All problems in the Ninja World can be boiled down to one question: are Ninja truly human?
But right now, Hyuga Kiyoshinari had neither the time nor the inclination to ponder this philosophical question; his mind was completely preoccupied with the script.
Of course, he couldn't just scold the child and leave; otherwise, if he caused some psychological trauma and the Third Hokage came looking for him, it wouldn't be good.
He took a deep breath, softening his tone: "What's your name?"
"Uzumaki Naruto." The boy timidly looked up, his eyes still a bit bewildered.
"My name is Hyuga Kiyoshinari, and regarding that legend of the Demon Fox, I don't believe it."
Hyuga Kiyoshinari reached out and gripped Naruto's shoulders, looking him in the eye, and said calmly: "Listen, you were thrown out, and I was hit. We are both victims. You don't owe me anything, nor do you owe anyone else anything. Take this money and get yourself a good meal, and have fun with that mask."
"Don't overthink things, Demon Fox or not. The meaning of life is to keep poop warm, understand?"
Uzumaki Naruto stared, mouth agape, and after a long while, he managed to blurt out one word: "Huh?"
"'Huh' what?" Hyuga Kiyoshinari frowned slightly. "I asked if you understood?"
"Un-understood."
"Louder!" Kiyoshinari suddenly raised his voice.
"Understood!" Naruto straightened his back abruptly, his voice so loud that everyone on the street turned to look.
"Good, full of spirit!"
Hyuga Kiyoshinari patted his shoulder, then turned and left, his Merit and fame deeply hidden.
He turned the street corner with steady steps, and after confirming no one was around, he immediately started running, heading in the direction where the three boys had last been seen.
Upon arriving at his destination, they were long gone. Fortunately, nearby, an old woman selling Dango was slowly packing up her stall.
"Grandma," Kiyoshinari walked over, feigning urgency, "Excuse me, did you see which way Ichiro and the other two went? I just heard someone say they seemed to be planning something bad..."
It was truly a reputation confirmed; before he even finished speaking, the old woman immediately pointed in a direction.
The further he walked in that direction, the fewer people were on the street. When Hyuga Kiyoshinari passed an alley, the sight before him made his pupils suddenly contract.
Three boys were cornering Hyuga Hinata against a wall, and snowballs were exploding on her one after another, her bluish-purple hair covered in snow foam. She didn't dodge or evade, only stared at them with her pure white eyes, looking past them.
To be precise, she was waiting for someone to appear.
"Hey, is that all a Byakugan monster can do?"
The leader of the children, named Ichiro, felt a bit bored seeing Hyuga Hinata not resisting. For someone like her, even if they went a little overboard, it wouldn't matter, since she wouldn't dare to tell anyone anyway.
He cracked a malicious grin, picked up a shard of rock, and stuffed it into a freshly made snowball. But before he could throw it, a dull whooshing sound suddenly rang out.
"Bang!"
Ichiro screamed and fell face-first into the snow, the remaining two turning back in shock.
"Hey, what are you doing!"
Hyuga Kiyoshinari's voice was colder than snow, and although these were just lines from the script, the surging anger in his chest was real.
Konoha, this place, truly was "rich in talent"!
"Bastards!"
The remaining two boys shouted and lunged forward menacingly.
Hyuga Kiyoshinari sidestepped the first person's punch, then grabbed their wrist and twisted it. Amidst a scream, he kicked the other person's knee.
In his angry state, Kiyoshinari's arm swings had angles, his attacks had ferocity, and his face-punches had power. Six punches a second wasn't his limit, but the limit of your eye's resolution.
You like to bully people, do you? You like to put rocks in snowballs, do you?!
Anyway, the script for this part said, "Hyuga Kiyoshinari taught them a harsh lesson," so as long as it fit within the scope of a 'lesson,' he could do whatever he wanted. Punch after punch, until all three were too exhausted to cry or wail, then he finally stopped and let out a long sigh.
His thoughts were clear now.
"If I ever see you causing trouble again, I'll beat you every time!"
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Ichiro's head wriggled repeatedly in the snow pit; it was clear he was trying very hard to nod.
Hyuga Kiyoshinari stepped over the three collapsed boys and stopped in front of Hyuga Hinata, meeting a pair of eyes glistening with tears.
Although this scene had been rehearsed dozens of times in his mind, at this very moment, the rapidly beating heart in his chest still betrayed his composure.
"Pleasure to meet you, Young Miss Hinata." Hyuga Kiyoshinari bowed slightly.
Hyuga Hinata's pupils trembled slightly. Kiyoshinari could clearly see the complex emotions swirling in her eyes; in a sense, she actually didn't want him to appear at all.
"I recognize you..." She finally suppressed all her thoughts and said softly, "Only you would give a notebook and red bean buns as a birthday present."
Kiyoshinari showed a perfectly timed hint of embarrassment: "I'm very sorry, my life is quite tight, so I could only choose cheap gifts. But the stationery store owner said those were the most popular items..."
Hyuga Hinata looked at this peer, who wasn't even a Genin, and her last trace of doubt vanished. How could such an ordinary young man be connected to that mysterious "life simulator"?
"Do you need me to escort you back?" he suddenly offered.
Hyuga Hinata shook her head: "No need... could you just walk with me?"
As soon as she spoke, Kiyoshinari's lips subtly curved upward a little. Everything was proceeding according to the script.
He naturally took a step forward and raised his hand to brush the remaining snow from her hair. This action instantly broke through the normal social distance; his fingertips could almost feel the warmth of her body.
0.15 meters to 0.45 meters, this is the intimate distance threshold defined by psychology as social safe distance.
And at this moment, there was only a thirty-centimeter gap between them. Kiyoshinari unceremoniously invaded it, but Hyuga Hinata didn't refuse.
"Actually, this isn't our first meeting." Kiyoshinari's voice suddenly became very soft, as if sharing a secret with a friend.
"Was it at the banquet that day?"
"No, it was even earlier. Neji and I are very good friends. Long before the banquet started, I dragged him to secretly come and see you."
Hyuga Hinata's lips parted slightly in realization: "So it wasn't my imagination then; I really did feel like someone was watching me."
"Young Miss's perception is very keen. If we had been discovered, Neji would probably have turned bright red."
"So Brother Neji has a side like that too?"
After dusting off the last bit of snow from her, Kiyoshinari stepped back half a pace, raising his left hand like a knight: "Let's go, Your Highness."
Hyuga Hinata hesitated for a moment, then gently placed her right hand on his.
The instant her cold fingertips touched Kiyoshinari's palm, a snowflake happened to land on the back of her hand. The two completely opposite sensations made her unconsciously hold her breath.
Let's go, my knight.