Examination

Before they married, sons-in-law were naturally afraid of their fathers-in-law, while fathers-in-law tended to dislike their sons-in-law.

And the person Naruto was most afraid of seeing was Hyuga Hiashi. The old man was incredibly powerful, always wore a stern expression, and had a pair of intimidating Byakugan.

Naruto rarely ran into him, so he never expected to come across him this time—and in Hinata's courtyard, no less.

"Nice to see you, Uncle Hiashi. I came to walk Hinata home."

Naruto's body stiffened, and he quickly bowed.

His usual aloof air vanished without a trace. Now he was flustered and awkward, like a mouse that had spotted an old cat.

Hiashi said nothing. His Byakugan gazed coolly at Naruto.

The Flying Thunder God? What a troublesome little brat.

That was what Hiashi thought.

Hiashi was a classic case of being sharp-tongued but soft-hearted. As a father, he didn't particularly dislike Naruto. He came from a prestigious family, had great talent, and was powerful.

More importantly, Hiashi had tested all the techniques Hinata had learned. They were impressive.

That was why Hiashi, despite his displeasure, had never tried to stop her.

But, as the saying went, he was satisfied with Naruto as a father, yet as the head of the clan, he knew that with Naruto's current standing, marrying Hinata was all but impossible.

The Hyuga Clan had always practiced marriage within the clan, and Hinata was the eldest daughter of the Main Family, to say nothing of that.

"Hmph. Now that you're strong, you don't think much of the Hyuga Clan anymore."

He was satisfied in his heart, but somehow he still couldn't stand the kid.

He couldn't explain it. He just felt that the brat was up to no good, getting close to Hinata at such a young age.

If Naruto's identity weren't so special, Hiashi would have beaten him to death long ago.

"Um, well..." Cold sweat ran down Naruto's forehead.

Usually, he only walked Hinata to the front gate.

But this time, something unexpected had happened, so he'd brought her all the way home.

He never thought his first time doing so would end with him running into his future father-in-law.

If he said, "Old man, I was just walking your daughter home," would the other man believe him?

Judging by the way things were going, the old man clearly didn't.

"Father..." Hinata finally couldn't take it anymore and spoke softly.

She hadn't wanted to say anything at first, afraid her father would notice that something was wrong with her.

Sure enough, Hiashi looked toward Hinata. Seeing her eyes closed, he instinctively furrowed his brow.

"What happened to your eyes?"

A trace of concern entered Hiashi's voice.

"It's nothing. I just overused them."

Hinata smiled and tried to open her eyes. They were uncomfortable, but it wasn't too bad.

When she looked at him with her Byakugan, Hiashi sensed something unusual, but the feeling quickly vanished.

He didn't dwell on it. Perhaps his concern had eclipsed everything else.

"Mm. Get some rest. They'll be back to normal tomorrow."

This sort of thing wasn't unheard of, and Hinata's eyes didn't look unusual, so Hiashi felt somewhat reassured.

Seeing that Hiashi wasn't paying attention to him, Naruto instinctively took a few steps back, ready to leave.

"Wait. Come with me."

Hiashi turned and walked away as soon as he'd spoken.

Naruto hesitated, glanced at Hinata, then followed him.

The two arrived at another courtyard.

Hiashi stood with his back to Naruto and said nothing.

Naruto stood there awkwardly, wanting to move but not daring to.

The Byakugan had a 360-degree field of vision.

Hiashi could see Naruto's every move perfectly.

"What happened to Hinata's eyes?"

Hiashi's voice was calm.

"We sparred today, and she overused her Byakugan."

Naruto explained, bracing himself.

"Mm."

Naruto couldn't tell whether Hiashi believed him, but he didn't ask anything else.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

This was their first proper meeting.

"Go home. Next time, remember to use the front gate."

Hiashi's cold voice rang out.

Naruto felt as if he'd just been released from prison.

Before Hiashi could finish speaking, Naruto activated the Flying Thunder God.

"Damn brat."

So that was all his words had been worth.

Hiashi couldn't help letting out a sigh.

Once Naruto got home, he breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Hiashi was exactly the kind of person Naruto liked least.

Over the next two days, Naruto worked hard and practiced his Taijutsu.

Time passed in the blink of an eye. It was the third day.

Since he had to pick up Hinata today, Naruto got up early.

After washing up, he activated the Flying Thunder God, and his body vanished in an instant.

As for Hiashi's instructions? Yeah, right.

Before Hinata could react, the two of them had already arrived at the school entrance.

The first exam was to be held here: a written test.

"Damn it, I thought you two were going to be late again."

Sasuke sounded impatient.

Naruto turned his gaze to the person standing beside him.

The man wore a Uchiha uniform and had a smile on his face. He looked at the younger brother beside him with affectionate eyes. The two lines running from the sides of his nose down to his mouth marked his identity.

Itachi Uchiha.

Unlike the Itachi Uchiha from the original story, the one before him seemed like an ordinary member of the Uchiha Clan. The gloomy air around him was gone.

Naruto couldn't help looking at him. He had been one of Naruto's favorite anime characters in his previous life, known as the legendary Itachi.

What made Itachi Uchiha truly powerful was his talent for combat. In battle, he could kill his opponent using the most effective method.

"You must be Naruto. My little brother has caused you quite a bit of trouble."

Itachi spoke in a gentle tone.

Naruto was surprised. He hadn't expected Itachi Uchiha to have changed so much—or perhaps this was simply what he'd been like all along.

Even though he lost his father, he should still be happy now.

A hint of excitement stirred in Naruto. This was proof that his arrival in this world had made a difference.

He had already changed the fates of so many people.

Sasuke immediately grew displeased, especially with Naruto there.

"Big brother, Naruto's the troublesome idiot."

Itachi didn't argue. He just patted Sasuke on the head.

"Heh. Itachi Uchiha. I've heard a lot about you."

Naruto smiled.

Hinata had seemed uninterested, but now she looked toward him.

She remembered Naruto telling her about him when he'd explained the Mangekyō Sharingan.

But Hinata still couldn't see, so she could only sense him faintly.

Itachi immediately noticed. His gaze settled on the young girl.

A girl from the Hyuga Clan? What's wrong with her eyes?

Itachi sensed something unusual.

Naruto immediately grew wary and subtly stepped in front of Itachi's line of sight.

He wasn't afraid of Itachi himself, but he was worried Itachi might target someone else. After all, the guy wasn't quite right in the head.

In the original story, Itachi Uchiha had excelled at genjutsu. Now he also had Shisui Uchiha's eyes.

Even without using Kotoamatsukami, the boost those eyes gave his other genjutsu could let him subdue an elite jonin in an instant.

Itachi didn't seem to mind Naruto's wariness.

He smiled, exchanged a few more words with them, then turned and left.

"Stop dawdling. A lot of people have already gone inside."

As soon as his older brother was gone, Sasuke's attitude turned sour.