A Lost Child

"Hinata, let's go, let's go over there and take a look," Naruto said softly to Hinata.

The two had originally been at the snack street, while Gaara and his group were at the commercial street.

Hinata nodded, knowing that Naruto had something to do.

The two walked at a leisurely pace, chatting as they went.

Over on Gaara's side, Kankuro and Temari were looking around; for them, such liveliness was a rare sight.

Just as the three of them let their guard down, three brats came running toward them, playing and shoving each other.

The brat in the lead slammed right into Kankuro on the left.

"Ah, you bastard, who are you?" Konohamaru, who had fallen to the ground, couldn't help but cry out in pain, clutching his forehead.

"Hey, brat, are you looking for trouble?" Kankuro, his good mood interrupted, was instantly irritated. He grabbed Konohamaru and hoisted him into mid-air.

"Bastard, what do you think you're doing? Do you know who I am?" Konohamaru instinctively wanted to curse, but upon seeing that the person was a stranger, he took a closer look and immediately spotted the Headband on the other's head.

The words he was about to spit out were cut in half.

"Are all the brats in Konoha this annoying? Looks like I need to teach you a lesson," Kankuro said, furious.

"Kankuro, this is Konoha. It's better not to cause trouble," Temari couldn't help but advise.

"Don't worry, sister, I'm just going to teach him a little lesson." As a child of the Kazekage, Kankuro was a lawless character. Aside from his younger brother, he feared no one, let alone a mere brat in Konoha.

In the distance, Naruto and Hinata stood there, watching the scene quietly.

"They are here to participate in the Chunin Exams," Hinata said with curiosity.

"That's right, they are Genin from the Sand Village," Naruto nodded.

He wasn't close with Konohamaru at the moment, but he knew this brat was the grandson of the Third Hokage.

He began to weigh whether or not he should intervene.

Even if he didn't step in, Kankuro wouldn't actually do anything to the kid. But if the Third Hokage found out, his impression of Naruto would surely suffer. Naruto, who knew the old man didn't have many days left to live, didn't want to invite any unnecessary trouble.

After weighing the pros and cons, it was best to follow the original plot; he didn't want any complications in these final few days.

Naruto began to stride forward.

Hinata said nothing, standing there and watching quietly.

"Hey, is it really okay for a Genin to bully a child? Especially here in Konoha," Naruto's figure suddenly appeared behind Kankuro, saying with a smile.

"When did he...?" Kankuro's pupils constricted.

"So fast!" Temari, standing beside him, hadn't even reacted.

"Big Brother Naruto, save me!" Seeing who had arrived, Konohamaru's spirits instantly lifted.

Although he wasn't close with Naruto Uzumaki, he was well aware of Naruto Uzumaki's great reputation.

"Another brat? Are you threatening me?" To cover up the shock in his heart, Kankuro flew into a rage.

As he spoke, he prepared to make a move.

"Stop, Kankuro. You are no match for him. Step back," at that moment, a cold voice rang out. Above their heads, a boy carrying a gourd stood in mid-air.

Kankuro was about to say something, but Gaara cast a faint glance his way.

Kankuro's arrogance instantly vanished.

He casually threw Konohamaru onto the ground.

Mo Huang and the others hurried over to help Konohamaru up and took him away.

"Hello there, my name is Naruto Uzumaki. Could you come down so we can get to know each other?" Naruto looked up, smiling at the boy in front of him.

Gaara slowly landed and looked at the Naruto before him.

"I can sense that you are strong, but I will kill you," Gaara's icy voice rang out slowly.

Kankuro and Temari were instantly on edge, terrified that Gaara might lose control right there.

"Is that so? I'm looking forward to it," Naruto said, then turned around. His body vanished in an instant, reappearing beside Hinata.

"Was there something special about that Genin?" The two turned and continued their stroll. Hinata was curious; she had already realized that Naruto had come over specifically for that Genin.

"Him?"

He looked toward Gaara.

"Just a child who has lost his way."

Naruto smiled faintly.

"He seems to have some mental issues," Hinata said, feeling a bit worried.

"Perhaps he hasn't slept in a long time and is just a bit tense!" Naruto didn't care in the slightest.

Hinata frowned; that wasn't what she meant.

"Don't worry about it."

Naruto offered no further explanation.

Over the next few days, Naruto and the others trained on their own. While the Chunin Exams were still important to everyone else, Naruto, who already knew the contents of the exam, was in no rush—though that didn't mean the others weren't anxious.

Time passed quickly, and three days later, the day of the exam arrived.

Knock, knock.

"Who is it?" a lazy voice rang out. Naruto didn't like waking up early to begin with, and thanks to Kakashi's influence, he had developed the habit of sleeping in.

"Naruto, today is the Chunin Exams. You didn't forget, did you?" Hinata's gentle voice sounded from outside.

Naruto jolted instantly, leaping out of bed.

It wasn't that he was afraid of Hinata, but he had truly forgotten. Feeling guilty—especially since he'd been caught sleeping in by the person he liked—Naruto moved at his absolute fastest speed to wash up and reach the door.

"Ahem, morning, Hinata," Naruto greeted her with an awkward expression.

"Naruto, were you sleeping in again?" Hinata complained slightly. It was all Teacher Kakashi's fault; Naruto had been corrupted by him.

It seemed she needed to be more vigilant. She couldn't let Naruto turn into someone like Kakashi, especially when she thought about how Kakashi always had that little yellow book in his hands.

She couldn't help but grow suspicious, wondering if Naruto might be...

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but shift her gaze to look behind Naruto.

"Uh, come on in and sit down, Hinata."

Seeing the expression on Hinata's face, Naruto finally realized they were still standing at the doorway and hurriedly invited her inside.

With the help of his Shadow Clone, Naruto's house was kept in decent condition.

But this wasn't what Hinata was looking for. Worried that Naruto might be picking up bad habits, she began observing the room for books or anything of that nature the moment she stepped inside.

Naruto didn't notice Hinata's odd behavior, assuming she was just being curious.

"Have you eaten yet, Hinata?" Naruto asked curiously, already starting to prepare some breakfast.

"Not yet." Hinata had originally intended to ask Naruto to go out to eat, but because she was so focused on checking up on him, she had completely forgotten.

The room was small enough to see from one end to the other, and the house was very sparse; there was nothing in it. As for books, Naruto was not a person who enjoyed reading.

She glanced toward Naruto's bedroom. Because Naruto had been in such a rush, he hadn't closed the door, and Hinata saw everything at a glance. She couldn't help but relax; Naruto's bedroom was even simpler, containing nothing at all.

Since Hinata was so concerned about his home, Naruto didn't want to disturb her mood and simply went to the kitchen to cook. Fortunately, with the help of chakra, doing anything was quite convenient.