Friends of Konoha

Hui watched as Naruto continued to wolf down his food before her. It was just like him to eat Ichiraku Ramen this way. After finishing the last drop of broth, Naruto held his bowl high and shouted, "Another bowl!"

The owner was generous enough to add another serving. Hui rested her chin on her hand, watching Naruto. Seeing him reach for yet another bowl, she shook her head helplessly and chuckled softly. It was fortunate she had managed to secure a significant amount of money from Orochimaru; otherwise, she wouldn't be able to afford his spendthrift ways.

Suddenly, a bowl of ramen was placed in front of her as well. It was a full, delicious-looking portion. Hui looked at the owner in surprise; she hadn't ordered any ramen!

"Yo, this one is on the house. I haven't seen you in a long time—welcome back!" the Ichiraku owner said heartily.

Naruto grinned, his mouth full. "Hui, welcome back!"

Hui stared at the two of them, stunned. She let out a soft sigh, but the smile on her lips refused to fade. "I'm very happy to be back, too."

Hearing her words, everyone laughed. Reunions after a long separation were always a source of joy.

Hui picked up her chopsticks with gusto and began to eat the Ichiraku Ramen, feeling a warmth spread from her stomach to her heart.

She was no longer in the place where she had stayed with Orochimaru. Here, she could be relaxed and comfortable, without the need for constant vigilance or the weight of guilt.

By the time the two finished eating and stepped outside, the sky had already begun to darken. Hui looked at the familiar streetscape and felt an inexplicable sense of peace. Her sense of belonging ultimately belonged to Konoha. Even though these people still didn't treat Naruto or her with kindness, she had always longed for this peaceful life, free from slaughter.

"Naruto, let's walk through the snack street. My treat," Hui said, arching an eyebrow at Naruto with a light laugh.

"Oh!" Naruto accepted the proposal without hesitation and ran off, following in Hui's footsteps.

However, upon reaching Hui, he found something covering his face, leaving only the lower half of his vision clear. Just as he habitually reached up to remove the obstruction, he heard Hui say, "Keep it on. Let's go."

Naruto looked at Hui in confusion, wondering why she had suddenly produced this mask. He then noticed that Hui was also wearing a childish mask. The comical mask wasn't cute at all, and for some reason, he felt like laughing. He pointed at Hui's mask and mocked, "Haha, Hui, your mask is so childish!"

"Hm? Is that so?" Hui silently glanced at Naruto's even sillier mask and snickered to herself.

"Let's go!" Hui ignored Naruto and turned toward the night market.

"Hey, wait for me!" Naruto hurried to catch up, only to trip over a stone. The frustration of his limited vision became immediately apparent. He angrily adjusted the mask, wanting to take it off but not daring to.

Hui looked back to see Naruto bickering with the stone and gave a helpless laugh. "Here, let me lead you!" She reached out a hand toward him, and Naruto looked up at her in pleasant surprise.

Wow, he had never seen such an understanding Hui! Without further hesitation, he reached out and took her hand.

Hui tilted her head with a faint smile, leading Naruto toward the night market. In the past, this mask had often been her tool for operating in the shadows—hiding behind others, acting alone, all to complete Orochimaru's missions. She had never imagined she could share this with someone else now. Returning was the right choice, wasn't it?

Shortly after Hui and Naruto left, a figure wearing a fox mask vanished completely from the darkness, reappearing in the Third Hokage's office.

"Lord Third, Hui Youling is still the same as before. No abnormalities have been detected," Dusu reported respectfully.

The Third Hokage looked up at him. "I'll have to trouble you with the surveillance for a while longer."

"Yes, Lord Third. I will keep an eye on everyone she comes into contact with."

"Good, you may go now!"

The moment the Third Hokage finished speaking, Dusu vanished from the spot. The Third frowned as he looked at the scroll in his hand; Orochimaru's recent activities had become increasingly suspicious.

However, there was no concrete intelligence yet. Hui's return at this time inevitably invited suspicion, but he truly hoped that Hui Youling had returned for the right reasons.

"No, I want to eat the grilled meatballs here!" A young child's voice rang out, sounding clearly petulant, yet strangely familiar.

"We'll come back to buy them next time, okay? If we don't go back now, Mom will be angry," a gentle man coaxed softly.

Hui turned to look at the father and son behind her. With their chubby builds, distinct baby fat, and the red circles on their faces, the two looked like they had been cut from the same cloth.

Hui gave a helpless, light laugh and turned back to Naruto. His mask was now worn askew, and he was holding two skewers of meatballs, happily eating one with a look of pure bliss on his face.

Hui shrugged, snatched the other skewer from Naruto's hand, and walked over. Naruto, who had been about to take a bite, realized the skewer was gone. He looked at Hui with a conflicted expression, swallowing hard.

Hui handed the skewer to Choji. "Here, this is for you."

In the next instant, the skewer was snatched away, leaving only a bamboo stick in Choji's hand. Hui opened her mouth in surprise, then broke into a speechless laugh.

Choza looked at his son's behavior, feeling quite embarrassed, and quickly said, "Thank you. Let me buy you another one..."

"It's fine, Uncle. It was meant for him anyway. I just wanted to make friends with him," Hui said softly, turning to call Naruto over.

Choza looked at the child before him, finding her inexplicably sensible and gentle. He glanced silently at his own son, only to see Choji looking at Hui with a silly grin. He heard the boy say, "Um, my name is Akimichi Choji. It's nice to meet you!"

"My name is Hui Youling, and this idiot is Uzumaki Naruto." Hui pointed at the bewildered Naruto, watching as he bristled again.

"I'm not an idiot! I'm going to be the—mmph... mmph..."

Hui grabbed Naruto and covered his mouth with her hand.

Naruto looked aggrievedly at Hui, who was wearing a seemingly kind but actually chilling smile. He didn't dare speak again, struggling slightly to break free from the hand resting on his shoulder.

"Alright, since you have things to do, I won't bother you anymore. See you next time!"

Seeing that Naruto had stopped trying to speak, Hui released his mouth with satisfaction. The surrounding gazes were slowly being drawn toward them, and she didn't want Naruto's shouting to attract too much attention; their eyes were not exactly kind.

Hui realized this wasn't a place to linger, so she pulled Naruto along and said goodbye to Choji.

Choji waved back. Watching the two leave with their arms around each other's shoulders, he turned to his father and reached out to take Choza's large hand. "Dad, let's go home too."

Choza was stunned for a moment, then gripped Choji's hand and smiled faintly. "Let's go."

On the other side, Naruto, being dragged along by Hui, asked with a look of resentment, "What's wrong? Why did we have to leave?"

Hui shrugged and let go of Naruto. "It's time to go back."

Naruto looked at Hui, his brow furrowing slightly. He felt she had changed a little, but she was still as good to him as ever. Finally, he said, "Okay."

Hui stopped practicing ninjutsu altogether, acting as if she had never learned any of it, and instead picked up the thick book Qingsi had given her—the volume that supposedly contained his "life's work."

Hui looked at the book she had disguised as a children's primer and let out a silent chuckle, wondering if Qingsi would beat her to death if he ever saw it.

However, given the normal course of events, Dusu was surely monitoring the area, and any behavior too abnormal would reveal that she was different; so, like a child, she would simply study in silence, for she could no longer touch Orochimaru's ninjutsu.

For several days in a row, Hui Youling did not leave the house, spending all her time studying this book of medical ninjutsu from Qingsi; as for Naruto, she had chased him out to train, deciding that the blockhead should focus on building his stamina first.

She heard that not long after she left, Rock Lee began training even more diligently, doubling his workload; she wasn't sure if it was the influence of the Ninja Academy, but Naruto began to fall behind him, eventually becoming lazy and refusing to train seriously no matter what Rock Lee said, spending his days instead tinkering with the flowers in her old house.

Knowing this, Hui felt both angry and touched; Naruto was actually still very lonely, wasn't he? Even if she had them meet early, without experiencing those events from the future, they could never truly get along, could they? After all, to him, these people were her friends, not his own.

It seemed that it would soon be time for Naruto to go to the Ninja Academy; if she were there to accompany him, he surely wouldn't be so lonely, but how much could she really do for him when her own mess of problems remained unresolved...