After Meihui and his brother had eaten their fill on the mountain behind the village, they went home.
Since it was nighttime, there were few people on the road, and no one else came to give them trouble.
There was no telling how much longer these days would last. Only because Naruto was the protagonist, with Asura's soul inside him constantly influencing his mind, had he avoided turning dark in such an environment. Anyone else would have long since joined in destroying Konoha. They might even have opened the gates for Pain when he came to invade.
But Naruto was different now. Meihui was there to keep him company, protect him, care for him, and bring warmth into his life.
His childhood was no longer as dark as it had originally been. There was also Rei Sarutobi, who quietly cared for (monitored) them.
Once the two got home, they began cleaning. Though the house was small, they kept it very tidy.
The day had come for Hiruzen Sarutobi to bring them money again.
He had taken off his usual Hokage attire and dressed in casual clothes.
He placed some money on the table and reminded the brothers.
"This is your living allowance for this month. Don't waste it."
Just then, Naruto suddenly asked a question.
"Why don't we have a mom and dad?"
At Naruto's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent. Without another word, he turned and left.
Seeing Naruto so downcast made Meihui's heart ache.
He stroked Naruto's head and pulled him into his arms.
Naruto whimpered softly against his chest.
Meihui looked at the pitifully small allowance on the table, then at Naruto, who was still sniffling.
His gaze grew distant. Was that old bastard really this heartless?
At last, spring passed and winter arrived. Snow swirled through the air, and the wind cut to the bone.
Meihui and Naruto walked through the snow, hunching their necks against the cold breeze.
"Naruto, slow down! Look how heavily it's snowing."
"Hurry up, big brother! Let's check out that forest up ahead."
That was right: the two were going hungry again. With no other choice, they could only head into the forest to find something to eat.
But in such heavy snow, how could there be anything to eat?
The two wandered aimlessly.
Then they heard children making a racket up ahead.
When they drew closer, they saw several little boys surrounding a little girl.
She had blue hair and white pupils.
She was none other than Naruto's future wife-Hinata.
"Hey, you white-eyed freak!"
"Don't look this way with those eyes. They're disgusting."
The brats' nasty remarks reached the brothers' ears.
Both Meihui and Naruto grew angry.
Naruto was the more impulsive of the two. Seeing someone bullying Hinata, he felt an inexplicable urge to rush over and help her.
But after taking a step or two, he stopped and looked at Meihui.
Meihui could see that Naruto was hesitating, so he promptly kicked him forward.
"Seriously, that's your future wife. What's with all the dithering? Get it together."
Naruto, who had just been kicked out by his older brother, was still a little dazed.
Where am I? Who am I?
"What, you want to play the hero and save the girl?"
The brats were annoyed at the blond boy who had suddenly appeared.
"Hey, it's you! The Demon Fox."
Before the brats could finish speaking, Naruto charged straight in and started brawling with them.
One against seven, without a trace of fear.
That was all thanks to Meihui putting him through the wringer every day. Although Meihui loved Naruto dearly, sometimes he really did beat him up.
As his older brother Meihui put it, you had to start beating your little brother early.
But Naruto was still too young. Although he could hold his own against them at first, he gradually began to struggle.
Several times, he failed to dodge in time and took punches and kicks.
Seeing Naruto begin to lose ground, Meihui walked over at an unhurried pace.
When they saw another blond boy approaching, the brats realized they had no chance of winning. One was already this hard to handle, and now there was another.
Their leader threw out a threat and started running.
"You win this time! Just you wait!"
He shouted as he ran, but Meihui wasn't about to let him get away with it. He promptly packed a snowball.
It sailed in a perfect arc and struck the loudmouthed brat square in the head, knocking him down.
The terrified boy scrambled to his feet and fled home.
All the while, he kept shouting that the Demon Fox was going to eat someone.
"Um, thank you both. My name is Hinata Hyuga. It's nice to meet you."
"Believe it! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and this is my older brother, Meihui Uzumaki."
Naruto introduced them with easy familiarity.
Meihui rewarded him with a knock on the head.
"How many times have I told you? Stop using that catchphrase."
After Meihui hit him, Naruto rubbed his head.
He chuckled.
Hinata couldn't help laughing.
Just then, the system, which Meihui hadn't seen in ages, suddenly appeared.
[Ding! Plot point detected. Plot check-in successful.]
The long-absent system gave Meihui a start. It hadn't shown up for so long that he'd thought it was having an affair!
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