Hiashi's eyes widened in disbelief when he saw both his daughters standing protectively in front of Naruto.
What?
Naruto Uzumaki, damn you!
"Ahem..."
Naruto coughed twice, rubbed his aching chest, and stood up.
That old bastard really hadn't held back with that palm strike!
"Naruto-kun, are you all right?"
Hinata hurriedly turned to support Naruto, her eyes full of worry.
"I'm fine."
Naruto waved a hand with a wry smile. "Actually, this is all a misunderstanding. Lord Third ordered me to capture Mizuki, the spy."
"Oh, so it was a misunderstanding!"
Inoichi looked disappointed at that and reluctantly lowered his hands, abandoning his hand seals.
He hadn't even had a chance to properly "teach" the brat a lesson before Naruto spilled the truth.
Now he had no excuse to attack him at all.
"But Naruto, why didn't you say so sooner?"
Inoichi deliberately raised his voice, casting a sidelong glance at Hiashi.
"The Hyuga Clan Leader was too quick to strike, too. He didn't even give the young man a chance to explain."
Hiashi's face turned livid. Looking at his two daughters, who were still shielding Naruto, he felt even more suffocated.
When he first arrived and encountered Inoichi Yamanaka watching Naruto, that hadn't been what the man said!
Inoichi Yamanaka had declared with absolute conviction that he'd disliked the blond brat for ages and wanted to beat him up to vent his anger.
Now he'd washed his hands of the whole thing.
"Dad!"
Ino Yamanaka and Shikaku Nara arrived as well.
Seeing the scene before her, Ino immediately ran to her father's side and eyed Hiashi warily.
"Oh, Clan Leader Hiashi is here too."
Shikaku Nara scratched his head as though he'd only just noticed him, but a sly gleam flashed in his eyes.
"Ah, Shikaku."
Hiashi nodded, barely maintaining his composure while his thoughts churned.
That old blond bastard must have sensed his daughter approaching with Sensory Ninjutsu and changed his tune!
Inoichi Yamanaka, damn you!
He shot Inoichi a furious glare, demanding with his eyes: Your sensory abilities are so good, so why didn't you tell me my daughters were coming?
Inoichi casually averted his gaze and pretended to study the moon.
By then, Naruto had also figured out what was going on.
Looks like this was another test from the Third. That old man still doesn't trust me!
But on second thought, wasn't this a chance to go with the flow and turn things to his advantage?
"I'm taking the Scroll of Seals and Mizuki to see Lord Third now, uncles."
When Naruto refrained from revealing in front of everyone that this had been a mission, Hiashi and Inoichi both breathed sighs of relief.
Something suddenly clicked for Inoichi.
Third had specifically chosen the two of them, probably not just to test Naruto, but also to observe their clans' attitudes.
As for why he'd picked those two in particular...
He glanced at Hinata and Hanabi pressed close to Naruto, then at Ino beside him.
Wasn't the answer obvious from who had shown up?
No wonder the ANBU delivering the orders tonight had been so accommodating. They'd anticipated this scene all along.
Shikaku stepped in at just the right moment to smooth things over. "In that case, I'll accompany Naruto back to the Hokage Building. The Scroll of Seals is too important to take lightly, after all."
As he spoke, he gave his two colleagues a meaningful look.
"You two should take your daughters home. It's getting late."
Hiashi and Inoichi nodded.
On the way to the Hokage Building, Shikaku pondered for a moment before scratching his head and speaking as though making an offhand remark.
"You've really looked after our Shikamaru at school all these years."
Naruto smiled and shook his head, the dim yellow streetlights illuminating the tips of his golden hair.
"Not at all. Really, Shikamaru and the others are the ones who've looked after me. They're among the few friends I have in the village."
His smile was so genuine and warm that Shikaku couldn't help losing himself in it for a moment.
Through that young face, he seemed to glimpse another blond figure with an equally radiant smile.
"Shikamaru used to be a very lazy boy."
Shikaku's voice softened a little.
"But after meeting you, he actually asked me to teach him our clan's Secret Techniques. That was a first.
"I think you must have been the one who changed him."
What he left unsaid was that, over the years, the children of the three Ino-Shika-Cho clans had gotten into plenty of trouble defending Naruto.
It wasn't just Kiba setting his dog on people. Shikaku, Choza, and Inoichi had also been called in because their children had fought with classmates. Naturally, it was because they'd wanted to stand up for Naruto and had thrashed the kids who mocked him.
As for Sasuke, who got into the most fights, and Naruto, who often paid late-night "visits" to the families who complained after his classmates' parents were called to school, no one wanted to summon their parents.
Everyone in the village knew those two children's circumstances.
To call their parents in, they'd at least have to learn Impure World Reincarnation and prepare sacrifices-or go straight to the Pure Land to tell them.
Not to mention that, apart from a handful of people, the vast majority of the village didn't actually know who Naruto's parents were.
Inoichi sometimes complained to Shikaku and Choza.
Although he was always grumbling about Naruto stealing his daughter's heart, seeing the children become more united and responsible because of Naruto actually made him very proud as a father.
Naruto was rather surprised by Shikaku's words.
He'd assumed Shikamaru and the others had reached the age when their families started teaching them Secret Techniques. He hadn't expected Shikamaru to have asked to learn them himself.
That Shikamaru, who always loved lying on rooftops watching clouds and never stopped saying "What a drag," had actually asked to train in his clan's Secret Techniques?
Naruto could almost see that boy again, his hands behind his head as he drawled, "Even losing to you is a drag."
Shikamaru, you...
Naruto looked up at the night sky. The scattered stars seemed to form the sly smile of that boy who hated trouble. He would never forget the weight of that friendship.
Upon reaching the Hokage's Office, Shikaku dumped Mizuki on the floor like a dead dog, producing a dull thud.
"You did well this time, Naruto."
Third took a puff of his pipe, studying the blond boy before him with a penetrating gaze through the swirling smoke. Although he'd already witnessed the entire affair through the Crystal Ball, the old man still felt a private rush of relief at seeing Naruto safe and sound in person.
"Although your use of the Three Basic Techniques still leaves something to be desired, you're certainly qualified to become a Genin."
Third smiled kindly.
"Go home and wait for your team assignment!"
"Thank you, Grandpa Third!"
Naruto immediately put on an ecstatic expression, bouncing with joy like a child who had truly earned recognition.
The few people in the office who knew the truth shared an unspoken understanding-no one mentioned Naruto sneaking a look at the Scroll of Seals.
That itself amounted to Third's tacit approval.
If Naruto used any of its jutsu in the future, he could simply claim that Third had authorized it.
As Naruto bowed and left the office, his gaze casually swept over the Third's wrinkled face.
Before long, the time would come for Orochimaru to launch the Konoha Crush Plan, just as in the original story.
Third, who had held sway over the shinobi world for decades, would soon take his final bow.