[Knock, knock, knock—]
[Early morning, little Naruto looked at the front door in confusion.]
[He put down the bread and milk in his hands.]
[After thinking for a moment, he placed the book about the Will of Fire on the table.]
[Creak—]
[He opened the door.]
[Standing outside was a small Byakugan girl, lively and well-composed.]
["Hinata?"]
[Little Naruto froze for a moment.]
[Just yesterday, Hinata had told him about her family's rules.]
[And today she was already standing at his door.]
[That genuinely surprised him.]
[Of course, there was one more thing—she had only heard his address once, yet remembered it perfectly.]
[Little Naruto welcomed Hinata inside.]
[When she came closer, he finally noticed the beads of sweat on her hair.]
["That took quite some time, didn't it?"]
[Creak—]
[The door closed.]
[Suddenly, little Naruto felt a chill run down his back, as if some ancient beast were staring at him.]
[He released his perception, but detected no suspicious figures.]
[Yet the feeling of being watched was unmistakable.]
['Is that old man still worried?']
['No… that feeling flashed by too quickly—and it's unfamiliar. Could it be someone from the Hyūga clan?']
[Seeing Hinata standing awkwardly in place,]
[little Naruto smiled and asked, "Have you eaten breakfast?"]
["No." Hinata nodded—but the words faltered and still became "no."]
[The corner of little Naruto's eye twitched.]
[Looks like she didn't eat her fill.]
[Good thing the stockpile is decent… it should… probably be enough?]
[Downstairs, Hyūga Hiashi ground his teeth, hidden among the crowd.]
[His eyes were locked tightly on the closed door of little Naruto's home.]
['That brat… if my senses aren't wrong, he actually noticed me using the Byakugan just now.']
['If he can detect the Byakugan instantly… then the ANBU the Third sent to monitor him were discovered long ago.']
['Yet he wasn't sent to Root, and the Third didn't continue surveillance…']
['That can only mean one thing—the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki has earned the Third Hokage's trust.']
['And combined with what I sensed just now… heh, interesting.']
[Hyūga Hiashi narrowed his eyes slightly.]
['This child is far more complicated than he appears.']
['Should I stop Hinata?']
[Hiashi remained silent for a long time.]
[In the end, he took a deep breath.]
['No.']
['I want to see exactly what this child intends to do.']
[Thinking of his younger brother's death, Hiashi immediately abandoned the idea of stopping Hinata from approaching little Naruto.]
[He formed hand seals.]
[In the next instant, his presence dropped to that of an insect.]
[Whoosh—]
[He leapt onto another building.]
[From afar, he watched everything inside little Naruto's home.]
[At first glance, he saw his daughter eating heartily again.]
[Hyūga Hiashi: "..."]
['She's still not full?']
[Then the next meal's portion has to be increased again!]
[Otherwise, people will think that the dignified Hyūga clan can't even feed a little girl properly!]
[With his exceptional eyesight, Hiashi clearly read their lips.]
[Lip-reading was one of a ninja's basic skills.]
["Naruto-kun, what books do you want?"]
["I'll sneak into Father's study tonight and help you look for them."]
[Hyūga Hiashi: "..."]
[He nearly lost it at the very first sentence.]
[You really are your father's good daughter!]
[But almost immediately, Hiashi frowned again.]
['What does that child want books for?']
["Is that really okay?" little Naruto asked with concern.]
[Hearing that, Hinata lowered her head slightly. "I-it's fine…"]
[Watching his daughter like that, Hiashi's fists clenched tightly.]
[She was already mentally prepared to be punished once he found out.]
[What kind of bewitching potion did that Nine-Tails brat feed you?!]
["If it's forced, then forget it," little Naruto shook his head.]
[He didn't want Hinata to be punished because of him.]
[More importantly, he feared his objective being exposed.]
[Whether the Uchiha and the Hyūga were enemies or allies was still unknown, and little Naruto knew his own limits—he wasn't yet at a level to stand on equal footing with them.]
[In fact, with Sasuke's side, little Naruto had Shikamaru acting as a filter.]
[But Shikamaru said that Uchiha Sasuke had repeatedly promised that absolutely no one else would know about this, and with Ino constantly provoking him, little Naruto finally decided to take the risk.]
[Of course, he had also prepared for the worst-case scenario—his purpose being exposed to the Uchiha.]
[And through the four kids, the Uchiha tracing it back to him.]
[But little Naruto had thought it through carefully before deciding.]
[The Nine-Tails incident seemed connected to the Uchiha.]
[And the Uchiha were clearly being ostracized by the entire village.]
[As long as they weren't fools, they wouldn't dare to expose contact with him lightly—otherwise, any blame could easily be pinned on them.]
[At worst, things would simply revert to the state where he was monitored at all times.]
[Exchanging that for some crucial information was still worth it.]
[If he could fool that old man once, he was confident he could do it again.]
[But the Hyūga were different.]
[Even though he had personally witnessed their undeserved calamity before,]
[little Naruto still didn't dare gamble.]
[However, facing Hinata's persistent questioning, he felt helpless.]
[That sincere gaze moved him.]
[In the end, he asked, "Hinata… can I trust you?"]
[Upon hearing that, Hinata jumped to her feet in excitement.]
[She wanted to make a promise, but she was so flustered that her cheeks flushed red and she couldn't get the words out.]
["I understand," little Naruto smiled.]
[Then he pressed her gently back down and whispered,]
["I want some books."]
["Any books are fine—as long as you can obtain them, and no third person knows."]
["Including forbidden books… especially those related to history."]
["But your status is special… so I can't actually ask you to do this. Otherwise, it would put me in danger."]
[After reading little Naruto's lips, Hyūga Hiashi broke out in a cold sweat.]
[He hadn't expected that a child who looked about the same age as Hinata had already grown to this level.]
[If this child obtained the real history… perhaps learning his true identity would only be a matter of time—followed by careful planning…]
[After a long while, Hiashi sighed.]
['Worthy of being Minato and Kushina's child.']
['If either of them were still alive, this child would shock everyone.']
[Time passed, second by second.]
[Watching his daughter, who after feeling guilty began personally teaching little Naruto taijutsu,]
[Hiashi no longer felt vexed.]
[Instead—he was conflicted.]
['Should I place a bet?']
[In truth, the structure of a ninja village…]
[…was nothing more than ironclad clans and ever-changing Hokage.]
[Soon, it was time for the Ninja Academy preparatory class to be dismissed.]
[Yesterday, Shikamaru had asked little Naruto to go early to meet Uchiha Sasuke.]
[So little Naruto headed out with Hinata.]
[Hyūga Hiashi followed in silence, keeping a distance that guaranteed he wouldn't be discovered.]
[Then he arrived at the destination ahead of them.]
[Pop—]
[Hyūga Hiashi: "???"]
[They stared wide-eyed at each other.]
[Two clan heads who had barely interacted yet secretly competed for years—]
[the "white-eye disease" and the "red-eye disease" clans—]
[actually ran into each other at this exact moment.]
["What are you doing here?!" ×2]
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