Smoke hung thick in the Hokage's office.
Secondhand smoke filled the entire room.
And the one responsible—Hiruzen Sarutobi—showed no shame at all. He kept inhaling and exhaling, filling the air with clouds.
His deep gaze stayed fixed on the crystal ball on his desk.
Inside the crystal ball, a scene played out: a blond boy running through the streets, as if searching for someone.
Knock, knock, knock.
Someone knocked.
Hiruzen quickly hid the crystal ball under the desk before speaking.
"Come in."
An ANBU ninja pushed open the door and stepped inside.
He handed a file to Hiruzen.
"Hokage-sama, these are the records of Shirakumo Aoba and his relatives."
Yes. Aoba had only briefly interacted with Naruto, but Hiruzen had already taken notice.
Hiruzen took the file and glanced through it.
At first glance, he was surprised.
"So he's Yamanaka's nephew. No wonder the name sounded familiar."
"His parents were heroes who sacrificed themselves for Konoha? The name 'Aoba' carries the Will of Fire from birth."
Hiruzen continued reading, and his approval of Aoba grew stronger. The background was clean and ideal.
After finishing the rest of the file, he understood why Aoba would help Naruto.
"Anyone being bullied would step in to help. That's very much the Will of Fire… though he's a little greedy, and his methods are a bit extreme…"
Hiruzen stroked his chin, thinking about whether to let Aoba continue getting close to Naruto.
A child from a small clan, clean background, good personality…
"Let it happen naturally. Naruto needs to make friends on his own. I won't interfere."
Hiruzen set the file down and spoke to the ANBU ninja.
"Continue the protection mission. Record any special circumstances and report them promptly."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
The ANBU left. Hiruzen no longer cared about Naruto's situation and returned to handling other village affairs.
At the same time—
In a dark, twisted corner.
"Shirakumo Aoba?"
"Yamanaka's nephew?"
"Hmph!"
Danzo slammed the file on the desk with a sharp clap and snorted angrily, his expression full of rage.
Yamanaka Yamanaka was one of the village's elite jonin, among Konoha's top fighters.
He was resolute and calm under pressure, meticulous and thorough in his work.
During missions, he was accurate in analysis, experienced, and had excellent command ability.
Danzo knew Yamanaka well because he had once invited him to join Root—and had been rejected.
He had long forgotten about that. But now, his nephew's information had appeared before him again.
It reminded him.
Although Danzo was angry, he didn't take the matter too seriously.
If it were someone else with unknown origins, or a person from a great ninja clan getting close to a jinchuriki, he could cause a scene with Hiruzen and get Root some benefits.
If it were the Uchiha, he'd have even more reason to suppress them.
But Aoba's background was too clean. He was a hero orphan with a righteous personality.
And he had Yamanaka Yamanaka protecting him.
There was no point in making trouble with Hiruzen.
Every time Hiruzen pushed his buttons, Danzo got hurt.
"Continue the surveillance mission."
"Yes, Danzo-sama."
The Root ninja left.
Danzo returned to his work, continuing to ponder how to handle the Uchiha issue.
The masked man had already spoken with him, but Danzo was still unsure of Hiruzen's stance and dared not act yet.
Ichiraku Ramen shop.
Four large empty bowls were stacked beside Hinata's seat.
After the last mouthful of noodles, Hinata's face finally showed a satisfied expression.
The full feeling in her stomach made her heart feel unbelievably happy.
At home, she always restrained herself for etiquette and appearance, never daring to eat like this.
"Amazing!"
Ayame, who had been watching the whole time, couldn't help exclaiming.
Adults could eat multiple bowls at once, but it was rare for such a small girl to eat so much.
Especially since Ayame noticed Hinata's stomach hadn't bulged much.
Where did all that ramen go?
After hearing Ayame's exclamation, Hinata suddenly realized many people in the shop were staring at her.
Her big eyes blinked rapidly.
Her face flushed, spreading red like a rising steam.
She swayed slightly, and Aoba worried she might faint.
"Are you full?"
Aoba looked at the empty bowls in front of her and asked.
"Full… full!"
Hinata nodded like a chick pecking at rice.
Aoba still looked doubtful.
Five bowls of ramen and no sign of fullness? Did she have a dimensional stomach?
"If you're full, I'll walk you home."
It was getting late. Even in the village, it was dangerous for Hinata to go home alone.
Aoba thought for a moment and decided to pay.
Hinata, hearing this, instinctively clenched her clothes.
For some reason, she suddenly felt a deep sense of loss and reluctance.
"Hinata, it's time to pay."
Seeing her zoning out again, Aoba couldn't help reminding her.
Even as the Hyuga heiress, she might forget.
As for letting Aoba pay, he decided against it.
Five bowls of ramen was enough to fund a draw or two on the system.
"Ah? Okay."
Hinata quickly snapped back to reality and took a small purse from her pocket.
Aoba glanced at it and nearly had his eyes pop out.
He hadn't looked carefully earlier, but now he could see it was full—filled with 1,000-ryo bills.
It looked like tens of thousands of ryo.
She was richer than TenTen.
Although Hinata rarely went out, Hiashi Hyuga still gave her a generous allowance.
Aoba felt a momentary tug of doubt, but he quickly adjusted.
Looking at Hinata's porcelain doll-like face, he suddenly realized there was no reason for him to take money from her.
"Not until at least seven years from now…"
By the time he finished thinking, Hinata had already paid Ayame.
When she turned back, she saw Aoba muttering quietly.
Hinata tilted her head adorably.
She didn't remind him, but cautiously leaned in to listen.
She rarely acted so bold, but today she felt a little free.
"What are you doing?"
But before Hinata could hear anything clearly, Aoba snapped back to attention.
He looked at Hinata—who was now almost pressed against him—with a curious expression.
"Ugh!"
Hinata's face turned bright red. She quickly pulled away and lowered her head, too shy to look at him.
What just happened?
Aoba had no idea, but seeing Hinata almost steaming with embarrassment, he didn't ask more.
"Let's go. It's late."