Ruri looked at the familiar face before him and thought, Oh, that face should be Gekko Hayate!
Ruri had some impression of Gekko Hayate. In the original story, he would become a Special Jōnin of Konoha, and his strength was not particularly lacking. He served as the chief examiner for the third exam during Naruto's year and was also Uzuki Yugao's fiancé, but he died at a killer's hands during Orochimaru's Konoha Crush plan.
"Hey, Ruri Hyuga, what's with you? You showed up late when Lord Third Hokage summoned you, and you keep pestering Yugao. What exactly are you trying to do?" Gekko Hayate demanded angrily. Two of his teammates stood beside him.
Seeing that something was wrong, Uzuki Yugao immediately walked over to Ruri and said, "Hayate, what are you doing? Ruri is my friend, and he even saved me during a mission. Why are you treating him like this?"
"Yugao, you..." Seeing Uzuki Yugao take Ruri's side, he froze on the spot!
"We're friends who grew up playing together! But lately, you're always with this guy! You two look awfully close. Don't tell me you..." Gekko Hayate said loudly, looking at Uzuki Yugao.
"Yes, it's exactly what you think. We may have grown up playing together, but you and I are only friends. You have no right to interfere with my personal space!" Uzuki Yugao shouted at Gekko Hayate.
At this point, Uzuki Yugao regarded Gekko Hayate purely as a friend. Apart from friendship, she had no other feelings for him whatsoever! This showed that Uzuki Yugao was still a very innocent little girl when she was young.
"Ruri, don't worry. With me here, he won't do anything to you!" Uzuki Yugao turned and said to Ruri.
Ruri smiled with narrowed eyes and nodded to Uzuki Yugao.
"Yugao,