After passing through Konoha’s bustling streets, Naruto Uzumaki arrived at the edge of the Forest of Death.
Even here, enormous trees towered overhead.
Their trunks and branches were incredibly thick, suggesting that they had been growing for several decades at the very least.
Several mushrooms grew sporadically around the trees’ exposed roots.
“Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet… Not even I would dare eat a poisonous mushroom like this.
One bite, and I’d probably start hallucinating about Madara Uchiha performing a sexy dance…”
Naruto shook his head and tossed aside the multicolored mushroom in his hand.
This was his first time approaching the Forest of Death.
Previously, he had been completely defenseless and hadn’t dared venture anywhere near such a dangerous place.
He had planned to search for edible prey and use Scorch Release to roast it.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t encountered a single ferocious beast.
Poisonous mushrooms, on the other hand, were everywhere.
Naruto eventually abandoned the idea of finding food around the Forest of Death.
While making his way back, he suddenly stopped after hearing a young girl crying.
“Hmm?”
Naruto frowned and walked toward a nearby thicket.
That voice…
Why did it sound like Hinata, whom he had parted with only a short while ago?
He pushed through the bushes and peered through the tangled grass, finally seeing what was happening inside.
Three brats had surrounded Hinata.
They jeered loudly while pelting her with small stones.
“Monster!
White-eyed monster!”
“You’re so ugly!
What a freak!”
“Hand over all your money!”
“…”
Still holding her bento box, Hinata crouched on the ground and covered her pale eyes as she cried.
Rather than feeling ashamed of themselves, the three brats looked immensely proud.
Their shrill voices rang through the thicket as they laughed smugly, as though they had accomplished something extraordinary.
“Hinata!?”
A rare trace of icy hostility appeared in Naruto’s bright blue eyes.
“Get away from her!”
Naruto strode forward and kicked the leading brat away before pulling Hinata into his arms.
“Hinata, are you hurt?”
Holding her against his chest, Naruto gently stroked her hair and comforted her in a soft voice.
“Don’t be afraid.
You’re the prettiest girl in the world, Hinata.
Your white eyes are beautiful too.”
“Naruto…”
Delight flickered across Hinata’s face as she gazed up at him with flushed cheeks.
Her face grew redder.
And redder.
Finally, a wisp of white steam rose from the top of her head.
Completely overwhelmed, she collapsed unconscious in Naruto’s arms.
“Naruto… hugged me…”
Naruto smiled helplessly and gently placed Hinata beneath a large tree.
He then turned toward the three brats.
The smile gradually disappeared from his face, replaced by a coldness he had never displayed before.
“Do you three… want to die?”
Nothing more than a pair of white eyes had been enough for them to treat Hinata like a monster.
A monster?
Compared with a pair of unusual eyes, wasn’t the corruption inside the human heart far more monstrous?
The brat Naruto had kicked away climbed back to his feet, his face twisting with rage.
“Beat that damned monster to death!”
The other two sneered and raised their fists before charging at Naruto.
Naruto responded with a cold smile.
His five fingers curled into a fist as dark crimson flames ignited around it.
“Scorch Release: Searing Death!”
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
Naruto threw only three punches.
The three brats instantly lost the ability to fight.
Clutching their shoulders, they released bloodcurdling screams.
Their cries were so agonized that one might have thought they were being sliced apart by a thousand blades.
In truth, the pain was nearly that severe.
The scorching flames had penetrated their skin and burned their bones and bone marrow.
The resulting agony was dozens of times worse than the pain caused by ordinary physical blows.
And pain wasn’t the only consequence.
Part of their bone marrow had been vaporized.
Their bodies would become extremely frail in the future, and they might even die.
Naruto showed them no mercy.
He struck them several more times, beating the three brats until they wailed for their mothers and fathers.
Naruto stared coldly at the three boys kneeling and begging for mercy.
He tore the money pouches from their clothes and spoke in a frigid voice.
“Get lost.
Don’t ever let me catch you bullying someone again.”
The three brats looked at him as though they had seen a demon.
Crying and screaming, they scrambled out of the terrifying thicket as quickly as they could.
When Hinata finally woke up, Naruto rubbed her head and gently rested it against his shoulder.
“Hinata, why didn’t you fight back?”
“With your Gentle Fist, dealing with those three brats should have been easy, right?”
Hinata might have been young, but she was still the princess of the Hyūga clan.
She had practiced the Gentle Fist since childhood, and her strength ranked among the best in her class.
Even if she disliked fighting, defeating several children her own age should have been effortless.
Hinata lowered her head, her cheeks flushed red.
“But… that would have hurt them…”
Naruto smiled helplessly and sighed.
“Hinata, being too kind isn’t necessarily a good thing.”
“Kind people are always bullied.
If you remain that way, you won’t be able to protect yourself—or the people you want to protect.”
Hinata blinked and gazed at Naruto in confusion.
“Naruto, I don’t understand…”
Naruto thought for a moment before smiling.
“Think of it this way.
If I were the one being bullied, would you protect me?”
Hinata’s eyes immediately widened.
She clenched her tiny fists and answered with determination.
“I would definitely protect you!”
Naruto smiled and ruffled her hair again.
“That’s exactly what I mean.”
“I like you, Hinata, so I want to protect you.
I don’t want anyone to bully you.”
“But you’re so kind that you don’t want to hurt anyone, and that leaves me worried.”
“So… Hinata, will you choose me?”
“…”
Naruto received no answer.
Confused, he lowered his head to look at her.
Then he couldn’t help bursting into laughter.
Hinata lay in his arms with her face as red as a ripe apple and white steam rising from her head.
Completely dazed, she murmured softly to herself:
“Naruto likes me… Naruto likes me… Naruto likes me…”