It was just a short stretch of road—normally, he wouldn't run into anyone at all. But today? Somehow, he was bumping into everyone.
And now, standing right in front of him, was the boy who'd collided with him just moments ago, bowing over and over to apologize.
The kid had short, spiky blond hair, bright blue eyes, and six whisker-like marks etched on his cheeks.
Haruba couldn't help but sigh. He reached out, grabbed the boy's shoulder, and stopped him mid-bow.
"I was the one lost in thought, not watching where I was going. This isn't your fault!"
He didn't know if Naruto had been paying attention to the road or not—but he certainly hadn't.
After apologizing, Shirayuki Haruba stepped forward and brushed the snow off Naruto's clothes from where he'd fallen.
But once he'd finished, the boy just stood there, staring at him in a daze.
Haruba waved a hand in front of his face, finally snapping him out of it.
Naruto's gaze was now shimmering, as if misted over with tears.
"Th-this is… the first time…"
He stammered, but Haruba had no time to figure out what he meant.
The crowd was starting to gather around them. Though they were only whispering, their eyes were full of undisguised malice.
And Haruba… was also the center of attention now.
Those looks made him feel a little sick.
Whether Naruto was the Nine-Tailed Fox or not didn't matter—right now, he was just a kid. There was no reason to pour all that hatred onto a child.
These Konoha villagers should be thankful that Minato's seal was strong enough. Without it, who here would even dare to stand and gawk?
Haruba's personality might have its flaws, but deep down, he hated seeing good people get bullied.
Not that there was much he could do.
He leaned down toward Naruto's ear.
"Ready? We're gonna run."
"Eh?"
Naruto blinked, confused.
"Sometimes it's fine to just… avoid things."
"I, uh—"
"Go!"
Before the crowd could fully clog the street, Haruba yanked Naruto forward, diving straight into the throng.
The onlookers scrambled to get out of the way, as if afraid the bad luck might rub off on them. Chaos erupted, and in an instant, the two had vanished.
"Th-thank you!"
Naruto's voice cracked with excitement as they ran, his eyes bright.
"Running away isn't shameful," Haruba said. "You don't need to live for their approval."
The words came out of nowhere—maybe because he'd never liked Naruto's original "approval-seeking" personality in the first place.
"Huh? Wh-what do you mean?" Naruto was still catching up.
"Don't think you're so important to them. Their approval means nothing—you don't depend on them to live. Your own happiness matters more."
He gave a small smile.
"We'll meet again."
And before Naruto could respond, Haruba let go of his sleeve and, in the blink of an eye, sped up and disappeared from view.
Naruto pushed through the milling crowd, trying to catch sight of him again, but once he broke free, Haruba was already gone.
Haruba finally slowed when he reached an empty side street, letting out a long breath.
"What a day… one strange thing after another. Hopefully that's the last of it."
But just as the thought crossed his mind—
"Oi! You little brat!"
A childish voice rang out.
Three unruly boys had surrounded a scarf-wearing girl with pale, milky-white eyes.
"Her eyes are white? Gross!""Creepy as hell.""You're some kind of monster, huh? A freak with white eyes?"
They looked her up and down, cackling.
Hyūga Hinata trembled, frozen where she stood, her small face pale as snow. Tears began to well in her eyes, and her hands clutched the scarf tightly.
"What, you're already gonna cry?""Pathetic.""We haven't even touched you yet!"
The three showed no sympathy—in fact, they doubled down.
Hinata crouched down, covering her face, sobbing. But even then, the boys showed no sign of stopping.
Haruba's mouth twitched. Of course he'd run into this.
He glanced around—no sign of Naruto.
A thought crossed his mind: Did I just accidentally ruin his future romance?
He sighed. "No helping it…"
He didn't really believe in that whole with great power comes great responsibility thing, but if something like this was happening right in front of him, he couldn't just walk away.
Besides, saving Hinata now might save those three brats from a worse fate. If the Hyūga clan's precious daughter came home with a black eye, someone would definitely lose sleep over it.
The boys were just about to shove her when Haruba bent down, scooped up a few stones from the snow, and weighed them in his palm.
Perfect weight—enough to stun, not injure.
"You three… are too damn noisy."
His flat tone froze them in place.
They turned toward the voice. A boy about their age was idly tossing stones in the air a short distance away.
Hinata, still crying, peeked up at him.
"You gonna stick your nose where it doesn't belong?" the leader—a chubby kid—snapped, confident in his size and their numbers.
Haruba's expression didn't change, but a short, cold chuckle escaped his lips.
Before they could react, he flicked his wrist and let a stone fly.
Years of shuriken practice made his aim perfect, and the throw packed a sting.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Three yelps of pain echoed out as each boy clutched his forehead, now sporting a nice red lump.
"Aaaagh!" ×3
The moment they looked up, Haruba was already stooping for more stones.
Faces pale, the boys stumbled back.
"D-don't come any closer!"
They tumbled over each other trying to get away, and within seconds, they were gone.
Haruba walked over to Hinata. Her baby-round face was still flushed from crying, eyes rimmed red.
I should've thrown harder, he thought grimly.
And where the hell were her clan's guards? Useless.
"Th-thank you…" she whispered, head bowed.
"Do you know your way home?" Haruba asked.
"I…"
Grrrrrr—
Her stomach answered for her.