Hinata Fainted

Just that.

There was one thing that made Hinata a little unhappy.

She had failed to handle the matter of the ninjutsu scrolls Naruto had asked for, and she felt very guilty about it.

Yesterday, she had searched through the study at home for ninjutsu scrolls, only to discover that it had been reorganized and most of the scrolls were gone. With her father away from home as well, she ultimately failed to get it done.

"Sorry, Naruto. You wanted Water Release and Fire Release ninjutsu, but I couldn't find any Fire Release scrolls."

Hinata guiltily picked up a Water Release ninjutsu scroll, flipped through it with her fair little hands, then placed it back into the bag beside her before continuing.

"Still, I prepared thirty other ninjutsu for you. I hope you won't be angry."

After saying that, Hinata glanced at the huge pile of scrolls in the bag. Only then did she pat her chest with her slender little hand and let out a small sigh of relief before continuing to hug the clothes and wait for Naruto to return.

On a rooftop not far away.

Kō Hyuga, who was responsible for protecting Hinata, heard this and three dark lines appeared across his forehead.

He really wanted to say that it was already difficult enough for most people to obtain even one or two ninjutsu, yet she had given Naruto thirty. That was already an enormous amount.

The key was that she still looked afraid Naruto would get angry. Was she going to let anyone else live?

Kō Hyuga thought of one of his friends. That friend was not from the Hyuga Clan, but a civilian ninja. Back then, he had desperately taken on missions every day just to buy the most basic ninjutsu.

After working hard for a long time, he had finally bought a low-level ninjutsu. When he received it, he had been moved to tears. But now...

Looking at the pile of ninjutsu scrolls in the bag beside Hinata, Kō Hyuga felt that if his friend learned of this, he would probably smash his head against a wall in despair. There was no helping it—the blow would be too great.

Especially seeing Hinata sitting there quietly, gazing eagerly as she waited for Naruto, Kō Hyuga felt somewhat depressed as well.

"Ah, Naruto may have had a rough fate since childhood, but with Lady Hinata staying by his side without ever abandoning him, wasn't that a kind of happiness too?"

Kō Hyuga shook his head. He was actually a little envious of Naruto, yet he could not understand what was so good about him that Lady Hinata valued him so highly.

"Is it because Naruto's cooking tastes good? But without strength, that still falls a little short."

Kō Hyuga muttered to himself and raised his head toward the distant street. As a member of the Hyuga Clan, his observation skills were extremely sharp, so he easily noticed Naruto's return.

He had not cared much when he first saw Naruto, but from his position on the rooftop and with his keen eyesight, he spotted a bit of lining fabric at Naruto's collar.

That fabric belonged to a weighted vest, one of the pieces of weighted equipment he had personally helped deliver to Hinata.

He remembered it clearly: hauling those things had made sweat bead on his forehead. Yet Naruto was actually wearing that kind of weight on his body.

"Not bad. He's actually wearing a weighted vest. The Uzumaki Clan's physique truly is exceptional. Wait, those shoes!" Kō Hyuga's expression suddenly turned serious.

Those seemingly ordinary shoes were actually weighted equipment as well, and they were extremely heavy—not inferior to the weighted vest at all.

The key was that Naruto was wearing both the weighted vest and weighted shoes at the same time. Even he would not dare wear that much weight simultaneously.

"This Naruto has quite an impressive physique."

Kō Hyuga murmured, then subconsciously looked toward Naruto's wrists and vaguely caught sight of familiar fabric at the edge of one wrist.

At that, Kō Hyuga's pupils shrank slightly. He hurriedly looked toward Naruto's ankles, but unfortunately, his clothes concealed any traces at the edges.

Byakugan!

Kō Hyuga activated his Byakugan without hesitation and quickly locked onto Naruto's ankles. Then his expression changed slightly.

"He's wearing an entire set of weighted equipment. With that kind of weight, how is this possible? This kid's physique is actually this strong?"

Kō Hyuga could hardly believe it. For the first time, he took Naruto's strength seriously and discarded his previous belief that Naruto was weak.

"If I wore this entire set of equipment, even walking would probably be a problem. Yet this Naruto is completely unaffected. Is the Uzumaki Clan's physique really that powerful?"

Kō Hyuga murmured as he deactivated his Byakugan. Naruto's physique seemed excessively strong, but he could not explain why, so he could only decide to continue observing him in the future.

But at that moment, something unexpected happened.

Naruto, who was walking down the street, suddenly raised his head and glanced in his direction, startling him slightly.

"That shouldn't be possible. I hid myself well, and even when observing, I used a visual blind spot. Naruto shouldn't have noticed me. It must have been a coincidence."

Kō Hyuga muttered inwardly, feeling that Naruto had merely happened to glance this way. He did not believe Naruto had discovered him.

"You're back, Naruto." A sweet voice rang out, filled with delight and joy.

"Yeah. Hinata, can I discuss something with you?"

"What is it, Naruto?"

"It's simple. Could you have the ninja protecting you stay a little farther away? Honestly, he's really bad at hiding. The important thing is, he keeps poking his head around. He looks a bit like a monkey."

Like a monkey?!

On the rooftop.

Kō Hyuga's face went completely dark when he heard that. Having his hiding spot exposed was humiliating enough, but then Naruto had called him a monkey. How infuriating was that?

The depressed Kō Hyuga felt as if he were about to cough up three liters of blood, but then an even more suffocating voice followed.

"Mr. Kō Hyuga, could you please move a little farther away?"

Hinata's sweet voice sounded exceptionally pleasant, but hearing it made Kō Hyuga truly want to vomit blood. He felt as if his whole life had gone dark.

Suppressing the urge to smash his head against a wall, he bowed slightly. "As you wish, Lady Hinata."

Whoosh!

Kō Hyuga flashed away and ran to a distant corner to soothe his battered heart.

"Hinata, come in. I'll give you a key to my house. From now on, you can just come straight inside whenever you visit."

"Mm, thank you, Naruto. These are clothes I brought for you. Hurry and try them on to see whether they fit."

"Alright. Thanks, Hinata."

[Experience Points +1]

Their conversation echoed through Naruto's home, warm and happy, as intimate as family.

In the living room.

Naruto, now changed into the clothes, stood in the living room and let Hinata see whether they fit properly.

"Well? Do I look good in this?" Naruto asked as he watched Hinata circle around him.

"It looks very good, and it suits you. Try these sets too. They have different colors and styles. Whichever kind you like, I'll have more made for you next time."

Hinata stretched out her fair little hands, picked up the other four sets of clothes, and stuffed them into Naruto's arms, looking somewhat impatient.

[Experience Points +1]

"Alright, alright. I'll go change. Wait for me."

"Mm, got it."

Hinata nodded obediently, then remembered the ninjutsu she had brought and spoke again. "Naruto, I'm sorry. I couldn't find any Fire Release ninjutsu. I only found other types."

"It's fine. You don't need to apologize. These are already enough."

Naruto, who had been about to change clothes, looked at that bag of ninjutsu and felt warmth fill his heart. Then he extended his right hand, gently clasped Hinata's little hand, and said, "Hinata, thank you."

"It's... it's nothing."

Hinata saw Naruto holding her hand, and a blush instantly spread across her little face, all the way to her fair ears. In the end, she fainted.

"Huh?"

Naruto hurriedly caught Hinata. Seeing how adorably dazed she looked, he felt even warmer inside.

While Hinata was unconscious, Naruto lowered his head and kissed her little hand. A soft, gentle feeling instantly welled up in his heart.

That scene happened to be seen by Hinata just as she woke up, and she fainted again.

[Experience Points +1]

[Experience Points +1]