Chapter 4: Thank You for Looking After Her
"Father."
Hinata's voice was as faint as a mosquito's. The moment she stepped out of the reassuring aura surrounding Naruto, she lowered her head deeply and hurried to Hiashi's side.
She looked exactly like a child caught red-handed in mischief, shoulders hunching instinctively.
The cold night wind brushed past, but it was nothing compared to the chill inside her heart.
She had sneaked out of the house in the first place.
Now, seeing her father standing here in person, waiting in wind and snow, she was overwhelmed by guilt.
Father must be furious, right?
She fretted, worrying that he had to come out so late for a disappointing daughter like her... Her thoughts drifted back to the sparring match earlier.
Faced with Hanabi's fierce attacks, she simply couldn't bring herself to counter. Every opening was crystal-clear to her Byakugan, yet her hands—and her heart—refused to let the Gentle Fist strike her little sister's small body.
Hesitation and soft-heartedness are fatal flaws in a duel.
It was because she couldn't bear to hurt her sister.
But a loss was a loss. In Father's eyes and in the eyes of the whole clan, results are everything.
Once again... I've disgraced the Hyuga Main Family.
She remembered the icy sigh Father had let out after the match, the disappointment undisguised in those pure-white eyes.
Father's anger at the time had been only natural.
She silently accepted that "fact," blaming every fault on her own weakness and incompetence.
Oh no!
The instant Naruto saw those signature white eyes of Hyuga Hiashi, his heart sank.
Dragging the Hyuga Clan's eldest daughter around until this hour and getting cornered at the crossroads by the clan head himself—this was the textbook definition of being caught red-handed for kidnapping!
I'm done for. Now he'll think I'm some sleazy punk luring innocent little girls.
Yet that instinctive panic lasted less than two seconds before Naruto regained his composure.
No—he quickly calmed himself—why am I panicking?
What wrong have I done?
I treated her to ramen and even offered to walk her home. I've helped and protected her the whole time.
I've got nothing to feel guilty about!
With that, Naruto's slightly hunched back straightened imperceptibly; the awkwardness on his face melted away. Though still awed by the formidable clan head, his gaze was far steadier now.
Meanwhile, Hiashi watched his daughter scurry over, wishing she could vanish into the ground—frightened and blaming herself—and a mix of emotions flashed through him: helplessness, and a trace of barely perceptible heartache.
His gaze swept past Hinata and settled on the blond boy working hard to look composed.
He saw Naruto's silly, honest grin.
After a moment's silence, instead of questioning or scolding as Hinata expected, Hiashi gave Naruto a slight, unmistakable nod.
He spoke, voice still level and betraying little emotion, yet his words stunned the bowing Hinata and the bracing Naruto: "Thank you for looking after my daughter."
"No problem!"
Hearing Hiashi's thanks, Naruto puffed out his chest, gave a big grin and a thumbs-up, and answered loud and full of confidence:
"I'm the guy who's gonna be Hokage! Protecting people in the Village is what I do!"
The gesture, the tone that stated an obvious truth, and the overflowing, slightly goofy enthusiasm...
Hiashi's pure-white eyes flickered slightly.
So the rumor that he's been training with Might Guy lately is true.
Seeing Naruto's trademark pose and expression perfectly mirror elite Jonin Might Guy, Hiashi understood.
That unrestrained youthfulness, that blunt, almost reckless way of expressing himself—pure Guy.
He only wondered whether, besides taijutsu, the boy had also inherited Guy's "youth" philosophy.
Yet when Hiashi's glance swept over Naruto's golden hair, still bright in the night, and those clear blue eyes full of unshakable will, his mind couldn't help but waver.
Those features really do look like yours, Minato... A gentle yet mighty figure surfaced in his memory.
The hero who once stood here, guarding every corner of the Village, rallying hearts with a sun-like smile—the renowned Flying Thunder God of the Ninja World, the Yellow Flash.
The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and his wife Kushina had given their lives for Konoha in that disaster; they were heroes of the Village.
But their child, an orphan who should have been sheltered under the name of those heroes, had instead survived the villagers' rejection and cold stares because of the "Demon Fox" sealed within him, living anything but a good life.
An indescribable mix of emotions surged in Hiashi—sighs, regrets, perhaps a father's gloom at seeing a hero's son treated so.
He murmured inwardly, as though the message could pierce life and death to reach the Pure Land: Minato, can you see this from over there?
Your son, carrying on your and Kushina's will, loves and wants to protect this Konoha from the bottom of his heart, just like you did!
The corners of Hiashi's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly; a gentle, fatherly smile nearly broke through his usual sternness.
In his mind a simple, sincere invitation had already formed: If it's convenient, please come to our humble home tomorrow.
Yes, if he were speaking only as a father, he would invite the boy without hesitation.
Invite this child named Naruto to the house, entertain him properly, and thank him in person.
He could even picture how surprised and delighted Hinata—who had finally made a friend—would be at the news.
Yet those words, almost leaping from his tongue, were forced back down his throat.
Because he was not merely Hinata's father; he was the head of the Hyuga Clan.
That identity gave him glory and authority, but also placed heavy shackles upon him.
He had to answer for the entire clan's position and safety.
One must not get too close to a Jinchuriki.
Especially now, when the young Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is a sensitive figure, closely watched by the Village's higher-ups—particularly Danzo Shimura and the "Root" under him.
Any clan seen to be on overly familiar terms with Naruto could be interpreted as harboring ulterior motives, as trying to control the power of the Jinchuriki, inviting unnecessary suspicion, vigilance, even suppression.
For the stability of the Hyuga Clan, he could not take that risk.
In the end, that unformed smile faded completely; the lines of his face turned hard once more.
He simply gave Naruto another slight nod, then turned to Hinata at his side and said quietly, "Let's go home."
[end of chapter]