The girl behind the tree trembled, her knuckles white from clenching the hem of her clothes. She knew she couldn't hide, so she slowly emerged from behind the tree trunk, head bowed, her two index fingers nervously pressed together, looking like a small rabbit targeted by a hunter.
"I… I didn't… monitor…"
Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, tinged with a sob.
"I just… just saw Naruto-kun… recently…"
Her words caught in her throat; she didn't know how to continue.
Should she say, 'You've become so terrifying?' Should she say, 'You look like a demon when you kill?' Should she say, 'The suffocating aura around you makes her both afraid and yet unable to resist wanting to get closer?'
She couldn't utter a single one of those words. She was afraid those words would be like knives, piercing his heart, which had already been scarred and battered by the world.
Naruto watched her quietly, without urging. His brain was working at high speed, analyzing the target before him.
[Target: Hyuga Hinata.]
[Behavior Analysis: Non-hostile observation from a safe distance for three consecutive days.]
[Physiological Indicators: Accelerated heartbeat, Chakra disorder (disordered Chakra), high tension. No detection of killing intent or deceptive fluctuations.]
[Threat Level: None.]
He confirmed the other party's harmlessness, but her motive remained unclear. This variable, which could not be logically categorized, made him slightly uncomfortable.
Just then, Hinata, as if using all her strength, suddenly looked up. Her watery Byakugan stared directly at Naruto, her cheeks as red as ripe tomatoes. With all her courage, she asked a question that nearly caused Naruto's logical circuits to crash.
"Naruto-kun… do you… do you still like Sakura?"
The air seemed to solidify.
Naruto's thoughts paused for a moment.
[Received unexpected query command…]
[Keywords: like, Sakura Haruno.]
[Database retrieval… correlation analysis… emotional module… error.]
This question completely exceeded his tactical plans and behavioral logic database. Why should he like a unit with low combat efficiency, volatile emotions, and only barely capable of serving as a field Medic? This did not conform to any of the principles he believed in.
He looked at the girl, trembling slightly from nervousness, and at her pure eyes, devoid of any impurity. A database he had long ignored was forcibly activated by this sudden question.
He remembered. In that period he defined as "an inefficient and flawed childhood," this girl named Hyuga Hinata seemed to have always been there. When he was ostracized and hated by everyone, only she would cast a worried, rather than disgusted, gaze.
Her loyalty had existed from the very beginning—pure and unwavering.
Naruto slowly raised his hand.
Hinata closed her eyes in fright, thinking she had said the wrong thing and was about to be hit.
However, the expected pain did not come. A warm, dry hand gently rested on her head, clumsily yet carefully stroking it once.
This was encouragement for loyalty.
Hinata suddenly opened her eyes, looking at Naruto in disbelief.
"She is just my Medic."
Naruto's answer was as calm as ever, yet it was like a calming pill, instantly soothing all the fear in Hinata's heart.
He looked at the girl's eyes, wide with astonishment, and continued to explain with his Political Commissar logic: "Personal emotions are an inefficient catalyst; they affect battlefield judgment, interfere with command efficiency, and are a combat variable that must be eliminated."
These cold words made Hinata's heart, which had just settled, clench again. The light in her eyes dimmed. Yes, the current Naruto-kun no longer needed such things.
Which meant, he no longer needed her.
Naruto keenly detected the subtle change in her emotions. He was silent for a moment, seemingly performing some complex internal calculation, and then he added a sentence.
The words were light, yet heavy as a thousand pounds.
"But you are different."
This meant: you are not suitable to be a Medic, but your Byakugan is suitable for reconnaissance, and scouts are equally important on the battlefield, and your loyalty is precious.
Such words are usually used on the battlefield to encourage veterans or new recruits who lack confidence.
Boom.
Hinata felt a brilliant firework explode in her world.
Tears, no longer controllable, rolled down in large drops from her beautiful Byakugan. But these were not tears of sadness; for the first time in over a decade, she felt so clearly and so solemnly "differentiated" by someone.
He didn't say he liked her, nor did he make any promises.
But that phrase, "You are different," pierced her emotional defenses more effectively than any sweet words.
"Hmm?"
Naruto looked at the girl, who was still crying, and a slight alarm went off in his brain's processing core.
[Target emotional fluctuation exceeds safety threshold.]
[Behavior Analysis: Crying. Cause determination: Positive emotional stimulus.]
[Logical paradox: Why does positive emotion lead to negative physiological manifestation (tears)? Database lacks relevant model.]
[Suggested solution: …None.]
This was the first time since he became a "Political Commissar" that he encountered a situation where his logical framework could not provide a solution. The hand that had just stroked her head was still suspended in mid-air, neither pulling back nor staying put, looking particularly stiff.
"I… I…" Hinata choked, wanting to say something, but could only manage intermittent sobs. She wanted to say thank you, she wanted to say she was so happy, but a thousand words were stuck in her throat, turning into a hot, sour ache.
Naruto watched her silently, his internal analysis module still running in vain. He watched her shoulders shaking with sobs, and finally, he came to a conclusion that fit his current logic.
"Excessive dehydration will affect bodily functions." He said calmly, in a matter-of-fact tone, "Crying is an unnecessary consumption of water and salt; it is recommended to stop immediately."
"Pfft—"
Hinata was amused by his serious words, tears still clinging to her eyelashes, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curve upwards. In such a tense and touching moment, only the current Naruto-kun could say something so exasperatingly funny.
Naruto looked at her tear-streaked smiling face, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. He felt he should do something.
He rummaged through his tactical pack.
First-aid bandages? No, those were for external injuries.
Military rations pill? No, she had no energy expenditure.
Explosive tags? …Definitely not.
Finally, he pulled out a slightly crumpled packet of tissues. Teuchi had insisted on giving them to him last time they went to Ichiraku Ramen, saying boys should also pay attention to cleanliness. He had thought it was unnecessary supplies at the time, but still accepted them.
He pulled out a tissue and handed it to Hinata.
His movement was a bit stiff, like he was handing over a mission report.
"Wipe it." He said, "You have dirt on your face."
…In a nearby bush, a white-haired head was stealthily peeking out.
Jiraiya had a foxtail grass in his mouth and a small notebook in his hand, originally intending to continue observing and recording "Problem Child Naruto's daily behavior report" to prepare for future "rehabilitation education."
He saw Naruto's cold questioning and little Hinata looking like she was about to cry from fright.
"Ah, he's beyond saving, this kid is completely broken, the Third Hokage is too irresponsible…" He shook his head, sighing, as he wrote in his notebook.
But the next scene made him chew up the foxtail grass in his mouth.
That head pat!
That "She is just my Medic"!
And that earth-shattering last line, "But you are different"!
Jiraiya's eyes widened like copper bells, and the pen in his hand clattered to the ground.
"Holy crap!" He couldn't help but curse internally, "This kid… he's not clueless, he's clearly a master!"
He finally understood.
Naruto was not an emotionless machine; he had merely encapsulated all his gentleness and humanity, setting up a whitelist. Not everyone could see it. Want to see? First, check if your loyalty is sufficient, if you are on his list.
Taking his investigation of Naruto's Team 7 companions as an example: Sakura Haruno? That was an "asset" that needed to be managed. Uchiha Sasuke? That was a "weapon" that needed to be calibrated.
And Hyuga Hinata… this girl who had always silently given without asking for anything in return, with her pure concern, had passed the "political vetting" that even he, a Legendary Sannin, was helpless against.
"So that's it… So that's it!" Jiraiya slapped his thigh, feeling he had grasped the crux of the problem.
To deal with this "Political Commissar" personality, one couldn't use conventional soft tactics; that would be "ineffective infiltration." One had to present "value" that he would approve of and recognize!
Jiraiya put away his notebook, tidied his slightly disheveled clothes, and a profound smile appeared on his face. He cleared his throat and walked out from behind the tree, each step carrying the demeanor of a grandmaster.
Naruto had already sensed his presence, merely categorizing him as a "harmless peeping sage," and had ignored him.
Hinata, seeing Jiraiya appear, quickly wiped her tears and lowered her head in embarrassment.
Jiraiya walked up to the two, not looking at Hinata, but fixing his gaze on Naruto.
"Kid," he began, his tone unprecedentedly serious, "have you hit a bottleneck in your training?"
Naruto's ice-blue pupils turned to him, neither affirming nor denying.
Jiraiya grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.
"You're probably stumped on how to make a Shadow Clone of that saw, right? No worries, I'll teach you. Want to learn?"
×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×
Read Extra Chapter Visit My Patreon
I have only 1 tier
19$ Tier – Access to 40 advance chapters
patreon.com/Lempil
patreon.com/Lempil