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"Sigh—"

Naruto sat on the veranda outside the Heart Room, letting out a long, weary breath. He and Neji were currently waiting for Hyuga Hiashi to return; the clan head had dragged Hyuga Rokkaku off to parts unknown.

Neji raised an eyebrow slightly and asked:

"What is it?"

"Nothing. I just feel like my tongue is clumsy compared to your clan head," Naruto said, his face twisted in frustration.

?

A rare look of speechlessness appeared on Neji's face.

Seriously, man? You pushed the guy to the point where he actually tried to fight you, and you're still not satisfied? What do you want, to make him cough up blood?

"I don't mean the arguing part," Naruto pouted, blowing upward to shift the bangs on his forehead. "You can't just rely on bickering to get along with people... I'm just reflecting. If I were as eloquent as your clan head, maybe today's events wouldn't have escalated so intensely... and you wouldn't have been dragged into this mess."

"Look, aren't those masterminds in novels super cool?"

Naruto threw a few punches into the air as he spoke.

"To manipulate the hearts and interests of all parties with just a few words, guiding the situation toward their own advantage, and finally reaping the rewards from the shadows... Heh heh heh heh... How cool is that? It's so much more dignified than my street-brawler style of arguing."

Neji watched Naruto shadowboxing with a hint of amusement, feeling that this guy was probably destined to have his life turn out the exact opposite of his wishes.

"I don't think you need to force yourself to be like that. After all, everyone has their own strengths, don't they?" Neji said. "I feel like you're fine just the way you are."

"Fine how?" Naruto twisted his mouth.

"By speaking your true heart," Neji said with a touch of sincerity. "Few people in this world can speak their true thoughts, but everyone likes dealing with sincere people. That is your gift."

"Then you've really misjudged me," Naruto hummed, recalling how he had used Iruka Umino during the Scroll of Seals incident. "I am far from a sincere person."

Neji was rendered speechless. Just as he was about to say something else, the inner courtyard door opened. Hyuga Hiashi had returned, followed by an old man.

"Clan Head, Great Elder."

Neji stood up to bow, and Naruto followed suit, eyes fixed on his own nose, playing the part of a well-behaved child.

A flicker of imperceptible strangeness crossed Hiashi's eyes.

"Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Yes, Lord Hiashi."

Naruto's attitude was nothing short of respectful, yet it only made the strange look in Hiashi's eyes deepen. He had figured it out: this kid was like a dog—he could flip his face faster than turning a page.

Truly, this temperament is nothing like his father's.

Hiashi let out a cold snort: "Stop the act."

He walked past the two of them: "Didn't you come to see Hinata? Why aren't you following?"

Naruto and Neji exchanged a strange look. They had expected Hyuga Hiashi to interrogate them... or at least lecture them on maintaining the dignity of the Hyuga clan. Naruto had even prepared himself to swallow his pride as long as the old man didn't go too far. But that was it? He was just letting them in to see Hinata?

Though puzzled, Naruto wasn't a masochist. Since he had nothing to lose, he followed along.

Hiashi slid open the paper door. The first thing to spill out was a faint, lingering scent of medicine—the bitter, slightly pungent aroma of boiled herbs that drifted into their nostrils.

Naruto stood at the entrance, his gaze immediately drawn to Hinata in the center of the room.

She lay there, her frame slender, surrounded by pale white bedding. Her long, dark hair was spread across the pillow, making her face appear a near-transparent, fragile shade of white.

The room was large, partitioned into three spaces. Hinata occupied the center, while the sides were filled with medical equipment and a resting area for caregivers.

Hiashi temporarily dismissed the caregivers who had been hiding in the room, leaving only the four men inside. The air felt heavy, almost stagnant.

Naruto looked at the scene before him with a mixture of shock and difficulty. Only by seeing it with his own eyes could he truly grasp Hinata's frailty. Even he couldn't analyze the turmoil within his own heart—the subconscious sympathy, the "memory" of her being his original wife, the recollection that she had liked him since long ago... all these thoughts tangled together, dragging his feet toward her until he stopped just a step away.

Hinata's eyelashes were long, her lips pale. Naruto watched all of this, calling out internally:

"Kurama."

[Don't bother me. I know. I'm feeling it!]

Naruto had never been so obedient to the Nine-Tails; when told to be quiet, he shut his mouth and waited silently for Kurama's response. The other three remained at the entrance, watching Naruto's unusually heavy back.

Hiashi and the Great Elder remained expressionless, but Neji's eye twitched inexplicably. Seeing Naruto so focused on Hinata, he couldn't help but think: This guy told me he was close to Hinata, but he didn't say he was this close! Wait, didn't this kid mention a girl named Ino, the one who took him to get a haircut?

Is he two-timing?!

As the brother-in-law, Neji's knuckles tightened subconsciously. But because his own emotional knot regarding Hinata remained unresolved, a conflicting feeling surged up, leaving him stiff and stuck in place.

This caught Hiashi's attention. He glanced at Neji with a strange look but couldn't be bothered to ask.

Though he didn't show it, he was truly exhausted by the massive trouble Naruto had caused in such a short time. Just thinking about the bickering at the upcoming clan meeting gave him a headache. Aside from wanting to smack Naruto to vent his frustration, he felt a lingering sense of "just let it all burn, I'm tired."

Setting aside everyone's thoughts, a moment later, the Nine-Tails' voice finally sounded.

[Kid, since you claim to be the reincarnation of Asura, you should know that I have a special talent, right?]

Seeing the Nine-Tails playing the riddle-master at a time like this, Naruto felt a faint irritation, but he understood that the Nine-Tails didn't fully trust him yet, so he suppressed his impatience and replied:

"Sensing good and evil?"

[...Hmph... That's right. To be precise, it's not just good and evil, but emotions. It's just that those two are the most obvious, so I can sense them with particular clarity.]

Seeing Naruto answer, Kurama stopped beating around the bush.

[So, I can sense that this Hinata isn't unconscious. Her emotional fluctuations are intense, just like you people who are awake.]

"How is that possible?"

[Don't be impatient, brat... let me finish.] Having gained the upper hand in a conversation with Naruto for the first time, Kurama couldn't help but feel smug, its tails swaying gently.

[But at the same time, I can sense her emotions, along with her chakra, flowing into a "hole" located just below the center of her forehead—since I am a mass of chakra myself, I can roughly perceive it.]

"What do you mean by a [hole]?" Naruto frowned. He didn't understand; if Hinata had truly entered the cinema like he had, why would their situations be so different?

[That, I don't know.] Kurama hummed, [Unless you can touch her, but you're still a bit too far away right now.]

"This is far?"

Naruto examined the mere dozen centimeters between himself and Hinata, then considered the likelihood of being beaten to a pulp for touching an unconscious girl in front of her father, and decided to abandon this overly courageous option.

Still, he had to try something else...

--Sigh...

"I'm sorry." Naruto struggled to recall the image of his parents being killed by Obito, and suddenly spoke up.

His voice was stifled with bitterness, even carrying a trace of imperceptible trembling, as if he were desperately suppressing some surging emotion: "May I go to the restroom?"

"You..."

Meeting Naruto's dull, gray eyes, even Hyuga Hiashi, who had been keeping a straight face, couldn't help but be moved. What a display of pain, what sincere feelings! Even the urge he felt to punch Naruto subsided by more than half.

I never expected that my daughter, whom I always thought was a loner, actually had someone who cared about her this much... er, a person.

"Go ahead, go ahead."

Hyuga Hiashi waved his hand. Since the boy cared so much about his daughter, how could he make things difficult for him?

Seeing this, Neji began to doubt himself. Could he have misheard back then? Was Rock Lee right? Was Ino actually a boy??

"Thank you."

Naruto replied in a muffled voice and headed toward the restroom in the side chamber. After the sound of a faucet running and him splashing water on his face, he walked out with his hair slightly damp.

"Thank you, Uncle. I've finished visiting Hinata, so I won't disturb her rest any longer." Naruto's expression returned to normal, though it still carried a hint of desolation.

"Leaving already? Won't you stay a bit longer? It's fine."

Having finally waited for a companion to visit his daughter, Hiashi was actually somewhat reluctant to see him go. After a few seconds of silence, he nodded.

"Mm."

The group walked out of the Heart Room, and Hyuga Hiashi signaled for the nursing staff in the courtyard to return.

Yet, in that brief moment when the Heart Room was empty, another Naruto emerged from the restroom Naruto had just exited!

"Kurama, hurry, hurry, hurry!"

He moved silently and quickly to Hinata's bedside, reaching out to place his hand on her forehead.

This Naruto was a Shadow Clone that Naruto had just created, using the sound of the running water as cover. He had already reached an agreement with Kurama, so Kurama had consented to channel a portion of its chakra into this Shadow Clone—though, naturally, Kurama was mostly satisfying its own curiosity.

[Coming, coming!]

Knowing time was of the essence, Kurama didn't bicker with Naruto and channeled its chakra directly through Naruto's hand into Hinata, probing inward along that "hole"!

Anyway, it was just a Shadow Clone; even if something went wrong, it wouldn't—what the hell!!

[Agh!]

"??"

Kurama only had time to let out a strange cry before a powerful suction force erupted from within the hole, dragging its chakra—and the Naruto connected to it—inside!

"Hm?"

Click...

At that moment, the paper door of the Heart Room slid open again. The Great Elder, having heard some noise, poked his head inside.

But he found nothing.

The large room remained deathly silent, with only Hinata lying quietly on the bed.

"An illusion... perhaps?"

The Great Elder muttered, stepping aside to let the nursing staff re-enter.

"Fuuuuuu----!!!"

The completely bewildered Shadow Clone Naruto felt his vision go black, followed by a dizzying spin. Even his thoughts felt as if they were being torn to shreds, with only his body's instincts letting out a wail.

"Fuuu---eh?"

Suddenly, he felt his feet hit solid ground. He seemed to be standing on soil, and his vision gradually cleared, allowing him to see once more.

The first thing that entered his sight was a sky colored by the approaching dusk.

Naruto realized he seemed to be standing on a long street. On both sides, wooden houses were arranged in a staggered pattern. There were few pedestrians on the street, all dressed in old-fashioned kimonos. Moreover, regarding his sudden appearance, most of them wore an indifferent attitude, showing little surprise at the sight of a strange occurrence.

"Where is this...?"

"Yo, looks like we've got a newcomer!"

A burly man with a square jaw walked toward Naruto, shouting toward the end of the street as he did so:

"Old man!! Just in time, a newcomer arrived! Someone else died, and it's just a kid, hurry over and take a look!"

After saying this, he wore a familiar, easygoing smile, patted Naruto on the shoulder, and laughed:

"I know you must have a lot of questions right now, but let me welcome you first."

"Welcome to the Soul Society, kid!"