By the time the sun had completely dipped below the horizon, lights had begun to flicker throughout Konoha.
The village, once wrapped in a blanket of silver, now glowed like a sea of pale gold.
Under the night sky, the snow-covered scenery looked even more enchanting.
Only after watching the view until darkness fell did Aoba Hayashidecide to head home.
Recently, both Hayato Hayashi and the older sister who usually looked after him had been away on village missions, so there was no one to care what time he got back.
Following the dim lanterns and the worn stone steps, he made his way down from Hokage Rock.
But just after reaching the foot of the mountain and passing through a busy food street, he unexpectedly ran into two familiar faces.
A little boy was sitting on the shoulders of an older boy, happily pointing toward a dango stand.
“Big Brother, I want those dumplings!”
“Of course.
Whatever Sasuke wants, I’ll buy it for you.”
Although Aoba had never met them before, their ages and the obvious affection between them made their identities immediately clear.
Well…
The prominent Uchiha clan crest on the older boy’s back helped too.
Uchiha Itachi.
Uchiha Sasuke.
So this is Itachi before those famous smile lines became permanent.
As if sensing Aoba’s gaze, Sasuke turned and looked toward him.
Realizing someone had caught him acting spoiled with his brother, Sasuke immediately blushed with embarrassment and hurriedly climbed down from Itachi’s shoulders.
Itachi naturally noticed his little brother’s reaction.
Following Sasuke’s line of sight, he looked around.
But all he saw was the endless flow of pedestrians.
He had no idea what Sasuke had been looking at.
Aoba had simply been fascinated.
Seeing protagonists from the anime in person felt strangely surreal, especially since they were so different from the impressions he’d had of them.
He almost wished he had a camera.
He wondered…
After the Uchiha Clan Massacre, what kind of emotions would Sasuke feel if he ever remembered a scene like this?
“Ow!”
Lost in thought, Aoba suddenly felt someone crash into him.
The impact knocked the other person to the ground while forcing him to stumble back two steps.
“I-I’m sorry!
I’m so, so sorry!”
Before Aoba could even apologize, the other child had already started bowing repeatedly.
The voice was clear and childish.
Another kid…
“I…”
Aoba had intended to apologize as well.
But the moment he got a good look at the boy, the words caught in his throat.
Seriously?
On an ordinary day, he could go forever without meeting any important characters.
Yet today, they were appearing one after another.
The blond-haired boy frantically bowing before him had bright blue eyes and six whisker-like markings across his cheeks.
Aoba couldn’t help sighing.
He reached out, gently grabbed the boy’s shoulders, and stopped him from bowing anymore.
“I was the one walking without paying attention.
This isn’t your fault.”
Whether Naruto had been watching where he was going or not, Aoba certainly hadn’t.
After apologizing, Aoba crouched down and brushed the snow off Naruto’s clothes where he’d fallen.
When he finished, however, Naruto simply stared at him blankly.
Aoba waved a hand in front of his face.
Only then did Naruto snap back to reality.
His blue eyes gradually became misty.
“I-It’s…
the first time…”
Naruto stammered, struggling to finish his sentence.
But Aoba didn’t have time to figure out what he meant.
People had already begun gathering around them.
Although they whispered quietly among themselves, the hostility in their eyes wasn’t concealed in the slightest.
Aoba had become part of the spectacle as well.
Those gazes made him uncomfortable.
Whether Naruto truly was the Nine-Tailed Fox’s jinchūriki or not, he was still just a little kid.
There was no reason to vent their hatred on a child.
These foolish villagers should really be grateful Minato Namikaze’s seal was strong enough.
Otherwise…
Would they still dare stand around watching like this?
Aoba certainly wasn’t perfect.
He had plenty of flaws.
But at heart, he genuinely liked helping people.
He hated seeing good people bullied.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much he could do.
He leaned close to Naruto’s ear.
“Ready?”
“We’re going to run.”
“Huh?”
Naruto blinked in confusion.
“It’s okay to run away sometimes.”
“I…
I…”
“Let’s go!”
Before the crowd completely surrounded them, Aoba grabbed Naruto’s hand and charged straight into the mass of people.
The villagers hurriedly scattered, afraid of getting too close to Naruto, instantly throwing the entire street into chaos.
The two boys disappeared into the crowd.
“T-Thank you!”
As Naruto was pulled along, he couldn’t help crying out.
His eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Running away isn’t something to be ashamed of.”
“You don’t have to live just to earn other people’s approval.”
The words slipped out naturally.
Perhaps because Aoba had never particularly liked that aspect of Naruto’s personality in the original story.
“Huh?
W-What do you mean?”
Naruto looked utterly confused.
“Don’t think of yourself as some great hero.”
“Their approval doesn’t matter.”
“You don’t survive because of them.”
“Being happy yourself is far more important.”
“We’ll meet again.”
Without waiting for a reply, Aoba released Naruto’s hand.
The next moment, he accelerated and vanished into the distance.
Naruto immediately began running after him through the chaotic crowd.
But once he finally escaped onto the open street…
Aoba was already gone.
After ducking into a deserted alley, Aoba finally let out a long breath.
“What a strange day…”
“I just hope nothing else happens.”
The thought had barely crossed his mind—
When he suddenly heard the childish voices of several boys.
“Hey!
You there!”
“Her eyes are white!
They’re so ugly!”
Three boys had surrounded a little girl wearing a scarf.
A little Hyūga girl.
“Your eyes are so creepy.”
“You’re basically a monster.”
“Are you some kind of White-Eyed Monster?”
The three boys circled around her, laughing cruelly.
Hinata Hyūga’s body trembled uncontrollably.
She stood frozen in place, her tiny face deathly pale.
A layer of tears welled up in her pale lavender eyes as both hands gripped her scarf tightly.
“What?”
“You’re already going to cry?”
“You’re so pathetic.”
“We haven’t even touched you yet.”
Rather than showing any sympathy, the boys only became more vicious.
Hinata finally covered her face, crouched down, and burst into tears.
Yet the three boys still had no intention of stopping.
Aoba’s mouth twitched.
So I really did run into this scene.
He glanced around.
Naruto was nowhere to be seen.
Only then did it occur to him.
Did I accidentally ruin Naruto’s destined encounter?
“…Well.”
Aoba sighed.
He had never agreed with the saying, With greater power comes greater responsibility.
But when something like this happened right in front of him…
There was no way he could just ignore it.
Besides…
In a sense, he was saving those three boys too.
If the eldest daughter of the Hyūga Clan went home bruised and battered, someone was going to have a very sleepless night.
By now, the boys had already started shoving her.
Aoba bent down and picked up several stones from the snow.
He tossed them lightly in his hand, judging their weight.
Perfect.
Enough to daze them.
Not enough to crack their skulls.
“You three…”
“You’re being a little too noisy.”
His calm voice immediately halted the boys.
They turned toward the sound.
A boy about their age stood not far away, casually tossing stones into the air.
Even Hinata looked up through her tears.
“What?”
“You planning to play hero?”
The chubby leader puffed out his chest confidently.
With both size and numbers on his side, he wasn’t intimidated by a few rocks.
“Heh.”
Aoba responded with nothing more than a cold chuckle.
Just as the three boys’ faces darkened in anger—
He threw.
With his Advanced Shuriken Throwing Technique, a stone was no different from a shuriken.
His aim was flawless.
The force behind each throw was anything but light.
“Aaaagh!” ×3
All three boys screamed in unison.
Huge bumps instantly swelled across their foreheads.
They clutched their heads in agony.
But as soon as they looked up—
They saw Aoba calmly bending down to pick up another handful of stones.
The boys instantly turned pale.
Backing away in terror, they shouted,
“D-Don’t come over here!”
They scrambled to their feet and fled as fast as they could, tripping over themselves in their panic.
Only then did Aoba walk over to Hinata.
Looking at her red-rimmed eyes and chubby little face stained with tears…
He felt he should’ve thrown those stones even harder.
The Hyūga guards are seriously useless.
“Th-Thank you…”
Hinata lowered her head and thanked him in a tiny voice.
“Do you know how to get home?”
Aoba asked.
“I…”
Grrrrr…
Before she could answer, her stomach answered for her.
Aoba blinked in surprise.