Inside the Hokage's office, smoke was already swirling around.
The entire room was filled with secondhand smoke.
As the culprit, Sarutobi Hiruzen did not feel the slightest bit ashamed and continued puffing away.
His deep gaze remained fixed on the crystal ball placed on the table.
Inside the crystal ball, an image was displayed. It was of a blond-haired boy running around the streets, seemingly searching for someone.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
The sound of knocking echoed.
Sarutobi Hiruzen first put the crystal ball under the table before speaking, "Come in."
A masked Anbu ninja pushed the door open and walked in, handing a document to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Hokage-sama, this contains the information on Shirakumo Aoba and his relatives."
Indeed, Aoba had merely come into slight contact with Naruto, and he had already caught Sarutobi Hiruzen's attention.
Sarutobi Hiruzen took the document and flipped through it briefly.
With just a glance, he was slightly surprised.
"So, he's Hayama's nephew, huh? No wonder the surname felt so familiar."
"His parents were also heroes who sacrificed themselves for Konoha? Even his name, Aoba, has carried the Will of Fire since birth."
As he continued reading, his approval of Aoba deepened. His background was clean and proper.
After finishing the rest of the file, he also figured out why Aoba had helped Naruto, 'He helps anyone who is being bullied, very much in line with the Will of Fire. Though he's a bit greedy, and his methods are a little too extreme...'
Sarutobi Hiruzen stroked his chin in thought, as if considering whether to let Aoba continue associating with Naruto.
A minor clan background, a clean record, a good personality…
'Let nature take its course. Naruto needs to make friends on his own. I won't interfere,' Sarutobi Hiruzen put down the document and instructed the Anbu ninja.
"Continue with the protection mission. If anything unusual happens, record it properly and report immediately."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
The Anbu ninja withdrew, and Sarutobi Hiruzen stopped paying too much attention to Naruto's affairs, focusing instead on handling other village matters.
———
At the same time.
In a dark, twisted corner.
"Aoba?"
"Shirakumo Hayama's nephew?"
"Hmph!"
Danzo slammed the document onto the table with a loud smack and let out a cold snort, his expression filled with anger.
Shirakumo Hayama was an elite jonin of the village, one of Konoha's top combat forces.
He had a determined personality, remained calm in high-stress situations, and handled matters with precision and diligence.
During missions, he could analyze situations accurately, possessed rich experience, and had excellent command abilities.
And the reason Danzo knew so much about him…
Was because he had invited Hayama to join Root in the past, only to be flatly rejected.
Danzo had long forgotten about this, but now, information about Hayama's nephew was laid out before him, bringing back those memories.
Though annoyed, Danzo didn't take it to heart.
If it were someone of unknown origin or from a major ninja clan who approached the jinchuriki, he would have gone straight to Sarutobi Hiruzen to stir up trouble. Taking the opportunity to gain benefits for Root.
If it had been a member of the Uchiha clan, he would have had even more justification to suppress them.
But Aoba's background was too clean, and he even carried the status of a hero's orphan with a righteous personality.
Most importantly, Shirakumo Hayama was protecting him.
There was no need for Danzo to embarrass himself in front of Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Getting stepped on by that guy every time… it hurt his pride.
"Continue the surveillance mission."
"Yes, Danzo-sama!"
The Root ninja left.
Shimura Danzo buried himself in thought once more, continuing to plan how to deal with the Uchiha problem.
That masked man had already approached him, but he was still uncertain about Sarutobi Hiruzen's stance. So he didn't dare to act rashly.
———
[Ichiraku Ramen Shop]
Next to Hinata, four large empty bowls were already stacked.
As the last mouthful of noodles slid down, a satisfied expression appeared on her small face.
The fullness in her stomach filled her heart with happiness.
At home, for the sake of etiquette and appearances, she never dared to eat like this.
"Amazing!", Ayame, who had been watching, unconsciously exclaimed.
While adults could eat several bowls of ramen at once, seeing such a small girl eat this much was rare.
Especially since Ayame noticed that Hinata's stomach hadn't even bulged much.
'Where did all that ramen go?'
Hearing Ayame's exclamation, Hinata suddenly realized that quite a few people in the ramen shop were staring at her.
Her large eyes blinked rapidly.
Then, her entire face turned bright red, as if steam was about to come out of her head.
She swayed slightly, making Aoba worry she might faint on the spot.
"Are you full?", Aoba glanced at the empty bowls in front of Hinata and asked.
"F-Full!", Hinata nodded rapidly like a pecking chick.
Aoba still looked at her with some doubt.
'Five bowls of ramen down, and she showed no reaction. Is she secretly a tailed beast?'
"Since you're full, I'll walk you home."
It was getting late. Even within the village, it wasn't safe for Hinata to walk home alone.
After saying that, Aoba thought for a moment and decided to pay his own share.
Upon hearing his words, Hinata instinctively clutched the hem of her clothes tightly.
For some reason, she suddenly felt a deep sense of loss and reluctance.
"Hinata, time to pay," Seeing her spacing out again, Aoba reminded her.
As the eldest daughter of the Hyuga clan, there was no way she couldn't afford a few bowls of ramen, but… she might forget.
Asking Aoba to pay? Not happening.
These five large bowls of ramen, together, they were enough to draw a gacha pull.
"Ah? Okay," Hinata quickly snapped out of it and took out a small purse from her pocket.
Aoba took one look and almost popped his eyes out.
He hadn't paid attention earlier, but now he saw. Her purse was stuffed full of crisp 1,000-ryo bills.
'There has to be tens of thousands in there.'
'She is richer than Tenten!'
Even though Hinata rarely went out, Hiashi still gave her plenty of allowance.
For a brief moment, Aoba wavered. But he quickly adjusted his mindset.
Looking at Hinata's porcelain-doll-like face, he thought, 'Right now, I don't have a reason to take money from her.'
"At least… I have to wait seven years..."
During this short moment, Hinata had already handed the money to Ayame.
But after she finished paying, she turned back to see Aoba muttering under his breath.
Hinata tilted her head curiously.
She didn't interrupt him. Instead, she carefully leaned in, trying to listen to what he was saying.
She rarely did anything this bold. But today, she was letting herself go a little.
"What are you doing?", Before Hinata could hear anything, Aoba had already noticed her.
He turned to look at her curiously, realizing that she was practically pressed against him.
"Ah!", Hinata's face turned crimson, and she quickly pulled away, lowering her head in embarrassment.
'What's going on?', Aoba was puzzled.
But seeing Hinata on the verge of steaming up again, he decided not to ask.
"Let's go. It's already late."
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