At this moment, Hyuga Kawa walked down the street, holding Naruto's hand.
He didn't notice Itachi Uchiha's gaze, or rather, he could feel many surprised glances at this moment.
And in the shadows, two barely perceptible scrutinizing gazes were mixed in, clearly belonging to the Anbu ninja responsible for "guarding" the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Hyuga Kawa not only knew they were Anbu ninja, but he even knew whose gazes they were:
—Yamato, and Kakashi Hatake.
However, with the favorability he had built up with the Third Hokage, as long as he didn't exhibit any particularly abnormal behavior, even if the two reported to the Hokage, there would be no problem.
There was no other way; Hyuga Kawa had spent so much effort and time in Konoha for so many years, building up such high favorability. Wasn't it precisely for moments like this?
Even Danzō Shimura, if he learned that Hyuga Kawa had made contact with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, would probably not go to the Third Hokage and "whisper in his ear" like before.
Currently, Danzō Shimura's main focus was on the Uchiha clan. Otherwise, with Danzō's covetousness towards him, he would have already come to indoctrinate him with his "Root philosophy" and try to brainwash him.
Based on Hyuga Kawa's understanding of Danzō, there was a high probability that he would train him to be the Fifth Hokage, just as he did with Orochimaru, and then "rule from behind the scenes."
However, this was exactly what Hyuga Kawa wanted. Once the Uchiha affair settled down, it would be time to make use of Danzō Shimura...
"..."
At this moment, Naruto Uzumaki, being led by Hyuga Kawa, followed passively, almost like a puppet.
He didn't know Hyuga Kawa's thoughts, only looking at the broad back in front of him leading the way, and then down at the hand still tightly gripping his own.
The warmth and strength from that hand felt so real, gradually dispelling his long-held coldness and loneliness.
Why does it feel like this big brother is glowing?
He thought vaguely, letting himself be guided by that warm strength through streets that were familiar yet seemed subtly different.
Finally, they stopped in front of a small shop emitting an enticing aroma of food.
"We're here," Hyuga Kawa said, breaking Naruto's thoughts.
Naruto Uzumaki subconsciously looked up, seeing the warm curtain at the shop's entrance and the shop's name above it.
Ichiraku Ramen.
Hyuga Kawa pulled Naruto, lifted the curtain, and walked inside.
"Yo! Kawa's here, the usual?"
Teuchi, busy at work, looked up at the sound. Seeing that it was Hyuga Kawa, a hearty smile appeared on his face, and he greeted him warmly.
"Yes, please, Uncle Teuchi, tonkotsu ramen." Hyuga Kawa nodded, adding, "And for this kid, one 'super~ big bowl of char siu spare rib ramen.'"
"Huh?"
Teuchi paused, then noticed the slightly uneasy boy hiding behind Hyuga Kawa.
At the same time, another customer about to order recognized Naruto Uzumaki, their expression immediately changed, and without even saying hello, they got up and left the shop.
"Dad, is Kawa here?"
Just then, Ayame, helping out in the shop, poked her head out. She smiled when she saw Kawa's face but paused slightly when she saw Naruto.
Noticing their gazes, Naruto Uzumaki's body stiffened slightly.
He knew the customer left because of him, which made him worry that the owners would be angry.
But, unexpectedly, Ayame and Teuchi exchanged a glance, and their smiles remained as usual.
"One tonkotsu ramen, one 'super~ big bowl of char siu spare rib ramen' coming right up. Please wait a moment, valued customers," they said in unison.
With that, the two went to the kitchen. Naruto, clutching Kawa's clothes, immediately felt his body relax.
"Don't worry, Uncle Teuchi and his daughter Ayame are very pure people. In their eyes, anyone who loves ramen is a good person."
Hyuga Kawa sat familiarly on a high stool at the counter, then patted the chair next to him, gesturing for Naruto to sit down, his tone relaxed and casual.
Naruto Uzumaki climbed onto the high stool, his feet not even reaching the ground, dangling slightly.
A moment later, he seemed to make up his mind. He looked at Hyuga Kawa beside him and said in a low voice, "Big brother, my, my name is..."
"Naruto Uzumaki."
Before Naruto could say his name, Hyuga Kawa's voice gently interrupted him, saying with a smile, "My name is Hyuga Kawa."
Naruto looked up at him in surprise, blurting out, "You know my name?"
"Of course," Hyuga Kawa nodded. "Not just me, many people know your name. You'll understand later."
"Many people know my name?"
Naruto Uzumaki scratched his head in confusion.
Yet, the big brother in front of him, named Hyuga Kawa, was the only one who had called out his name. Everyone else called him "demon fox" or "that kid"...
If so many people truly knew him, why had he never met them?
Naruto didn't understand but dared not ask further.
"One tonkotsu ramen, one 'super~ big bowl of char siu spare rib ramen' coming right up!"
Just then, Teuchi and Ayame came out carrying the ramen. Two large bowls of steaming, fragrant ramen were carefully placed on the counter in front of Naruto.
Golden, rich broth piled high with thick slices of char siu, richly sauced spare ribs, vibrant green onions, a perfectly halved soft-boiled egg, nori seaweed...
Gulp!
The massive bowl almost filled Naruto's entire vision. The warm aroma, mixed with the scent of bone and meat fats, enveloped him, making him instinctively swallow his rapidly secreting saliva.
Seeing this, Ayame and Teuchi's smiles widened. They reminded him with a chuckle, "Customer, eat slowly, and be careful, it's hot."
Teuchi and his daughter were indeed among the few truly pure people in Konoha Village.
Naruto looked at the bowl of food before him, which seemed to glow with a magical light. He then secretly glanced at Hyuga Kawa, who was smiling at him from beside him.
This was the first time he had sat in a brightly lit shop, facing such a large, steaming bowl of food meant just for him, and without any cold glares or malice.
A never-before-felt emotion spread in his heart, making his nose sting.
"Let's eat," Hyuga Kawa said, picking up his chopsticks with a smile.
He clumsily picked up his chopsticks, mimicking Hyuga Kawa, and said softly but with immense solemnity, "I, I'm eating."
Then, he picked up a small piece of spare rib, carefully blew on it, and slowly put it into his mouth.
The tender, fall-off-the-bone meat, the rich and sweet sauce, instantly melted in his mouth, mixing with the chewy noodles' wheaty aroma and the warm, delicious bone broth...
Delicious!
Indescribably delicious!
It was a thousand times better than any food he had ever eaten before!
"Naruto," Hyuga Kawa suddenly said, "It's not your fault."
Hearing this, Naruto's body stiffened, and he silently lowered his head.
The extreme satisfaction brought by the delicious food, intertwined with the loneliness and grievance of previously having to chew and swallow alone for unknown reasons, and the complex emotions arising from being acknowledged, all mingled together.
Strong emotions surged like a tide, finally breaking through the dam he had desperately held for so long.
Plop... plop...
Large drops of tears, no longer restrainable, gushed out, splashing into the misty, golden-yellow broth, creating ripples.
Slurp! Slurp~
He buried his head in the rising steam of the ramen, not stopping his chopsticks. Instead, accompanied by tears, almost greedily, he ate the ramen bite by bite.
Teuchi and Ayame exchanged glances and quietly left. Hyuga Kawa sat quietly beside him, eating his noodles, neither offering words of comfort nor looking at him.
A peaceful silence settled over the shop; only the sounds of the two eating ramen could be heard.
Warm light from outside slanted in, bathing the "Ichiraku Ramen" curtain, along with the two figures, one large and one small, in a soft golden glow.
Finally, a steaming, substantial bowl of ramen was eaten clean by Naruto, not a single drop of broth left.
His small belly was round and full, and warmth spread from his stomach to his limbs, dispelling all coldness and hunger.
"Are you full?"
Hyuga Kawa, who had long finished eating, turned and asked Naruto Uzumaki with a smile.
"Yes! Super~ full! Thank you, Big Brother Kawa!"
Naruto Uzumaki nodded vigorously, his voice much louder, filled with an unprecedented sense of satisfaction and vitality.
He even mimicked Hyuga Kawa's earlier tone when he said "super~ big bowl of char siu spare rib ramen," drawing out the "super," a bright, undisguised smile on his face.
"Then let's go, I'll walk you back."
Hyuga Kawa placed the ramen money on the table and led Naruto out of Ichiraku Ramen. Behind them, they heard Teuchi and Ayame's voices saying, "Please come again."
Naruto Uzumaki seemed to have had his true nature unleashed, his steps feeling even lighter. The gloom in his clear blue eyes had vanished, and he chattered incessantly beside Hyuga Kawa.
"Uncle Teuchi is so nice, and Big Sister Ayame is so gentle!"
"Big Brother Kawa, are you a ninja too? Are you as strong as the Hokage?"
"Big Brother Kawa, you were so amazing earlier, those people didn't dare to say anything!"
His questions were wild and rambling, highly jumpy, carrying the unique innocence and abundant curiosity of a child, as he circled around Hyuga Kawa.
Hyuga Kawa listened patiently, occasionally answering a few words or explaining things Naruto was interested in in a simple, easy-to-understand way.
Compared to the timid, cautious Naruto from before, and the later Naruto who became increasingly heavy and extreme due to bearing too much, this was his original self.
Hyuga Kawa actually knew that as more rumors about Naruto spread in the future, Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't doing nothing; it was just that his approach caused the Konoha villagers' attitude to completely shift from dislike to cold indifference and neglect.
And the personality Naruto developed in this environment was, in fact, more twisted and extreme than that of Sasuke Uchiha, an Uchiha clan member.
It had been like this since childhood: in order to be seen, to be known, he didn't hesitate to become a clown, playing all sorts of pranks in the village.
But, at least for now, Naruto hasn't become that person.
He is still a blank canvas, ready to be painted and changed by anyone.
Hyuga Kawa's kindness towards Naruto Uzumaki was certainly not purely selfless, but it wasn't entirely devoid of the affection one might have for a protagonist one once liked.
Otherwise, the system would have just judged his actions as a lie.
At the very least, he could now give Naruto Uzumaki, who had no choices, an additional choice in the future.
To follow his original path, or a different future...
Happy times are short-lived.
When the familiar apartment building appeared in sight, the smile on Naruto's face, like a candle blown out by the wind, gradually faded, and his light steps slowly slowed down.
"Are we there?"
Hyuga Kawa stopped, looked down at the suddenly silent Naruto beside him, and said with a knowing smile, "Go on. If there's a chance, we'll meet again."
"Then, then I'm going up, Big Brother Kawa, goodbye..."
Naruto said softly, walking towards the second floor of the apartment. He pulled out his key, inserted it into the lock, twisted it open, and turned to look at Hyuga Kawa downstairs.
"Get some good rest," Hyuga Kawa said from below.
"Okay!" Naruto stood inside the door, waved vigorously, and then reluctantly closed the door.
Thud.
The door blocked out the outside world, and also blocked that figure.
"I'm home..." Naruto whispered.
No warm lights, no scent of food, no family's response.
Only a suffocating, bone-deep emptiness.
He walked towards his bed, and as if all his strength had been drained, he simply flopped straight onto the bed.
He lay on his back, his unusually large clear blue eyes wide open, staring blankly at the blurry outlines on the ceiling.
The room was terribly quiet.
He could clearly hear his own breathing, and the sound of his heart beating in his chest.
Why?
Why is he all alone?
Why do other people have moms and dads, warm food, and laughter, while he has nothing?
What am I here for, and why am I alive...?
Also, Big Brother Kawa said it's not my fault, so why do they treat me like that? Why do they call me a demon fox and look at me like a monster...?
Lost in thought, Naruto Uzumaki raised his hand somewhat wistfully, as if trying to feel the warmth that hadn't yet faded.
But as he brought his palm before his eyes, he found a diamond-shaped black mark on his palm.
"When did this get on?" he murmured in confusion.
He instinctively reached out with his other hand, wanting to wipe the mark away.
But the moment his finger touched it, Naruto's vision suddenly went black.
Buzz!
His consciousness seemed to be pulled away. After an unknown amount of time, he opened his eyes again.
But what he saw was no longer his cold, familiar room. It had turned into a place resembling a sewer, with water up to his ankles, and the environment was dark and damp.
And, in front of him, the cage bars that stretched endlessly upwards...
What is this place?