Hinata finished speaking, then froze. She was already standing on the water.
Naruto had made his move.
His enormous chakra spread across the water, forming a platform for the two of them to stand on.
Just as Hinata was about to say something, red chakra enveloped her.
Warm, comfortable, safe.
It was Naruto's chakra, his own chakra.
Normally, Naruto's chakra was dangerous. But now it carried his feelings, so how could it ever hurt the little Hinata he loved?
"Is this Naruto's chakra? It's so warm." Hinata could also feel the feelings it carried: a desire to protect sweet little Hinata, and affection for her.
Hinata's face flushed, though the red chakra wrapped around her so completely that no one could see it.
But Naruto could feel how happy she was through his chakra.
For a moment, the two of them were lost in the wonderful feeling of being connected heart to heart.
"Ahem."
Just then, a cough shattered the moment.
Hinata jumped and hurriedly took a few steps back. Fortunately, Naruto's chakra was enveloping her, so she didn't have to keep her balance herself. Otherwise, she would surely have fallen into the water.
Naruto's face twitched, and he seethed with annoyance. If that cough hadn't interrupted them, he and Hinata would have kissed just now.
He turned around with a murderous glare and saw that Uchiha Sasuke had woken up.
Naruto was speechless. He should have hit him harder earlier.
Ignoring Sasuke, he led Hinata downstream.
"Naruto."
Hinata spoke softly.
"Ahem, I almost forgot why we came here. I was supposed to bring you here to train."
Naruto came back to himself and scratched his head awkwardly. He hadn't expected little Hinata to affect him like that, though it didn't seem so bad. Having a childhood friend like her was much better than secretly pining for someone.
Hinata was embarrassed too.
The atmosphere between them was awkward now, and the Chakra Cloak around Hinata's body returned to her.
"Let's call it a day. Hinata, help me catch a few fish using Tenketsu Strike." Though Naruto wanted to lose himself in this gentle moment, he hadn't forgotten why he'd asked Hinata to come.
Hinata looked confused.
Naruto didn't explain. He formed a Chakra Needle with his finger and shot it at a fish on the riverbed.
The fish immediately floated to the surface, belly-up.
"This will help you control it. Give it a try." After speaking, Naruto let go of Hinata and stepped back to watch her.
Hinata didn't understand, but if Naruto wanted her to grow stronger, she would give it her all. She also wanted to protect him. Resolving herself, she began experimenting, following Naruto's demonstration.
The Chakra Needle was difficult for most people, but it was simple for members of the Hyuga Clan. Still, it was her first attempt, and Hinata failed several times.
Naruto didn't rush her. He watched, mainly because he wanted to see which path suited Hinata best.
After an unknown number of tries, they finally succeeded.
Meanwhile, Sasuke woke up groggily, unsure how long he'd been asleep. When he came to, his neck was burning with pain.
He opened his eyes and saw Naruto and Hinata training in the distance.
Sasuke suddenly remembered what had happened earlier and felt annoyed. How could this dead-last be so strong?
As Sasuke watched Naruto train and started to walk over to ask him about it, he suddenly sensed something was wrong. His expression changed. He'd lost more than half his chakra. That wasn't normal.
Naruto ignored him. Once he felt they'd trained enough, he arranged to continue practicing with him another time, then went home.
Why hadn't he walked Hinata home? Naruto wanted to, but he was carrying something, and it was better for them to cool off a little first.
When he got home, Naruto frowned.
"What's going on? The Root is watching me again. What's Danzo's problem?" Naruto couldn't figure out what he'd done lately to upset Danzo. Why was he suddenly keeping an eye on him again?
He thought it over, then let it go. If they wanted to watch, they could. Naruto was perfectly well-behaved on the surface, after all.
After dinner, Naruto looked at the sealing formula in Sealing Space and frowned.
If he remembered correctly, Minato's chakra was inside. As Hokage, Minato had known many ninjutsu, and Naruto had always liked Flying Thunder God. If he could meet him now, he could get out of his current predicament.
But after thinking it over, he decided against it. It wasn't worth calling Minato out over something so minor.
More importantly, the Nine-Tails was watching him like a hawk.
Just as Naruto and the Nine-Tails were chatting amiably, both of them frowned.
"Kid, did you offend someone?" The Nine-Tails looked at Naruto helplessly.
"Looks like this is never going to end." Naruto didn't answer. He simply disappeared.
In the room, Naruto opened his eyes.
"Uzumaki Naruto, come with us. The higher-ups want to see you," the black-clad man in front of him said without a hint of emotion.
"Can I ask which big shot wants to see me?" Naruto paused, then asked with a frown.
"You don't need to know. You'll find out when we get there. Come with us."
This time, they'd sent Jonin—two of them, no less. That was troublesome.
"I'm not going out this late." Naruto didn't bother arguing. He lay down on the bed and went to sleep.
"This isn't a choice. It's an order." Before Naruto could react, the man used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside the bed and struck his shoulder with the edge of his hand. He hoisted Naruto over his shoulder and disappeared.
Naruto was speechless. He'd bullied Uchiha Sasuke that afternoon, and now they were after him that very night.
The two men raced through the dark streets, while Naruto kept his senses open the whole time.
"Let's do it here." They didn't return to Root Base. They'd been lying to Naruto earlier. In a dead-end alley, Naruto's eyes turned cold. Since Danzo still hadn't learned his lesson, Naruto would teach him another.
Naruto, who had been riding on the man's back, struck without warning. His hand pierced the man's neck, and bright red blood trickled slowly from his fingertips.
The other man reacted at once and hurriedly retreated, but it was already too late. At some point, Naruto had already caught him. His hair coiled around the man. He tried to use the Substitution Technique, but his chakra was being absorbed.
"You're not Uzumaki Naruto. Who are you?" he cried in terror.
"Who knows?" Naruto's voice was icy, his tone dripping with unconcealed mockery.
Before the man could say anything else, Naruto gave him no chance. Another fox head appeared behind him and swallowed both men whole. The two vanished from the world.
After killing them by catching them off guard, Naruto checked his surroundings and left, returning to his room without a sound.