All the problems in the ninja world can be boiled down to one question:
are ninja actually people?
Right now, though, Hyuga Kiyonari had neither the time nor the mood to explore that kind of philosophical issue. All he cared about at the moment was the script.
Of course, he couldn't just yell at the kid and walk off. If Naruto ended up with some psychological trauma and the Third Hokage came knocking, that'd be bad.
He took a deep breath and softened his tone. "What's your name?"
"Uzumaki Naruto." The boy timidly lifted his head, his eyes still a bit dazed.
"I'm Hyuga Kiyonari. As for that so-called 'demon fox' legend, I don't buy it."
Kiyonari gripped Naruto's shoulders with both hands and met his eyes, speaking calmly. "Listen. You're the one who got thrown out. I'm the one who got hit. We're both victims here. You don't owe me anything, and you don't owe anyone else anything. Take the money, go treat yourself to a good meal, and put on that mask and have some fun."
"Don't overthink it. Demon fox, no demon fox—people live for one reason only: to keep shit warm. Got it?"
Naruto's jaw dropped. It took him a long moment before he managed to squeeze out a single word. "Huh?"
"Huh what?" Kiyonari frowned. "I asked if you understood."
"I-I got it."
"Louder!" Kiyonari suddenly raised his voice.
"I got it!" Naruto snapped his back straight, shouting so loud that everyone on the street turned to look.
"Good. That's the spirit."
Kiyonari gave his shoulder a pat, then turned and walked away, hiding his name and merit like some nameless hero.
His steps stayed steady as he rounded the corner—then, once he'd confirmed no one was around, he broke into a sprint, heading in the direction he'd last seen the three brats go.
By the time he reached the spot, they were already gone. Luckily, not far away, an old lady selling dango was slowly packing up her stall.
"Granny," Kiyonari hurried over, deliberately sounding anxious, "did you see where Ichiro and the other two went? I just heard someone say they were planning to do something bad…"
Their reputation really did precede them. He hadn't even finished speaking when the old lady immediately pointed in a direction.
The farther he walked that way, the fewer people there were on the street. When Kiyonari passed by an alley entrance, the scene before him made his pupils contract sharply.
The three boys had Hinata cornered against the wall. Snowballs exploded one after another against her small body, her bluish-purple hair speckled white with slush. She didn't dodge or resist—just kept those clear white eyes open, looking past them.
To be precise, she was waiting for someone to appear.
"Hey, is that all you got, Byakugan freak?"
The kid in front was named Ichiro. Seeing Hinata not fight back at all, he felt a bit bored. With someone like this, it didn't matter how far they pushed it—she wouldn't dare tell anyone anyway.
He grinned viciously, picked up a small stone, and stuffed it into a fresh snowball. But before he could throw it, a heavy whooshing sound ripped through the air.
Thud!
Ichiro screamed and went face-first into the snow. The other two turned around in shock.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing!"
Hyuga Kiyonari's voice was colder than the snow. Even if these were lines taken straight from the script, the anger boiling in his chest was anything but fake.
Konoha really was a "land of great people and fertile ground," huh.
"Bastard!"
The remaining two boys shouted and lunged at him, clawing and swinging.
Kiyonari slipped past the first punch with a sidestep, grabbed that boy's wrist and twisted, drawing a scream. In the same motion, he kicked out and smashed his foot into the other kid's knee.
Kiyonari fighting while angry had angles in every swing, cruelty in every move, and real weight behind every punch. One point six punches per second wasn't his limit—just the limit of what your eyes could track.
Like bullying people, do you? Like stuffing rocks in snowballs, huh?
Anyway, the script for this part just said "Hyuga Kiyonari gave them a brutal beating." As long as it counted as a "brutal beating," he could fill in the details however he liked. Fist after fist, he didn't stop until the three of them didn't even have the strength left to cry.
Only then did he let out a long breath.
His mind felt clear.
"If I ever catch you causing trouble again, I'll beat you every single time I see you."
"Y-yes, yes!"
Ichiro's head wriggled up and down in the snow like a grub. You could tell he was really trying his best to nod.
Kiyonari stepped over the three collapsed bullies and stopped in front of Hinata, meeting those eyes shimmering with unshed tears.
Even though he'd rehearsed this scene in his head dozens of times, in this moment, his heart still betrayed his calm façade and started pounding faster in his chest.
"Nice to meet you, Hinata-sama." Kiyonari bowed slightly.
Hinata's pupils trembled. Kiyonari could clearly see the mix of emotions swirling in her eyes. In a way, she actually didn't want him to show up here at all.
"I recognize you…" In the end, she forced down all her thoughts and said softly, "You're the only one who'd give a notebook and a red bean cake as a birthday gift."
Kiyonari showed just the right amount of embarrassed guilt. "I'm very sorry. My situation's a bit tight, so I could only pick something inexpensive. But the stationery shop lady said that notebook was their most popular item…"
Hinata looked at the boy in front of her, who wasn't even a genin yet but was the same age as her. With that, the last of her doubts faded. How could such an ordinary boy possibly have anything to do with that mysterious "Life Simulator"?
"Do you need me to walk you home?" he suddenly offered.
Hinata shook her head. "No… but could you walk with me for a bit?"
The moment the words left her mouth, the corner of Kiyonari's lips lifted ever so slightly. Everything was progressing exactly according to the script.
He naturally took a step closer and brushed the remaining snow out of her hair. The movement brought him instantly inside normal social distance—his fingertips were almost close enough to feel the warmth of her body.
From 0.15 to 0.45 meters—that's the "intimate distance" threshold for social safety distance in psychology.
Right now, there were barely thirty centimeters between them, and Kiyonari stepped right into that space without hesitation. Hinata didn't back away.
"Actually, this isn't the first time we've met," Kiyonari said quietly, like he was sharing some secret with a friend.
"Was it… at the banquet that day?" she asked.
"No, even earlier. Neji and I are very close. Before the banquet even started, I dragged him off to secretly get a look at you."
Hinata's lips parted slightly as realization dawned. "So it wasn't my imagination back then… I really did feel someone watching me."
"The young lady's senses are very keen. If we'd been caught, Neji probably would've turned beet red."
"So Neji-nii has that side to him too…"
After brushing off the last traces of snow on her, Kiyonari took half a step back and raised his left hand like a knight offering his arm.
"Let's go, Princess."
Hinata hesitated for a brief moment, then gently placed her right hand in his.
At the instant her cold fingertips touched his palm, a snowflake happened to land on the back of her hand. The clash of those two opposite sensations made her unconsciously hold her breath.
"Mm. Let's go," she said.