Naruto

On the road...

Ning Xue walked down the street with his head lowered, recalling the knowledge he had learned from books today.

The setting sun stretched his shadow long, making him seem especially lonely beneath the warm lights gradually coming on around him.

Quite a few children were still chasing and playing in the little park by the roadside, their laughter and shouts ringing without end.

Parents gathered in small groups to chat as they watched their children play.

Yet all these scenes brimming with everyday life seemed separated from Ning Xue by an invisible barrier.

His pure white eyes calmly swept over the playing children, without a ripple in his heart.

That simple, carefree roughhousing felt as distant to him as something from his previous life.

Perhaps his childish innocence had vanished like smoke after he left the hometown in his memories.

In this life, his heart had long been filled with training, growing stronger, hiding himself, and preparing for the future. There was no longer room for the leisure and innocence of an ordinary child.

Because he knew the future would be dangerous, he had to become strong—strong enough to protect the people and things around him.

His thoughts drifted back to the books he had just read.

Those obscure acupoints on the human meridian chart that he had previously overlooked, capable of causing intense numbness and soreness, or even brief suffocation.

Wind Style Chakra, with its unique pursuit of ultimate sharpness and speed.

The several herbs in the guidebook that possessed potent paralytic effects and could produce unknown reactions when mixed together.

"I can try it when I get back, practice according to what the book says."

Ning Xue muttered to himself. He did not even notice that several running children nearly crashed into him. Relying only on instinct, he lightly sidestepped them without breaking his stride.

The children chasing one another also seemed not to notice the silent boy at all.

He kept walking until he returned to the Hyuga Clan Compound.

"Wind... sharpness... cutting... flow..." Wind Style Chakra unconsciously gathered in Ning Xue's palm.

Recalling Introduction to Wind Style Chakra Nature Transformation, he tried the methods taught in the book and felt the changes in the Chakra within his body.

Then he condensed a mass of wind element brimming with powerful offensive force.

It no longer possessed water's toughness or ice's solidity. There was only the sharpness of wind.

Swoosh—

An extremely faint sound rang out, as though the air itself had been sliced apart.

A thin line like a slash flashed past.

Silently cutting a fallen dead leaf at his feet in half.

It worked?! Though it was only the most basic application, and he had not even managed to maintain its form.

He was somewhat surprised, then immediately looked around.

After confirming that no one was nearby, he sighed in relief and quickened his pace home.

Of course, he took that leaf with him as well.

When he got home, Hyuga Yuki had already prepared dinner, and Hyuga Ning had returned long ago.

At the dinner table, his mother asked with concern where he had gone that afternoon. Ning Xue only vaguely said that he had taken a walk around town and read some books.

His parents did not ask further, merely reminding him not to neglect his usual training.

That night...

Ning Xue eagerly returned to his little room.

As soon as he sat cross-legged, he carefully tried once again to guide the scarce Wind Style Chakra within him, which he had never actively mobilized before.

Perhaps the Chakra sensed that it finally had a use.

Like an unbridled wild horse, it rampaged through Ning Xue's body. At the slightest lapse, it would run wild through his meridians, bringing a faint stinging pain.

He focused completely, sensing it bit by bit, guiding it, attempting to control it...

And so, the entire night passed.

The same continued into the next morning.

When he went to the library again that afternoon, he brought a notebook with him to record the things useful to him.

He headed straight for the section he had browsed yesterday, his purpose clear. Opening his notebook, he began taking notes in an orderly manner.

Time slowly passed...

Five in the afternoon...

Ning Xue left the library with satisfaction, carrying a notebook densely filled with notes.

The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the streets a warm gold. He planned to head straight home and continue studying his control over Wind Style Chakra.

But as he passed Ichiraku Ramen, famous throughout Konoha yet a place he had never visited, he encountered someone unexpected, yet entirely unsurprising.

"Grrrrumble."

A little boy with golden hair and six whisker marks on his cheeks clutched his stomach, drooling as he stared at the entrance of Ichiraku Ramen.

His bright blue eyes were wide open, fixed firmly on the customers inside enjoying delicious ramen—especially those steaming bowls. His gaze was filled with envy and longing.

He wore a white undershirt beneath a black short-sleeved top. Small and thin, he looked even shorter than children his age.

His stomach growled with hunger so loudly that it could faintly be heard even from a short distance away.

Ning Xue's steps paused slightly.

"Uzumaki Naruto?"

The name immediately surfaced in his mind.

This was the protagonist his friend and the villagers had mentioned, and also the village's Nine-Tails Fox.

His friend had said Naruto had lived a miserable life as a child, and from the looks of it, he really had.

Ning Xue calmly watched Naruto in the distance, his gaze complicated—perhaps out of pity, or perhaps sympathy.

He saw the looks cast by the nearby pedestrians: disgust, fear, or outright indifference.

He also saw the hesitant look in Teuchi's eyes inside the shop.

But Naruto seemed completely immersed in his longing for ramen, utterly unaware of the gazes around him—or perhaps he had long since grown used to them.

Seeing Naruto in such a miserable state, he sighed and made a decision.

"Tch... what a hassle."

He complained that this kind of behavior was such a hassle.

He slipped his hand into his pocket, took out some coins, and walked forward.

He did not head directly toward Naruto. Instead, he walked straight into Ichiraku Ramen.

Teuchi had just finished his work and gotten a brief moment of free time. Seeing a new customer enter, he politely said,

"Welcome. What would you like?"

Teuchi did not brush him off just because he was a child. Instead, he wore a kind, gentle smile as he asked what his customer wanted.

Ning Xue walked to the counter and looked at the prices on the menu.

After confirming that he could afford a bowl of ramen, he said to Teuchi,

"Boss."

Ning Xue lowered his voice, making sure only Teuchi could hear. His eyes flicked quickly toward Naruto outside.

"Use this money to treat that blond-haired guy outside to a bowl of ramen."

Teuchi looked at the money on the counter, then at the somewhat withdrawn boy before him.

He was a little surprised.

But he immediately nodded, revealing a knowing smile as he lowered his voice as well.

"I understand. Leave it to me, little customer. You're a good child."

Teuchi had already been hesitant. After this child paid, he decided to add some extra toppings for that blond-haired boy.

Seeing that Teuchi had agreed, Ning Xue said no more. He gave a slight nod and turned to leave.

However, just as he lifted the curtain and stepped one foot outside, Teuchi's deliberately raised, enthusiastic voice sounded from behind him.

"Hey! You blond-haired kid at the door! Yes, you! Get in here!"

Ning Xue's body paused almost imperceptibly as he was about to leave.

"Huh?" Naruto's surprised yet expectant voice immediately came from outside.

"Congratulations! You're today's randomly selected lucky customer! You can enjoy a free extra-extra-large bowl of miso chashu ramen!"

Teuchi's voice was loud and infectious, perfectly concealing that brief transaction from moments earlier.

"R-Really? Old man! Free? And extra-extra-large?!"

Naruto's voice instantly filled with incredulous delight, and his footsteps pattered as he charged inside.

That charge allowed the ecstatic Naruto to spot Ning Xue at the door at once, seemingly about to leave.

Naruto abruptly stopped. His brilliant smile still hung on his face as his blue eyes curiously studied the boy around his age, with rare white hair and white eyes.

Ning Xue's aura was different from every child Naruto had ever seen. He was far too quiet.

Their eyes met.

Ning Xue's pure white eyes remained calm and undisturbed. He merely glanced at Naruto indifferently, as though Naruto were nothing more than an irrelevant background figure.

He did not speak. He simply continued leaving, slipping past the excited Naruto. The curtain fell behind him, shutting out the warm light and aroma inside the shop.

Naruto stared at Ning Xue's retreating back, stunned for a moment before scratching his head.

"What a weird guy... White eyes... Feels like... I've seen them somewhere before?"

But that tiny interruption was immediately swept away by overwhelming joy. He cheered and lunged toward the counter.

"Old man! An extra-extra-large bowl of miso chashu ramen! Thanks!"