"Naruto-kun, you, you, how are you here?"

  "Me? I just finished dinner and was about to head home."

  "R-really? I...I...it's really great to run into you here."

  With just these simple exchanges, Hinata's heart was already racing like a deer, her face flushed red, and her tongue seemed to tie itself in knots, making her speech jumble. Naruto found little Hinata even more adorable.

  "Haha~ Hinata, you're really cute when you act like this."

  "C-c-c-cute...eek!"

  What Naruto had casually said struck Hinata like a comet impact. She felt a loud explosion in her head, and then everything went bck as she fainted.

  "Lady Hinata!"

  The nearby guard quickly caught Hinata, trying to wake her up, but there was no response. Touching her forehead, he felt it as hot as a high fever.

  "Bastard! What did you do to Lady Hinata!"

  The guard gred at Naruto, the veins around his Byakugan bulging, clearly having activated it.

  Naruto also couldn't believe that just saying the word "cute" had caused Hinata to faint so easily.

  "Hey hey hey! Don't spout nonsense here. What did I do? I was over a meter away from Hinata the whole time, never touched her. How is this my fault?"

  "Hmph! No matter what, demon fox! From now on, you're not allowed to get close to Lady Hinata, or you'll regret it!"

  "What the hell? Are you sick? are you a dog or something why are you barking at innocent people?"

  Although Naruto really hadn't done anything, Hinata's fainting was indeed because of him, so he initially didn't want to start a conflict. But the guard's aggressive attitude made it hard for him to hold back.

  The guard was already furious, and now being called a dog, his face twisted with anger, and killing intent radiated from his entire body.

  "Bastard! You're asking for death!"

  "Oh? You want to kill me? Then use your Byakugan to take a good look around and see if you really can kill me."

  Naruto wasn't panicked at all; instead, he was full of disdain. At that moment, the guard noticed several Anbu members nearby, and even some from the Root.

  After Kakashi left the Anbu, the Third Hokage sent others to monitor him. To persuade Danzo, the Third also granted Root surveilnce rights. When Kakashi was around, these people only dared to watch from afar. Now that Kakashi was gone, they no longer held back, so the guard could easily spot the Anbu with his Byakugan.

  "There are so many Anbu! What kind of ..."

  "Haha! Got it now? If you make a move, the consequences are something you, a branch family member, can't bear. If you're really worried about Hinata's safety, you should take her back immediately instead of arguing with me here. I don't have time to waste with you. See you around."

  Naruto waved his hand, casually walking past the guard and heading in the direction of his home.

  After walking some distance, Naruto's carefree expression finally faltered, and he clenched his fists but then let out a bitter ugh and rexed.

  "Old man Third Hokage, i knew you would pull something like this, Well he wouldn't be the Third Hokage if he pull do any of this shit"

  In reality, Naruto had no idea that there were Anbu monitoring him. He only said that now, he was unaware of the presence of Root operatives. However, based on his understanding of the Third Hokage, he was certain that the Third would continue to have him monitored. Naruto's earlier act was just a bluff to test the guard. He knew that if a fight broke out, as long as it wasn't a life-threatening situation, the Anbu wouldn't intervene. The guard also wouldn't dare to kill him, so if things escated, he'd definitely end up taking a beating for nothing.

  Even if there were no Anbu around to monitor him and his bluff failed, the consequences wouldn't be any worse. But if the bluff worked, not only would he wont take a beating, but he could also confirm whether there were indeed Anbu operatives secretly watching him. It was a win-win situation. However, this kind of bluff could only be used once. After all, for a cn like the Hyuga, a little investigation would reveal that these Anbu weren't there for protection but for surveilnce.

  ..................

  Two months passed quickly, and the ninja school welcomed its new term. Naruto had expected these two months to be tough, but surprisingly, they turned out to be quite comfortable. Kakashi wasn't as strict as he had imagined. After testing Naruto nature transformation and discovering it was of the wind nature, Kakashi simply handed him two ninjutsu scrolls and then left him to his own devices. Sometimes, Kakashi wouldn't even check on his progress for an entire day, only mentioning it briefly during dinner.

  Naruto arrived at school right on time. The first css was a speech by the Third Hokage himself, but Naruto listened absentmindedly. The second css was taught by Iruka.

  "Hello everyone, let me introduce myself. My name is Iruka, and I'll be your teacher from now on. Today, I'll be teaching the first lesson. First, let me expin what chakra is..."

  Iruka enthusiastically expined from the podium, but Naruto slumped in his seat, drowsy and uninterested. Few students in the css were paying serious attention. For one, they had just started school and weren't used to the cssroom discipline. Secondly, most of the cn kids already knew about chakra. Iruka's lesson was mainly aimed at the civilian children, so even though no one was paying much attention, Iruka didn't get upset.

  .........

  Meanwhile, after dropping off Sasuke, Itachi was walking down the street, preparing to head home when Kakashi suddenly stopped him.

  Itachi was slightly surprised by Kakashi's actions but didn't show much reaction.

  "Kakashi-senpai? Is there something you need?"

  "There is indeed something. Come with me."

  Without further expnation, Kakashi walked straight into a nearby shop that sold tri-colored dango. Itachi frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, and then followed.

  Once they were seated, Kakashi ordered a pte of tri-colored dango, which he had specifically chosen for Itachi. Over the past two months, he had learned through Naruto's thoughts that Itachi had a fondness for this treat.

  Sure enough, as soon as the dango was served, Itachi's hand twitched slightly, as if he wanted to reach for it, but he quickly restrained himself.

  "If there's something you need, just say it directly."

  Kakashi smiled and nodded. "Before we get to that, could you show me your Sharingan?"

  Itachi's eyes instantly transformed into the three-tomoe Sharingan, but Kakashi shook his head.

  "I'm not talking about this level of Sharingan. You know as well as I do that even I possess this level," Kakashi said as he pushed up his forehead protector, revealing his Sharingan. He continued, "you've unlocked it arent you? The Mangekyō."

  Itachi's pupils contracted sharply, and the three tomoe in his Sharingan rapidly spun, transforming into the Mangekyō Sharingan. In that instant, the surroundings of Kakashi and Itachi changed. The noisy shop vanished, repced by a desote bck nd. A blood-red moon hung in the pitch-bck sky, casting a crimson filter over the barren world. At this moment, Itachi's gaze also turned hostile.