"A-Ah! Aiden-kun~"
Seeing Aiden suddenly sit down beside her, Hinata immediately lowered her head in embarrassment, nervously fiddling with her fingers.
As for Hinata—
having transmigrated into this world, there was no way Aiden was going to ignore her.
So, on a snowy day in the past, he'd taken a few household attendants with him and found Hinata being bullied.
He rescued her—
and in the process, activated his golden finger.
What Aiden couldn't understand, though, was how these civilians had so much nerve.
Not just Hinata—Konohamaru too.
In the original story, both of them had been bullied and mocked.
It was honestly absurd—like wiping your ass with sandpaper and still daring to show off.
Looking at Hinata's shy reaction, Aiden knew he couldn't push things too far.
If she fainted on the spot, that would be troublesome.
This kind of thing had to be done slowly—
bit by bit, until she could accept it.
Not far away, Naruto sat watching Aiden with obvious curiosity.
At this stage, Naruto was still at the very bottom of the social ladder.
He wasn't even close with Shikamaru or Choji yet—
a universally disliked "demon fox," with not a single friend.
For some reason, he instinctively wanted to oppose Sasuke,
and that made him naturally drawn to Aiden—the one who had effortlessly crushed Sasuke.
Soon, the first class ended.
Just as a group of girls began crowding toward Aiden,
Naruto beat them to it and walked over.
Nervous, he spoke carefully.
"H-Hello, Aiden."
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto!"
Looking at Naruto's cautious expression, Aiden felt a bit helpless.
This kid would one day become the savior of the shinobi world—
Konoha must've burned a lifetime's worth of incense.
After being treated like this and still not turning evil,
it was honestly unbelievable.
Just as Aiden was about to respond,
the girls surged forward, instantly pushing Naruto aside.
"Hey, idiot! Don't block Young Master Aiden!"
"Exactly! Who wants to be friends with you?"
"Aiden-sama absolutely must not befriend that demon fox!"
"Yeah, yeah!"
Listening to the waves of rejection and disgust,
Naruto slowly lowered the hand he'd reached out.
Awkwardly, he turned back toward his seat.
In that moment, it felt like this was where he belonged—
back in some dark corner, like an unnoticed little mouse.
"I remember you."
"My grandpa mentions you a lot."
Just as Naruto was about to escape,
that voice—like a gift from heaven—reached his ears.
Naruto froze, then looked up in disbelief—
straight into Aiden's eyes.
The once-noisy crowd unconsciously parted, making way.
"T-The Third… Grandpa?"
"Mm."
Receiving Aiden's answer, Naruto was overjoyed.
To Naruto, Sarutobi Hiruzen had always been the only one who truly cared about him.
And now—
Aiden's gaze held none of the disgust he'd grown used to.
That alone made him happier than anything.
Annoyed by the noisy crowd, Aiden frowned slightly.
"Come on, Naruto."
"Go out with me for a bit."
"Huh? Aren't we going to class?"
But Aiden was already walking away.
Naruto didn't hesitate—he hurried after him.
Their departure left the classroom full of stunned faces.
"Wait… did Young Master Aiden really become friends with that demon fox?"
"Why?"
"Why would Aiden-sama take a liking to him?"
Whispers spread everywhere.
Meanwhile, the two in question were already walking through Konoha's streets—
unaware that everything they did was being observed from the Hokage Tower.
"What's that brat up to, hanging around Naruto all of a sudden?"
Watching the crystal ball, Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned.
If it had been anyone else, ANBU would've already stepped in.
But the one who took Naruto away was his own grandson.
Thinking of Aiden's outrageous personality, Hiruzen's face darkened.
If Aiden ended up influencing Naruto the wrong way—
Konoha would be in real danger.
If the Nine-Tails got loose, there'd be no one left who could seal it.
As Hiruzen pondered how to deal with this,
Danzo walked into the office.
Seeing Hiruzen deep in thought, Danzo spoke calmly.
"Don't you understand Aiden by now?"
"He always has his reasons for what he does."
"Don't forget—half of Konoha's commercial district belongs to our two families now."
"That was all Aiden's idea."
"Letting the jinchūriki stay by Aiden's side…"
"Isn't that perfect? He can become a blade in Aiden's hand."
After Danzo finished, Hiruzen stopped hesitating.
Still, he gave Danzo a suspicious look.
"You didn't come here just for this, did you?"
"Spit it out."
Old friends for decades—
Hiruzen knew Danzo far too well.
Sure enough, Danzo smiled.
"What do you think about the ability Aiden showed yesterday?"
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes.
"You're not thinking of scheming against your own grandson, are you?"
"Hmph. I'm not that despicable."
"Don't forget—Aiden doesn't have chakra."
"And the shinobi world isn't limited to Konoha alone."
Danzo replied impatiently.
His words made Hiruzen take the matter seriously.
Things might look peaceful now—
but Kumogakure and Iwagakure had always been eyeing Konoha like wolves.
"Fine."
"I'll increase the level of protection around Aiden."
"Good."
Seeing that, Danzo said nothing more and left.
After returning, he also quietly reinforced security.
As for Hiruzen—
after a moment of silence, he spoke to the empty room.
"Go call Kakashi."
"I have a mission for him."
With that, a figure vanished from the window.
Hiruzen's gaze returned to the crystal ball.
Aiden and Naruto had already arrived at the commercial district.
"Good day, Young Master Aiden!"
"Oh? What brings you here today, Young Master?"
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