Konoha Notes

Chapter 426 Naruto and Hyuga

Thinking of the person who might be assigned to protect him, Naruto walked along the familiar street leading to the Ninja Academy, but his pace slowed down considerably compared to usual.

His head began to turn left and right incessantly, his eyes scanning every corner, whether it was the shadow cast by the eaves, the gaps in the roadside bushes, or the glass windows of the shops along the street that might reflect people's images.

"That lecherous immortal must be hiding somewhere."

The three siblings from Sunagakure just watched, and seeing Naruto's seemingly enlightened expression earlier, they immediately understood what was going on.

“Those who can be assigned to that level of guard duty are at least experienced ninjas.” Temari finally spoke as they parted in front of the ninja academy’s teaching building. “This kind of haphazard search is just a waste of time.”

"Besides, if the other party really wanted to hide, let alone you, even Gaara would have a hard time finding out," Kankuro added.

After saying that, the two did not wait for a response and turned to walk towards the upper-level floors.
-
When Naruto arrived at the classroom, most of the seats were already occupied.

When Naruto walked in carrying a lunchbox, the first person he noticed was Choji Akimichi.

"Naruto?" Choji stopped eating potato chips, his face full of surprise. "You're bringing lunch now?"

The sound was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough to make several students nearby turn their heads.

Lying on the table, trying to return to the ordinary yet boring but wonderful campus life and put the unpleasant things of the holiday behind him, Shikamaru slightly raised his eyelids.

"Really? Has your rice cooker finally started working?"

"No, no! This..." Naruto wasn't entirely sure what was going on with suddenly having a bento box.

More importantly, at this moment, he wasn't thinking about food at all.

Naruto walked to his seat in a few steps, stuffed his lunchbox into the desk drawer, but left his schoolbag on the desk.

"By the way, Shikamaru! What's the best way to find a high-level ninja hiding nearby?"

Shikamaru's sleepiness dissipated a little.

He propped himself up, his gaze lingering on Naruto's face.

"If you simply perceive a potential threat, the safest course of action is to immediately report it to the village or go to a safe area with fixed outposts. Do not act on your own."

"It's not dangerous," Naruto quickly waved his hand.

"Oh." Shikamaru lay back down, his cheek pressed against the cool tabletop. "Then let's find a higher-ranking ninja to help."

"Huh? But—" Naruto was speechless for a moment.

He didn't know exactly how high a ninja Jiraiya was. To be able to make such an exaggerated entrance and take down that strange white guy in one hit, he must be... very high-ranking, right?

“Or,” Shikamaru’s voice continued, “go to a place that is spacious enough and lacks cover. When you and that one person are the only ones left in the environment, the chances of him being exposed will be much higher, and of course, the probability that he is coming for you will also be the highest.”

"However, this method is inherently dangerous, as it is equivalent to actively turning oneself into bait, so it is better to choose the middle option."

Just as he finished speaking, the school bell rang in the corridor.

Iruka walked into the classroom carrying his lesson plan, and Naruto had no choice but to stuff his schoolbag under the desk. Although he was forcing himself to listen attentively, the remaining space in his mind was still repeatedly pondering Shikamaru's words.

An open space... lacking shelter...

He spent the entire morning's classes in this absent-minded state. Historical timelines flowed past his ears but didn't register in his mind, and the theoretical points of ninja tool throwing went in one ear and out the other.

Naruto didn't stand up abruptly until the bell rang for the end of the last class in the morning.

"Hey! Naruto, what are you doing again?"

"Sorry! It's urgent!"

Naruto grabbed the lunchbox from under his desk and rushed out of the classroom, forgetting even to ask Gaara for some food to make his lunch more substantial, as promised that morning.

In the classroom, Hinata, who had been sitting quietly, had just untied the strap of her lunchbox. Naruto's unusually hurried departure made her subconsciously look up.

After hesitating for a moment, Hinata closed the lunchbox lid, stood up, and left the classroom.

Naruto was running down the corridor.

His goal was the rooftop of the school building on the west side of the teaching building.

Naruto, the bento box dangling in his hand, rushed up the stairs, taking two steps at a time.

Hinata followed carefully about several dozen meters behind him, slowing her pace and occasionally using the corners of the corridor to conceal herself.

Just as Hinata was about to step onto the last flight of stairs leading to the rooftop, another figure appeared at the corner of the stairs.

Hyuga Neji.

His gaze swept over Hinata, and his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. Following his usual practice, Neji would have ignored her and walked away.

But now...

Neji changed direction and silently followed Hinata.

The iron gate to the rooftop of the old school building was ajar, its hinges somewhat rusty, and it creaked softly when pushed open.

The afternoon sun poured down without any obstruction, carrying the bright warmth unique to early autumn.

Naruto walked to the center of the rooftop and carefully placed the lunchbox in a clean corner at his feet.

Then, he ran to the edge of the rooftop, leaned on the railing with both hands, and pretended to gaze into the distance for a few seconds, muttering, "Hmm... the view here is not bad..."

Then, he quickly used Shadow Clone Technique to place another identical version of himself here.

Naruto himself tiptoed back to the rooftop entrance and crept into the narrow corner formed by the iron gate and the concrete wall.

Time passed by, second by second.

The iron gate at the entrance to the rooftop was gently pushed open a crack once more.

After waiting a while and confirming that the person had no intention of entering, Naruto immediately realized that it was Jiraiya, the man he was looking for.

So he suddenly jumped out of the blind spot where he was hiding and approached the iron gate.

"Got you!"

Naruto yelled and pulled open the iron gate, lunging forward until his face was almost touching the other person's.

"A lecherous immortal! No, wait..."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and moved even closer.

Hinata froze completely when faced with Naruto, who suddenly appeared several times larger than before.

My brain went blank with a "buzz," and my cheeks turned from fair to bright red in the blink of an eye, turning into ripe tomatoes.

She opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a sound. She felt as if all the blood in her body rushed to her head, and her ears were ringing. She couldn't even hear what Naruto was shouting after her.

Just then, a figure flashed out from behind Hinata.

Hyuga Neji pressed down on Naruto's outstretched wrist with one hand, cleanly inserting himself between the two, while his other hand thrust out with a palm strike.

"wait--!"

Before Naruto could even utter a word of explanation, he was already flying backward, flailing his arms and legs.

"Waaaaahhhhhhh!"

He comically arced through the air, crashing into the shadow clone in the center of the rooftop with a loud thud. The clone vanished into white smoke, while Naruto's real body landed heavily on the ground, rolling twice before coming to a stop.

To make matters worse, during the roll, his foot kicked the lunchbox.

The box lay overturned on the ground, the lid rolled to one side, revealing plain white rice and a few slices of pickled radish inside. A small portion of the rice had spilled out, and the pickled radish was covered in dust.

What do you want to do?

Hyuga Neji stood at the doorway, looking at the blond-haired boy lying on the ground, and asked in a cold voice.

Although his white eyes were not activated, his white pupils clearly conveyed a sense of scrutiny.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch..." Naruto sat up, clutching his chest, his face full of grievance. "I just thought she was a perverted sage in disguise!"

As he spoke, he turned his head and looked at Hinata, who was still frozen in place: "Hinata, why are you here?"

Hinata stammered, unable to speak.

Naruto blinked, not quite understanding the situation, when he caught a glimpse of his lunch that had been affected by the incident.

"Ahhh!!" He immediately crawled over, picked up the lunchbox, and exclaimed, "This is for Shuuji-nii!"

The box itself wasn't cracked, but there was a dent on the edge. Naruto touched the dent with his finger, then looked at the rice spilled on the ground and lowered his head in frustration.

"This can't be very expensive..." Naruto muttered, "I'm doomed..."

Neji looked at Naruto, who was squatting on the ground staring blankly at the lunchbox, and then at Hinata, who was still in a state of confusion behind him. Finally, he put away his Gentle Fist stance.

　I'm back. I've been writing for a while now, and there's still a second chapter to go. I'll start writing again when I wake up; I'm too sleepy.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)