Knock, knock, knock—
Early in the morning, little Naruto looked at the front door in confusion.
He put down the bread and milk he was holding.
After thinking for a moment, he placed the Will of Fire book on the table.
Creak—
He pushed open the front door.
He saw a little Byakugan loli standing prettily at his doorstep.
"Hinata?"
Little Naruto was stunned for a moment.
Hinata had only told little Naruto about her family rules yesterday.
And now, on the very next day, she was at his doorstep.
This indeed surprised little Naruto a bit.
Of course, there was another point: this little girl actually remembered the location of his house after hearing it only once.
Little Naruto welcomed Hinata into his home.
It was only when she got closer that little Naruto noticed the beads of sweat on Hinata's hair.
"Did it take you a lot of time?"
Creak—
The door was closed.
Suddenly, little Naruto felt a chill down his spine, as if he was being targeted by some prehistoric beast.
He extended his senses but didn't detect any suspicious individuals.
But the feeling of being watched just now couldn't have been fake.
'Could it be That old man is still worried?'
'No, that feeling flashed by, and... it was very unfamiliar. Could it be someone from the Hyuga Clan?'
Seeing Hinata standing there reservedly.
Little Naruto smiled and said, "Have you had breakfast?"
"No." Hinata nodded, but the words that came to her lips turned into 'no'.
Little Naruto's eye twitched.
It seemed she hadn't eaten enough.
Fortunately, there was plenty in stock... should... should be enough, right?
Downstairs, Hyuga Hiashi gritted his teeth, hidden in the crowd.
His eyes were fixed on the tightly shut door of little Naruto's house.
'That kid... if I'm not mistaken, he actually sensed me using the Byakugan to investigate just now.'
'He can sense the Byakugan immediately... It seems the Anbu Ninja sent by the Third Hokage to monitor him were discovered by him long ago.'
'But this kid wasn't sent to Root, and the Third Hokage doesn't seem to have sent anyone else... This can only mean one thing: the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki has gained the Third Hokage's trust.'
'Considering his perception just now... Heh heh, this is getting interesting.'
Hyuga Hiashi narrowed his eyes slightly.
'This kid is probably not as simple as he appears.'
'Should I stop Hinata?'
Hyuga Hiashi remained silent for a long time.
Finally, he took a deep breath.
'No.'
'I want to see what this child really wants to do.'
Thinking of his brother's death, Hyuga Hiashi immediately dismissed the idea of preventing Hinata from getting close to little Naruto.
Immediately, Hyuga Hiashi formed hand seals.
Following that, his presence diminished to that of an insect.
Whoosh—
In the next moment, Hyuga Hiashi leaped to another tall building.
He watched everything happening inside little Naruto's house from afar.
At first glance, Hyuga Hiashi again saw his daughter eating heartily.
Hyuga Hiashi: "..."
'She still hasn't eaten enough?'
The amount for the next meal must be increased!
Otherwise, if others found out, they would think that I, the esteemed Hyuga, couldn't even feed a little girl.
With his powerful eyesight, Hyuga Hiashi clearly saw their conversation.
Lip reading was also one of the mandatory courses for Ninja.
"Naruto-kun, what kind of book do you want?"
"I'll secretly go to Father's study tonight to help you find it."
Hyuga Hiashi: "..."
Just the first sentence made Hyuga Hiashi unable to hold back.
You truly are a good daughter to your father!
However, in an instant, Hyuga Hiashi frowned again.
'What does that child want books for?'
"Is that okay?" little Naruto asked with some concern.
Hearing this, Hinata lowered her head slightly, "It's... it's fine..."
Seeing his daughter's demeanor, Hyuga Hiashi's fists clenched.
She was ready to be disciplined if he found out.
What kind of bewitching potion did this Nine-Tailed brat give you?
"If it's too much trouble, then forget it." Little Naruto shook his head.
He didn't want Hinata to be punished because of this.
Of course, the most important point was that he was afraid his true intentions would be exposed.
Whether the Uchiha and Hyuga were allies or enemies was unknown for now, and little Naruto also knew his place; he hadn't reached the point where he could be their equal.
In fact, little Naruto had also asked Shikamaru to keep an eye on Sasuke's side.
But Shikamaru said that Uchiha Sasuke had repeatedly guaranteed that no one else would know about this matter, and Ino had also been provoking him, so little Naruto decided to take the risk and try.
Of course, little Naruto had also prepared for the worst-case scenario: his intentions being exposed to the Uchiha.
And the Uchiha, from The Four Little Ones, would then trace it back to him.
However, little Naruto had also carefully considered his decision.
The fox demon incident seemed to be related to the Uchiha.
Furthermore, the Uchiha seemed to be ostracized by the entire Village.
As long as they weren't fools, they wouldn't easily contact him; otherwise, any blame could be placed on them.
The absolute worst-case scenario might be a return to the constant surveillance he experienced before.
To exchange this for some crucial information would be worth it.
If he could fool That old man once, little Naruto was confident he could fool him again.
But the Hyuga were different.
Even though he had personally witnessed the Hyuga's undeserved misfortune before.
Little Naruto still dared not gamble.
However, facing Hinata's continuous questioning, little Naruto also felt a bit helpless.
Her sincere eyes moved little Naruto somewhat.
Finally, he still said, "Hinata, can I trust you?"
Hearing this, Hinata excitedly stood up quickly.
She wanted to make a promise, but due to her excitement, her little face was flushed, and she couldn't speak clearly.
"I understand." Little Naruto smiled.
Then he pressed down on Hinata's shoulders and whispered, "I want some books."
"Any book will do, if you can buy it and no third person will know about it."
"Including some forbidden books... about history."
"But your identity is special... so, I cannot ask this of you, otherwise, it will put me in danger."
After reading little Naruto's lips, Hyuga Hiashi broke out in a cold sweat.
He hadn't expected that this child, who looked to be the same age as Hinata, had already grown to this extent.
Once he obtained the true history... perhaps knowing his own background would be a matter of moments, and then he would scheme based on that...
After a long while, Hyuga Hiashi sighed with emotion, 'As expected of Minato and Kushina's child.'
'If either Minato or Kushina were still alive, this child would definitely astound everyone!'
Time passed by minute by minute.
Watching his daughter, who, after feeling guilty, personally taught little Naruto taijutsu.
Hyuga Hiashi wasn't troubled this time.
Instead, he was conflicted.
'Should I place a bet?'
In reality, the Ninja Village system... was pretty much fixed Ninja Clans, and a revolving Hokage.
During the time Hyuga Hiashi was conflicted.
It was time for the Ninja Academy preschool to let out.
Yesterday, Shikamaru had asked him to go early to meet Uchiha Sasuke.
So, little Naruto took Hinata with him as he left.
Hyuga Hiashi remained silent, quietly following, maintaining a distance that would absolutely prevent him from being discovered.
Then he went directly to the destination of this trip in advance.
Pop—
Hyuga Hiashi: ???
They stared at each other.
The leaders of the two clans, the Byakugan and the Uchiha, who had almost no interaction but had secretly competed for many years, actually met at this moment.
"Why are you here?!" x2