Everyone waved around the bills Sasuke Uchiha had handed out and got to shopping, because they were absolutely going to eat and drink their fill later.
Even Hinata Hyūga, who was normally so reserved, was buzzing with excitement.
Hinata had visited other classmates’ homes before, and had invited those same classmates over in return.
Of all of them, Hirofumi Ito’s house was the favorite, Auntie Hanako Ito’s cooking was simply on another level, and every single visit ended with Hinata completely stuffed.
It really couldn’t be helped.
Hinata had no idea why the appetite was so large, but at home there was almost never quite enough to eat.
And now Sasuke Uchiha had pulled out this much money for a shopping run.
Today, Hinata was definitely eating until full!
No need to mention it to Father, either.
Over the past few years these close classmates had been visiting each other’s homes constantly, and Father had long since stopped thinking twice about it.
The others were all in more or less the same boat.
After all, everyone was graduating from the Ninja Academy this year, they were about to become real ninja.
The clans had loosened their grip a little.
But something unpleasant happened while they were shopping.
Naruto Uzumaki, absolutely buzzing, waved the ten-thousand-ryo bill Sasuke had handed him and went sprinting into a barbecue restaurant.
Barbecue.
Food he’d never even let himself dream about before.
But today that smug Sasuke had thrown out this much money, so Naruto was going to absolutely destroy a barbecue spread.
The reason people had always refused to serve him before was definitely because he didn’t have enough money, now he had plenty, so they’d definitely sell to him!
But the very next moment…
Naruto Uzumaki stepped inside.
“Good grief! How did that awful Nine-Tails brat get in here!”
“Right, right! Look at those whisker marks on his face — disgusting!”
“Stay away from him! What if he turns into the Nine-Tails and kills us all!”
“Ugh, revolting! Now I’ve completely lost my appetite!”
“Hey! Is that Nine-Tails brat actually holding a ten-thousand-ryo note?!”
“Looks like it…”
“Hmph! How could that Nine-Tails brat possibly have that kind of money?! He must have stolen it!”
“That’s right! He definitely stole it!”
“Disgusting little thief! Not only does he look like a freak, now he’s stealing money too!”
“Get out of here, Nine-Tails brat!”
“Get out! Get out!”
“And hand over that money! Stealing like that, we’ll just hold onto it for you!”
The villagers jeered and closed in around Naruto with obvious intent, every pair of eyes locked greedily on the ten-thousand-ryo note in his hand.
Just a Nine-Tails brat, after all.
That money was definitely stolen, so taking it was perfectly fine.
Naruto was already panicking.
“My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I’m not some Nine-Tails brat! And, and I didn’t steal this money! I never stole anything! I just wanted to buy some barbecue!”
The whole restaurant burst into wild laughter.
Several villagers who had clearly had far too much to drink started shoving him around.
“That’s absolutely hilarious! The Nine-Tails brat thinks he has a name?! ‘Naruto Uzumaki’? You’re the Nine-Tails brat. A Nine-Tails brat that everyone despises!”
“This little beast actually has the nerve to say the money isn’t stolen?! Plain as day you stole it! Hand it over right now!”
The drunks weren’t satisfied with shoving anymore.
They started kicking and punching him outright, grabbing for the note in his hand.
Naruto got driven back into a corner.
He still wouldn’t let go of the note.
The drunks preened, seeing the crowd watching.
Every one of them more smug and self-satisfied by the second.
Vanity thoroughly gratified.
The group had split up to shop, and on Naruto’s end only Hinata Hyūga had quietly trailed behind.
When the commotion from inside reached the street, Hinata shoved straight through the door.
“Naruto! Are you okay?!”
Hinata pushed past two drunks mid-swing and pulled Naruto back to his feet.
A few of the sober villagers noticed the eyes.
“Those eyes…”
“That’s someone from the Hyūga Clan, isn’t it?!”
“Who would have thought — a Hyūga, walking around with the Nine-Tails brat…”
“Yeah…”
The Hyūga Clan carried serious weight in the Hidden Leaf Village.
The sober villagers went quiet and stayed that way.
But the drunks had long since stopped caring what anything meant, including what the Byakugan meant.
“Well, well! Now isn’t that something! Done roughing up the Nine-Tails brat, and here comes a Byakugan freak!”
“Ahahahaha… isn’t this just priceless?! A Nine-Tails brat and a Byakugan freak! Quite the pair, aren’t they…”
“This Byakugan freak actually dares to help the Nine-Tails brat, must be running together with him! Neither one of them is any good!”
The sober villagers said nothing.
That was the Hyūga Clan.
Only someone completely out of their mind on alcohol would ever say “Byakugan freak” out loud.
But the drunks saw the silence and took it as awe.
Their own overwhelming presence had cowed the crowd.
Each of them grew even more insufferably pleased with themselves.
“Hinata… get out of here. Go find Hirofumi and the others. You’ll get hurt too if you stay… just go.”
Hinata Hyūga’s small frame stood in front of him, arms spread wide.
Naruto’s heart was suddenly pounding, fast, and for a reason he couldn’t name.
Something deep in his chest took a hard hit.
This slightly odd, quiet Hinata Hyūga, willing to stand in front of him like this?
“Hinata… please. Go. Don’t worry about me — go find Hirofumi and Sasuke!”
“No. I’m not leaving. Even if I get beaten, I’m standing right here with you!”
➤ Next: Neji Hyūga’s Three-Person Squad
Chapter 30 – Neji Hyūga’s Three-Person Squad
Naruto stared blankly at the small figure standing in front of him.
“Hinata… you…”
The usually timid Hinata Hyūga looked back at him with absolute conviction.
“Naruto… you might have already forgotten, but that day, you were the one who protected me. So… today, let me be the one to protect you!”
Naruto froze.
Memories from years ago rose to the surface, a stormy night, wind and snow howling together.
A little girl was being bullied.
He had stepped forward to help, and gotten beaten up badly for it.
So that little girl had been…
Hinata!
The drunks surrounding them burst out laughing.
“Hahahahaha… did you all just hear that?! This Byakugan freak actually said she’d take a beating just to stand by this fox-brat?!”
“That’s hilarious! A Byakugan freak and a fox-brat — what a perfect pair!”
“Since they’re so eager to get beaten up, let’s give them what they want! They’re just a couple of freaks!”
“Right, and look — this Byakugan freak is holding ten thousand ryo too! Must’ve stolen it from somewhere. Guess we’ll just have to reluctantly take it into safekeeping! Hahahahahaha…”
Still talking, the drunks started shoving Hinata, who was standing squarely in front of Naruto.
Naruto shot to his feet.
“Damn it! You bunch of bastards! Back off!”
…………………….
Just then, three people arrived outside the barbecue restaurant.
One wore the attire of the Hyūga Clan.
One had a bowl cut and wore a green jumpsuit.
The third was a girl with a pleasant face and hair done up in buns.
Neji Hyūga, Rock Lee, and Tenten, fresh off a mission and ready for a meal.
All three had graduated from the Ninja Academy the previous year, become Genin, and been assigned to the same squad under the Hidden Leaf Village’s Jōnin, Might Guy.
Tenten peered curiously at the commotion inside.
“Neji, Rock Lee… what’s going on in there? Why is it so loud?!”
“Let me see, let me see!”
Rock Lee bounced on both feet, craning to get a look.
Neji Hyūga remained expressionless.
“It’s too noisy here. Let’s find a different restaurant.”
Then Rock Lee let out a loud gasp.
“Wait?! Isn’t that your little sister Hinata over there? Neji! And that’s Naruto Uzumaki — the one who’s a grade below us!”
Why would his little sister be here?!
And with Naruto Uzumaki of all people?!
Naruto wasn’t exactly a stranger to Neji, or rather, Neji knew him fairly well.
Because of Hirofumi Ito, Neji had grown familiar with Naruto over time.
The guy seemed like a complete idiot on the surface, but he wasn’t the fox-brat everyone made him out to be.
That was how it went: after Hirofumi Ito arrived in this world, even before binding the Summoning System, he had already started building bridges with Neji Hyūga, Rock Lee, and Tenten back at the Ninja Academy.
The connection wasn’t as tight as what existed between Naruto, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi, but it was enough to call them friends.
Neji didn’t think twice.
Pushing through the crowd, Neji walked straight inside.
The next instant, the veins around Neji’s Byakugan bulged.
His little sister Hinata was being bullied here?!
Called a Byakugan freak!
Hmph…
These people had gone way too far.
THWAM THWAM THWAM THWAM THWAM!
Neji sent the drunks flying in an instant.
“Brother…”
Hinata finally let out a breath of relief.
“Are you alright, and you too… Naruto Uzumaki?” Neji looked between Hinata and Naruto, expression cold.
“I’m fine… Brother…”
Facing the older sibling, Hinata slipped straight back into her timid self.
Naruto, on the other hand, looked at the three of them with pure delight.
“Neji! Rock Lee! Tenten! What are you doing here?!”
Naruto had taken a beating, that much was obvious.
Shoe prints covered him from top to bottom.
Rock Lee stepped forward and helped steady him.
“We just finished a mission and came here for barbecue. Never expected to walk right into this.”
“Those guys were absolutely outrageous!” Tenten said, brow creased.
Out on the street, the drunks who had been sent flying struggled back to their feet.
“Damn it! You dare hit me?! Another Byakugan freak?!”
“Oh! And a green-skinned freak this time! Look at that ridiculous bowl cut, enough to make you die laughing!”
“Hmm… that bun-haired girl isn’t bad-looking though!”
“…”
All five of them walked out: Neji, Rock Lee, Tenten, Naruto, and Hinata.
The rest of the squad had been shopping nearby.
They noticed the scene and came crowding over one by one.
One look at the shoe prints all over Naruto, and everyone understood exactly what had happened.
They stared at the drunks with cold, flat eyes.
Sasuke Uchiha in particular, the moment he saw the mess of prints covering Naruto, reached back toward his waist with one hand.
The next instant, a kunai was in his grip.
Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Kiba Inuzuka quietly spread out, cutting off every angle of escape.
“Hey! What are you little brats trying to do?! What’s with those looks?! You want to pick a fight?!”
“Tch! Do you even know who I am? A bunch of kids playing tough?”
“One look at you and I can tell you’re friends with that fox-brat and the Byakugan freak! Push me far enough and I’ll take care of all of you too!”
Every other word out of their mouths was “Byakugan freak” or “fox-brat.” The squad’s eyes grew colder with each one.
Neji was already channeling Chakra into both hands, instantly dropping into a Gentle Fist stance, ready to move.
Then a hand closed around Neji’s arm.
➤ Next: Konoha 11 Joins the Fight
Thanks for reading!
✨
If you like where this is going:
Add this book to your Library 📚
Every stone counts.
Keep the momentum going!