"Look, it's that guy!"
"This guy is still in the Village?"
"Damn it, isn't he dead already?"
"No wonder I fell in the bathroom yesterday, it's all this guy's fault."
"This damned demon…"
"Shut up! Have you forgotten Hiruzen's previous orders?"
"Damn it, why does Hiruzen favor this guy?"
"…"
It turned out that even after Naruto had seemingly vanished from the Village for nearly a year, the villagers' malice towards him had not diminished in the slightest; in fact, it had intensified due to Hiruzen Sarutobi's unnecessary command.
Naruto ignored the disgusted, hateful looks and malice around him, simply walking calmly on his way home. Only those with shallow hearts would get angry over curses, while he, Naruto, would directly raise Konoha's overall average strength to the Kage level, and then lead everyone to become Six Paths Sages together.
He was simply the perfect example of repaying evil with good.
"You, you bumped into us, do you know that?"
"Hmm?" Naruto suddenly heard a noisy sound. He looked in the direction of the sound and was surprised to see a familiar figure.
Several taller boys surrounded a small girl wearing a light pink yukata.
"I, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." The little girl quickly apologized, her face showing some fear. Her porcelain-white skin, rosy cheeks, ear-length short hair, delicate features, and those unusual Byakugan eyes all clearly indicated her identity.
Hyuga Hinata.
However, the group of brats surrounding her seemed unaware of the Hyuga Clan's renown. One of the boys directly pushed the girl forward. Perhaps not expecting such rough and rude behavior, Hinata was directly pushed to the ground, mud splattering, and her light pink yukata was stained with dirt.
With that push, when Hinata looked up, she revealed her unusual white eyes, which made the few people surrounding her pause, followed by a burst of laughter.
"Hahahahaha, look at her eyes."
"They're white eyes, looks like another monster."
"She's a monster just like that thing."
"This is also a monster, let's stone her to death together."
The four brats actually picked up stones from the ground, preparing to throw them at Hinata.
Children's malice is the purest malice, unrelated to position or self-interest; simply because you are slightly different from others, they can treat you with the deepest malice.
Naruto suddenly felt a bit amused. The Hyuga, as a prominent clan in Konoha, second only to the Uchiha, could even their own young lady be bullied like this by ordinary civilians?
"I didn't expect that after more than a year, you're still like this."
Naruto's voice suddenly sounded behind the four, startling them. Hinata, who had been curled up on the ground with her head in her arms, also revealed her eyes, instantly showing a surprised expression.
Naruto and Hinata had known each other for a long time, probably about a year and a half ago, when Naruto had just transmigrated and encountered her while strolling on the street. The scene was exactly the same as now.
At that time, Naruto had just mastered Chakra and couldn't control his strength well, directly sending those brats to the hospital. He had cried bitterly and regretted it for a long time before he managed to fool Hiruzen Sarutobi's malice.
"You, you're that monster!"
"Didn't Hiruzen execute you already?"
"You, are you really a monster?"
"M-monster is going to eat people!"
The four immediately looked at Naruto slowly walking over and couldn't help but yell. The current Naruto was no longer the scrawny boy he used to be. With the immense Chakra within him and a year and a half of fine food, his physical fitness had improved by leaps and bounds. His lean muscles and the oppressive presence of being a head taller than his peers made the four feel a chill in their hands and feet, unable to move from where they stood.
"Na, Naruto-kun!"
Hinata stood up, her face filled with pleasant surprise. Ever since Naruto helped her a year ago, she had always wanted to find an opportunity to thank him in person, but she had never encountered him again.
Naruto ignored the four "naturally evil Konoha brats" and instead walked in front of Hinata, looking at her with a disappointed expression.
"Na, Naruto-kun?"
Hinata showed a somewhat wronged expression, because she suddenly saw the shadow of her father in Naruto.
"The monster is going to eat the monster, let's run!"
"Run!"
Seeing that the demon fox ignored them, the four immediately scattered and fled.
"Solving them isn't difficult, is it?"
'Naruto's voice was a bit stern, more like Father.'
"Father said that strength, strength, no, cannot be used to hurt people casually. If, if they get hurt, it won't be good." Hinata lowered her head, stammering, her voice softer than a mosquito's buzz.
"Having power but not using it, rather getting hurt yourself than hurting others?" Naruto quietly looked at Hinata, who was bowing her head and dared not speak, the disappointment in his eyes becoming more apparent.
"I thought we would become good friends."
Naruto's tone was filled with regret. Upon hearing this, Hinata instinctively raised her small head, looking up at Naruto, her pure white eyes, like snowflakes, filled with anxiety.
She didn't understand why. Naruto-kun had saved her last time, not only driving away everyone who bullied her but also holding her hand and taking her home. Naruto-kun was clearly a very gentle person, so why didn't he want to be friends with her?
"Why, why? Why Naruto-kun…"
Hinata was very anxious now, so anxious that she couldn't even speak clearly.
So anxious that her pure eyes had become hazy, with two tears welling up, like a clear spring in the snow, evoking pity.
Naruto's expression remained unchanged. He hoped Hinata could change; if she remained like a mere vase, as in the original story, she would only be a burden to him.
After all, in Konoha, Hinata was one of the few people who held no malice towards him. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had always been very kind to him, he could occasionally sense malice from him. That's why he wanted to guide Hinata, so she wouldn't be brainwashed by the "fire will."
Staying in the darkness for too long also makes one yearn for a little light.
In this reunion, all he felt from Hinata was joy and excitement. The girl's emotions were so pure and clean, untainted. However, if she remained so weak, getting too close would only hurt both of them.
"Did you see the looks in those guys' eyes?" Naruto suddenly looked at the crowd that had inexplicably started to gather, each person exuding extremely disgusting malice, with a few particularly intense malicious gazes scattered among the crowd.
'Heh, another trick from Konoha's higher-ups?'
"Why, why?" Hinata also noticed the villagers who had suddenly started to gather. Each of them looked at Naruto-kun with eyes that said, "Why aren't you dead yet," which made Hinata even more distressed.
"Because of your weakness, they don't even see your existence in their eyes."
Naruto's gaze wasn't on Hinata, but intently fixed on the crowd that had surrounded him.
He saw the brats from earlier in the crowd. They were standing beside their respective parents, whispering and smirking, as if they were standing at a vantage point, yet also like victims.
Hinata also saw them. Why? Why was Naruto-kun, who had helped her, being treated as a bad person?
Noisy sounds came from the crowd.
"Is that guy going to hurt people again?"
"I knew something would happen when that guy suddenly appeared in the Village."
"Sure enough, this monster should be driven out!"
"Hey! Hiruzen's orders…"
"Who cares about orders now, that demon fox is going to harm people again."
"Is that little girl the demon fox's target this time?"
"Is this monster going to eat that girl?"
"Go quickly and inform Hiruzen, and drive this monster out!"
The villagers' malice grew stronger, but Naruto remained calm; his state of mind was not disturbed in the slightest by it.
"No!"
A soft, sweet shout suddenly rang out, but it instantly overpowered the noisy crowd, and the malicious voices abruptly ceased.
Naruto looked at Hinata with some surprise, seeing that her face was already flushed, her hands tightly clutching the hem of her yukata. Although her whole body trembled slightly from fear, she still shouted with all her might.
"Naruto-kun isn't a bad person, Naruto-kun saved me, Naruto-kun is a good person!"
Hinata bravely spoke her own voice for the first time. She didn't want to see Naruto-kun's disappointed eyes. She stood against the Village for the first time.
However, ignorant villagers cannot see the truth.
"This little girl must have been threatened by that demon fox."
"Damn it, it really is an evil demon fox."
"How dare it threaten villagers, why hasn't the Wave Country Police Department shown up yet?"
"Drive him out!"
"Drive him out!"
In an instant, the crowd became enraged. Hinata suddenly realized that her explanation seemed to have backfired, and she became even more flustered. She wanted to continue shouting but suddenly felt a small hand on her head.
"Alright, this is enough."
Hinata suddenly met a pair of gentle, clear blue eyes, like the sky.
"Hinata, leave here first. It might get a bit dangerous next."
He had already seen quite a few villagers picking up stones.
"No, I…"
Hinata, with tears in her eyes, wanted to stand by Naruto's side.
"Young Lady." Just then, a Hyuga Ninja appeared in front of Hinata. His arrival caused the angry villagers' momentum to deflate.
They were just civilians; they couldn't afford to provoke Ninja.
The Hyuga Ninja directly stood between Naruto and Hinata, looking warily at Uzumaki Naruto, and said to Naruto with a face full of disgust: "Stay away from the Young Lady, demon…"
His voice seemed to be choked by something. Looking at those eyes glowing red like needlepoints, he was so frightened that he couldn't speak.
"No, it's not like that!" Hinata cried out, trying to explain, but the Hyuga Ninja hugged her tightly and ran desperately. He could guarantee that he had never run so fast even when facing Kumogakure's Shuriken.
That was truly a monster!
The Hyuga Ninja was the first to discover this; he had thought it was just a rumor…
The Hyuga Ninja's departure reignited the villagers' previously extinguished anger, making it even more explosive.
"Get out of our Village!"
Whoosh—
The sound of something rubbing against the air suddenly rang out. A stone directly hit his head, instantly gushing blood and staining half his face red.
Hinata saw this scene and felt her vision turn blood-red. She seemed to see, in that bloody world, the incredibly gentle, small Naruto being gnawed by a group of monsters.
It's all because of me…
'Still too weak.'
Naruto wiped the blood from his face, his expression calm as he watched the countless eggs, vegetable leaves, and stones being thrown at him.
"Ding!"