The Incredibly Brave Naruto-kun! - Naruto: The Primal Hyuga Pierces the Shinobi World

"Who is this guy?!"

Naruto Namikaze's sudden appearance caught the children off guard. One of the slightly younger boys timidly glanced in the direction Naruto ran from, wanting to see if there were any adults nearby.

Although these children weren't very old, they were quite shrewd. They knew their actions were wrong, and being spotted by an adult might result in a scolding or a lecture. They were feeling somewhat uneasy.

However, after scanning the surroundings and seeing no adults paying attention, the pedestrians on the road simply dismissed it as children playing—the children relaxed. They glared at Naruto with hostile expressions.

"It has nothing to do with you! Move aside!"

"Don't interfere!"

The stout boy in the padded jacket was probably the local ringleader. He jutted out his small chin, adopting the air of a group leader.

"She is my friend! I will never let anyone bully her!"

Young Naruto had an excellent upbringing. Even at his age, Minato and Kushina had successfully nurtured a compassionate and cooperative nature in him.

Facing a group of children older and more numerous than himself, he showed absolutely no sign of backing down.

"The Byakugan monster's friend?"

The children exchanged glances. Their internal dislike for the Hyūga clan was immediately transferred to Naruto. Just as Naruto's sense of justice was surging, the chubby boy yelled and charged forward with a fist.

"They're in this together! Beat him up!"

The disputes between children can be this sudden. A disagreement leads directly to a fight, often far more "real" than conflicts between adults.

As the son of the Fourth Hokage, Naruto, though not spoiled, was certainly sheltered. In his life, few people he knew dared to speak loudly to him.

He had never been in a fight before, nor had he encountered a ringleader like the chubby boy. Caught off guard, he was instantly struck in the eye by the slightly older boy.

"Ouch!"

"You hateful guy!"

Naruto yelped in pain, but then his anger swelled, his adrenaline surged, and he returned the punch despite the throbbing pain.

But...

Naruto was several years younger than his opponent, and at this age, he hadn't begun ninja training. His opponent had a stocky build and also had "subordinates." Naruto's counterattack quickly lost momentum under the barrage of the others' fists. After taking several more punches, Naruto lost the strength to fight back and could only curl up defensively in the snow.

Naruto, the self-proclaimed hero, suffered a massive setback right after his debut...

The children's fists were flying fiercely, but Naruto was certainly tough. He didn't utter a sound despite being pressed down and beaten in the snow.

Meanwhile, Hinata, who was initially dazed, finally snapped back to reality and rushed toward Naruto, shouting.

"Stop hitting him! Please stop!"

"Stop it!"

Hinata squeezed into the crowd, and a few of the punches accidentally landed on her. Although these children didn't recognize Naruto, they knew Hinata was from the Hyūga clan.

They were bold enough to verbally provoke and shove her, but they didn't dare genuinely strike Hinata.

"One idiot, one Byakugan monster! Hurry up and get lost!"

"Otherwise, we'll beat you up every time we see you!"

Seeing Hinata shield Naruto, and noticing that Naruto had been beaten into submission, the group exchanged looks, cursed a few times, and, losing interest, dispersed one by one.

The commotion from the children eventually attracted the attention of a few adults. A couple of merchants glanced in Naruto and Hinata's direction. Seeing Hinata help Naruto up and that neither seemed seriously hurt, the adults withdrew their attention and returned to their own business. Ultimately, it was just children fighting; aside from the parents, virtually no one cared.

Naruto had taken many punches. As the adrenaline subsided, pain surged through his body. Naruto's small face was now bruised and swollen, making him look quite pitiful.

"Naruto..."

Seeing Naruto's miserable state, tears welled up in Hinata's eyes. It wasn't because she herself had been bullied, but the fact that Naruto had been beaten because of her filled Hinata with guilt and distress. Kindness was the underlying characteristic of both children.

"Hinata, don't cry."

"I'm fine. Don't worry, I will protect you."

Despite being the one who was thoroughly beaten, Naruto turned around to comfort Hinata.

In that moment, Naruto's smile shone brightly in Hinata's eyes. In Hinata's memory, Naruto was the only person around her who ever smiled like that.

Her father always wore a stern face, and her older brother was busy with his own affairs all day long. Only the close-aged Naruto had the best relationship with her.

And Naruto's heroic action this time left a deep impression on Hinata's heart. People often say that no adult remembers anything before the age of five, but there are many exceptions to this...

The maid who had taken Hinata out was very anxious when she discovered Hinata was missing. Using the Byakugan, she quickly located the two children. Walking closer and seeing Naruto's bruised and swollen face, the maid's expression immediately changed.

The local children might not recognize Naruto, but how could she, a Hyūga dedicated to caring for Hinata, not recognize the Hokage's son?

After asking about the specific situation, the maid led both Naruto and Hinata back to the Hyūga compound.

Hanako (Hinata's mother) was stunned to see Naruto's bruised face. While personally applying medicine, she sent someone to find her best friend, Kushina. In Hanako's mind, how could a child of Naruto's age possibly be out by himself?

Just as Hanako suspected, Naruto had already been brought back to the Hyūga house, but Kushina was still shopping, completely unaware that her son was no longer by her side. When the Hyūga people found her and told her Naruto was at their house, Kushina snapped out of her daze and rushed to the Hyūga compound.

One might expect Kushina to be furious upon seeing her son beaten up, but the carefree mother burst into laughter when she saw her son's miserable state:

"Naruto, are you trying to impersonate a panda?"

"Why didn't you put makeup on the other eye?"

"Hahaha, will you still run off next time?"

Kushina was relieved once she saw Naruto. Compared to her son being beaten, she was more concerned that he had run off without a word.

Kushina had already heard the full story from the Hyūga. In her view, it was merely children fighting. After all, she was an undefeated fighter in the Ninja Academy when she was little.

Furthermore, Naruto had bravely stood up to protect Hinata, which made her very proud of her son's courage.

As she spoke, Kushina went over to Naruto. After carefully checking him over, she mischievously poked Naruto's slightly swollen eye socket.

"Oww—!"

"That hurts!"

Naruto had maintained an air of toughness and stoicism while Hanako applied medicine, but a light poke from Kushina made the boy yelp in pain and whine.

Hanako watched the interaction between the mother and son and couldn't help but smile. She gently lifted Naruto onto her lap and praised him with a laugh:

Chapter 87 - The Incredibly Brave Naruto-kun!