First Meeting with Hinata

Naruto quickly squeezed his eyes shut; he couldn't afford to truly anger his mother.

Sign-in task prompt: The written characters must exceed one meter in height.

"Fine, increasing the difficulty on the fly, Melon-Skin System, you've got me."

The heavy snow had just ceased, leaving Konoha draped in silver.

It was the hour of dawn.

Naruto followed Minato Namikaze as they snuck out of the house.

Neither of them wanted to be discovered by Kushina Uzumaki.

There were only a few people on the streets, and the air remained dry and cold.

Minato Namikaze scooped Naruto up: "Naruto, let me show you how impressive your father is."

Naruto blinked.

Flying Thunder God.

The two teleported to the highest point of the Hokage Rock.

From here, one could overlook the entire Konoha.

"Is this the Hokage Rock?" Naruto looked down.

Minato Namikaze: "Naruto, behind Konoha is a massive stone wall. To commemorate the contributions of the past Hokage to Konoha, people carved their likenesses into the rock face. My face is carved here too."

At this moment, they were standing on top of the Third's head.

With his line of sight limited, Naruto couldn't see the full picture.

"Dad is amazing."

Naruto felt it was better to offer a compliment.

There was paint at home, and Naruto had stashed a large bucket of it in his system space.

Whoosh!

A person wearing an animal mask appeared behind Minato Namikaze and relayed confidential information to him.

Minato Namikaze's face turned cold: "Right and wrong are clear; how could they make such a foolish decision?"

Naruto was set down.

"Naruto, Dad has urgent business to attend to. There is a path down over there. Play for a while and then go home; don't let your mother worry."

Naruto had wanted Minato Namikaze to leave so he could have some time alone, but he hadn't expected it to go so smoothly.

"I understand, Dad, don't worry."

Minato Namikaze teleported away.

Naruto straightened his back and gazed out over the entirety of Konoha: "In the vast expanse, I ask the boundless earth, who determines the rise and fall?"

After his exclamation, Naruto set to work on his sign-in task.

Hanging himself in mid-air with a rope, Naruto swung the brush in his hand.

"This Seat Naruto is a melon-skin."

"You didn't specify what to write, nor did you specify which language to use. I'll just shout it out in my dialect; who in this Konoha could possibly understand?"

The large characters were finished. Naruto intentionally left Minato Namikaze's likeness untouched; one had to know how to look after one's own father.

Naruto turned around, faced the entirety of Konoha, and used his loudest voice to speak in his hometown dialect.

The two words "melon-skin" had the most flavor.

Sign-in task complete.

Congratulations to This Seat for obtaining the reward: Eight Inner Gates (Damage-free version).

Changes occurred in Naruto's body as the gates that suppressed and controlled the chakra within him were lit up one by one, allowing Naruto to clearly understand the function of the Eight Inner Gates.

"Unlocking the shackles of human strength, causing one's own power to increase exponentially."

Naruto sighed and climbed back up the rope: "Isn't this effect just like the Kaio-ken?"

"System, you really know how to pick a host. This Seat has watched quite a few anime: Dragon Ball, One Piece, One Punch Man, and so on."

"Yet you chose a host in Naruto, a series whose name I've heard but haven't actually watched."

"I could have been a prophet, I could have latched onto powerful allies; wouldn't completing sign-in tasks have been simpler that way?"

This Seat will become the powerful ally himself.

Naruto walked down from the Hokage Rock via the path, looked up one last time, wiped his hands, and felt very satisfied with his calligraphy.

"I can sell my writing later to earn some pocket money."

Prompt: Host's physical constitution does not support the use of Eight Inner Gates.

Naruto had been planning to give it a try.

"How does one cultivate chakra?"

This Seat may consult Minato Namikaze.

"Almost forgot, the Hokage should be a very powerful figure. Being close to the source, I'm practically a second-generation official."

Naruto trotted along the main street, his feet crunching through the accumulated snow.

Having memorized the layout of Konoha while atop the Hokage Rock earlier, it was easy for him to locate his home.

"Huh!"

Naruto stopped at an intersection and looked back to see a little girl huddled in the snow, her head buried.

"Hey!"

Naruto brushed off the snow and walked over.

Hinata, dressed in a black padded jacket, heard Naruto's voice and looked up in surprise.

"What are you doing staying out here all by yourself?"

Naruto stepped closer to Hinata.

Hinata was shedding tears.

"Don't just sit there crying! It's freezing in the snow."

"I... I!" Hinata didn't know how to answer.

Naruto pulled Hinata up: "Are you in trouble? Don't be afraid, I can help you."

Helping others is what a good youth of the new era does.

"Where is your home? I'll take you back." Naruto took Hinata's small hand: "You poor thing, to be blind at such a young age."

Naruto noticed Hinata's Byakugan and assumed she was born blind.

"It's okay! I know someone who can help you."

Naruto suddenly hoisted Hinata onto his back and ran toward his house, intending to find Kushina Uzumaki; surely his mother would be more familiar with Konoha than he was.

Hinata was at a loss, leaning against Naruto's back, not daring to move a muscle.

Knock, knock, knock!

"I'm outside."

Naruto candidly confessed to Kushina Uzumaki that he and Minato Namikaze had gone out early that morning.

Naruto said pitifully: "Mom, let us in quickly. It doesn't matter if I'm frozen, but it would be bad if my friend got frostbite."

Hinata stood stiffly beside Naruto, the warmth from when he had held her hand still lingering on her palm.

Kushina Uzumaki crouched down in surprise, looking at Hinata with gentle eyes: "Are you a child of the Hyuga Clan?"

"Yes!" Hinata replied in a small voice.

Naruto laughed: "Asking an adult for help is still useful."

He then slipped into the house like a loach, greeted by the aroma of breakfast.

"Mom, I'm digging in!" The sound of Naruto eating breakfast drifted over.

Kushina Uzumaki took Hinata's hand: "Eat breakfast at Auntie's place first. You don't need to worry about safety; this is the home of the Fourth Hokage, and Naruto and I are the Fourth Hokage's family."

The character of the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze was trustworthy.

Hinata's small face flushed slightly, whether from shyness or the biting cold wind.

"Thank you!"

Hinata was a polite child.

Breakfast consisted of hot milk and small red bean buns.

The red bean buns were soft, sticky, and sweet.

By the time Kushina Uzumaki brought Hinata over, Naruto had already finished the entire plate of red bean buns on the table.

"Ah! I forgot the fine tradition of Kong Rong sharing the pears." Naruto closed his eyes in embarrassment and gulped down his hot milk.

Kushina Uzumaki tapped the table: "You called her your friend, yet you ate everything yourself. Is that how you treat a friend?"

There was a smudge of milk on the tip of Naruto's nose: "Mom's breakfast is too delicious; I just couldn't stop once I started."

This Seat, one must act with sincerity.

Yes, yes, yes, System Teacher.

Hinata sat quietly, glancing at Naruto from time to time.

Kushina Uzumaki went to make more red bean buns, as there were ready-made ingredients available.

Naruto wiped the milk off his nose and met Hinata's gaze: "Can you see?"

"Yes!"

"That's a very beautiful pair of eyes." Naruto complimented her: "Why were you staying out in the snow on the street all by yourself?"