Forced to sell misery

"Boss, I want fried rice and dumplings!"

"Me too, one fried rice!"

As the sky gradually darkened, the noisy sound of fireworks came from the shop.

His stomach growled in protest, Naruto swallowed, opened his palm, looked at the pitiful coins, and sighed dejectedly.

Do I have to go out and try my luck again? I don’t know how long it will take to catch a fish this time.

And that weird older brother...did he lie to him? Or did he hear those...those weird rumors, so he should stay away from him...

Clearly, the two of them ate grilled fish together and talked, just like... just like friends...

Are they all fake?

Suddenly, something hit him, and Naruto jumped, subconsciously trying to dodge...

"Hey, what are you daydreaming about?" With his shoulders held down, Naruto looked up in surprise and saw a very bright smiling face.

"You..." Naruto's eyes slowly widened and his mouth opened.

"Yes, we agreed that you would treat me to grilled fish, and I would treat you to delicious food when I come back." Jing Ye naturally took Naruto's small, thin hand, "So, Naruto, what do you want to eat?"

"Really...really?" With sparkling light flashing in his eyes, Naruto suddenly covered his eyes.

"Why...are you crying?" Jing Ye squatted down and looked at Naruto, "Are you okay?"

"It's okay, I'm just, I'm just so happy..." Naruto wiped away his tears and smiled brightly again.

"Thank you……"

No, I should thank you.

Jing Ye tried hard to suppress the bitterness in his eyes.

I am so lucky now, lucky for everything I know. I have witnessed all your misfortunes, pains, struggles, and your growth and transformation.

So…so, Naruto, I'm so happy.

Can come here and see you.

And maybe it's possible to change something, do something within your power.

I can hug you and give you some strength and warmth.

Although I know clearly that even if you hadn't met me, you would still grow up to be that dazzling person who attracts everyone's attention...

But I still want to... want to witness it all with my own eyes.

That's enough...

"Then I'll treat you to ramen."

After successfully checking in at Ichiraku Ramen, Jingye felt more satisfied than ever before.

"one more bowl!"

"Me, me, me! Me too, another bowl please!"

Two figures, one big and one small, sat side by side, happily eating ramen together.

——This is probably the dream of all time travelers like Jing Ye.

Like I said at the beginning, I hope to witness Naruto grow up little by little and eventually become the reliable Seventh Hokage.

However... Jing Ye still forgot his own identity...

Although there was no big opinion after Kakashi and the Sandaime reported the details, and on the day when Kagami took Naruto to eat ramen, the Anbu following Naruto did not stop him, but Kakashi still gently reminded him not to go too far.

Stop minding your own business...

Although he didn't quite understand, Jing Ye finally remained silent.

It doesn’t matter. Being able to watch Naruto from afar like this… is not bad.

After some consolation, Jing Ye still went to suggest to the Sandaime that he wanted to take over the task of "monitoring" the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki from the Anbu, and repeatedly stated that his Mangekyō Sharingan had been sealed, and that he absolutely had no intention of harming the village...

As expected, it was rejected.

hateful!

But is Jing Ye someone who would easily compromise? Isn't that too much of an underestimation of him?

So even though he was warned in both explicit and implicit ways, Jing Ye still tried his best to show his presence in front of little Naruto and had a lot of fun...

For example, when other kids were bullying Naruto, he suddenly jumped out, wearing an Anbu mask and speaking in a sinister manner, scaring those naughty kids into crying...

Or maybe he was hiding in the dark and using stones to tease those bad guys who said bad things about Naruto...

Then, amid the deliberately suppressed criticism, he stepped forward and firmly held Naruto's hand, taking him to do something happy, such as eating ramen or dumplings together...

As for the Anbu who was following him secretly, he completely turned a blind eye and ignored his warnings...

Even when Kakashi stepped in, Jing Ye actively admitted his mistake but refused to change... He never changed and kept making the same mistake over and over again.

In the end, Kakashi and the Third Generation both expressed extreme headaches.

The advisory group also issued stern warnings and expressed many dangerous remarks.

Although the idea was too extreme, it was not without reason. In the end, the three generations sighed and compromised helplessly.

……

Then Jing Ye was dragged away to do the mission.

It's a beautiful name. Learn from the seniors how to be an excellent Konoha ninja...

Of course, Jing Ye's positioning of himself is still relatively accurate - he may just be a mobile medical first aid kit in the eyes of the seniors in the Anbu...

At the same time, the study of medical ninjutsu also reached a critical bottleneck, and Jing Ye had to stay in the hospital for a long time.

When I came out, the outside was already covered in snow.

"Ah...it's snowing so heavily. Is it winter already?"

Walking out of the hospital, Jing Ye squinted his eyes due to the snow reflected by the street lights, and rubbed his eyes while sighing. I really overused my eyes... I plunged into the laboratory and forgot the time.

In a trance, Jing Ye remembered the reality... If he succeeded in getting into medical school, it might be the same...

What the hell is he thinking about?

But... he was really afraid that if this continued, he would have to get a pair of glasses...

But if he wears glasses and uses the Sharingan later...

Ah, the scene was so beautiful that he dared not imagine it.

The streets were deserted late at night.

Sure enough, this kind of weather is suitable for staying at home and cooking hot pot... I'll leave it to Kakashi-san, thinking happily, Jing Ye was about to leave in an instant, but he saw a small figure running across the street. Jing Ye's eyes widened instantly. That was -

Hinata lost her direction and ran in the snow, but finally fell under a street light.

"What are you doing?"

"Huh?" Hinata was stunned.

"Why are we staying in a place like this?" Naruto walked from the darkness to the street light, and his small figure was also shrouded in light.

"Don't just cry"

"I……"

"I..." Hinata raised her head helplessly with an obviously choked voice, only to see the child walking towards her step by step.

"where is your house?"

Tears filled her eyes and Hinata shook her head.

"There's really no other way. Come on, let's go."

Naruto reached out and held Hinata's hand——

Holding her hand, they walked out from the bright place under the street lamp and ran in the darkness to find the direction, but strangely, she was no longer afraid.

Two young children were walking in the snow. It seemed that the only sound left between heaven and earth was the sound of their footsteps, so firm.

Standing in front of the courtyard with the plaque that read "Hinata", Naruto said with a tone of envy,

"You have such a big family, why are you crying?"

"...Like me, there is no one around me."

"But never...never cry!"

Naruto turned around and smiled brightly at Hinata.

The snow falls silently.

"Well, goodbye." Naruto waved to Hinata and ran away.

Hinata may remember that smile for the rest of her life.

It turns out that the two have had a bond since childhood.

Just watching everything happening silently, Jing Ye raised the corners of his lips.

but……

"Who said you have always been a solitary person?" Jing Ye suddenly appeared beside Naruto and rubbed his hair.

"Eh?" Naruto's eyes widened in surprise and he hugged Jingye tightly, "Long time no see, Brother Jingye."

"Yeah, long time no see." Jing Ye smiled, "Okay, I'll take you home."

"Yes!" Naruto responded happily.

This is really...satisfying.

If it could continue like this, there would be nothing wrong with it.