Toji breathed a quiet sigh of relief when Naruto finally realized something was off.
Finally. The moment had come.
He'd been waiting patiently, silently, for exactly this. Waiting for Naruto to question things on his own. If he had tried to push too hard or say too much earlier, it could've backfired—felt forced, unnatural.
This was better.
Only by letting Naruto reach the conclusion himself could he be guided properly.
Toji looked at the clueless kid standing in front of him—his silly little brother who, despite being clearly influenced by Ashura's will, still had that unshaped potential.
He chuckled bitterly.
At least the kid's not completely hopeless.
Late to the party, sure, but he noticed something was wrong.
Still, Toji had no plans to just blurt out the answer right away. He remembered what he'd seen recently at the Hokage's office—how Hiruzen, the so-called "Professor," was basically doing half the work for him without realizing it.
Soon enough, that old man would unknowingly tie up the loose ends for him.
So, Toji put on a slightly annoyed face and grunted, "Just keep training like I told you. What are you whining about? Keep this up, and you'll be making friends left and right."
Naruto narrowed his eyes, suspicious. "For real?"
"Obviously," Toji answered without hesitation.
That was all Naruto needed to hear. The small boy turned back toward the path, shivering slightly, and pushed his stubby legs to keep running through the snow.
Toji smirked
Meanwhile…
In a different part of the village, where a cold wind whistled past the tall walls of the Hyuga compound, a much smaller battle was taking place.
In the courtyard of the main house, a tiny figure was repeatedly striking a tall wooden training post.
"Hah!"
"Hnng!"
"Yaaah!"
Each hit came with a tiny shout. It was cute, honestly. She thought she looked fierce—but from an outsider's perspective, it was downright adorable.
That didn't make it any easier for Hinata Hyuga herself.
Her hands stung with every strike. The winter air bit at her skin, and the wooden post had already left red marks and raw blisters on her palms.
But there were no breaks.
Not in this clan. Not under Hyuga Hiashi.
After everything that had happened with the Cloud incident and her uncle's sacrifice, her father had turned more serious than ever. To him, Hinata's pain didn't compare to what Hizashi had given up. And now, she had to earn the right to carry the family name—by becoming strong enough to protect it.
Even at just three years old, Hinata understood why her father was suddenly pushing her so hard.
She didn't complain.
She didn't cry.
Not in front of him.
She kept going, even when her small body screamed for rest.
Finally, after moving through a slow, shaky sequence of Gentle Fist forms, Hinata lowered her hands and, trying to hide them behind her back, gasped softly, "F-Father… I'm done practicing…"
Hiashi, standing nearby, noticed her injuries. Of course he did. This wasn't the first time.
But then he thought of Hizashi, and his expression hardened again. He couldn't show pity now.
"Hm," he said flatly. "Remember—no going out to play until you've practiced at least once a day. Understood?"
Hinata's tired eyes lit up just a little. She nodded rapidly. "Y-Yes!"
That meant… she could go out.
Even in this difficult, heavy routine, this moment—being allowed to step outside—was the brightest part of her day.
Hinata quickly changed clothes and left home with a Hyuga bodyguard escort.
They walked through familiar streets until something unexpected happened.
A group of Anbu operatives suddenly appeared, blocking their path.
The lead one stepped forward and calmly said, "We just need to ask your companion a few questions little lady."
[ I feel like this is what happened tbh, the world of Naruto is cruel and unforgiving if a bodyguard from the hyuga clan actually left her alone by himself I feel like bro would get his head cut off or atleast the seal activated]
Before the guard could protest, they subtly but firmly pulled him aside.
Hinata, unaware of what was happening, kept walking alone down her usual route.
She didn't know why, but she always walked this way.
Because of him.
That boy.
He wasn't like the others.
He was wild, loud, always smiling. No matter how people glared at him or whispered behind his back, he laughed like none of it mattered.
Hinata envied that. She wanted to be like him—brave, unshaken, confident.
Maybe if she saw him enough, some of that would rub off on her.
Maybe her father would smile at her more.
But something felt off today. She glanced around and blinked.
Where were the shops?
Where were the people?
Instead of houses and vendors, she now stood surrounded by trees. Cold, quiet, shadowy trees.
Before she could figure out what was wrong—
Crack!
A snowball slammed into the back of her head.
She stumbled forward, dazed. Laughter echoed around her.
"Haha! You finally came without your guard, white eyed freak!"
Another boy stepped out of the trees, holding more snowballs. "Let's teach this white-eyed weirdo a lesson!"
They were just a few years older, but to her, they looked huge.
Hinata recognized them—they were always around this part of the village. They usually just gave her dirty looks… but they'd never done this before.
Why now?
She turned around in panic, eyes scanning for her bodyguard—but there was no one.
Tears welled in her eyes. Her voice caught in her throat.
They didn't care.
Laughing, they began pelting her with snowballs, hard. Not playfully—mean, aggressive throws that knocked her off her feet.
Thud!
Smack!
Crack!
Each hit sent snow and pain into her already aching body.
She curled up on the ground.
And just when it felt like she couldn't take another hit—
"HEY! Cut it out!"
A voice tore through the cold.
The boys stopped and turned.
Standing just a short distance away was a small blond kid with bright blue eyes and strange whisker marks on his cheeks.
He wasn't angry.
He was furious.