Naruto: I didn't say this is the real Hokage.

[Now that I've been recognized, there's nothing more to say. ]

Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and ran with her all the way until they came to a small river at the edge of Konoha Village near the Forest of Death.

This is a secret base that belongs to the original body in his memory.

Due to its remote location, not many people come here on weekdays.

Just as Naruto let go of Hinata's hand and prepared himself mentally to remove the Thousand Changes, restore his original appearance and confess to Hinata;

Hinata came back to her senses and mustered up the courage to shyly raise her lowered head.

The two spoke almost at the same time.

"Hah~ Long time no see, Hinata."

"I'm sorry, please forgive me for mistaking you for...

Ah~

Naruto-kun...why is it you? !"

Naruto: (?°?°?)? ! !

[You didn't recognize me just now?! ]

At this moment, Naruto felt like he was trapped in a telecommunications fraud in his previous life.

……

Hinata's face was tinged with a faint red cloud, like the color gently brushed by the rising sun;

Her eyes flashed with shyness and she glanced at Naruto secretly, then quickly lowered her long eyelashes to hide the joy in her heart.

Her lips were pressed together, as if she were trying to suppress her inner excitement;

At the same time, her tightly clasped hands and slightly trembling body also revealed to Naruto that she was still a little nervous and uneasy in her heart.

When Naruto saw Hinata posing in such a cute manner, he suddenly felt a sense of evil amusement in his heart.

He deliberately raised his hand and placed it on Hinata's forehead, and asked knowingly in a caring tone.

"Hinata, your face is so red... do you have a fever?

Let me help you take a look."

Hinata: ?(? ???w??? ?)?……

Hinata fainted, her whole body tilted backwards, and then fell straight to the ground.

"(=°w°)!!! Hinata!"

The frightened Naruto hurried forward and held Hinata in his arms before she fell to the ground.

Looking at the steam rising from Hinata's head, Naruto sighed sincerely in his heart.

[Konoha Steam Princess is indeed worthy of its reputation~]

……

"woke up?"

Hinata, who had just woken up, opened her eyes and found herself lying on Naruto's thighs.

Her face immediately turned like a red apple again.

Hinata covered her face shyly and let out an incomprehensible moan.

"Hmm~"

Fearing that Hinata was about to faint again, Naruto immediately helped her up, then he quickly stepped back half a step.

This leaves a certain buffer space between each other.

[Oh no, Hinata is smoking again (ー_ー)!!]

"Hinata, are you okay?"

"W-Well...I'm fine, Naruto-kun."

After a period of buffering, Hinata finally calmed down.

Although her cheeks were still frighteningly red, she didn't dare look at Naruto, and her voice was so low that it was almost inaudible...

But at least I was able to communicate normally with Naruto.

It’s gratifying, it’s gratifying~

"Yeah~

Naruto-kun, why are you back in the village?

This place is too dangerous for you...

Before anyone else notices... leave now!"

Suddenly, Hinata seemed to remember Naruto's current identity.

After unconsciously uttering "Ah", he immediately urged Naruto to leave Konoha quickly.

The little girl, who was so worried about Naruto, didn't even notice that her voice was much louder than usual.

At the end, Hinata deliberately added a sentence.

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun. I will never tell anyone that I have seen you..."

Naruto's mouth curled up slightly, and he just stood there quietly looking at Hinata.

Naruto could see a deep worry and anxiety in her expression.

Her cheeks turned even redder because of nervousness, and her lips were tightly pursed, as if she was suppressing the panic in her heart.

"Hahahaha~"

Looking at this silly girl who has forgotten Konoha and her family, and only thinks about herself...

Naruto laughed heartily.

"Thank you Hinata, thank you for still worrying about me."

"But don't worry. As long as I want... no one can discover my true identity."

Naruto activated the Thousand Changes, and under Hinata's incredible gaze, he changed into several different appearances in succession.

"I do have something to do when I come back to Konoha this time. I will leave naturally after I finish it...

Before that, Hinata, would you like to sit down and talk to me?

Let's talk about what happened in Konoha during the time I was away?"

"Ah? Ah... Of course."

Hinata agreed quietly.

The happier she felt, the more she dared not look at Naruto. She just cautiously moved closer to Naruto and sat down silently.

……

It was noon at this time, the sunlight was strong and bright, shining on the calm river, and the surface of the river was glowing silvery white.

On both sides of the river, lush trees cast mottled shadows, which contrast beautifully with the clear river water.

The dead forest in the distance appears clearly outlined in the sunlight, while the trees and flowers nearby sway in the breeze.

Naruto and Hinata sat side by side on the rocks on the river bank, their figures looked particularly warm under the sunlight.

Naruto returned to his original appearance, his golden hair shining with healthy luster in the sunlight.

His posture was relaxed, his hands resting on the stone beside him, his eyes focused and gentle, he was listening to Hinata's words, occasionally nodding in agreement.

Hinata has a pretty face, bright eyes, and short black hair that glows golden in the sun;

At this moment, she seemed to have forgotten her shyness and kept telling Naruto about the changes that had taken place in the village after he left, no matter how big or small.

Naruto was fascinated by Hinata who was concentrating on introducing her to him, and suddenly asked a question for some unknown reason.

"What about you, Hinata...

How have you been since I left Konoha?"

(=°w°)?! ! !

After asking this question, Naruto wanted to slap himself twice on the spot.

After all, no matter what...

It's too abrupt to ask such a question in front of a girl!

[Will Hinata be unhappy about this? ]

Naruto cautiously glanced at Hinata from the corner of his eye, and then...

Σ(っ °Д °;)っ！ ！ ！

[Huh~

It was a close call... Hinata almost fell to the ground. 】

That's right, Hinata fell again.

Although she didn't faint, her body leaned back involuntarily and she almost hit her head on the ground again.

Naruto was so scared that he was sweating profusely. He helped Hinata, who was smoking again, up and spoke softly half-jokingly.

“Hinata, you don’t have to be so nervous when you’re with me.

otherwise……

Otherwise I wouldn’t dare sit and chat with you.”

"Well~ Okay, okay Naruto-kun, I got it..."

The little girl turned her head stiffly to look at Naruto, then quickly turned her head back, and finally covered her face shyly.

……

Hinata used an extremely weak voice and stuttered to tell Naruto about her life in Konoha in recent days.

She said that her father had arranged more training for her and that the training had become more rigorous;

He said that he trained hard every day because she didn't want to disappoint her father's expectations... He knew that her father loved her as a daughter;

She said that although the classmates in the class didn't say it explicitly, they all missed Naruto in their hearts to some extent...including herself;

She said that she had secretly seen several classmates crying in private because of Naruto's departure, because they believed that a large part of the reason why Naruto defected from Konoha was due to their bad attitude towards Naruto in the past...

Hinata said that she now lives a fulfilling and happy life every day...without any worries.

But Naruto still sensed something was wrong, so he asked softly, trying to use a gentle voice.

"Can you tell me why Hinata ran away from home this time?"

"Huh? Wha...what?"

Hinata obviously didn't expect Naruto to ask such a question.

Her mind suddenly went blank and she twisted her two fingers together in confusion.

"If I remember correctly, not counting this time...

Hinata, you have already been met by me twice after running away from your home.

And every time you run away, it's because you encounter something you can't accept...

So why did Hinata run away from home this time?"

"Ah? Ah... Naruto-kun, you... remember everything~"

Hinata lowered her head, feeling both surprised and embarrassed. She thought Naruto had long forgotten their childhood encounter.

Naruto smiled mischievously, and he suddenly wanted to tease the little girl again.

"What do you mean by remembering everything?

Are you the one who often peeks from behind the tree while I'm training hard here?"

Hinata: ?_?……

It turns out that Naruto had already discovered it. She thought she had hidden it well.

"Shh! Hinata?!"

Naruto: Σ(っ °Д °;)っ! ! !

[I'm such a bad mouth, I know Hinata can't help but be teased... Now I'm fine, I'm dizzy again...]

……

"You mean you can feel it every time in training,

Your sparring partner...your cousin Hyuga Neji has a grudge against you, and this grudge has gradually evolved into a blatant malice during this period of time...

Hinata, is this the reason you felt so miserable that you gave up training and ran away from home?"

"Um……"

Hinata nodded sheepishly.

[Hinata Neji...?]

Naruto stroked his chin in thought.

Speaking of which, Neji Hyuga is also one of the most popular characters in the anime "Naruto" and is also a representative of the tragic characters.

He is the son of Hyuga Hizashi, the head of the Hyuga branch family. He possesses the Hyuga family's inherited bloodline limit "Byakugan" and is the first genius ninja among the Twelve Ninjas in the original work to be promoted to the rank of Jonin.

After the Third Ninja World War, the Hidden Cloud Village sent an envoy to visit the Hidden Leaf Village in the name of negotiation.

During the negotiations, the ninjas from the Hidden Cloud Village kidnapped Hinata, but failed.

The angry old father caught up with the ninja from the Hidden Lightning Village who kidnapped Hinata and smashed his dog head with one palm.

Originally, this matter should have come to an end here.

Unexpectedly, the Hidden Cloud Village turned the tables and claimed that it was the Konoha ninja who attacked and killed the messenger they sent without any reason, and used this as an excuse to demand that Konoha hand over the murderer Hinata Hiashi.

Faced with such an excessive demand, the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, who always claimed to be doing it to maintain peace in the ninja world but was actually a coward, unsurprisingly agreed.

Later, in order to let Hyuga Hiashi survive, Hyuga Hizashi was willing to die in place of his brother.

But Ningci always thought that it was the main family that forced his father to death, and he always hated the Hyuga main family...

Especially her cousin who is a few months younger than her and has mediocre talents, the eldest daughter of the clan leader, Hinata Hyuga.

This results in Hyuga Neji becoming unbalanced and appearing full of malice every time he faces Hinata.

It was not until the Chunin Exam in the original work, when Hyuga Neji was defeated by Naruto and received a handwritten letter from Hyuga Hizashi, learning the truth, that he finally untied the knot in his heart.

In the end, he didn't live a few years of ease, because he died in the Fourth Ninja World War because he blocked the sword for his future brother-in-law Naruto.

He became the first and only one of the twelve little strong men to die in battle...

[Alas~ It turns out it’s because of this loser~

Or I can just kidnap Hyuga Neji as well, even if there is no system reward... just for Hinata. 】

"That's it, I know."

Having made up his mind, Naruto gently touched Hinata's head and said with a smile.

“Don’t worry Hinata, leave this matter to me.

Now... let me take you home first."

Naruto stood up and randomly transformed into another appearance.

"Um……"

Hinata, who was sitting on the rock, nodded and agreed quietly.

"...Hinata, why aren't you getting up yet?"

"I...I...my legs are weak..."

"Then...I'll carry you?"

"……Um."

……

“Oh, is that so?

Hinata ran out of the house and was bullied by other children again. Then she was rescued by Uzumaki Naruto who had changed his appearance.

……

You said that Uzumaki Naruto's transformation technique was very advanced. If he hadn't taken the initiative to cancel it, even you wouldn't have been able to see the flaw...

……

That little bastard took my daughter to sit by the river and chat for the whole afternoon, and finally carried her to the front door of the Hyuga family, right?"

"Yes."

The Hyuga ninja who was hiding in the dark to protect Hinata nodded respectfully to Hyuga Hiashi.

Naruto would never have thought that every move of his and Hinata was seen by this person, and he reported everything to Hyuga Hiashi.

But come to think of it, Hinata is the eldest daughter of the Hyuga family, how could it be possible that she really has no guards around her?

After all, Naruto was too young and careless...

"Little bunny!"

Click~

Veins bulged on Hinata Hiashi's forehead, and in excitement he crushed his favorite teacup into pieces.

"Besides you, does anyone else know that the man's true identity is Uzumaki Naruto?"

"No, the ANBU and Root ninjas who were secretly following the young lady were all dealt with by my subordinates in a timely manner."

"Very well, you did well."

Hinata Hiashi nodded in satisfaction, and then continued to ask.

"Where's that brat Uzumaki Naruto? Where did he go?"

"After Uzumaki Naruto sent the young lady back, he turned around and walked two blocks before entering an empty alley. He transformed into the appearance of Master Neji and headed back toward the main family.

…According to the time, he should be here soon.”

Hinata Hiashi: ?_?? ! !