"Shikamaru, Sasuke, let's get 'em!"
At Naruto's shout, the few kids who had been frozen by Sasuke's throwing knife trick finally snapped out of it.
Their leader took several steps back but still tried to sound tough.
"Who are you guys?! Why are you defending that white-eyed freak?!"
"You're the freak!"
With a yell, Naruto leapt forward and threw a punch.
At this age, height and weight really made a difference, the other kid dodged easily and kicked in return-
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He flicked his wrist, and a kunai hit the kid square in the sole of his shoe.
Whoosh!
The impact tripped the boy flat on his back, and the next second brought him a second round of pain.
Thud!
Naruto came crashing down on top of him and began pounding away with wild, clumsy punches.
After two or three hits, the kid's eye turned blue-black, and he burst into tears. His buddies stood frozen, too scared to step forward.
Off to the side, Shikamaru glanced at the unused kunai in his hand and frowned.
"You made one cry. Great. We're in for it when the parents find out."
Then he looked toward Sasuke, who stayed expressionless.
"When Naruto's in danger, you react crazy fast. But now you look all cool and distant. Trying to hide your friendship?"
A flicker of alarm flashed in Sasuke's eyes before he huffed arrogantly.
"Hmph, what friendship? You're just too slow, that's all."
"Pfft."
Shikamaru smirked. "Sasuke, you're really bad at hiding things. Is this… what you call 'dignity'?"
Sasuke turned his head slightly, a cold light glinting in his eye as one hand moved behind his back.
"…What did you just say?"
'Uh-oh.'
Shikamaru froze. When little kids got exposed like that, they sometimes did scary things.
Meanwhile, the kid Naruto had been sitting on had finally cried himself out.
Naruto stared him down. "Don't you dare bully Hinata again, got it?"
The dazed kid nodded furiously. Only then did Naruto get up, and the boy ran off bawling with his friends.
Naruto stood and brushed snow off his clothes, turning to Sasuke and Shikamaru.
"I said we'd go together! You two were so slow I got ambushed!"
Shikamaru scratched his head.
"Rushing in like you did wouldn't work for us. We'd have been the ones getting beat up if Sasuke hadn't scared the others off with that kunai."
Sasuke grunted in agreement.
Naruto thought for a moment, then raised his hand to Sasuke.
"Thanks, Sasuke."
Sasuke gave a small nod, no big deal, but the redness in his face against the cold said otherwise.
Then Naruto turned to Hinata, who was still standing timidly nearby.
"Remember what I told you before? When I helped chase them off, you've gotta fight back, or they'll just keep picking on you."
Hinata's face went redder than Sasuke's. Being that close to him, she barely heard the words, just nodded reflexively.
Not noticing, Naruto touched her forehead.
"Your face is so red, are you sick? Mom says everyone's catching colds lately."
Thump!
Hinata fainted.
The three boys panicked. Shikamaru and Sasuke rushed over, about to carry her to the hospital, but Hinata stirred.
"N-Naruto-kun… no need for the hospital…" she whispered.
Shikamaru quickly pulled Naruto aside.
"Back off a bit. She's just shy. Though fainting from embarrassment… that's impressive."
Hinata ducked her head even lower.
Shikamaru sighed. "Still, it's weird. The Hyūga are a major clan, how could those kids not know who she was? And you, Hinata, you can throw a punch, so why not fight back?"
Sasuke nodded. "Naruto said this wasn't the first time. We won't always be around to help."
Hinata bowed slightly. "I'm sorry… I'll try harder next time."
Shikamaru rubbed his temples. "Apologizing that easily… what a troublesome personality."
Not far away, Yun had been watching the whole scene and smiled.
'So, this was the second time the "hero saves the girl."'
'Those bullies were just civilian kids, though it was strange. Why would non-ninja children pick on the Hyūga clan's heiress?'
'Adults weigh pros and cons, kids just act on impulse, maybe.'
He chuckled and turned toward the barbecue place, until a furious woman came charging up, rolling pin in hand, dragging her son.
"Who did it?! Who beat my boy like this?!"
As soon as she appeared, Shikamaru panicked.
"If they catch us, they'll call our parents. Run!"
Naruto froze, then thought of his mom, the woman whose scolding even the Fourth Hokage feared. Terrifying!
"He started it! Why are we running?"
But Sasuke paled at the thought of Naruto's mom too.
"Unless you wanna hear her nagging for hours, move!"
So Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and bolted, Shikamaru and Sasuke right behind.
From a distance, Yun laughed watching them flee. The main characters' personalities were already shifting, thanks to his presence.
Then came a shout, "Hey! Did you see some brats who hurt my son?"
Yun turned toward the angry woman pointing her rolling pin. Smiling, he said, "Isn't that the kid who called the Hyūga heiress a 'white-eyed monster'? Funny, the Hyūga clan's looking for him right now to ask about that."
He looked down at the boy. "Was it you who said that?"
"Hy-Hyūga…?"
The mother instantly deflated at that name.
But her son puffed up again, hiding behind her. "Her eyes are all white! If that's not a monster, then-"
Before he could finish, his mother clamped a hand over his mouth.
"No, no, just kids fooling around. Nothing serious! Oh- I left the noodles boiling, we have to go!"
She hurriedly dragged her son away.
Yun turned toward a nearby bush.
"You can come out now. They're gone."
The four kids crawled out, they'd been hiding and watching to see if anyone would report them to the academy.
Shikamaru exhaled. "Thanks, you really saved us from a mess."
Naruto grinned. "Yeah, thanks, big brother Yun!"
Hinata bowed again, then hid behind Naruto.
Yun waved it off and looked at Sasuke.
"What's wrong? Don't recognize me?"
Sasuke muttered, "…Pervert."
Naruto and Shikamaru blinked.
"Sasuke! Don't call him that, apologize!"
Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah. He's the hero who ended the war by defeating the Fourth Raikage of Kumo. Show some respect."
Sasuke pouted, saying nothing.
Yun smiled slyly. "Should I tell them why you call me a pervert?"
Sasuke froze, remembering that embarrassing incident. Wet pants… rubber band trap…
"I-I'm sorry, big brother Yun!"
Yun chuckled and ruffled his hair.
Naruto and Shikamaru exchanged looks, there was definitely some juicy story here.
But Yun cut them off.
"It's snowing and late. Why aren't you kids home for dinner yet?"
That reminder made Shikamaru panic again.
"If I'm late, Mom'll kill me! I'm gone!"
Sasuke added, "My mother's waiting too."
Before leaving, he gave Yun a look that said just you wait.
Naruto turned to leave too, but then felt Hinata's small warm hand in his.
Warm… wait, hand?
He glanced down, startled, and quickly let go.
"S-sorry, Hinata! I forgot I was still holding your hand!"
"It's… it's okay…" she murmured, face crimson.
Watching, Yun couldn't help but smirk. The scene played out very differently from how he remembered.
When Naruto said he was heading home, Yun cleared his throat.
"Naruto, it's not right to let a girl walk home alone. I'm giving you a mission: escort Hinata safely."
"Huh?"
Yun grinned wickedly.
"You held her hand that long, so you've gotta take responsibility. Besides, you're the Hokage's son, can't let a lady go by herself."
Naruto stared blankly, then nodded.
"Uh… okay. I'll walk you home, Hinata."
"Mm…" she whispered.
As they started off, Yun called after them, "Snow at night, perfect for a date!"
"D-date?!"
Hinata's face turned scarlet. Yun suddenly sensed a strange fluctuation in her chakra, energy building wildly.
No… this wasn't just embarrassment.
"Hinata! Hinata, are you okay?"
She fainted again.
But Yun's expression turned serious.
'That chakra surge, definitely real.'
'The Hyūga's Byakugan bloodline… derived from the Ōtsutsuki Hamura.'
'If Indra's line birthed the Uchiha, and Asura's line the Senju and Uzumaki, then the Byakugan, from Hamura's line, was just as ancient.'
'And Hinata, called the Byakugan Princess by Toneri Ōtsutsuki… her blood was far from ordinary.'
In Boruto, her son inherited the Tenseigan and divine power, while her daughter awakened the Byakugan young, even knocking out Naruto and Kurama with a single punch.
So yes, her lineage was special.
"Yun-nii, Hinata fainted again!"
Naruto's cry pulled him back. Yun used the Body Flicker to appear beside them, scooped Hinata onto his back, and said teasingly, "Your little girlfriend's too shy. Just hearing the word 'date' made her faint. Come on, let's take her home."
"L-little girlfriend?!"
Naruto flushed. "You shouldn't joke like that, Yun-nii!"
Yun smirked. "I'm not joking. Honestly, she's too good for a knucklehead like you."
"What do you mean, knucklehead?! Take that back!"
Their bickering faded into the snowy night.
Meanwhile, inside Yun's sealing scroll, a new entry appeared, a sample connected to Hinata.
If he wanted to recreate a power surpassing Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, he'd need to test certain theories, and Hinata's bloodline was key.
After all, Toneri once tried to marry Hinata, not Hanabi, even though Hanabi's eyes later awakened the Tenseigan. Why?
He'd find out soon enough.
At the Yakiniku Restaurant
"Sensei, I thought you weren't coming, figured you were afraid of the bill!"
"Brother, what kept you so long?"
Yun dragged Naruto through the doorway.
"Ran into this brat on the way. Because of him, I'm late. His name's Naruto, son of the Fourth Hokage. It's late, so he's tagging along for dinner."
Naruto bowed nervously to the four older teens.
"P-please take care of me."
Hana Inuzuka laughed. "We've already graduated, kid. But come on, eat, you must be starving."
Izumi scooted over. "By the way, that Uchiha kid, Sasuke, right? He's in your class?"
Takuma nodded. "Yeah. There are a lot of clan kids this year, the heiress, Lady Hinata, too-"
He stopped mid-sentence, realizing what he'd said.
But Yun didn't mind.
"Usually, Hyūga main-branch heirs don't study at the academy. They're trained privately within the clan."
Izumi blinked. "Really? Then Hinata?"
Yun nodded. "The Hyūga's Gentle Fist style depends on the Byakugan. Branch members aren't allowed to learn the advanced forms. Takuma's Rotation technique, he wouldn't have learned it without the threat of war."
He smiled faintly. "Hinata's the eldest daughter, the heiress. I used to wonder why she seemed weaker than her sister. Now I think… she was holding back."
Takuma looked stunned. 'The heiress lost on purpose?'
Before he could ask, murmurs drifted in from outside the curtain.
"Hey, have you heard the latest rumors?"
"Should we even talk about that?"
"Relax, everyone knows by now. It's all over the village."
"…About Orochimaru, and those experiments with the village's 'darkness.'"
"I still can't believe one of the Sannin became a rogue ninja."
"Want to hear the newest leak?"
"Go on."
"They say… they were doing human experiments using the First Hokage's cells."
The room went quiet.
"They tried years ago, voluntary tests, to recreate the First's power to control Tailed Beasts. All failed, so the research was sealed away. But Orochimaru and Danzō reopened it, this time, not voluntary."
"That's why Danzō vanished and Orochimaru fled. But…"
"But what?"
"Apparently, they succeeded. There are results, and someone's already using them."
"No way!"
"Believe what you want. But my source says it's true."
Inside, Takuma frowned. "How could information like that leak out? It's insane."
Then he remembered something, took out a formal letter, and handed it to Yun.
"Elder Hiashi asked me to invite you to visit tomorrow."
Yun accepted it. Hana's expression turned serious. She also produced a small scroll.
"My mother told me to give this to you, Sensei. I almost forgot."
Yun smiled faintly, weighing the items in his hands.
'The Hyūga branch, the Nara clan, the Inuzuka clan… all moving at once.'
'The storm was definitely coming.'
'But why were those two old advisors still meddling?'
'Power. Influence. Fear of irrelevance.'
'After the Hidden Cloud incident, the Fourth Hokage had taken firm control of Konoha. Even Anbu loyalty now leaned half toward him. The elders had lost their grip.'
'So, regaining power, or preventing the loss of it, that was their motive.'
As Yun pondered, Naruto suddenly declared, "No matter what that snake guy or the old 'Danzo' are plotting, Dad will protect everyone! That's the Hokage's job!"
Everyone looked at him.
Naruto scratched his head. "Heh… Dad says that a lot. I just remembered it."
Yun flicked his forehead.
"Eat, brat. Grown-ups will handle this. Your job is to eat and grow."
Naruto puffed his cheeks but obediently picked up a slice of meat.
Across the table, Yun fell silent again.
If those advisors truly had a hand in these rumors, then something bigger was stirring beneath the calm, and he'd need to be ready.