The sun had completely sunk into the ground.
The Hidden Leaf Village was now dotted with flickering lights.
The village, which had been covered in a silver-white blanket, had transformed into a sea of pale gold. The snowy nightscape was even more breathtaking.
As soon as he saw the sky darken, Shirakumo Aoba prepared to head home.
At this time, Shirakumo Kaito and Ichigo, who had been taking care of his older sister, were both out on village missions, so he had no restrictions on when he returned home.
Following the dim lights and the worn-out steps, he walked down from Hokage Rock.
But just as he stepped down from Hokage Rock and passed by a small food street, Aoba unexpectedly ran into two familiar figures.
He saw a little boy sitting on the shoulders of a taller boy, his face brimming with excitement as he pointed at a dango shop.
"Big brother, I want to eat that dango!"
"Alright, Sasuke, whatever you want to eat, I'll buy it for you."
Although Aoba had never met these two before, judging by their ages and their deep bond as brothers, he instantly recognized who they were.
Of course, the most obvious giveaway was the distinctive Uchiha clan crest on the older boy's back.
Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke.
However, at this moment, Uchiha Itachi's nasolabial folds were not very prominent yet.
As if sensing Aoba's gaze, Uchiha Sasuke turned his head and met Aoba's eyes, who was studying him and Uchiha Itachi.
It seemed as if he felt a little embarrassed being caught acting spoiled in front of a stranger.
Sasuke quickly climbed down from Itachi's shoulders.
Itachi also noticed his brother's reaction. Seeing Sasuke staring in a particular direction, he followed his gaze.
But all he could see was the passing crowd.
He had no idea what Sasuke was looking at.
Aoba simply found it intriguing to see characters from the anime in real life. It was a bit surreal compared to his impressions of them, so he couldn't help but take a closer look.
But he really wished he could've captured that moment on camera.
He wondered—when the Uchiha clan was annihilated, how would Sasuke feel reminiscing about such scenes?
"Ow!", Just as Aoba was lost in thought, he suddenly felt someone bump into him and then fall to the ground.
The impact made him take two steps back.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!", Before Aoba could even apologize, the other party started bowing repeatedly.
The voice was clear and childlike, it was a kid…
"I—", Aoba had originally intended to apologize as well, but when he saw the boy's face, the words got stuck in his throat.
On this short journey, he had run into characters he'd never normally see. And today, he encountered all of them.
Now, standing in front of him was the boy who had bumped into him and was still bowing in apology.
He had short golden hair, bright blue eyes, and three whisker-like marks on his cheeks.
This made Aoba sigh deeply. Then he grabbed the boy's shoulders, stopping his incessant bowing.
"It was my fault for being lost in thought and not watching where I was going. This isn't your fault!", Although he wasn't sure if Naruto had been paying attention to where he was going, Aoba himself definitely hadn't been.
After apologizing, Aoba reached forward and patted the snow off Naruto's clothes from his fall.
But after Aoba tidied him up, Naruto just stared at him in a daze.
Aoba waved a hand in front of Naruto's eyes, finally snapping him out of it.
However, Naruto's eyes were already misty with unshed tears.
"I-It's the first time...", Naruto stammered, but Aoba had no time to figure out what he wanted to say.
Because by now, a crowd had begun to gather around them. Although they were only whispering, their gazes were filled with open malice.
He had suddenly become the center of attention.
These stares made Aoba uncomfortable.
Regardless of whether Naruto was the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, he was just a kid. There was no need to dump all their hatred onto a child.
These self-righteous villagers of Konoha should really be grateful that Minato's seal was strong enough.
Otherwise, who would dare to stand around watching?
Aoba's personality had its flaws, but at his core, he was someone who enjoyed helping others and couldn't stand seeing good people get bullied.
When it was time to act, he would act.
He leaned close to Naruto's ear and whispered like a devil.
"Doesn't it feel awful?"
"Eh?", Naruto, who was still stammering, was momentarily stunned.
"Look at their eyes, don't you find them disgusting?" [T/N: Pro Gaslighter]
"I-I..."
"If it were me, I wouldn't tolerate it," Considering Naruto's sensitive status as a Jinchūriki, Aoba refrained from making him take action himself.
"What?"
"Watch closely," Aoba suddenly kicked at the pile of snow in front of him. The snow and the small stones mixed within it flew up, landing all over the onlookers.
A chorus of yelps followed.
Then, he kicked again and again, turning the scene into complete chaos.
Immediately after, Aoba grabbed Naruto and dashed into the disorderly crowd, escaping the scene.
"You're amazing!", As Naruto was being dragged along, he couldn't help but exclaim in awe, his eyes sparkling.
"You don't need to live for their approval," For some reason, Aoba blurted that out. Maybe it was because he didn't like seeing Naruto's eager-to-please personality.
"Huh? W-What do you mean?", Naruto was confused.
"Don't make yourself out to be something great. Their recognition means nothing to you. You don't rely on them to live. Your own happiness is what matters."
"See? As long as they feel pain, they'll stay far away from you in the future."
"We'll meet again," Before Naruto could respond, Aoba let go of his grip on Naruto's clothes. In the blink of an eye, he picked up speed and vanished from Naruto's sight.
———
After running into a deserted alley, Aoba finally let out a deep breath, "Today has been full of weird encounters."
"Hopefully, nothing else happens."
But just as he had that thought…
A child's timid voice reached his ears.
"Oi! That little brat!"
"Her eyes are actually white? So creepy!"
Little tyrants.
Three boys were surrounding a petite girl with a scarf.
"Your eyes look so freaky."
"You look like a monster."
"Are you a white-eyed freak?"
They studied her and cackled.
Hyuga Hinata trembled in fear, frozen in place. Her small face turned pale.
Her white eyes welled up with tears as she clutched her scarf tightly.
"Hey, you're crying already?"
"You're way too weak."
"We haven't even hit you yet, and you're already about to cry?"
Instead of showing sympathy, the three boys became even crueler.
Hinata crouched down, covering her face as she sobbed.
Yet, the three boys had no intention of stopping.
Aoba's mouth twitched—he really had stumbled upon this scene.
He looked around but didn't see Naruto anywhere.
'Wait... did I accidentally ruin Naruto's future love life?'
"Guess I have no choice," Aoba sighed.
He didn't really believe in "great power comes with great responsibility."
But if something like this happened right in front of him, he couldn't just ignore it.
Besides, he was technically saving these brats. If the Hyuga clan's princess went home all bruised up, some people would definitely lose sleep over it.
The three boys were about to push Hinata.
Aoba picked up some stones from the snow.
He weighed them in his hands.
'Hmm, just the right weight to stun without causing brain damage.'
"You three are being a bit too noisy," Aoba's calm voice rang out, causing the three boys to freeze in place.
They turned their heads toward the voice, seeing a boy of similar age to them tossing a stone not far away.
Hinata, who had been covering her face and crying, also lifted her head.
"You, are you meddling in other people's business?", The chubby boy leading the group, relying on his physical advantage and the number of people on his side, was completely unafraid of the stone in Aoba's hand, speaking with full confidence.
"Heh!", Aoba let out a cold laugh with an expressionless face.
Then, just as the three were about to get angry out of embarrassment, he directly threw the stone in his hand.
With advanced shuriken-throwing skills, his aim was precise, and his strength wasn't weak.
The three boys immediately screamed in pain, each of their foreheads swelling up with several large lumps.
"""AHHH!"""
The three boys clutched their foreheads in pain, screaming nonstop. Just as they looked up, they saw Aoba bending down to pick up more stones.
Their expressions instantly turned fearful. While retreating backward, they shouted,
"Don't come any closer!", They tumbled and crawled, fleeing the scene as fast as they could.
Aoba then walked up to Hinata, looking at her slightly red-rimmed eyes from crying and her chubby little face.
He felt that he had gone too easy on them just now.
The Hyuga clan's guards were really useless.
"T-Thank you…", Hinata lowered her head and softly said her thanks.
"Do you know how to get home by yourself?", Aoba asked.
"I…"
"Grrr—", Under Aoba's surprised gaze, Hinata's stomach answered for her first.
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