“Yo, Naruto, how does it feel going to school on your first day?”
Naruto couldn’t figure out what exactly had been done to his body, so he could only put it aside for the time being, pretending that nothing had happened as he waved at Kakashi and greeted him.
“Big Brother Kakashi, you’re really punctual. Why don’t we go eat first, then go train afterward? How about it?”
“That sounds…”
[Tsukuyomi, huh? Whatever. Even if I noticed it now, there’s nothing I can do about it anyway. Heh! I’ll invite Kakashi to eat barbecue with us. That way, I’ll have treated Hinata and can save some money at the same time. I can invite her again next time. Tsk! I’m really a genius!]
Kakashi was already about to agree.
It was also around the usual mealtime during their training.
However, in the next moment, he heard Naruto’s inner thoughts and was nearly angered to death.
“Well, Naruto, actually, I came to tell you that I still have some things to take care of. That’s why I came over to let you know. I’ll be leaving first.”
After saying this, Kakashi instantly disappeared.
He didn’t want to be the sucker who paid the bill.
Besides, even if he dragged Naruto along to train, Naruto would only slack off.
Since today was also the first day of school, he might as well give him a day off.
“Wh-what?”
Naruto was completely dumbfounded.
He never expected Kakashi to pull something like this.
But since things had already turned out this way, he could only pay for it himself while comforting himself inwardly: bringing a third wheel along on his date with Hinata wasn’t a big deal anyway.
“Let’s go! Hinata, we’re going to eat barbecue!”
Naruto waved his hand generously, appearing extremely bold.
Although Hinata had still been somewhat confused just moments ago, she had already thrown all those thoughts to the back of her mind and followed Naruto toward the barbecue restaurant.
The streets were bustling with pedestrians.
Suddenly, a figure blocked their path.
Naruto had seen this person before—it was the same guard he had encountered two months ago.
“Lady Hinata, why did you come out alone? The clan head told me to escort you back.”
“Eh? But, but…”
Hinata lowered her head guiltily, stammering as she spoke.
For a moment, she didn’t know what to do.
The guard frowned and looked at Naruto.
Before he could say anything, Naruto took the initiative to step forward.
“Hey, mister, I’m just about to go eat barbecue with Hinata. As for going back, why don’t you wait a little longer?”
“Brat! What did you say? I told you before, didn’t I? Stay away from Lady Hinata! And today is Lady Hinata’s first day at school, yet you want to take her out for barbecue? Who the hell do you think you are!”
Although Naruto had long since grown accustomed to the hateful looks of others, those words were still far too harsh to his ears, and an inexplicable anger instantly surged within him.
“Hinata already agreed to come with me. What right does a dog like you have to meddle here?”
“You’re courting death!”
Naruto’s words were even more provocative.
The guard’s expression immediately became vicious, and he no longer cared about bullying someone younger than himself.
He struck Naruto from a distance with a palm.
“Eight Trigrams: Air Palm!”
Naruto’s expression changed, and he immediately jumped aside.
Dust instantly billowed from the spot where he had been standing.
If he had been even a moment slower, that palm would have struck him.
“Naruto-kun!”
Seeing this, Hinata became anxious as well.
She hurriedly shouted, wanting to stop the two of them, but Naruto had already begun forming hand seals.
“Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!”
The moment the words fell, a violent wind howled as sand and stones flew everywhere, making it impossible to keep one’s eyes open.
The guard was startled.
He had never expected a six-year-old child to be capable of using a ninjutsu of this level.
Taking advantage of that moment of distraction, Naruto had already charged toward him, the special kunai Kakashi had given him aimed at the guard’s vital point.
The guard realized the danger and hurriedly pulled out his own kunai.
Clang!
The kunai collided with an ear-piercing sound.
Just as Naruto thought he had gained the upper hand, a Taijitu symbol suddenly appeared beneath his feet.
Damn it!
Naruto realized that something was wrong and tried to retreat and widen the distance, but it was already too late.
The guard’s palm had already struck his shoulder.
“Eight Trigrams: Thirty-Two Palms!”
A continuous barrage of thirty-two palms struck nearly every part of Naruto’s body.
Perhaps because Naruto was still a child, the force of each strike wasn’t particularly heavy, but every palm disrupted his chakra.
By the time all thirty-two palms had been delivered, Naruto could barely circulate his chakra anymore.
“I really didn’t expect you to have this much chakra at such a young age, but this is where it ends.”
Perhaps because Naruto had demonstrated such talent, the guard’s attitude toward him became slightly better.
Naruto was extremely unwilling to give up, but there was nothing he could do.
Without being able to circulate chakra, everything was meaningless.
Moreover, there was already a gap in strength between the two of them.
However, just as he was preparing to give up, a warm current surged from his abdomen, and an enormous amount of chakra poured out like a flood bursting through a dam.
What is this?
The Nine-Tails!
Naruto was extremely shocked by this sudden development, but he knew that this was not the time to be surprised.
Without the slightest hesitation, he began forming hand seals.
“Wind Release: Chaotic Blade Wind Cutter!”
Dozens of transparent wind blades appeared out of thin air and flew toward the guard.
The guard had never expected Naruto to still be capable of using ninjutsu under such circumstances.
He failed to react in time and was struck head-on by the wind blades.
Dozens of wounds were instantly carved across his body, and blood immediately stained his clothes red.
“Aaah!”
The guard screamed and fell onto his back.
Just as he was about to get up, a special kunai was pressed against his throat.
What met his eyes was Naruto’s cold gaze.
“It seems you’re the one who has reached the end.”
“How… How is this possible? You should have been unable to use chakra! What exactly was that red chakra?”
Just moments ago, through his Byakugan, the guard had clearly seen a mass of red chakra suddenly emerge from Naruto’s abdomen, which had led to his defeat.
But he couldn’t understand what it was.
Naturally, Naruto couldn’t explain it.
Even he didn’t know why the Nine-Tails had suddenly stepped in to help him at this moment.
But none of that mattered.
What mattered was that he had won.
“As a loser, do you think you have the right to ask me questions?”
A cold smile curled up at the corner of Naruto’s mouth, and his gaze also turned colder.
However, at that moment, Hinata quickly ran to Naruto’s side and helplessly grabbed the hand holding the kunai, afraid that Naruto might act impulsively and kill the guard.
“Naruto-kun! I’m, I’m sorry! But you can’t…”
Naruto had never intended to kill him in the first place.
Killing someone inside Konoha Village was not a rational thing to do, especially since the other party was a member of the Hyuga clan.
Moreover, there was no irreconcilable conflict between them.
Just the fact that the other party was Hinata’s guard meant Naruto absolutely couldn’t kill him.
After all, being qualified to serve as Hinata’s guard meant that this person was deeply trusted by Hyuga Hiashi.
Someone like that could not be killed lightly.
Therefore, Naruto naturally put away his kunai and, at the same time, took Hinata’s hand with his other hand.
“Let’s go. We’re going to eat barbecue!”
Naruto acted as though nothing had happened and pulled Hinata toward the barbecue restaurant.