Triumphant Return to the Village, a Full-Level Welcome

Two weeks later.

Hidden Leaf Main Gate, 3:45 AM.

As three wagons laden with goods turned onto the final gentle slope from the main road of the Land of Fire, the two Chunin guarding the gate simultaneously straightened up.

It wasn't because of the carriage.

It was because more than half of Konoha's high-ranking officials were standing behind the carriage.

The Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, stood at the very front, the hem of her Hokage robe fluttering in the autumn wind.

Behind her stood three advisors: Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Akimichi Chōza.

Further on, representatives from the Hyuga Clan, Inuzuka Clan, Aburame Clan, and other families took their places, while the masks of the Anbu were lined up in a row on the roof.

The commoners and Genin on both sides of the village gate crowded the roadside, craning their necks and whispering to each other.

"What's going on? Who is the Lord Hokage here to greet with so many people?"

"I heard that Naruto Uzumaki from Team 7 has returned from the Water Country... bringing with him a super-huge alliance agreement."

"An alliance? With that twelve-year-old brat?"

The carriage stopped.

The carriage curtain was lifted.

One hand reached out first, casually resting on the edge of the bicycle frame.

Short, golden hair peeked out from behind the curtain, sunlight illuminating an excessively youthful face, with three fox-like wrinkles drawing arcs across her cheeks.

Naruto jumped off the carriage, his left hand in his pocket, his right hand still clutching half a half-eaten flatbread.

He stopped, chewed the food in his mouth a couple of times, and glanced at the dark mass of welcoming people in front of him.

His gaze swept across Tsunade's face, across the faces of the advisors, and across the faces of the representatives of the various clans.

Everyone he saw—without exception—instinctively avoided his gaze.

Naruto swallowed the last bite of the biscuit and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

"Whoa."

The single word, its tone rising, carried an undisguised playfulness.

"Tsunade- nee, you're making such a big fuss as if I'm getting married."

Tsunade's temple throbbed.

She stepped forward, the sleeves of her Hokage robe billowing in the wind.

He walked up to Naruto and looked him down for three seconds.

The young man's complexion was rosy and relaxed, with a languid and carefree air about him, evident in his brows and Kakuzu.

Where is the fatigue from spending half a month on a high-risk S-level mission?

She looked like she had just crawled out of a boudoir.

Tsunade a deep breath, suppressing her surging anger back into her chest.

She reached out and patted Naruto's shoulder with considerable force.

"Naruto Uzumaki"

The voice rose, addressed to someone in the room, "Your mission to the Water Country, single-handedly quelling the Hidden Mist rebellion and forging a century-old alliance between the two countries, is of outstanding merit. On behalf of Hokage, I, the Hidden Leaf, hereby formally bestow upon you—"

"Special Jōnin Rank"

The entire room fell silent for two seconds.

Immediately afterwards, hushed whispers rose from all sides of the crowd, like water boiling in a pot.

Twelve years old.

Special Jōnin.

The youngest since the founding of Hidden Leaf Village.

Naruto tilted his head, his face showing no particular reaction. However, Haku peeked out from the second carriage behind him, his long black hair falling over his shoulders and his lips curving into a slight smile.

Tayuya rolled her eyes from the third car and muttered, "Only Special Jōnin, huh?" But after being glanced at by Haku, she immediately shut up and shrank back into the car.

Naruto nodded, as if accepting a flyer.

Tsunade nearly ground her teeth to powder.

The celebration was held in the plaza in front of the Hokage Building.

The event was short; Tsunade gave a three-minute speech, Naruto went on stage, said "Everyone, disperse and don't block the way," and then jumped off the stage.

Throughout the entire process, not a single high-ranking official took the initiative to approach Naruto and exchange pleasantries.

It's not that I don't want to.

No, I dare not.

When the boy stood on the stage, his hands were in his pockets, his back was slouching and slightly hunched, like a truant kid who had been caught skipping class.

But what emanated from him—not Chakra, not killing intent—was like a beast that had just eaten its fill, squatting there sunbathing, showing no interest in anything.

But everyone present knew what this beast had done in the Water Country half a month ago.

Four hundred people.

One night.

A sinkhole.

Not even ashes remained.

Shikaku stood at the back of the crowd, his pipe unlit.

He turned his head and glanced at Ding Zuo beside him.

Ding Zuo's smile froze, and a fine layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Shikaku looked away and tucked his pipe into his sleeve.

The world is changing too fast.

The celebration has ended.

Naruto declined Tsunade's invitation to "come to the Hokage's Office for a detailed discussion"—"Let's do it another day, sis. I need to go home first."

Tsunade stood on the steps of the office building, watching the golden figure gradually disappear into the distance, followed by two women, one with black hair and the other with silver hair.

Shizune leaned closer and whispered, "Lady Tsunade, should we take a look at the terms of that alliance agreement now?"

Tsunade didn't move.

She stared at Naruto's retreating figure, her amber eyes swirling with complex emotions.

"... That brat."

She finally spoke, her voice so low that only the Shizune could hear it.

"He's been gone for half a month and hasn't even written me a single letter."

Shizune opened her mouth, but swallowed the words that were about to come out.

The way her parents were talking... it didn't sound like the Hokage at all.

It was clearly a woman who had been neglected and was sulking.

Naruto's apartment building.

Naruto saw it before he even turned into the alley.

To be precise, they heard— Hyuga Hiashi's steady, almost rigid footsteps, now surprisingly making a quick, short gait on the paving stones.

At the corner of the alley, a group of thirty Hyuga Clan guards stood in two straight rows, all dressed in white robes with their distinctive bandages wrapped around their foreheads.

Meanwhile, Hyuga Hiashi himself—the Hyuga Clan leader who usually sat calmly and composed in the clan—was pacing back and forth in front of the building with his hands behind his back, the plain kimono sash around his waist almost coming undone.

As Naruto's footsteps approached, Hiashi suddenly turned around.

Those eyes, which always held such an air of superiority, were now frighteningly bright.

"Father-in-law"

Naruto shouted from afar, his pace unhurried, his tone lazy, "What's going on here? Are you trying to demolish my house?"

Hiashi forward, taking three steps in two.

He rushed to within a meter of Naruto, then suddenly stopped, waving his hands wildly in front of him and opening and closing his lips several times, but he couldn't form a single complete sentence.

The thirty guards behind him all looked up at their clan leader.

They had lived for decades and this was the first time they had ever seen Hyuga Hiashi in this state.

"Naruto!"

The Hiashi finally regained his voice, his voice a full octave higher than usual, "You're finally back!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong? Is someone bullying Hinata?"

Before he finished speaking, his aura suddenly tightened.

The languor dissipated, replaced by the oppressive atmosphere before the storm.

All thirty Hyuga Clan guards buckled at the knees.

Hiashi quickly waved his hands, making them look like fans. "No, no, no! Who would dare to touch a hair on her head! It's a joyous occasion! A truly joyous occasion!"

Naruto's aura dissipated as quickly as if it had never existed.

He tilted his head to look at Hiashi, waiting for the next part.

Hiashi took a deep breath.

Two breaths.

Three breaths.

Then he grabbed Naruto's sleeve—the Hyuga Main House head, like a child who had received a precious treasure, clutching the sleeve of a twelve-year-old boy—

Hinata's Byakugan--

His voice trembled.

"It's changed!"

Naruto stopped in his tracks.

Behind them, Shiro and Tayuya looked up at the same time.

The autumn wind swept into the alley, swirling up a few fallen leaves.

Hiashi's eyes were red-rimmed, his lips curved into an exaggerated smile, and his entire face was filled with uncontrollable ecstasy.

"Seven days after you left... Hinata Byakugan on its own during training, and her eye color..."

He took a step closer, his voice becoming almost a whisper.

"--Silver-white."

"Exactly the same as yours."

Naruto's azure eyes narrowed.

Deep in my mind, that cold, mechanical voice rang out precisely on time.

[A bloodline mutation has been detected in the target "Hinata Hyuga"... Analyzing...]

[Analysis complete.]

[Congratulations, host!][The "Pure Byakugan" bloodline has completed its one-way genetic awakening through bond resonance! The target, "Hinata Hyuga's " Byakugan, has evolved into -- "Silver Eyes - Subordinate State"!]

[Additional Note: This is a lower-level derivative of the host's Pure Byakugan, with an upper limit of approximately 40% of the host's original power, but it far surpasses any Byakugan in the Hyuga Clan's thousand-year history.]

[Note: This is the first time the passive bloodline diffusion effect of the "Many Children, Many Blessings System" has been triggered. The deeper the bond, the higher the probability of genetic awakening and the higher the inheritance limit for offspring. It is recommended that the host... intensify the effort.]

Naruto's lips curled into a smile.

Slowly, little by little, like a blade sliding out of its sheath.

Hiashi continued speaking, his words rapid-fire. "--I've personally witnessed it three times! Her pupil power is more than four times that of a normal Byakugan! Her clairvoyance is three times greater! Moreover, her Gentle Fist are accompanied by a golden halo, and when it hits a wooden stake, it directly burns out the internal Chakra meridian diagram! This is something that has never happened in the Main Family in the past twelve hundred years--"

"Stop."

Naruto raised his hand.

Hiashi's mouth immediately shut.

Conditioned reflex.

The thirty guards held their breath.

Naruto withdrew his hand, put it back in his pocket, and looked past Hiashi's shoulder, landing on the window of the second-floor apartment.

The curtains moved slightly.

Someone is peeping inside.

"Father in law."

Naruto's voice was soft and slow, carrying a chilling certainty.

"I think I know what you're trying to say."

Hiashi's Adam's apple bobbed.

The last vestige of his clansmanship made him hesitate and rehearse his next words five or six times before finally squeezing them out from between his teeth.

"Wedding date."

Two words.

After he finished speaking, he straightened his back, as if he had unloaded something extremely heavy.

"I'll set the wedding date. The sooner the better. The Hyuga Main House will handle everything; there's no upper limit to the scale."

Naruto stared at him for two seconds.

Then he laughed.

It wasn't mockery, nor was it amusement; it was a genuine smile, tinged with a hint of satisfaction.

"Okay."

He patted Hiashi on the shoulder, the pressure neither too light nor too heavy, "But this isn't urgent, I'll go upstairs and check on my wife first."

He walked past Hiashi and headed towards the stairwell.

He took two steps, then stopped and turned his head to look at the white figure behind him.

Bai stood still, her long, black hair hanging down her chest, her expression calm and unreadable.

But her hand, hanging at her side, had its five fingers curled up, gripping a corner of her skirt.

Naruto saw it.

He didn't speak, he just extended his hand.

Palms facing upwards, towards the white direction.

Bai raised his head.

When those clear, transparent eyes met his gaze, her clenched hand loosened.

She stepped forward and placed her hand in his palm.

Naruto's fingers closed and clenched.

"Let's go home."

The two of them went up the stairs one after the other.

Tayuya followed behind, muttering "So showy, so showy," but her pace didn't slow down at all.

Downstairs, Hiashi watched the golden figure disappear around the corner and let out a long sigh.

The captain of the guards behind him hesitated for a moment, then leaned forward and asked in a low voice, "Chieftain... were you serious about the wedding date you mentioned earlier?"

Hiashi did not look back.

His gaze fell on the second-floor window, where the curtains had been completely drawn open from the inside.

"Do you think I'm joking?"

The captain of the guards shut up.

Hiashi turned to walk back, he suddenly paused as he passed the guards.

"After we get back."

His voice regained the composure and authority befitting a clan leader, "Bring out all the Sealing Jutsu for the Caged Bird."

The guard captain was taken aback. "Chief?"

"All."

The Hiashi's back didn't falter; he said, "I want to check it myself."

He didn't say why.

But the captain of the guard broke out in a cold sweat.

Second floor.

Before Naruto could even touch the doorknob, the door was pulled open from the inside.

A person was standing in the doorway.

Her long, dark blue hair cascaded over her shoulders, and a faint blush graced her fair cheeks. Her moon-white loungewear dress made her resemble an iris flower just pulled from the water.

Hinata Hyuga bit her lower lip, her hands twisting together in front of her—

Her silvery-white eyes were fixed on him without blinking.

"Naruto... Naruto-kun."

Her voice was trembling.

Something was welling up in my eyes, but I stubbornly held it back from falling.

"You're back."

Naruto stood in the doorway, looking down at her.

His reflection was mirrored in those silvery-white pupils—blonde hair, blue eyes, and a smile that made hearts race.

He reached out, his thumb brushing against the corner of her eye, pressing back the trembling tear.

"Um."

"You're back."