Angels Descend
As soon as the door creaked open, a blast of frigid wind sent a tingle through Naruto's scalp. A full-body shiver followed, like a jolt of static electricity.
"It's winter already…"
He slammed the door shut and immediately turned back inside to change his gear.
A red hat with a fluffy white brim and a white pom-pom, a sleeveless cotton jacket with a fur-trimmed collar, and a matching red scarf—Naruto, now bundled up like a snowball, stood in front of the mirror admiring himself.
"Don't even say it—I look kinda cute."
Santa's Coat
Armor: +40
Flexibility: -18%
Santa's Hat
Armor: +20
The festive set was one of the rare seasonal drops from the "Small World" system—packages that fell from the sky every Halloween and Christmas. They were automatically stored in Naruto's inventory and came with an assortment of decorative goodies: tinsel wrapped in iron wire, festive garlands, wreaths, and holiday biscuits that were surprisingly tasty.
Stat-wise, the defense was unmatched—standard steel armor only had +18 defense, and it didn't come with sugar cookies.
The only downside? These sets were designed for dwarves—1.19 meters max height. The system didn't recognize anyone taller than 1.2 meters as a valid wearer.
According to Dwarven Chronicles, there had once been tall dwarf clans—some hitting 1.25 meters—but they were obliterated by a mysterious white beam from the sky. Legend says someone even heard a voice proclaim, "General, it's already…" before it was lost to myth. Unrecorded, unverified—just passed down through hushed tavern whispers.
Outside, the snow-covered road stretched endlessly. A small figure trod alone, the crisp crunch of his boots echoing against the silent winterscape.
There wasn't another soul in sight.
Naruto glanced around Konoha with growing curiosity. The Hokage Monument loomed in the distance, capped with snow that made the carved heads look like they were wearing fluffy wigs.
Most of the village's buildings were still traditional wood structures, and the dim golden glow of old streetlamps gave everything a nostalgic, almost spiritual calm. Snowflakes glittered under the light, refracting in the air like delicate silver threads.
"So empty… not even one person." Naruto wandered aimlessly, unconcerned about getting lost. After all, he could just open a teleportation gate back home.
Exposure? Please. He had a father who could teleport. He'd inherited some of that talent.
Konoha couldn't touch him now anyway. If Danzo tried to pull anything, the Third Hokage would step in. And besides, they couldn't just replace a Jinchūriki. You couldn't simply transfer the Nine-Tails—it would need to be unsealed first.
And let's face it, no one in Konoha—not even combined—could suppress Kurama right now. Not unless Hiruzen used the Reaper Death Seal again, and in doing so, hand Danzo the Hokage seat on a silver platter.
Even Sarutobi wasn't that reckless. Giving up both his life and the Nine-Tails would leave Konoha defenseless. The other villages would throw a five-day party before mounting an invasion.
Naruto patted his round little cheeks.
He was cute. Adorably so. Time to use that to his advantage.
Naruto's three-step plan:
1. Get by on cuteness until Academy enrollment.
2. Develop quietly after blending in.
3. Convince everyone later—with force if necessary.
Once he had Sage Mode, a Rasengan in his left hand, and a Tailed Beast Ball in his right… well, anyone not persuaded by logic could be persuaded by overwhelming chakra output.
After all, knowledge helps you argue with idiots—
Strength makes idiots argue with themselves.
The former doesn't always work. The latter? Always worth trying.
---
Bang!
"Who's there?!" Naruto shouted, snapping out of his inner monologue. The sudden noise startled him enough to forget what step of his plan he was on.
A small figure slowly stood up from the snow, eyes misted with tears, shoulders trembling.
"I... I…" she stammered, voice barely above a whisper.
Tears welled up in her eyes, holding at the edge, shimmering like they were defying gravity itself.
Naruto took one look and immediately understood.
White eyes. About his age. Her presence triggered a reflexive facepalm.
Hyūga Hinata. Sweet, kind, hardworking Hinata. The girl who would, one day, quietly give everything for the one she loved.
Konoha's girls each had their own quirks—
Sakura's fierce spirit, Ino's confidence, Tenten's martial charm, Kurotsuchi's long legs, Karin's tsundere madness, and even Shion's mystic brat energy.
But Sakura? Sakura was built different. At graduation, her chakra control could probably launch naval torpedoes from her fists. She later evolved into the kind of person who could tank a bijū punch and walk it off… then counter with a single devastating blow.
As for the others? Ino and Karin only liked pretty boys. Kurotsuchi was flat as a board. And Shion? Naruto liked her well enough, but she came with another tsundere built-in.
When it came down to it—he had a personal policy: go with the girl with the biggest heart—and other qualities.
"Did you get lost?" Naruto asked gently, looking at snow-covered Hinata and her tearful, pleading eyes.
She shook her head vigorously, but it was clear she had.
A Hyūga. Lost. With the Byakugan. That was like a pro gamer with wallhacks running into enemy spawn blindfolded.
"I…" Hinata tried again, but the tears finally fell.
Naruto sighed and pulled out a spare copy of the Santa outfit from his inventory.
He bundled her up: coat, hat, scarf.
The result?
Adorable.
Hinata, in a coat two sizes too big, looked like a soft red penguin. Her chubby cheeks, misty eyes, and oversized sleeves screamed "protect me."
If a lolicon had been around, they'd have passed out.
Naruto held her cold little hand, and together they began the long walk through the snow.
"I'll take you home."
His hand radiated warmth—he had been walking for a while and was practically sweating. Her hands were frozen stiff from falling in the snow.
Two tiny figures marched across the snowy village. From afar, they looked like waddling penguins, dragging trails behind them—sometimes intersecting, sometimes parallel.
---
"So this is your home… it's huge!" Naruto gaped at the Hyūga Compound's towering gates.
Big families. Big estates. It was the standard ninja clan formula.
"Mmh," Hinata nodded shyly.
They had wandered for nearly two hours—neither of them had a clue where they were going. At one point, they stopped to eat steamed buns. Naruto had four. Hinata, surprisingly, ate six.
(He admired that.)
The buns had stayed warm thanks to the storage system—time didn't pass inside the inventory.
"Well, I'll be going then." Naruto waved as he opened a shimmering purple portal.
The teleportation gate emitted a soft, silvery light. Wisps of firefly-like chakra floated out before fading into the night.
Naruto's figure slowly vanished within it, and the portal folded into itself like collapsing starlight.
Hinata stood motionless, staring at the place where the light had disappeared. After a while, she finally turned and knocked softly on the compound gates.
Her hands were warm. Her body, her belly… her heart too.
Even the snow felt warm.
That boy, who never told her his name, had appeared like a guardian angel—then disappeared as if he'd never existed.
Yet the memory remained.
---
And Naruto?
He got home, took off his clothes, and flopped into bed.
A maiden's heart is always poetry.
Being single, though?
That's a skill all on its own.