The Hokage Residence.
The Hokage’s Office.
Ah…
this…
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the crystal ball, watching the events unfolding on Naruto’s first day of school.
The images appearing before him were getting increasingly hard to process.
Didn’t Hiashi Hyuga just bring Hinata over yesterday to apologize for beating up Naruto?
With that girl’s sheer intelligence, there was no way she didn’t realize the connection between Naruto and himself, right?
After all, she had bullied a child, only to be immediately caught by her father and hauled straight to the Hokage to apologize.
It wouldn’t surprise Hiruzen in the slightest if Hinata had already guessed that he viewed Naruto like his own grandson.
That child was far too sharp…
After thrashing the three idiots and Naruto, Hinata let out a soft huff, flicked her sleeves, and turned to walk away.
She still had to report to the academy instructor, after all.
Behind her, four boys—A-Da, A-Er, A-San, and Naruto—were left groaning and rubbing their swollen faces.
“Whoa, Boss…
we really can’t beat her…” A-Er and A-San mumbled, clutching their bruised cheeks with disgruntled voices.
“So what?
There are four of us now!” Naruto grit his teeth, staring angrily in the direction Hinata had vanished.
“She’s just one person!
If we train hard and get stronger, we can definitely beat her next time!”
“Hey, what are you talking about?!” A-Er and A-San snapped at him.
“He’s right, the guy has a point!” A-Da interjected, rubbing his bruised jaw.
“She’s just a girl!
What’s the big deal?!”
As the saying went, friendship among boys was often built on the strangest things imaginable.
“Naruto, right?
From now on, you’re our Fourth Brother!” A-Da patted Naruto on the shoulder with his uninjured hand.
“Huh?” Naruto blinked in utter surprise before a bright, overjoyed smile spread across his face.
“Yes!
From now on, I’m the Fourth Brother!”
Boys only needed to fight together or climb a wall together to become fast friends.
And now, simply because Hinata didn’t want to deal with the trouble, the three bullies had somehow ended up bonding with Naruto.
“Heheh, one day, the four of us brothers will definitely defeat the Great Demon King Hinata!” Naruto shouted happily.
“Right!”
“We’ll prove our hot-blooded bond to the Great Demon King Hinata!”
Watching this scene through the crystal ball, Hiruzen couldn’t help but chuckle out loud.
Because Naruto was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, the villagers had always shunned him.
Hiruzen had tried countlessly to get ordinary civilians to accept the boy, but his efforts had largely been in vain.
He never imagined that, simply by getting into a scuffle with Hinata, Naruto would end up gaining three genuine friends.
From that perspective, the two beatings Naruto had suffered were far from wasted.
Huh?
Hiruzen froze for a moment.
Hinata was the heiress of the Hyuga Clan.
Judging by her performance during their meeting yesterday, she was certainly no simple-minded brute.
Furthermore, given the strict upbringing within the Hyuga, an heir to the Main Branch could never be a brainless hothead.
Could this…
could Hinata have done this on purpose?!
Considering the relationship between Naruto and himself, combined with the fact that the Hyuga—as a major noble clan—couldn’t be seen having too close a connection with the Jinchuriki…
So, she thrashed the three kids who had picked on her yesterday right alongside Naruto.
By kid logic, if everyone got beaten up by the same person, they would naturally form an alliance to fight back together!
Just like that, the original victims and bullies had turned into comrades!
Turning swords into plowshares!
This…
this is simply pure genius!
As expected of the Hyuga Clan’s heiress!
She managed to find friends for Naruto, cleared the Hyuga Clan of any suspicious ties to the Jinchuriki, and even left a profound impression on the Hokage!
Killing multiple birds with one stone!
Hiashi Hyuga had raised an truly extraordinary daughter!
Naruto rubbed his bruised face, walking into the classroom with a grin now that he had made three new friends.
His good mood, however, didn’t last very long.
The vicious girl who had just beaten him black and blue was currently sitting right next to Sakura—the girl of his dreams!
Her hand was even resting casually on Sakura’s shoulder!
“Pretty girl, has anyone ever told you that you have a wonderful forehead?” Hinata asked with a playful expression, leaning toward Haruno Sakura.
“Ah…
really?” Sakura blushed, looking quite shy at the sudden praise.
“Hinata, you’re only the second person to ever compliment my forehead…”
“Is that so?” Hinata’s eyes gleamed with curiosity.
“Then who was the first person to compliment you?”
“It was Ino,” Sakura answered gently.
“Well, forget about her starting today.
I’m the first person who complimented your forehead.”
“Hinata, you’re way too overbearing~~” Sakura’s face turned completely red at the teasing.
“Heheheh, I can’t just pretend I didn’t hear that!” A voice piped up from behind them as an annoyed girl stepped forward.
“So this beautiful lady is the Ino that Sakura mentioned.
No wonder you have such great taste, just like me,” Hinata said, looking up.
“My name is Hinata Hyuga.”
Ino had originally been fuming because Hinata told Sakura to forget her, but hearing her beauty praised so smoothly, her anger vanished into thin air.
“Heh, it’s nothing, really.
My looks are just average,” Ino giggled, waving her hand hurriedly to imply Hinata was overpraising her.
“Looks to me like you’re from the Yamanaka Clan.
We should spend more time talking in the future,” Hinata said, her hand naturally slipping around Ino’s waist as she leaned in close with a light chuckle.
“Of course!
My dad told me I should make plenty of friends at school!” Ino didn’t mind the touch at all; in fact, she reached out and took Hinata’s hand in return.
Watching the social butterfly at work, blood rushed straight to Naruto’s head.
There’s no way this violent monster girl is actually this polite!
Tricking Ino is one thing!
But she’s even deceiving Sakura!
No, I have to make everyone see this violent monster’s true colors!
As if sensing Naruto’s burning gaze, Hinata offered him a bright smile and a casual greeting: “Yo, long time no see.”
Why didn’t she wave?
Because with one hand resting on Sakura’s shoulder and the other wrapped around Ino’s waist, she simply didn’t have a free hand.
Long time no see?!
Didn’t we just meet five minutes ago?!
How can you beat me to a pulp and then greet me like nothing happened?!
AND!
YOU BASTARD!
GET YOUR PAWS OFF SAKURA RIGHT THIS SECOND!
“You jerk!” Naruto couldn’t hide his emotions, the rage on his face practically bursting at the seams.
“Naruto, what are you doing?” Sakura spoke up instinctively, glaring at him.
“Don’t be so rude to Hinata.”
“…”
Seeing Sakura take Hinata’s side so naturally, Naruto felt a lump clog his throat, rendering him entirely speechess.
He could only watch helplessly as Hinata giggled, telling Sakura it was no big deal.
What on earth is going on!
That violent monster girl actually tricked Sakura into misunderstanding me!
This is way too much!
“Alright, settle down for class.
Naruto, don’t just stand at the door,” Iruka Umino walked into the classroom at that moment, breaking up the tension.
“Head back to your seat.
By the way, since Hinata-san couldn’t make it on time due to a prior matter, you haven’t had the chance to meet her yet.”
“Hinata-san, please come up and introduce yourself to the class.”