Nine-Tails: Did You Offend Someone?

Hinata finished speaking, only to be stunned to find herself already standing on the surface of the water.

Naruto had made his move.

A massive amount of chakra formed a platform directly upon the water, and the two of them stood upon it.

Just as Hinata was about to say something, a surge of red chakra enveloped her body.

Warm, comfortable, safe.

This was Naruto's chakra—his very own essence.

Ordinarily, Naruto's chakra was quite dangerous, but now, it carried the weight of his intentions, so how could it ever harm his beloved little Hinata?

So this is Naruto's chakra? It's so warm. At the same time, Hinata sensed the intent woven into that chakra: a desire to protect his adorable Hinata, a fondness for her.

This caused Hinata's face to flush a deep red, though it was completely hidden by the red chakra shroud wrapping around her.

However, Naruto could already feel Hinata's happiness through the chakra.

For a moment, both of them were immersed in this wondrous feeling of hearts connected as one.

"Ahem."

Just then, a cough shattered their shared state of mind.

Hinata jumped in fright and hurriedly stepped back; fortunately, she was still enveloped in Naruto's chakra and didn't need to maintain her own balance, otherwise, she surely would have fallen into the water.

Naruto's face twitched, and he felt a surge of irritation in his heart, for if not for that cough, he and Hinata would have kissed just now.

He couldn't help but turn his head fiercely, only to discover that it was Second Pillar who had woken up.

He was instantly speechless, wishing he had hit him a little harder earlier.

Ignoring Second Pillar, he took Hinata's hand and walked downstream.

"Naruto."

Hinata whispered softly.

"Ahem, I almost forgot the main point. I originally brought you here to train."

Naruto snapped back to reality and scratched his head in embarrassment; he hadn't expected to be so affected by little Hinata, though it seemed quite nice—this kind of childhood sweetheart dynamic was far better than harboring a secret crush.

Hinata felt rather awkward as well.

The atmosphere between the two was very stiff now, and the chakra cloak on Hinata's body retreated back into her.

"Let's call it a day for now. Hinata, help me catch a few fish using your gentle fist techniques." Although he wanted to indulge in this tender moment, Naruto hadn't forgotten why he had sought Hinata out.

Hinata looked a bit confused.

Naruto didn't say much; he condensed a needle of chakra at his fingertip and shot it at a fish at the bottom of the river.

Instantly, the fish floated to the surface, belly up.

"This is good for control. You try it too." After saying this, Naruto let go of Hinata, stepped back a few paces, and observed her.

Hinata didn't quite understand, but if Naruto wanted her to become stronger, she would give it her all. Besides, she also wanted to protect Naruto. Having made up her mind, she began to experiment, following Naruto's demonstration.

A chakra needle was difficult for others, but for the Hyuga clan, it was quite simple. However, because it was her first attempt, Hinata failed several times.

Naruto wasn't in a hurry; he was observing, mainly to see which direction suited Hinata best.

Finally, after countless attempts, they succeeded.

As for Sasuke, he was dazed and didn't know how long he had been asleep; when he woke up, he felt a burning pain in his neck.

Opening his eyes, he saw Naruto and Hinata training in the distance.

Sasuke immediately remembered what had just happened and felt a surge of anger. Why is this dead-last so strong?

Just as Sasuke, watching Naruto train, thought about walking over to ask him something, he suddenly sensed his own condition and his expression changed—his chakra was more than half gone. This wasn't normal.

Naruto ignored him. Feeling that it was about time, he agreed to continue training with her when they had the chance and headed home.

As for why he didn't walk Hinata home, Naruto wanted to, but his hands were full, and it was better for them both to cool down for a bit given the current situation.

Upon returning home, Naruto frowned.

What's going on? Root is monitoring me again. What kind of madness has possessed Danzo? Naruto was very puzzled; had he done something recently to annoy Danzo? Why was he suddenly targeting him again?

He thought about it and decided to let it go; if they wanted to watch, let them watch. Naruto was, on the surface, acting very obediently anyway.

After eating, Naruto frowned as he looked at the sealing talisman in the Sealing Space.

If he remembered correctly, Minato's chakra was inside. As the Hokage, Minato knew many ninjutsu, and the Flying Thunder God was one Naruto quite liked. If he could meet him now, he might be able to break through his current awkward situation.

However, after thinking about it, he decided against it. It wasn't worth summoning Minato for such a trivial matter.

Most importantly, Nine-Tails was lurking, waiting for an opportunity.

Just as Naruto and Nine-Tails were chatting happily, both the boy and the fox frowned at the same time.

"Kid, did you offend someone?" Nine-Tails looked at Naruto, speechless.

"Looks like it's never-ending." Naruto didn't answer and vanished instantly.

Naruto Uzumaki opened his eyes in the room.

"Naruto Uzumaki, come with us. The higher-ups wish to see you," the man in black before him said, his voice devoid of emotion.

"May I ask which big shot wants to see me?" Naruto paused, frowning as he asked.

"That is not for you to know. You will see when you arrive. Come with us."

The ones who appeared this time were Jonin, and there were two of them; this was going to be troublesome.

"I don't go out this late." Naruto stopped wasting words, lay back down on his bed, and went to sleep.

"This is not a choice; it is an order." Without waiting for Naruto to react, the man used the Body Flicker Technique to appear at the bedside, struck Naruto's shoulder with a hand-blade, hoisted him up, and vanished.

Naruto felt speechless; he had just bullied Second Pillar this afternoon, and now it was his turn to be taken.

The two moved at high speed through the dark streets, while Naruto kept his sensory perception active the entire time.

"Right here will do." The two did not head back to the Root base; their previous words had been a lie to deceive Naruto. In a dead-end alley, Naruto's gaze turned icy. Since Danzo had such a poor memory, he would teach him another lesson.

Naruto, who had been on the man's back, struck instantly, his hand piercing through the man's throat. Bright red blood dripped slowly down Naruto's fingertips.

The other man reacted instantly and scrambled back, but it was already too late. At some unknown moment, he had been ensnared by Naruto's hair. He tried to use the Substitution Technique, but his chakra was being drained by his captor.

"You aren't Naruto Uzumaki. Who exactly are you?" a terrified voice rang out.

"Who knows?" The cold voice was bone-chilling, the mockery in his tone undisguised.

Just as the man was about to say something else, Naruto denied him the chance. A fox head manifested behind him and swallowed both men in a single gulp, causing them to vanish from this world entirely.

Having killed the two by catching them off guard, Naruto scanned his surroundings before leaving the area, returning to his room without a sound.