Konoha

In the main hall of his residence, Tianyun Hyuga looked helplessly at the heap of strange food Meicun Hyuga had piled into his bowl.

Faced with all that food, Tianyun could neither bring himself to eat it nor leave it untouched. After a moment's hesitation, he wolfed down every last unpalatable bite.

Ah, this was what happened when you needed a favor from someone. Tianyun felt utterly helpless.

Meicun's cooking was actually quite good, but much of the meal consisted of sashimi and similar dishes. They did not suit the tastes of Tianyun, who came from another world, which was why he found them so hard to stomach.

"Good, good, good. Have some more..."

Seeing that Tianyun had eaten everything she had given him, Meicun happily reached to pile even more food into his bowl.

Tianyun hurriedly stopped her. "Mother, please stop. I'm already full. We should go see the Clan Head and Lord Hokage now. That's what matters most."

Meicun paused. "Tianyun, you seem so grown-up today. Did something happen? You're acting a little strange."

As she spoke, Meicun patted his little head and gave him a curious look. Tianyun dared not say anything more, lest he make her even more suspicious.

Tianyun remained silent and simply looked at Meicun with determination.

Meicun stroked his head. Faced with his unwavering gaze, she finally put her suspicions aside. "All right! Once I've cleaned up, we'll go see the Clan Head!"

Having secured her agreement, Tianyun stood up and said, "Mother, I'll go back to my room and change, then..."

Meicun did not think his clothes were particularly dirty or needed changing at all, but since Tianyun insisted, she did not stop him. "Then let's meet at the front gate in twenty minutes and go to the Clan Head's house together..."

Tianyun nodded and hurried back to his room. For now, he did not want to spend too much time around Meicun, the person who knew him best. Otherwise, she would grow suspicious sooner or later.

For the time being, Tianyun needed to avoid people who knew him too well. After a while, everyone would become accustomed to his new personality and stop suspecting him. Then he could finally relax.

Back in his room, Tianyun changed into another outfit without much thought, then sat down to consider how to handle the Hyuga Clan Head and the Third Hokage so they would accept him.

After going over the plot of Naruto in his mind, Tianyun settled on an approach. Brimming with confidence, he left his room and headed to the front gate to meet Meicun.

"Come over here, Tianyun..."

Before Tianyun reached the gate, he heard Meicun calling. He quickly hid his confident expression, put on a cheerful face, and ran over to join her.

Inside, however, Tianyun kept sighing. Pretending to be a child was exhausting...

Once they met up, Meicun took Tianyun's hand and led him out of the house toward the Hyuga Clan Head's residence.

The Hyuga Clan's residential grounds were pleasant. Lush green trees shaded both sides of the road all the way to the Clan Head's residence, leaving Tianyun feeling cool and refreshed rather than hot.

Along the way, Tianyun encountered several adults from the Hyuga Clan, but they were all in a hurry. At most, they greeted Meicun without paying him any attention.

That suited Tianyun just fine. The less he said, the fewer mistakes he could make. He would have preferred it if no one spoke to him at all.

At the entrance to the Hyuga Clan Head's residence, four guards stopped Meicun and Tianyun. One who knew Meicun asked, "Meicun, what brings you here?"

"Oh, Zhongyan! I came to discuss something with the Clan Head and ask his permission to let Tianyun attend the Konoha Academy," Meicun said, greeting the guard with a smile before explaining why she had come.

The guard Meicun had called Zhongyan glanced at Tianyun, then said bluntly, "There's no need to trouble the Clan Head over something this minor. Take Tianyun to see Lord Hokage first. The Clan Head is teaching the young lady right now. When he takes a break, I'll tell him about it for you."

"Ah! Wouldn't that be improper?" Meicun asked, a little startled.

Zhongyan shook his head. "It's fine. The Clan Head won't blame you over something so minor. If there really is a problem, Meicun, just tell him it was my doing."

After a moment's hesitation, Meicun nodded. "Then I'll leave it to you, Zhongyan. I'll invite you over for a meal sometime..."

Zhongyan shook his head and sighed. "There's no need. I used to be on the same team as Leiyu. I don't need anything in return for helping his family. I only hope Tianyun will train hard once he enters the village academy."

At the mention of Leiyu Hyuga, Meicun fell silent. Finally, she bowed to Zhongyan Hyuga. "Then I'm sorry for the trouble, Zhongyan. I'll take Tianyun to see Lord Hokage first. We'll be going now..."

"Go on! I still have guard duty..." Zhongyan said.

After saying goodbye to Zhongyan, Meicun took Tianyun's hand and headed into Konoha. The sights along the way stirred a sense of nostalgia in him.

As for not getting to meet the Hyuga Clan Head, Tianyun did not care at all. He could tell from Zhongyan's eyes that the man did not like him and even looked down on him.

That alone showed how little the Hyuga Clan cared about an untalented child like him. Losing one made little difference to them.

Since they looked down on him anyway, Tianyun could not be bothered to waste words on them. He put all the excuses he had prepared in his room for the Hyuga Clan Head out of his mind, instead admiring the shops and scenery in Konoha that he had seen in the manga as he walked.

Every so often, Tianyun spotted a face that had appeared a few times in Naruto. Curious, he kept looking around, hoping to find some of the characters who appeared more often in the manga.

Unfortunately, by the time they reached the Hokage Building, he had not seen Kakashi, Might Guy, Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuhi, or even a single member of the Konoha 12. Tianyun was deeply disappointed.

Disappointed though he was, the thought of meeting the shrewd Third Hokage brought him straight back to attention. If the Third Hokage saw through his act, he would have plenty of trouble on his hands.