A morning in the Hyuga Clan

"Yaaawn~~~"

One early morning, Naruto stood before the Hyuga Clan's imposing gates, leaning against the wall and yawning nonstop. He looked thoroughly sleep-deprived.

"Father, I'm leaving." Already ready for school, Hinata glanced back at Naruto and hurriedly called out to Hyuga Hiashi, who was doing his morning exercises in the courtyard. Then she waved to her little sister, who had just woken up and was still wobbling as she walked out of the house, before jogging over to Naruto.

Only after Hinata and Naruto started walking side by side did Neji, who had been waiting at the edge of the courtyard, silently follow them at a distance.

Even after they were far away, Hyuga Hiashi remained perfectly composed, continuing to practice his punches with the other clan members in the courtyard.

"Hey, what's gotten into the clan head these past few days? He used to follow the Young Lady all the way there to protect her. Now he doesn't go out himself, and, unlike before, he won't even let her leave. Even for school, she has to wait until that kid Naruto comes to pick her up."

"Come on, what do you know? Haven't you noticed that the clan head even stopped having us protect her in secret?"

"Yeah, why is that?"

"Idiot, what would happen if we protected her in secret? Sooner or later, we'd see something we shouldn't. He's telling us not to disturb the young couple while they grow closer, understand?"

"Huh? Is that it?"

"What else? Before, the Young Lady went looking for Naruto every day. Sure, that kid is outstanding, but our Hyuga Clan is one of the greatest clans in Konoha. The clan head obviously doesn't want her throwing herself into his arms so eagerly... no, I mean, he wants her to carry herself