly made snowball. But before he could throw it, a dull whoosh suddenly rang out.

"Thud!"

Ichiro screamed and fell face-first into the snow. The other two turned around in shock.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

Kiyonari's voice was colder than the snow. These were only lines from the script, but the anger churning in his chest was real.

Konoha really was a "land of exceptional people"!

"Bastard!"

The two remaining boys shouted and lunged at him, claws and fists flying.

Kiyonari slipped past the first boy's punch, grabbed his wrist, and twisted. As the boy screamed, Kiyonari kicked at the other one's knee.

When Kiyonari was angry, his arms moved at the perfect angle, his blows landed with brutal force, and his punches packed a punch. Six punches a second wasn't his limit—it was the limit of your eyes' resolution.

So you liked bullying people? You liked putting rocks in snowballs?!

The script only said, "Hyuga Kiyonari gave them a thorough beating." As long as he stayed within the bounds of a beating, he could do whatever he wanted. He punched them again and again, only stopping once all three were too exhausted to keep crying and wailing. Then he let out a long breath.

Now that felt right.

"If I catch you doing anything bad again, I'll beat you every time I see you!"

"Yes, yes!"

Ichiro's head wriggled repeatedly in the snowdrift. He was clearly trying very hard to nod.

Kiyonari stepped over the three boys sprawled on the ground and stopped in front of Hinata, meeting her tear-bright eyes.

He'd rehearsed this scene in his mind dozens of times, but at that very moment, his heart still betrayed his composure, beating faster in his chest.

"Pleased to meet you, Lady Hinata." Kiyonari bowed slightly.

Hinata's pupils trembled faintly. Kiyonari could clearly see the complex emotions roiling in her eyes. In a way, she hadn't wanted him to show up at all.

"I know you..." She finally pushed all her thoughts aside and spoke softly. "You're the only one who'd give me a notebook and red bean cakes for my birthday."

Kiyonari looked suitably embarrassed. "I'm very sorry. I don't have much money, so I could only choose inexpensive gifts. But the shopkeeper said those were the most popular ones..."

As Hinata looked at the boy her age standing before her—not even a Genin—her last doubts vanished. How could an ordinary boy like him have anything to do with that mysterious Life Simulator?

"Would you like me to walk you home?" he suddenly suggested.

Hinata shook her head. "No... Would you walk with me for a while?"

As soon as she spoke, the corner of Kiyonari's mouth lifted almost imperceptibly. Everything was going according to the script.

He naturally took a step forward and brushed the remaining snow from her hair. The gesture instantly carried him past the usual boundaries of personal space, close enough for his fingertips to feel the warmth of her body.

The intimate zone of the social distance threshold defined by psychology ranged from 0.15 to 0.45 meters.

Now, there was barely thirty centimeters between them. Kiyonari entered that space without hesitation, but Hinata didn't refuse.

"Actually, this isn't the first time we've met." Kiyonari's voice suddenly grew soft, as if he were sharing a secret with a friend.

"Was it at that banquet?"

"No, even earlier. Neji and I are good friends. Before the banquet started, I grabbed him and secretly went to see you."

Hinata's lips parted slightly as she realized. "So I wasn't imagining it. I really did feel someone watching me then."

"You have keen senses, Lady Hinata. If you'd caught us, Neji would've blushed bright red."

"So Neji really has that side to him?"

After brushing away the last flecks of snow, Kiyonari stepped back half a pace and raised his left hand like a knight. "Shall we go, Your Highness?"

Hinata hesitated for a moment, then gently placed her right hand in his.

The instant her cold fingertips touched Kiyonari's palm, a snowflake happened to land on the back of her hand. The two completely opposite sensations made her hold her breath.

"Come, my knight."