"Ah! Sarutobi Hakuto-kun~"
Seeing Sarutobi Hakuto suddenly sit beside her, Hinata immediately lowered her head shyly, fidgeting with her fingers.
As for Hinata—
Now that he had transmigrated, how could Sarutobi Hakuto possibly let her go?
So…
On a snowy day, Sarutobi Hakuto had brought along his servants and successfully found Hinata being bullied.
While rescuing her, he had also activated his cheat ability.
What Sarutobi Hakuto couldn't understand, however, was how bold these commoners were.
Not just Hinata—even Konohamaru had been bullied and mocked in the original story.
It was honestly ridiculous.
Looking at the shy Hinata, Sarutobi Hakuto knew he couldn't push too hard.
Otherwise, she might faint on the spot.
He had to take it slow.
Step by step, let her gradually accept him.
Meanwhile, sitting not far away, Naruto was curiously looking at Sarutobi Hakuto.
At this point, Naruto was still at the very bottom of the social hierarchy.
He wasn't even close with Shikamaru or Choji yet.
To everyone else, he was just the hated "demon fox," with no friends at all.
For some reason, he always wanted to compete with Sasuke.
So naturally, he felt a strong sense of admiration toward Sarutobi Hakuto—who had effortlessly crushed Sasuke.
Soon, the first class ended.
Just as a group of girls began crowding around Sarutobi Hakuto, Naruto hurried over first.
With a hint of nervousness, he said:
"Hello, Sarutobi Hakuto!"
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto!"
Seeing Naruto acting so cautiously, Sarutobi Hakuto couldn't help but feel a bit helpless.
This kid would become the savior of the ninja world in the future.
Konoha was seriously lucky.
Even after being treated like this, he still didn't turn evil.
That was honestly unbelievable.
Just as Sarutobi Hakuto was about to respond, Naruto was suddenly pushed aside by the incoming crowd of girls.
"Move, idiot! Don't block Sarutobi Hakuto-sama!"
"Yeah, who wants to be friends with you?!"
"Sarutobi Hakuto-sama must NOT become friends with that demon fox!"
"That's right!"
Hearing the constant disdain around him, Naruto slowly lowered his outstretched hand.
Embarrassed, he turned to leave.
At that moment, it felt like he was destined to return to that dark corner—
Like a forgotten little mouse.
"I remember you."
"My grandfather often talks about you."
Just as Naruto was about to walk away, a voice like music reached his ears.
Naruto immediately looked up in excitement—
And met Sarutobi Hakuto's gaze.
The noisy crowd instantly parted.
"Your grandfather… the Third Hokage?"
"Mm."
With that confirmation, Naruto was overjoyed.
In his world, the only person who had ever truly cared about him was the Third Hokage.
And now—
Sarutobi Hakuto showed no disgust toward him either.
That alone made Naruto incredibly happy.
Looking at the noisy crowd, Sarutobi Hakuto grew irritated.
"Come on, Naruto. Come out with me."
"Huh? Aren't we going to class?"
But seeing Sarutobi Hakuto already leaving, Naruto didn't hesitate and quickly followed.
Their departure left the classroom in an uproar.
"Wait… did Sarutobi Hakuto-sama really become friends with that demon fox?"
"Why?!"
"Why would Sarutobi Hakuto-sama choose him?"
Meanwhile, the two of them had already arrived on Konoha's streets—
Unaware that everything they did was being observed from the Hokage's office.
"Just what is that brat Sarutobi Hakuto doing, hanging around Naruto like that?"
Looking into the crystal ball, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned.
If it were anyone else, he would've already ordered ANBU to take Naruto away.
But the one taking Naruto was his own grandson.
Thinking about Sarutobi Hakuto's outrageous personality, Hiruzen's face darkened.
If Sarutobi Hakuto influenced Naruto too much…
Konoha might be in real danger.
If the Nine-Tails were accidentally released, no one in the village could seal it again.
Just as Hiruzen was thinking about how to handle this—
Danzo entered the office.
"You should know Sarutobi Hakuto better than anyone," Danzo said.
"He always has his reasons."
"Don't forget—half of Konoha's commercial district now belongs to our two families. That was all Sarutobi Hakuto's idea."
"Keeping the Jinchūriki by his side could turn him into a weapon for Sarutobi Hakuto."
Hearing this, Hiruzen stopped worrying—for now.
But then he narrowed his eyes at Danzo.
"You didn't come here just for this, did you?"
"Go on."
As expected, Danzo smirked.
"What do you think about the abilities Sarutobi Hakuto showed yesterday?"
Hiruzen immediately grew suspicious.
"You're not planning to target your own grandson, are you?"
"Hmph! I'm not that low!"
"Besides, Sarutobi Hakuto doesn't even have chakra."
"And the ninja world isn't just Konoha."
Danzo snorted.
Even so, Hiruzen took his words seriously.
The current peace in the ninja world was fragile—
Cloud Village and Stone Village were always watching Konoha.
"Fine. I'll increase Sarutobi Hakuto's protection."
"Good."
Danzo left after that.
But privately, he also increased security around Sarutobi Hakuto.
As for Hiruzen—
After a moment of silence, he spoke to the empty room:
"Go call Kakashi."
"I have a mission for him."
A figure vanished instantly through the window.
Hiruzen's gaze returned to the crystal ball—
Where Sarutobi Hakuto and Naruto had already arrived at the commercial street.
"Greetings, Sarutobi Hakuto-sama!"
"What brings you here today, Sarutobi Hakuto-sama?"