Naruto: I, who didn't want to be hacked to pieces, saved the ninja world.

Shirokumo Aoba placed Hinata on the sofa, turned on the heater, and wrapped her up tightly in a blanket.

To avoid catching a cold.

Then he sat down and looked at the medical ninjutsu books that he had brought from Skui.

It contains knowledge about various acupoints and chakra meridians inside the human body. Without the Byakugan to observe, he would have to memorize these things himself.

Time fell silent.

The girl lay flat on the sofa, fast asleep, while the boy sat beside her, intently flipping through a book.

The air was filled with the rustling sound of pages turning and the warmth emanating from the fireplace.

……

After an unknown amount of time, the sky gradually darkened.

Hinata, who had been sleeping quietly, slowly began to react.

"Well--"

As if having a nightmare, Hinata's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, her lips pursed, and a low moan escaped her throat.

This was the first time Shirokumo Aoba had encountered such a situation. He put down the book in his hand, looked at Hinata who seemed very uncomfortable, and frowned as he pondered.

"Qing... Ye Jun..."

Hinata, who was in a deep sleep, suddenly called out the name of Shirakumo Aoba.

Baiyun Qingye answered subconsciously.

"I'm here."

Hinata's delicate eyebrows immediately calmed down.

Bai Yunqingye's lips twitched as she watched this scene.

Just as he was about to continue reading, he suddenly noticed Hinata's eyelids twitch, and it seemed she was about to wake up.

Baiyun Qingye simply stopped reading and moved closer to Hinata, observing her delicate, chubby face that was incredibly cute.

As the eyelashes trembled slightly.

Hinata slowly opened her eyes, which were as white as snowflakes and untouched by any dust.

The eyes are not entirely white and terrifying; there is a clear distinction between the whites of the eyes and the eyeballs.

Quite stunning.

The moment Hinata opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Shirakumo Aoba, who was standing right in front of her, scrutinizing her.

Her hazy eyes still held a clear, innocent look.

For a moment, I was stunned.

"You're awake."

"You have very beautiful eyes."

Bai Yunqingye said with a smile.

These words brought Hinata back to her senses, and she opened her mouth slightly.

Her face was visibly flushed, and even in the warm room during the cold winter, faint steam was still rising.

Is this the Steam Girl?

"Gurgle—"

A sudden sound rang out in the room, and Hinata quickly burrowed her head under the blanket.

It seemed as if she was trying to suffocate herself with the blanket, but the wisps of steam rising up suggested that this was unlikely.

Seeing this, Shirokumo Aoba knew that Hinata wouldn't be able to recover anytime soon.

"You must have used up a lot of chakra just now by activating the Byakugan. You should rest for a while. I'll go prepare some food for you."

Shirokumo Aoba stood up from the sofa and went into the kitchen. Doing anything else was too slow, so he decided to make a few bowls of noodles for Hinata to tide her over.

After a long silence, Hinata slowly crawled out from under the blanket after realizing that Shirokumo Aoba was not around.

Peeking out with half his head, he secretly peeked at Baiyun Qingye, who was cooking noodles in the kitchen.

Seeing the other person's focused expression, Hinata suddenly recalled the image of Shirokumo Aoba spitting blood.

Hinata's face turned pale, and she immediately threw off the blanket and ran towards the kitchen.

"Ao...Aoba-kun?"

"Ok?"

Shirokumo Aoba was surprised that Hinata had come running over so quickly. Seeing her flustered appearance, he wondered what had happened.

He asked with a smile, "What's wrong? The ramen will be ready soon."

Hinata shook her head and asked earnestly, "Aoba-kun, are your injuries alright?"

"hurt?"

Bai Yunqingye was stunned for a moment, then remembered that she had pretended to be injured during the fight earlier, and said.

"My injuries have long since healed, all thanks to you, Hinata. If you hadn't driven them away, I might have been injured even more severely."

"As a token of my gratitude, let me offer you a piece of char siu."

As she spoke, Shirokumo Aoba picked up a piece of char siu from the prepared char siu and held it to Hinata's mouth.

"Thank... thank you..."

Hinata's face flushed as she bit into the char siu, and then her eyes lit up.

"Delicious!"

"Is it delicious? If so, go sit down for a while. It'll be ready soon." Bai Yunqingye smiled.

Hinata remained standing in place, making no other move.

Would you like another piece?

Baiyun Qingye picked up another piece of char siu with a puzzled look.

But before he could hand it over, he noticed that Hinata was already in tears.

"Why...why are you suddenly crying?"

"I'm...I'm sorry...Aoba-kun is such a kind person, but he got hurt because of me. I'm so sorry..."

Hinata was crying and sobbing.

Shirokumo Aoba understood the reason behind it; he probably thought that if he hadn't helped Hinata, he wouldn't have gotten hurt.

He wiped his hands clean, then gently stroked Hinata's little head.

"In my opinion, Hinata is the gentlest one."

"Huh?"

Hinata raised her head, looking at Shirokumo Aoba through teary eyes.

The white clouds and green leaves smiled gently.

"Despite possessing immense power, he would rather suffer injustice or be hurt himself because he is afraid of hurting others."

"But Hinata, it's not that if you get hurt, no one else will get hurt. You may not want to hurt others, but others will also feel pain because of you."

"Just like me, I would feel sad if I saw Hinata get hurt, so please learn to fight back next time you get hurt."

Hinata stared blankly at the gentle Shirakumo Aoba in front of her, as if the other person was the only one in her eyes.

So... there are people who feel so much pain because of her weakness?

She also caused him harm.

it hurts!

Since Aoba-kun cares about her so much, she has to change, even if it's just for his sake.

"Aoba-kun, next time, I will never wait until you are hurt before I make my move!"

"I will not let anyone who harms Aoba-kun get away with it!"

Looking at Hinata's resolute expression, Shirakumo Aoba felt that something was amiss.

His task was to make Hinata's personality more resolute and her punches more decisive.

Shouldn't it be considered finished by now?

Let's add another insurance policy, after all, it's 100,000 taels.

"Hinata, let's make another promise?"

"I'll do anything that Aoba-kun needs!"

Hinata's speech became increasingly halting, and her eyes began to light up.

Shirokumo Aoba looked at Hinata, who seemed to be going off-topic, paused for a moment, but didn't think much of it and continued speaking.

"Hinata, just be gentle as always, and don't throw punches for your own sake. But in exchange, you have to throw punches for me and defeat anyone who bullies you."

"And I will also throw a punch for you. If it's something you're willing to risk your life to protect, then I will also risk my life to protect it for you."

……

At this moment, Shirokumo Aoba had no idea how much his words would change Hinata.

Outside, several guards with disdainful eyes were observing the inside of the house through the wind and snow, unsure whether to interfere with the atmosphere in the kitchen.

……