Changing Fate As Naruto

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Courting Death Even Without Trying



Just a short time before Naruto stepped in to help Hinata, Hyuga Hiashi, who had rushed over to resolve the matter at the Ninja Academy as quickly as possible out of concern for Hinata's safety, happened to arrive nearby.

Just as he was about to call Hinata home, he unexpectedly witnessed someone daring to bully his precious daughter!

Furious, Hiashi was prepared to personally deliver a lesson that would etch itself into the bones of those three brats. But the sudden appearance of Naruto and the chaotic series of events that followed gradually doused Hiashi's anger.

Instead, Naruto's blunt, unfiltered words left him in a state of complicated bewilderment, caught between laughter and disbelief.

As the head of the Hyuga Clan, one of the two great dōjutsu clans of the Hidden Leaf Village, Hiashi stood at the pinnacle of power in the eyes of ordinary people. Accustomed to living high above, pampered and respected, he had developed a commanding and haughty presence.

As such, everyone he met in daily life would try to please him, to curry favor. Almost no one dared speak their mind to him openly—

Until now.

Now, before him stood a ragged child who looked like a little beggar, turning his back to Hiashi as he scolded and accused without the slightest hint of fear—even though he clearly knew Hinata's identity.

What's more, this kid had the audacity to hold his daughter's small hand!

By Hiashi's usual standards, such behavior was just as outrageous as the three troublemakers earlier.

And yet… Hinata, under this little brat's constant rambling, wore a blushing, obedient look of shy reliance—clearly fond of the boy. Even more shocking, when Hiashi carefully examined Naruto's words, he couldn't find a single line worth refuting.

Yes, secrecy was important during his meeting with that esteemed figure, but given the other party's gentle and understanding nature, it wouldn't have been too difficult to bring the recently-traumatized, innocent Hinata along.

On top of that, as her father, he had underestimated how seriously his gentle daughter would take his every word. The bitter cold, the isolation, and the harsh tone he had used—something he himself had never dared to inflict on her—left Hiashi filled with bitter regret.

As Hiashi stood frozen, silently reflecting on Naruto's words, he unknowingly stepped forward. By the time he snapped out of it, he was already standing behind Naruto like a statue—expressionless and motionless.

And thus began the awkward and absurd scene: Naruto, passionately scolding his future father-in-law, completely unaware that said father-in-law was standing right behind him.

"Oh? Cat got your tongue?"

Hiashi stood there with his hands tucked into his kimono sleeves, expression blank. Only when Naruto seemed to realize someone had arrived and abruptly shut up did Hiashi slowly speak.

His voice was calm, but the authority and pressure behind it rolled outward like waves, pressing toward Naruto.

"Go on… little one. I'm very curious—what do you think of me?"

'Uhh... oh no…'

'Me? I... I…'

Maybe it was the innate power of the "father-in-law" title. Maybe it was the sheer terror of being caught badmouthing someone behind their back.

Even Naruto, who had spent the past three years being berated and ridiculed by everyone, felt like Hiashi's mild tone struck him like a hammer.

His legs trembled, his heart raced, and his mind was in chaos—as if a stampede of wild beasts had just trampled through.

Forcing a smile uglier than a grimace, he slowly turned around and stammered,

"Haha, I… I was just joking with Hinata! Please don't take it seriously, Uncle Hyu— No! I mean, Lord Hyuga!"

'...As expected, he's just a child pretending to be grown-up.'

Compared to the boy who had knocked out three bullies earlier, this version of Naruto was cowardly and shrinking. Hiashi almost thought the earlier display had been a hallucination.

He secretly sighed in relief. The illusion that he had just been talking to an adult dissipated entirely.

"Daddy..."

Perhaps affected by Naruto's sudden nervousness, little Hinata also began to grow anxious.

She nervously tried to speak up in Naruto's defense, but one look into her father's calm and unreadable eyes was enough to silence her.

Instead, she gripped Naruto's shirt tightly and instinctively hid behind him.

'Hey hey hey, come on, my dear Miss Hinata!'

'Your dad probably wants to tear me to pieces right now, and you're hiding behind me?! That's just adding fuel to the fire!'

Naruto's face screamed despair. As Hiashi's expression remained unchanged but his aura intensified, Naruto's legs wobbled.

But despite that, he instinctively stepped sideways and opened his arms to shield Hinata behind him.

"Oh?"

'Even though he's clearly terrified, he still remembers to protect Hinata?'

'Putting aside what he said earlier… this child's heart is in the right place.'

Hiashi noticed that while Naruto was visibly afraid, he didn't run away. Instead, he bore the brunt of the pressure and kept Hinata safe behind him.

'A decent start. At least for now, this brat is worthy of Hinata's trust…'

'Letting them be friends might not be such a bad thing after all.'

Hiashi subtly nodded, a faint smile flashing in his eyes. Slowly, he withdrew the oppressive aura he had been releasing.

'Staying home all the time isn't a long-term solution. With the Ninja Academy accepting new students soon, maybe it's time for this shy child to make some friends her own age.'

Of course, all this understanding was based on the assumption that Naruto was just a well-meaning passerby.

If Hiashi knew Naruto actually had his eyes on his precious daughter?

Heh.

Then Uzumaki Naruto's isekai journey… would've ended right here and now.

"Alright, alright, don't be so nervous. Relax…"

Adjusting his expression to seem less stern, Hiashi gently addressed the two frightened kids.

"What you said just now wasn't wrong. I did overlook some things.

Also… thank you for standing up for Hinata and dealing with those three troublemakers."

"...Huh? That's… it?"

'No punishment for badmouthing him?!'

Hiashi's unexpectedly reasonable response stunned Naruto like a lightning strike.

Ignoring the confused looks from both father and daughter, he pinched his own cheeks.

"...Ow ow ow! Okay, not a dream!"

"Daddy… you're not mad anymore?"

Hearing her father's kind tone, Hinata timidly raised her head, only to meet his doting gaze. Her fear instantly vanished. Overjoyed, she did something not even she could've imagined:

Her tiny legs bent, and she leapt up like a koala, wrapping her arms around Naruto's neck from behind.

"Yay! Daddy's the best!"

"Haha… you're even more excited than me, huh…"

'Well, she's still just a little girl after all.'

Naruto instinctively caught her legs, stabilizing her on his back. He shook his head, smiling helplessly—then looked up, ready to impress his future father-in-law some more…

Only to find Hiashi's face darkening rapidly.

A sharp wave of sour jealousy—so thick it was almost suffocating—seemed to fill the air.

"E-Er… U-Uncle Hyuga… L-Lord Hyuga…?"

'Yup. This conversation is long overdue.'

Seeing his daughter acting overly affectionate, Hiashi's protective instincts flared.

He slowly withdrew his hands from his kimono sleeves, looked at Naruto with a smiling face full of "kindness," and said:

"Come, little one… let's have a heart-to-heart talk over there."

"Uh, well… can I… say no?"

"Hm?"

"No no no! I mean… yes! Of course! Right away, sir!"

'Guh… I don't know what he's gonna say, but I have to survive this!'

Hinata, entirely unaware of Naruto's impending doom, gave him an innocent thumbs-up.

"You got this!"

'Don't make it worse, Princess! I—Lord Hyuga, wait, let me expl—'

"Explain? What for?"

"Aren't you two just good friends? Come now—it'll be over quickly."

"...Wuwuwu… okay… goodbye cruel world…"

Under Hinata's confused and innocent gaze, Naruto dragged himself behind Hiashi like a man walking to his execution. They disappeared into a nearby grove of trees.

Almost the moment they vanished, the forest echoed with heartbreaking cries of torment.

"...Awooo!"

"It hurts! I'm sorry! I was wrong!"

"Ow ow ow—not the face! Nooo!"

"Aaaaagh—#%&$£!!!"

"Daddy! You're back! Huh? Where's the boy who went in with you?"

"Hmm? Oh, that kid? Don't worry, he said it was getting late and he didn't want to miss dinner, so he went home after our chat."

"I see~"

"Alright Hinata, let's go home. I'm sure Mom has a delicious dinner waiting for us."

"Okay~!"

"B-Bastard… how could he… hit so hard… ugh…"

Not long after, Hiashi strolled out of the woods alone, looking refreshed.

He glanced back with his Byakugan, saw Naruto lying on his back twitching and whimpering on the forest floor, and smiled even more warmly.

Scooping Hinata up in his arms, he began humming a rare little tune as he walked home.

December 14th, Konoha Year 51.

That day, villagers passing by the unremarkable forest near the Ninja Academy all claimed to have heard heart-wrenching screams—like pigs being slaughtered.

Their vivid accounts described such despair that it nearly moved listeners to tears.

But no one ever saw who made the sounds, and so the incident faded into rumor.

By the time Naruto enrolled at the Academy, this tale had become widely known as one of the school's eight great mysteries…

Mystery No. 8: The Weeping Ghost Girl of the Forest.

 


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