Chapter 17
"Yes, Father…"
Hinata immediately got up and respectfully exited the training room. "Lady Hinata… why were you distracted?"
Under the dojo's eaves.
Hyuga Natsu, a branch family maid who was applying medicine to Hinata's cheek, voiced her inner question.
Hinata's mood became even more dejected when she was asked.
"A Xia, why do they treat Naruto-kun like that?"
Memories from yesterday flashed before Hinata's eyes.
Faced with this question, Hyuga Natsu's right hand, holding a cotton swab, immediately paused.
A moment later, she put away the medicinal wine.
"In any case… Lady Hinata, please make sure you don't interact with that boy named Uzumaki Naruto…"
A few minutes later.
After resting, Hinata re-entered the dojo to continue her training.
Hyuga Natsu, on the other hand, took out her shopping list and headed to the Shopping Streetaccording to the day's schedule.
Early in the morning, she noticed a fire scene surrounded by a crowd.
As a member of a prominent family like the Hyuga, especially as a personal maid to the main family, she had learned about the arson and murder incident late last night.
But seeing the scene burned to ashes, she couldn't help but be a little surprised.
The site had been completely cordoned off.
Only charred ruins remained, indicating the change that had occurred here after the fire.
"Hmm?!"
Not long after standing there, Hyuga Natsudetected a peeping gaze from the side.
"It's that demon fox kid!"
Naruto was standing across the street, some distance from the Mask Shop.
The surrounding villagers, like avoiding a plague, steered clear of Naruto.
Unlike their disgusted attitude yesterday, today the villagers' faces showed fear towards Naruto.
No one dared to whisper or speak ill of Narutoanymore.
The Hyuga maid immediately understood.
The villagers might have felt that the destruction of the Mask Shop was inextricably linked to 'the demon fox kid, Uzumaki Naruto.'
Whether it was curses, calamities… these superstitious beliefs.
Or some other explanation.
In any case, they definitely regarded this kid as a jinx.
"…"
Naruto, standing across the street, scratched his head.
This action directly scared the surrounding villagers away quickly.
The already empty large circle of space became even more deserted, with only Naruto enjoying the entire wide street to himself.
However, as far as she knew.
The truth was, no one in authority suspected Uzumaki Naruto at all.
Not the Uchiha Police Force Ninja.
Not the Anbu.
And certainly not the Konoha higher-ups.
This left Hyuga Natsu, who couldn't know the full picture, feeling puzzled.
"Uzumaki Naruto is clearly a demon fox, so why would those in power think he isn't the culprit?"
Due to the information gap.
Hyuga Natsu didn't know that Naruto was the son of the Fourth Hokage and his wife.
Yet, by a fluke, she had insight into the essence of the matter.
The culprit… was indeed Naruto.
Hyuga Natsu turned and left, and before she departed, what she saw was… Naruto's gaze fixed on her.
Those blue eyes did not make the branch family maid feel thoughts such as… beauty or purity.
She only felt that the kid's gaze was utterly repulsive.
And Naruto, standing still, followed Hyuga Natsuwith his eyes.
Once the pretty Hyuga maid had left, Narutostepped out and followed her.
Soon.
Hyuga Natsu, who was shopping for daily necessities, felt something was amiss.
She was the same age as the famous Kakashi Hatake, so their ages naturally differed by no more than a year.
In this era, calling her a young girl was perfectly fine.
Naruto slowly followed, always maintaining a certain distance.
Wherever the pretty Byakugan maid went, Narutofollowed.
This behavior, like a lingering spirit, or even… a pervert, finally made the other party unable to help but get angry.
Just as Hyuga Natsu was about to speak.
Naruto suddenly looked to the side.
Then, Naruto stepped out and quickly left.
"How inexplicable…"
Frowning her beautiful brows, the pretty face of the branch family maid became even colder. Her already low good impression of Naruto instantly turned into an even lower negative value… And she didn't know that, due to someone's sudden interruption, she had temporarily escaped a predicament… "Anbu-nee-san, we meet again."
In a dark alley, Naruto met the Anbu girl who greeted him… Yūgao Uzuki.
At this moment, why did Yūgao Uzuki suddenly appear?
"Uzumaki Naruto."
Yūgao, dressed in an Anbu uniform and wearing a brand new cat-patterned mask, tried her best to keep her voice cold.
However, as an insider, knowing that the child in front of her was the son of the Fourth Hokage and his wife, she truly revealed her real attitude towards Naruto.
It was care and concern for the son of a hero.
"You know what happened at the Mask Shop, right?"
Good news doesn't leave the house, bad news travels a thousand miles.
In just one morning, the events here probably became known throughout Konoha.
After all, Konoha had been peaceful for several years, and such an incident suddenly occurring, its consequences were unimaginable.
Early in the morning, Yūgao received a special assignment from the Third Hokage.
He instructed her to keep a close eye on Naruto.
'In other words, Hokage-sama is worried that the Mask Shop Owner's murder might be a feint by enemy forces…'
To guard against the possibility of the Jinchurikibeing targeted by enemies.
Yūgao would keep a close watch on Naruto's movements these days.
"Mm." Naruto nodded.
"Then… hurry home, don't run around…"
The safest thing, naturally, was to stay home and not go out.
Yūgao advised Naruto not to run outside.
"But it's boring at home."
Naruto scratched his head.
"It's no fun being home alone…"
Emphasizing this again, Naruto looked into the distance.
The Hyuga maid had already walked far away, so… you have to take on the responsibility of helping me reduce swelling.
Yūgao, unaware that she was being targeted, hesitated for a moment before agreeing to play with Naruto.
"What play… it's training."
Naruto stated that he wanted to train.
"And my dream is to become Hokage~! I want everyone to acknowledge me~!"
Watching Naruto's bold declaration, Yūgao, even under her mask, couldn't help but curve her lips into a smile.
The son of the Fourth Hokage, of course, had a high chance of also becoming Hokage.
Yūgao Uzuki believed in the theory of bloodline.
After all, her childhood friend Gekkō Hayate was a bloodline possessor.
Thus, Yūgao quickly followed Naruto all the way back to his home.
"It's still warmer indoors…"
Yūgao, with her two fair shoulders exposed, couldn't help but rub her arms.
Performing missions in the cold winter indeed meant enduring some suffering from the cold.
Naruto closed the door, went to the living room, and turned on the television.
The television was playing a meaningless TV program.
Seeing Naruto, holding the remote control, captivated by the TV program, Yūgao couldn't help but smile, "Indeed… he's still a child…"
Immediately, she looked at the refrigerator nearby, preparing to resolve the doubts that had been in her mind for these past few days.
She silently opened the refrigerator, and what greeted her eyes was a refrigerator full of milk.
"Indeed… it's milk…"
Yūgao's breath hitched slightly.
The excellent perception of an Anbu Ninjaimmediately made her notice something unusual about the milk.
Reaching in and taking out the innermost bottle, Yūgao was instantly stunned.
"It's expired…"
In other words, it was very likely that because Naruto had fed her expired milk last time, her body felt unwell [hot and bothered]?
Without thinking much, Yūgao immediately closed the refrigerator, pretending that nothing had happened.
However, her standing silhouette… that youthful side profile, was fully taken in by Naruto's eyes.
Looking at Yūgao's complete Anbu uniform attire, and her shoulders and upper arms exposed like mutton-fat jade.