Hinata Hyuga felt like she didn't belong.
The young Byakugan user didn't want to admit it, but she couldn't bring herself to face the classmate she admired. In front of Naruto Uzumaki, she was timid and cowardly, almost meek.
"Here, a gift for you."
Naruto handed Hinata a scroll, looking a bit sheepish. "I've been busy with the Chunin Exams lately, so I haven't had much time for regular missions. I couldn't even afford a bouquet of flowers."
What Naruto said was true. Team 7 hadn't taken on many missions, and their one rare C-rank mission with a higher reward had gone sideways. With their jonin leader constantly in and out of the hospital, Naruto and Sasuke spent most of their time training instead of earning money.
Hanabi Hyuga's expression gradually grew strange. "..."
This guy is a bit stingy, isn't he? Not even a single flower?
"It's... it's okay."
Hinata didn't mind at all. She hugged the scroll to her chest and said in a small voice, "A gift from you, Naruto-kun... no matter what it is, I'll love it."
"Yeah, you'll definitely love it."
Naruto stuck his hands in his pockets. Even he felt that the Hyuga clan would be very satisfied with this gift. "Inside is the corpse of a Mist ninja. The one who transplanted the Hyuga clan's lost Byakugan..."
"Ah?"
Hinata's face turned pale. She held the scroll, completely at a loss, unsure if she should drop it or keep hugging it. Even Hanabi's face went white with fear.
Who gives a corpse as a gift to a girl! This guy must have something wrong with his brain! I heard Konohamaru from the upper grades praise Naruto's unique style. He's clearly just a lunatic!
The two girls didn't seem to grasp the main point.
Naruto didn't mind. He reached out, took Hinata's hand, and a stream of chakra filled with life force flowed into her body. That chakra was the Yang Power that the Nine-Tails had worked so hard to refine, barely qualified for healing.
Hinata felt the wound on her body gradually mending, and even her damaged meridians were rapidly recovering. She couldn't help but whisper, "This is..."
"I just heard from your sister about your injuries," Naruto said, raising an eyebrow. He spoke softly to the girl before him. "But I want you to watch the final matches of the third exam. Hinata, I'm going to defeat Neji in the finals."
"Eh?" The Byakugan girl tilted her head. After a soft "hmm," she bit her lip. "Brother Neji?"
Even though Neji had injured her and mocked her during the preliminaries, the kind-hearted girl couldn't bring herself to hate her cousin. She was too kind, almost to a fault.
Naruto subconsciously patted her hair and smiled. "Alright, I just came to see how you were doing. I'm leaving now."
"Naruto-kun!"
Hinata stopped him. Twirling her fingers together, she said in a low voice, "I... you... you have to do your best!"
"..."
The blond genin didn't answer. He just waved his hand and left the Hyuga compound, leaving two young Byakugan users staring after him in a daze.
After a moment, Hinata looked at the scroll in her hands and gave it to her sister. "Hanabi," she said softly, "can you help me give what's inside to Father? Just remember to give the scroll back to me afterward..."
"Eh?"
"Father mentioned it before. The lost Byakugan," Hinata frowned, her voice small. "Even though it was a gift from Naruto-kun, I don't need these things. Let Father take care of it..."
Hanabi was still young. She didn't understand what a lost main family Byakugan meant to the Hyuga clan. She had never even heard about it.
Hinata, however, had been doted on by Hiashi as a child and had once overheard her father mention that the main family had lost a Byakugan. That incident was precisely why there were more Caged Bird seals.
Hanabi took the scroll, looking confused. She suddenly looked up at Hinata and asked, "Sister, do you still like Naruto Uzumaki?"
"Mmm..." Hinata's face turned completely red as she nodded.
Hanabi sighed with a hint of disappointment. She turned and walked towards the corridor but stopped after a few steps. "Sister," she said in a low voice, "if I remember correctly, to prevent the Byakugan from being lost to outsiders, the Hyuga are not allowed to marry outside the clan."
"..."
Hinata's body went stiff. She walked slowly toward her room, the short distance feeling like an eternity. Along the way, she kept comforting herself. I'm only thirteen. The future is still very long.
-----
The sky grew darker, and the lights of Konoha began to flicker on one by one.
Naruto kicked a small stone on the road. For some reason, after visiting Hinata, his mood was relaxed and happy, as if he had fulfilled a long-held wish.
Inside the seal, the Nine-Tails was tirelessly offering his opinion. "Naruto, starting tomorrow, can we practice the Eight Gates Released Formation!"
"Sure!" Naruto agreed. Looking at his shadow on the road, he suddenly smiled. "Hey, Kurama, have you ever felt what it's like to be lonely?"
"If you want to talk about romance, just say it..."
"Tsk, is that why you've been lonely your whole life?" Naruto shook his head, dissatisfied. "Is loneliness just about wanting romance? You still don't understand human emotions!"
"..." The Nine-Tails snorted, too lazy to argue. As long as the kid agreed to practice the Eight Gates, his physical energy would increase and gradually match his spiritual energy. When that happened, its mission to undo the seal would basically be complete.
The deep night grew quiet. Occasionally, the sound of a patrol whistling by surprised Naruto. He glanced at the moonlit sky and said in a deep voice, "Kurama, don't you feel like something's not quite right?"
"On this whole street, the thing that's 'not right' is you, isn't it?"
"I'm being serious." Naruto leaped onto a telephone pole, looking down at the ANBU ninjas jumping everywhere. He frowned. "Don't tell me that guy Danzo Shimura is at it again?"
From what he understood, only Danzo could mobilize ANBU as if they were his personal troops, a complete abuse of public power for his own goals. But soon, Naruto saw a few familiar jonin trailing the ANBU, and his expression became even more puzzled. "Kakashi-sensei... what are they doing here?"
Besides Kakashi Hatake, he also saw Might Guy, Kurenai Yuhi, and Asuma Sarutobi. As jonin of the same generation, they often worked together. They must have run into a difficult problem.
Who on earth could have attracted the joint pursuit of both ANBU and Konoha's top jonin?
-----
Bonus:
Hinata Hyuga: Naruto-kun, am I very useless?
Naruto Uzumaki: Not at all, you still have self-awareness!
Hinata Hyuga: Naruto-kun, am I too weak...
Naruto Uzumaki: It's okay, in my eyes, there's no difference between you and Sasuke...
Hinata Hyuga: Separation?
Naruto Uzumaki: Don't bother, let's just get a divorce!
Hinata Hyuga: ???