Speaking of how Bai met the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, it all came down to his cheap father in this life.
Before his father died in battle, he was a subordinate of the Ino-Shika-Cho elders and held the rank of Special Jonin, earning respect from the fathers of the three kids.
Because of this, after his father passed away, the three clans took good care of Bai.
Furthermore, Bai’s mother was once a disciple of Shinku Yuhi and had been in a team with Kurenai Yuhi.
Kurenai would occasionally visit Bai, so their relationship was quite warm.
This kind of connection was common in Konoha.
After all, the village wasn’t very big, and shinobi saw each other constantly.
Almost anyone could be linked to one of Konoha’s noble clans—since the village operated on a system of the strong leading the weak, and the strong were mostly concentrated in noble families.
Take these seven or eight young kids for example: except for Sakura, who was an exception, the parents of the rest had served under the Ino-Shika-Cho clans at some point.
Having grown up together, they naturally hung out as a group.
However, friendships built on parental connections didn’t always survive the test of time.
In three years, entering the Academy would weed some out, team assignments would filter them again, and graduation would trim the group even further.
In the end, only the Konoha 12 would remain.
“Shiro-chan?”
While Bai was lost in thought, Ino’s voice snapped him back to reality.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Sheesh!” Ino huffed playfully, handing Bai a cloth strip stamped with the Konoha symbol.
She said solemnly, “As the head of the family, Daddy needs to go to work now!”
With that, she carefully tied the cloth strip with the Leaf mark onto Bai’s forehead.
Bai let out a helpless chuckle.
What could three- and four-year-old kids play?
Nothing more than playing house, though in the Naruto world, it was house with a shinobi twist.
Only in a few years would boys and girls split into distinctly separate social groups.
Today, Bai was the dad, Ino was the mom, Sakura was the daughter, and Bai was also a ninja on duty, while Shikamaru was assigned the role of Hokage.
Walking over to Shikamaru in a few steps, Bai said, “Hokage-sama, I’m heading out on patrol.”
Shikamaru, whose face practically screamed “what a drag,” glanced at Bai.
He saw right through Bai’s scheme instantly.
A hint of envy flashed in his lazy, deadpan eyes, but he wasn’t about to sabotage him.
He simply nodded—after all, he used similar excuses to slack off all the time…
Just like that, Bai legitimately escaped the shinobi version of playing house…
While Bai didn’t like being an outcast, playing house was far too childish for him.
Yet Ino and Choji never seemed to tire of it.
The difference was that Ino simply enjoyed playing, while Choji participated because if he played the child, the others would give him snacks unconditionally…
Bai sighed quietly, wishing time would move a bit faster.
In a year or two, when Ino and the others began ninja training, they wouldn’t have time for playing house anymore.
Bai had to admit he liked Ino’s character.
In the future, her figure and looks would be top-tier, and he had considered wooing her to be his wife.
But right now, Ino was only three years old!
Three!
No matter how weird someone might be, no one would have inappropriate thoughts toward a three-year-old toddler.
“If you’re really from the Hyuga clan, show us your Byakugan!”
“If you don’t like it, stop looking in our direction!”
“You’re actually just a monster, aren’t you?”
While Bai was debating whether to stroll around or head home to try extracting chakra, several unpleasant voices reached his ears.
The sound came from quite a distance, but with his Sage Body, Bai’s hearing and vision were exceptionally sharp—he couldn’t possibly be mistaken.
Hearing the word “Byakugan,” Bai walked over out of curiosity.
A hundred meters away in the woods, three four- or five-year-old boys were surrounding a soft, timid girl with white eyes, mocking and teasing her relentlessly.
Seeing this scene, Bai froze for a moment—there she was!
The little girl who could get lost despite having a 360-degree all-around vision cheat, the main lineage daughter of the prestigious Hyuga clan who still managed to get bullied: little Hinata Hyuga!
Bai instinctively glanced around, but Naruto was nowhere to be seen.
It wasn’t winter, nor was it snowing, which made Bai hesitate briefly.
In his memory, this setup looked very much like Hinata and Naruto’s first meeting.
But he quickly realized—who said Hinata was only bullied once?
Judging by how practiced those three kids were, they were clearly repeat offenders.
With that thought, Bai stepped out and called out to the three bullies, “Hey, you three!
Bullying a girl isn’t cool!”
Since he had seen it, he naturally couldn’t stand by and do nothing.
The three boys turned around.
Seeing that Bai was alone, disdain flashed across their faces: “Who do you think you are?”
“Hanyu Bai!” Bai sighed, cracked his knuckles, and without giving them a chance to react, picked a lucky winner and slapped him across the face.
With a Sage Body and his experience as a transmigrator, beating up three little kids who hadn’t even unlocked chakra was effortless.
SLAP!
A crisp sound echoed.
Bai hadn’t expected his raw strength to be this formidable—he slapped the boy’s cheek until it swelled up, sending him flying.
The moment he hit the ground, he burst into tears.
The other two boys turned pale with fright, pointing at Bai while trembling: “Why did you hit him!?”
Bai looked at his palm in slight surprise, not expecting the Sage Body to be this terrifying even without chakra.
Hearing their accusation, Bai rolled his eyes and said with pity, “I’m literally saving your futures here!”
At those words, even Hinata, who had been silent the whole time, was stunned.
Do you even hear what you’re saying?
“It’s fine if you don’t get it now.
You’ll thank me later!” Bai sighed, raising his fists as he walked toward the remaining two.
Seeing that Bai was about to throw hands again without another word, the two boys panicked.
Terrified, they didn’t dare utter another complaint, turning around and sprinting away.
To their credit, they were loyal enough to drag their injured buddy along.
Shouting at their retreating backs, Bai called out, “Remember to go home and tell your parents!”
Seeing their indignant expressions, they’d probably get beaten up again once they got home.
They might not realize Hinata’s exact status, but someone from the Hyuga clan—even a branch house member—wasn’t someone ordinary civilians could mess with!