Muya Village (Extra-Long Chapter)

"That brat Naruto Uzumaki!"

"He's still young, so I'll give Lord Third some face and not hold it against him."

"Just wait. The moment he graduates from the Academy and becomes a ninja, I'll make sure he regrets it."

Konoha, Yakiniku Q.

The clan heads of Konoha's upper and middle ranks had gathered here. The three Ino-Shika-Cho clans sat together, and after getting drunk, Inoichi Yamanaka's cursing showed no signs of stopping.

Hyuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuga Clan, sat at the neighboring table.

He quietly ate his food and drank his sake.

Unlike the others, who either comforted or tried to dissuade the drunken Inoichi Yamanaka, he merely gave him an indifferent glance.

Then he murmured softly, "How undignified."

What a group of narrow-minded fools. No wonder they had never managed to join the ranks of the top clans after all these years. Shouting and making a scene in a barbecue restaurant, with no sense of etiquette at all.

No wonder he had raised a daughter like that. The young lady of the dignified Yamanaka Clan actually called a little boy her father.

The root of it all lay right there. Like father, like daughter.

And he even had the nerve to complain to the Hokage.

Ridiculous!

After sitting for a while, Hyuga Hiashi could no longer stand the noisy environment. He found an excuse, left the barbecue restaurant with his attendant, and headed toward the Hyuga Clan compound.

On the way home, he recalled Inoichi Yamanaka's earlier shouting and could not help smiling faintly.

He had clashed with Inoichi Yamanaka before, and their conflict had centered on their daughters. He believed Inoichi Yamanaka spoiled his daughter far too much, practically becoming her servant.

Meanwhile, Inoichi Yamanaka believed Hiashi suppressed his daughter too harshly, saying that constantly scolding Hinata would cause problems sooner or later.

And now, it was Inoichi Yamanaka's daughter who had developed a problem.

"How has Hinata been lately?"

"Lady Hinata has been improving almost every day."

"Mm."

His voice was mild, but he was in an excellent mood. Unlike that foolish wild girl from the Yamanaka family, his Hinata had been far too satisfying lately.

Well-read and sensible, humble and understanding.

Courteous and elegant.

A perfect young lady of a great clan.

Most importantly, she had been diligently training every day lately and making progress every day. Even her weak personality had gradually been tempered into something sharper.

What had worried Hyuga Hiashi most in the past was Hinata's overly gentle nature, which made her easy to take advantage of. Now, she was slowly learning how to be firm.

Sure enough, a strict father's education was the right approach.

Inoichi Yamanaka's unconditional pampering of his daughter was completely untenable.

As he thought about it, Hyuga Hiashi unconsciously arrived outside his daughter Hinata Hyuga's courtyard. At this hour, Hinata had probably already gone to sleep.

Normally, Hyuga Hiashi would certainly not disturb his daughter.

But today, after drinking a little and having Inoichi Yamanaka as a comparison, even the usually stern Hyuga Hiashi failed to restrain himself.

Gently, he pushed open his daughter's door.

Looking at his daughter Hinata Hyuga's sleeping face beneath the moonlight, he revealed a rare smile.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly noticed a small box on her table. It contained rice balls, along with a small note.

His curiosity was piqued.

Hyuga Hiashi gently picked it up and glanced at it. Then he froze on the spot, his eyes nearly filling with mist.

The note read:

(Dad, you've worked hard lately. These are the first rice balls I've ever made. I don't know whether they'll suit your taste, but I hope you'll like them.)

(OvO!!!)

Hyuga Hiashi stood there for a very, very long time. After barely calming his emotions, he gently put the note back and carefully withdrew from the room.

Then he instructed the guards not to tell anyone that he had come tonight.

Immediately afterward, Hyuga Hiashi returned to his room to rest. He looked forward to waking up early tomorrow.

Hyuga Hiashi had already decided that no matter what Hinata's rice balls tasted like, he would say they were acceptable.

Hmm...

Would that make Hinata too complacent? Maybe he should say they were average instead.

Mm, that was it.

He would put on a pained expression while eating them, then say the flavor was average. That way, Hinata would have the motivation to improve next time.

The more he thought about it, the more happily Hyuga Hiashi began humming.

"Mm-hm~!"

"Inoichi Yamanaka, you brat, you never expected this, did you? My life with my daughter is much happier than yours."

The next day.

Hyuga Hiashi got up early, put on his usual white kimono, carefully groomed himself, then waited in his room.

He waited for two hours.

From seven until nine, Hyuga Hiashi was becoming impatient. He muttered to himself, "As the eldest daughter of the main family, how can she sleep in? Hinata must be seriously criticized for this."

After waiting a little longer, Hinata still had not come to see him. After thinking it over, Hyuga Hiashi called the guard outside his door in.

"Go wake Hinata and have her train. Don't think spring break means she can rest. Children of the Hyuga main family do not have that privilege."

"But..." the guard replied, "Lady Hinata left early this morning."

"Hm?" Hyuga Hiashi froze. "Where did she go?"

"She said she had arranged to practice with friends at Training Ground 9."

She went to the training ground?

What about the gift for me?

Did she forget?

That child was really so scatterbrained.

He comforted himself inwardly, but at that moment, Hyuga Hiashi already had a bad feeling. He quickly left his room and pushed open Hinata's door.

Where was any gift...

"Who has Hinata been spending time with lately?"

"The young lady of the Yamanaka family, Ino Yamanaka..."

"Hm?!"

"And that demon fox brat called Naruto Uzumaki."

"Hm?!!!!"

Hyuga Hiashi's figure swiftly vanished from the Hyuga Clan compound.

Training Ground 9.

"Huff~!"

"Huff~!"

Hinata Hyuga panted heavily. Today, she had finally completed the chakra water-walking task Naruto assigned her. Without any assistance, she relied solely on chakra attached to her feet, maintaining her balance on the water's surface step by step, progressing from slow walking to rapid running.

Thanks to Naruto's precise guidance and the foundation from her earlier tree-climbing training, she completed this trial in less than three days.

She glanced toward Ino Yamanaka. At that moment, Ino could still barely manage to walk, and she had yet to reach the running stage.

"Hinata Hyuga, don't get smug. Your lead is only temporary. Sooner or later, I'll surpass you in front of Dad." Ino Yamanaka spread her arms to maintain her balance, looking thoroughly unconvinced.

"Then work hard!" Hinata Hyuga smiled and waved at Ino Yamanaka. "I'll go play with Dad first."

After spending so much time together, she understood exactly what kind of words could strike Ino Yamanaka the hardest.

After saying that, she ignored Ino Yamanaka, who angrily fell into the water, and ran ashore with a smile.

"Damn it!!!"

"Hehe~!"

The corners of Hinata Hyuga's lips curled upward. She realized that after spending so much time around Naruto, even the way she behaved was becoming more and more like him.

Still, she did not dislike it.

It was only when she faced Naruto alone that she still could not stop herself from blushing.

When she spotted Naruto lying beneath a tree and yawning, Hinata Hyuga's voice unconsciously began reverting to its original stammering state.

"Na... Naruto... did you open the breakfast box I made for you and eat it?"

"I'm not eating it!"

The moment she approached, she saw Naruto looking furious. His expression was anything but pleasant.

"Ah... wh... what's wrong?" Hinata Hyuga felt her heart tremble.

Were the rice balls not tasty, or did Naruto dislike the note she wrote?

"Food that isn't fed to me by Mom doesn't deserve to enter my mouth. I'd rather throw it in the trash." Naruto Uzumaki threw a childish tantrum.

Hearing that, Hinata Hyuga let out a huge sigh of relief. Then she timidly approached Naruto and sat kneeling beside him. "Th-then... do you want me to feed you?"

"Mom Hinata is the best!"

Naruto instantly smiled. Then he rested his head on Hinata's lap and opened his mouth. "Ah~!"

Seeing this, Hinata Hyuga smiled as well. Her pretty face was flushed as she slowly picked up the breakfast box she had packed. After opening it and seeing that the note was still there, she knew Naruto had not looked at it at all.

But it contained the words she wanted to say!

Seeing that Ino Yamanaka had not returned yet, Hinata Hyuga's heart pounded faster and faster. She decided to do something bold.

As she fed Naruto a rice ball, she said the words she wanted to tell him aloud.

"D-D-Dad, you've worked hard lately. You've always been teaching me how to train... These are the first rice balls I've ever made. I don't know whether they'll suit your taste. I hope... I hope... Dad will like them."

"They taste pretty average. You need to keep working hard, Mom!" Naruto said happily as he enjoyed being fed.

"O-okay, Dad. I'll keep improving them."

"Mm-hm, Mom is such a good girl!"

Naruto raised a hand and patted Hinata's hair as encouragement.

Hinata's face turned even redder, and then she laughed sweetly.

Not far away, Hyuga Hiashi watched that scene. His face turned green, then white. Though he was a ninja who had never been sick a day in his life, today he experienced what it meant for his blood pressure to soar.

Taking a deep breath, Hyuga Hiashi stared at the purple-haired ANBU blocking his way. In the end, he gave up on teaching Naruto Uzumaki a lesson.

In terms of strength, he feared no ANBU, but the ANBU were the Hokage's direct subordinates.

"Let me take Hinata away."

"Wait a little longer."

"I'll go demand justice from Lord Hokage!"

Hyuga Hiashi snorted coldly, turned around, and headed straight for the Hokage Tower.

However, upon arriving, he discovered that someone else was already in the Hokage's Office, angry over a similar matter.

"Lord Third, why won't you let me teach that brat Naruto Uzumaki a lesson? I can tolerate him calling my daughter Mom. That doesn't matter."

"But why does he make my daughter call him Master? If word of this gets out, how will my daughter ever face anyone again?"

The person speaking was Tsume Inuzuka, the head of the Inuzuka Clan.

She was Kiba Inuzuka and Inuzuka Hana's mother.

After Inuzuka Hana returned home yesterday, she had been acting strangely, muttering to her dog about things like "Thousand Years of Death," "bastard," "so strong," and "actually kind of handsome."

Tsume Inuzuka had no idea what was going on, so she sent her ninja dog to ask her daughter's ninja dog Haimaru what had happened.

She did not know until she asked, but the answer shocked her.

The eldest daughter of a clan that raised ninja dogs had actually become someone else's ninja dog outside.

How could Tsume Inuzuka possibly tolerate that? She immediately gave Inuzuka Hana a vicious beating, then prepared to deal with that brat Naruto Uzumaki as well. However, ANBU intercepted her halfway there.

With no other choice, Tsume Inuzuka could only come to the Hokage Tower first and question Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Actually..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep puff from his pipe. "I think this is a good thing!"

"This is a good thing?!"

Tsume Inuzuka slammed her fist onto the desk. "Then what would count as bad?!"

If the person before her had not been the Hokage, Tsume Inuzuka probably would have started cursing already.

"Don't get worked up!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and took out a videotape.

"Let me show you something."

Since he had anticipated this, Hiruzen Sarutobi had recorded Naruto's battle against Inuzuka Hana and Izumi Uchiha in full.

Then, right in front of Tsume Inuzuka, he started playing the recording.

When the video ended, Tsume Inuzuka fell silent. It turned out her daughter had been the one to pick a fight, only to lose...

And she had lost twice in a two-on-one fight despite having a five-year age advantage.

Under those circumstances, how could Tsume Inuzuka still have the nerve to stand up for her daughter and cause trouble for Naruto Uzumaki?

"Look. After Naruto defeated Inuzuka Hana and that other girl for the second time in the recording, he actually took the initiative to offer to teach them how to train."

Hiruzen Sarutobi pointed at the scene where Naruto blasted out a huge fireball and then offered to teach them, looking rather gratified.

He saw in Naruto the same selfless devotion Minato Namikaze had shown toward the village.

"Look at how delighted Hana and the other girl are. Doesn't that count as a good thing?"

Tsume Inuzuka hesitated, but ultimately said nothing.

"I know what you're angry about. It's nothing more than a form of address. That's just a small matter, far better than having an openly hostile rivalry between them, isn't it?"

"Besides, you need to think about something. Naruto only acts like this toward Hana right now. From what I understand of Naruto, if you appear before him, his target might become you instead."

"So, are you sure you really want to go find trouble with him?"

Tsume Inuzuka's expression rapidly changed at those words.

She snapped, "If he dares call me Mom or make me become a ninja dog, I'll beat his ass until it blossoms."

"But how long can you keep beating him?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and continued, "You saw it yourself. At such a young age, he's already shown strength far beyond that of a Chunin."

"..."

Tsume Inuzuka fell silent.

Then Hiruzen Sarutobi consoled her.

"Don't take it too much to heart. Naruto only did this because he'd been suppressing himself for too long."

"I understand, Lord Third. I was too emotional this time."

Tsume Inuzuka bowed, sighed, and left the Hokage's Office.

As Tsume Inuzuka passed Hyuga Hiashi, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Hiashi.

"Hiashi, I know what you want to say."

"But I'm telling you, this is a good thing!"

"Naruto and Hinata have simply been suppressing themselves for too long!"

Upon hearing this.

Kakashi Hatake, the ANBU captain who had been following Hiruzen Sarutobi these past few days, was nearly unable to hold it together. He felt that the words he had heard most often lately were "good thing" and "suppressed."

Forget calling it Konoha—just rename it Repressed Village!

Joking aside, after that bit of mockery, Kakashi Hatake seriously began considering a question.

Naruto...

Was he really that suppressed?

Minato-sensei, I'm sorry. I failed to take care of Naruto.

All these years, I never once went to see him. I didn't dare...

Elsewhere.

Naruto had already learned through eavesdropping on Uzuki Yugao's thoughts that Hyuga Hiashi had come. A smile spread across his face. Another pawn found.

PS: Dear handsome, dashing, charming readers, this little author is begging for votes~!

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