Arriving in the Naruto World

"Byakugan, activate," a little boy murmured beside a stream in the woods.

"So this is the world the Byakugan can see? It's pretty amazing." Suddenly, a wave of dizziness washed over him. His vision went black, and the little boy collapsed.

"Big Brother Dongyi, what's wrong? Big Brother Dongyi?"

The moment the boy fell, a little girl ran over from nearby. She called out to him, then burst into tears.

"It's all my fault. If it weren't for me, Big Brother Dongyi wouldn't have gotten hurt. Boohoo~"

"I'm fine, sis. Don't cry, don't cry. Look, I'm already standing up. I'm perfectly fine."

Hearing her cries, the little boy came to his senses a little and quickly got back to his feet.

To prove he really was all right, he even spun around. Just as he was about to hop a couple of times, his legs suddenly went weak.

"Ow!"

Hyuga Gen stumbled forward and dropped to one knee. Seeing this, the little girl cried even harder.

"I let my guard down. I didn't expect using the Byakugan to be so exhausting. My chakra ran out in an instant."

Hyuga Gen seemed to have forgotten that he'd only just been discharged from the hospital yesterday, and that he'd learned to refine chakra only a few days ago.

As he watched the little girl cry harder and harder, Hyuga Gen had no idea what to do and began to feel at a loss.

Of course, the little girl didn't know that her Big Brother Dongyi had actually died protecting her, and that his body was now occupied by the soul of a man named Xie Wenxing from another world.

Remembering the vow he'd made to the little boy while their souls were fusing, he looked at the little girl before him and knew that she was the person he would protect for the rest of his life.

"All right, don't cry anymore, Natsu. If you keep crying, you won't be pretty when you grow up."

As he spoke, Hyuga Gen gently wiped the tears from Hyuga Natsu's face.

Looking at Natsu, he could see that even though she was still young, she was already a beauty in the making.

"Good girl. Our Natsu will definitely grow up to be a great beauty."

Watching Hyuga Natsu's sobs gradually subside, Hyuga Gen patted her head and looked at her tenderly.

"Come on, I'll take you to get something tasty."

With that, he took Hyuga Natsu's little hand and led her away.

Speaking of Hyuga Natsu, he remembered the gorgeous woman in a maid's uniform who stayed by Hanabi's side in Shippuden.

He'd even looked her up specially back then, and found the name Hyuga Natsu. The reason he'd bothered searching was that she was so beautiful, even more stunning than the series' main heroines.

She seemed to have appeared in only one scene, but Xie Wenxing had remembered her vividly. As a shut-in, he'd always loved looking at beautiful anime girls.

Thinking that the little girl whose hand he was holding was also called Hyuga Natsu, Xie Wenxing knew she might well be the same Hyuga Natsu from Shippuden.

According to the story, she would later become a maid in the Hyuga Main Family, looking after Hanabi and keeping her company as she grew up.

That made sense. Hyuga Natsu's mother was currently the head maid of the Main House, so it was fair to say Natsu was following in her mother's footsteps.

Looking at the familiar yet strange streets before him, then glancing up at Kage Rock, Xie Wenxing couldn't help but feel overwhelmed.

He'd gone to sleep and inexplicably ended up in this world. At first he'd been utterly bewildered, then incredibly excited. He didn't have many regrets about leaving his old world behind. The only person he worried about was his mother, who'd spent her whole life struggling.

As time passed, even that feeling gradually faded. He didn't want to dwell on it, since there was no point.

The streets weren't especially lively. A tense, bleak atmosphere hung over them, and the passersby wore faintly troubled expressions.

That was only natural. The village had recently suffered the Nine-Tails Incident, and many people had died. The Fourth Hokage and his wife had perished as well.

Of course, the former Hyuga Gen had been among the victims. As it happened, the first person he'd seen upon arriving in this world had been the little girl beside him.

After walking around for a while, he realized there wasn't much tasty food to be found. Resources were still scarce in this era. Even Konoha Ninja Village, a great power, was no exception; the situation elsewhere was easy to imagine.

It seemed there was a reason wars broke out so often. Hatred was one factor, and scarcity of resources was another.

At that thought, Xie Wenxing seemed to find the direction he should take from then on.

No, he should be called Hyuga Gen. Xie Wenxing had died when he left his old world. In this world, there was only Hyuga Gen.

"Look, over there! It's the Byakugan monster!" Suddenly, several children ran up and began jeering at Hyuga Gen.

"It's great to be young!"

Watching the children around him jeer, Hyuga Gen exclaimed with a grin, completely unaware that he himself was also a five-year-old child.

Hyuga Natsu didn't really understand why Hyuga Gen had said that, but seeing him smile made her feel a little less nervous.

"Natsu, don't be afraid. I'm here. I'll protect you." Noticing Hyuga Natsu shrink back behind him in fear, Hyuga Gen said gently.

Ignoring them, Hyuga Gen took Hyuga Natsu's little hand and prepared to head home.

"Byakugan monster! Byakugan monster!" Three children circled Hyuga Gen and Hyuga Natsu, making faces at them.

The Byakugan really was a bit of a nuisance. It was too conspicuous; whether it was activated or not, anyone could tell at a glance that you had one.

By comparison, the Sharingan was much better. When it wasn't activated, your eyes looked no different from an ordinary person's. Only after activation did the distinctive patterns appear.

No matter how much they jeered, the two "Byakugan monsters" simply ignored them. The children finally couldn't take it anymore.

"You two, stop right there!"

One of the children shouted and blocked Hyuga Gen's path.

Hyuga Gen hadn't paid them much mind before, but now he was starting to get annoyed.

"What? You want to fight?"

Hyuga Gen opened his eyes wide and stared coldly at the little brat before him.

He had to admit, glaring at people with the Byakugan worked pretty well. The ringleader seemed intimidated.

"Tch, this is no fun. Let's go."

Realizing the two Byakugan monsters weren't easy to mess with, the boy in the lead tossed out a parting threat and left.

Hyuga Gen watched the three children walk away, lost in thought.

This was the Naruto world, where fighting could break out anywhere. He needed to grow stronger as soon as possible. Only by becoming strong could he protect what he wanted to protect. As he spoke, he glanced at the little girl beside him.

"Natsu, let's go home. If we don't, Auntie will start worrying."

Putting the other thoughts aside, Hyuga Gen took Hyuga Natsu's little hand and said.

"Okay, Big Brother Dongyi."

Hyuga Natsu looked up at Hyuga Gen with admiration, smiling sweetly.

She'd seen everything that had happened. Big Brother Dongyi had driven those three bullies away with ease. He was amazing.

"I'll work hard from now on. I want to become as strong as Big Brother Dongyi."

Hyuga Natsu silently made up her mind.

The sun sank in the west, and the two small figures cast long, long shadows.

"Big Brother Dongyi, what happened to your egg? Did it hatch into a chick?"

Hyuga Natsu blinked her big eyes and suddenly asked.

"An egg? A chick?" Hyuga Gen was baffled.