The Mischief

"...has been unconscious for a month."

As soon as Neji finished speaking, the sudden revelation struck Naruto like a blow to the head, leaving him rooted to the spot.

"Though this news has been circulating in Konoha for a long time," Neji continued matter-of-factly, "it concerns the Hyuga Clan and involves the heir to the Main House... so people usually don't discuss it in public. It's understandable that you didn't know."

"...What exactly happened?" Naruto asked in a low voice, forcing down his shock and misgivings.

"It started with nightmares." Neji's gaze followed the birds in the sky. "Shortly before graduating from the Ninja Academy, Lady Hinata said she was having the same nightmare every night, and that it felt incredibly real...

But Uncle Hiashi thought it was a sign of her weak resolve and fear of becoming a ninja. He flew into a rage and increased her training."

"Later, Lady Hinata's 'nightmares' kept getting longer. Even pricking her with a kunai wouldn't wake her, and that was when the Main House realized something was wrong and contacted the Medical Corps..."

"Wait." Naruto cut him off. "You Hyuga were pricking Hinata with a kunai?"

What did he mean, "you Hyuga"...

Neji glanced at Naruto in surprise. It had been a long time since he'd heard anyone speak so disrespectfully of the Hyuga Clan.

"It wasn't enough to kill her." Neji gestured to show how much. "Just a light prick with the tip of a kunai, barely bigger than a pinprick...

The Great Elder was furious at the time. He thought Lady Hinata was pretending to be asleep, and felt the Main House heir shouldn't be so timid, so he wanted to frighten her."

"..." Naruto's mouth twitched.

Even after hearing Neji's explanation, he still felt a faint... churning discomfort inside.

"Aristocratic family discipline really is..." Naruto said evenly. "...pretty wild. If I ever have kids, I'll have to learn from you Hyuga."

That was the second time he'd said "you Hyuga"...

Neji raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because if I raise my kids by doing the exact opposite of how you Hyuga do it, I think they'll turn out just fine."

"..." This time, Neji studied Naruto closely.

Only then did he realize Naruto hadn't misspoken or spoken without thinking. He genuinely didn't care much for the Hyuga Clan, which prided itself on being Konoha's strongest clan... or, more accurately, he didn't think much of them.

"...It's the Main House's way of raising children." Neji hadn't expected to feel so little anger, but in the interest of accuracy, he corrected him.

"Right, the Main House." Naruto nodded, then pressed, "What happened after that?"

"Then the Medical Corps came, but they couldn't find the cause. The Yamanaka and Nara Clans came too. One clan was deeply knowledgeable about the brain, and the other was skilled in pharmacology... but neither had any success. Eventually, Lady Hinata was awake for less and less time each day.

By the time she fell completely unconscious, Lord Hokage had come as well. But all he could conclude was that no jutsu had been involved, and he was just as helpless."

"Then Hinata's been unconscious ever since?"

"Yes. The Medical Corps is keeping her nourished with an IV, so she's holding on for now... The clan head has already sent people to look for Lady Tsunade."

"..."

Naruto furrowed his brow, the sense of déjà vu growing stronger.

Why did Hinata's situation feel... so similar to when his consciousness had been trapped in the movie theater?

"Did Hinata ever say what those recurring nightmares were about?" Naruto asked.

"She said she quickly forgot them every time she woke up," Neji recalled. "She only remembered being trapped in a pitch-black space, and having to spend much longer than a night's sleep there before she woke up. Then her emotions would... alternate between happiness and anger?"

Naruto's heart lurched. It sounded even more familiar.

"Oh, right."

Seeing how grave Naruto looked, Neji went on to tell him even the smallest details. "After she fell unconscious, she sometimes muttered in her sleep. It was always just a few meaningless sounds, things like 'I'll cut you down,' 'outside the window,' and 'don't hurt Boruto'..."

Smack!

Neji's eyelid twitched. Before he could finish speaking, Naruto had suddenly seized him by the shoulder!

"What..." Neji instinctively bristled and tried to shake Naruto's hand off, but the instant he met Naruto's gaze beneath his shadowed bangs, he froze. A chill seemed to pierce right through him.

Those blue eyes, usually so gentle and steadfast, had never held such savagery. The chill was like a claw brushing over his heart, the malice so intense it nearly spilled over! It was as though some indescribable, immense horror was staring at him through Naruto's eyes!

"Get back... Kurama."

[Heh heh heh... Just kidding.]

In an instant, Neji realized that the terrifying malice had receded like a tide. Naruto's eyes had returned to normal... his pupils weren't so slit anymore.

Neji shivered belatedly, while Naruto let go of his shoulder.

"Sorry..." Naruto let out a long breath. "I got a little carried away... I'm truly sorry."

He hadn't expected his experience to be unique... No, thinking he was the only one was arrogant in itself. It was only logical that if this phenomenon had happened to him, someone else would have experienced it too.

But Naruto hadn't been prepared for it.

So when he heard the words "don't hurt Boruto," his emotions had instantly peaked. Of course he knew the name Boruto. In the original timeline, that was the name of his and Hinata's child!

But he couldn't make sense of what "don't hurt" meant before Boruto's name. And the combination of his many doubts and profound shock had left him emotionally shaken, which was when his seal was loosest...

And just as expected, that bastard Kurama had let some of his chakra leak out to stir up trouble.

At that level of looseness, Kurama certainly couldn't escape. The Tailed Beast Cloak couldn't even form.

But still, he had nothing else to do. It cost him nothing, so when the chance came to mess with the brat, why wouldn't he take it? Otherwise, what kind of Tailed Beast would he be?

And so the scene just now had played out.

The only victim was Neji, who had no idea what was going on.

Still shaken by the Nine-Tails Chakra, he wanted to put some distance between himself and Naruto, but hesitated over whether to strike him with the Eight Trigrams Palms... After a few moments of indecision, he simply asked Naruto with unprecedented seriousness:

"Who... are you, really?"

Only now did Neji realize that the junior he'd thought was always gentle and refined, with exceptional talent, wasn't showing his true self. Beneath that seemingly harmless exterior, there seemed to lurk a terrifying monster.

And the instant Naruto had grabbed his shoulder, Neji hadn't reacted at all before being touched... For a Hyuga, that was simply inconceivable!

"Naruto." Naruto answered firmly and decisively. "Uzumaki Naruto."

He'd made up his mind. Tonight, he'd go into the sealing space, make three hundred Shadow Clones, and insult Kurama until they dispersed on their own—even if Kurama started eroding the seal again.

Looking into Naruto's familiar eyes once more, Neji checked repeatedly before slowly nodding.

He didn't press him about what had just happened... He could see Naruto didn't want to talk about it, and he had things he didn't want anyone prying into either. So it was best for them both to respect each other's boundaries.

"Neji, I want to ask you a favor."

After thinking for a moment, Naruto earnestly asked him again, "I want to visit Hinata later. Could you introduce me to her?"