June 7th, afternoon
The two of them sat facing each other in the dumpling shop, silently chewing the same sweet, fragrant dumplings.
The smile on Hinata's face was impossible to hide. She was happy that Naruto had taken the initiative to spend time with her, though she was also a little puzzled.
Why did Naruto suddenly come to hang out with me?Oh—right! I gave Naruto some ointment earlier! So he bought sweets to return the favor!
The more Hinata thought about it, the more convinced she became that she was right. Taking the initiative with Naruto really was the correct approach.
Just then, she heard Naruto sigh softly across the table.
"Naruto-kun?" Hinata immediately looked worried.
Naruto didn't explain. He simply waved his hand with a smile."Oh, it's nothing—just thought of something a little annoying. Not worth mentioning."
Naturally, the more he brushed it off, the more curious she became.
"Naruto-kun… please tell me. Maybe I can help," Hinata said softly, gazing at him with concern and affection.
Ah… this is exactly what I was waiting for.
Naruto paused, then spoke slowly."You know I have the Nine-Tails sealed inside me, right? So ANBU have always been keeping an eye on me."
Hinata nodded. She had indeed heard about it from her family.
"Well, my social circle is pretty small. Other than you guys, I really only know a few brothers in ANBU," Naruto continued smoothly.
"There's one of them—a guy who wears white. We're the closest. But lately… sigh, never mind…"
Naruto suddenly fell silent and leaned closer.
Hinata instinctively leaned in as well, faintly sensing his breath.
Lowering his voice, Naruto said through clenched teeth,"That guy owes me money."
"…What?"
Hinata was stunned. Questions immediately flooded her mind.ANBU need money? They borrow money from Naruto-kun?!
Before she could think further, Naruto suddenly grabbed her hand.
Hinata froze.
Her pale face instantly turned bright red, like a ripe apple.
Her mind went completely blank as Naruto continued, seemingly oblivious:"He borrowed several hundred ryō from me yesterday, said he was going to buy lottery tickets and would pay me back if he won. But honestly—his luck is nowhere near mine. How could he possibly win?"
"Y-yes…" Hinata tried desperately to suppress her embarrassment and focus on the information, but her expression had already stiffened.
Naruto went on, still not noticing her predicament."And guess what? He said he'd return it today—but he disappeared! The last time I saw him was near the Hokage Tower."
"I can't exactly go tell Third Grandpa, 'One of your ANBU owes me money,' right? That'd be way too rude!"
"If only I knew where he went~"
After finishing, Naruto finally released Hinata's hand, giving her a moment to breathe.
She could still feel the warmth lingering in her palm. She felt like she might faint at any moment—but a sliver of rationality reminded her that Naruto had come to confide in her.
He trusted me enough to complain to me… how could I faint now?
Why did Naruto come to me with this?Because he trusts me!
After a long silence, under Naruto's concerned gaze, Hinata finally regained her composure.
She pressed her lips together, thinking that she might actually be able to help.
"Naruto-kun…" she whispered softly,"M-maybe… maybe I can help?"
"Really?" Naruto's eyes instantly lit up with surprise.
"Yes. I can use my Byakugan to find him. Then Naruto-kun can go collect his debt."
"…That would be perfect." Naruto thought for a moment, then relaxed visibly."Oh—Hinata, this is kind of embarrassing. Can you keep it a secret?"
At those words, Hinata's cheeks flushed an even deeper shade of red.
A secret… just between us?She nodded eagerly. "Mm!"
Naruto blinked in surprise.
This girl is way too easy to fool.
If only all the women in the world were this trusting…Tsk tsk.
Soon, the two of them found an open area. Naruto described the appearance of the white-robed ANBU, and Hinata immediately activated her Byakugan, scanning all of Konoha.
"Careful to avoid the Yamanaka clan's direction," Naruto reminded her."They can detect unfamiliar reconnaissance."
"O-okay."
Before long, Hinata's gaze locked onto a specific location.
"Naruto-kun…" she said shyly, pointing,"The person you described is at the Ninja Academy."
"So that's how it is…" Naruto nodded."Thank you for your help, Hinata. Let's stop here for today."
After escorting Hinata back to the compound, Naruto fell into deep thought.
"There's trouble at the Ninja Academy…"He clearly hadn't expected things to develop this way and didn't know how to proceed.
He had already graduated—going back there without a reason would be awkward.
"…Damn it. Let's go get some Ichiraku ramen."
As he walked, a name suddenly came to mind.
Konohamaru.
He might have noticed something strange happening at the school.Even if the odds were low, it was worth treating him to ramen.
July 7th, morning — Ichiraku Ramen
"Slurp~ Naruto-brother, thanks for treating me to ramen!"
Konohamaru completely abandoned any sense of decorum, stuffing his face with ramen and side dishes, grease all over his mouth.
"Uncle, another bowl!" Naruto gestured for another serving while quietly eating.
"Oh right," Naruto said casually,"I haven't heard much about Iruka-sensei lately. Have you had his class recently?"
Instead of getting straight to the point, Naruto used Iruka as an entry point.
"Iruka-sensei…" Konohamaru paused mid-slurp, thought for a moment, then said casually,"He had a big argument with another teacher at our school yesterday—Qingquan."
"…Hmm?" Naruto caught the name immediately and motioned for him to continue.
Between mouthfuls of noodles, Konohamaru casually recounted the fierce argument in the office—so loud it had even drawn students' attention.
That teacher, Qingquan, had even threatened to "abolish this damn course" and shouted things like "Why are you all afraid to oppose the Hokage?"
Konohamaru didn't notice that Naruto's expression had grown darker and darker.
Eventually, Konohamaru stopped eating altogether, listening as Naruto excitedly repeated Qingquan's entire lecture word for word.
"…I see. What a… unique teacher."
Naruto barely managed to suppress his emotions.
After Konohamaru left, Naruto completely lost his composure. Anxiety was written all over his face—so intense that even the Nine-Tails could sense it.
Li Yunlong.
Those three thunderous words struck Naruto straight in the heart, leaving him shaken.
It was as if mountains collapsed, seas dried up, and rocks shattered. The last shred of calm in his mind felt like it was slipping away.
Most terrifying of all—the time traveler had already caught ANBU's attention.
That meant the secret of time travel could be exposed at any moment.
Even approaching him would raise suspicion.
How do I break this deadlock?
Naruto wandered the streets, standing on the edge of what could only be called the future, feeling as though some unseen puppeteer was mocking him.
Wait—
Who was really behind all of this?
Snap.
Something in his mind shattered.
In that instant, clarity returned. He looked at the broader situation and arrived at a bold conclusion—
He was definitely not Li Yunlong.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For advanced chapter visit my patreon:
patreon.com/fatimasoomro123
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~