In Konoha, Naruto lies down

The path was mottled with shadows of trees and was a bit deserted. Apart from a dead end leading to Konoha Main Street, the other fork in the road was the Hyuga clan's residence.

Naruto discovered the dead end while strolling, and just across the dead end was Konoha Street 404.

He was thinking about something when he looked up and saw the back of a girl limping in the distance. She was short, had short hair, and wore long sleeves and trousers. She glanced at Naruto and quickly walked towards her.

"what happened to you?"

".....nothing."

Hinata was startled, and when she realized it was Naruto, her face instantly turned red. She stood there stiffly, not moving at all, with an embarrassed and nervous expression.

"Sprained your ankle?"

"No." Hinata shook her head hurriedly, not daring to look up at Naruto, her voice instantly dropped, "I can do it myself, Naruto-kun, you don't have to worry about this kind of thing."

"What?" Naruto squatted down and slowly rolled up Hinata's trouser legs. "You always try to show off in strange places."

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata blushed deeply and her whole body trembled, "No."

"Almost one of your legs is covered in bruises, and there's a five-centimeter scratch. Aren't you going to deal with it?" Naruto squatted and looked up, meeting Hinata's confused gaze.

Hinata lowered her head, an uneasy look on her face.

Naruto gently touched the bruise, and Hinata immediately let out a moan.

"Does it hurt?"

"Ah? I..." Hinata rubbed her hands together nervously, her thumbs crossing back and forth due to excessive nervousness, "I can do it myself."

"Um...Hinata."

"what?"

Naruto didn't stand up, still squatting, and pointed a finger upwards at Hinata's uneasy expression and asked.

"Are you going to cast a seal on me?"

"Ah, no!" Hinata suddenly broke free from her rubbing hands and put them behind her back nervously.

Chapter 81: No Headband, No Ninja

"wait for me here."

As he spoke, Naruto suddenly ran towards a wall. Hinata watched him climb up the wall in no time, push his palms on the wall, and slide across the wall smoothly.

Hinata was very flustered after being interrupted by Naruto, but she didn't try to be stubborn anymore.

Logically speaking, Hinata wouldn't run around.

Naruto climbed over the wall, jumped onto someone else's roof, and slipped through the narrow gaps in the staircase until he reached Konoha Street. He quickly bought some bandages and disinfectant, and also bought a large bag of medicine to reduce the swelling.

When he returned again, Hinata was indeed standing there motionless.

"Hinata, take off your leggings."

"what?"

Hinata froze as Naruto finished speaking.

"Ah, what? Your leg is so swollen that the bandage is loose and there are bruises underneath."

Naruto said as he shook a large bag of pain-reducing and swelling-relieving medicine in his hand.

"We need to take care of the wound first. If we leave it like this, it won't heal in two or three days."

Hinata nodded despite her shyness.

Naruto has been growing very fast recently, probably because he has plenty of money and is not picky about food, so Hinata can only reach the height of Naruto's lips.

Seeing her lower her head and stand on one leg like a crane, struggling to remove the bandage on her other injured foot, Naruto sighed and walked over to help Hinata sit on a rock.

"Naruto-kun...where did you get so many..." Hinata's eyes were a little dull.

"I bought it. From there, you can climb over and go through a crack in the wall to get to Konoha Street." Naruto pointed in the direction of the wall and said, "But something unexpected happened along the way, and the man didn't want to sell it to me."

"Ah, then.....what about you, Naruto-kun?"

"It's nothing."

"I beat up the clerk and he sold it to me."

Hinata froze for a moment and said in a panic.

"We're in trouble. Ninjas can't hurt ordinary villagers."

Naruto looked disapproving and pointed to his smooth forehead.

"I'm not wearing a forehead protector, so I'm not a ninja."

"Besides, I don't have any missions, so I'm just an ordinary villager."

He took out the disinfectant and started to untie the bandages on Hinata's legs. There were several scratches on his pants from excessive training.

"Your leg is so swollen. Why did you come back alone? Where are Kiba and Shino?" Naruto asked.

"I didn't have any missions recently, so I went to train alone." Hinata said a little embarrassedly, "I accidentally fell down the hillside."

"Don't push yourself so hard. Overtraining will only make you less efficient." Naruto said as he removed the bandage that was only tied to his calf.

She took out an emergency ice pack and applied it to the swollen area, then pulled her socks down to her ankle. It wasn't that her ankle wasn't injured, as Hinata had said, but rather that the swelling had caused her to temporarily lose consciousness.

The legs, which had no excess fat, were unnaturally swollen, and the curves of the legs, which should have been smooth and white, were distorted by various bruises and wounds caused by stones.

It’s hard to imagine how Hinata walked back alone.

Naruto held the ice pack on his ankle and looked up with a natural expression as he gave instructions.

"Your injury is quite serious. We can only temporarily reduce the swelling. The Hyuga clan should have medical ninjas. When you get home, you can have someone treat you to avoid scarring."

"Thank you...Naruto-kun."

"Are you feeling better?"

"It doesn't hurt as much anymore," Hinata said.

Naruto stared at Hinata for a few seconds, then suddenly asked with a strange look on his face.

"Is it because of the Chunin Exam incident that you're training so hard?"

Hinata's eyes flickered a few times and she subconsciously wanted to shake her head.

"to be honest."

"Yeah." Hinata nodded hesitantly, "The gap between me and Neji-geun is too big. The one who could fight with Neji-geun that time was Naruto-kun..."

“I also want to work hard to accomplish something.”

“…I want to stand up on my own!”

Sometimes, when people become stubborn, a single sentence can make them shine.

The timid girl's uneasy determination in life was brighter than the scorching sun. It was so bright that I couldn't look away, as if I had seen the light of the world.

Hinata regretted her words immediately after she said them. She covered her face, feeling a bit overwhelmed. She had just spoken too quickly, and she didn't know why she had blurted out what was really in her heart.

Oh, I’m going to die!

How can I say this directly? Naruto-kun will probably misunderstand me.

"Hinata, you better do your best and remember to be more careful during your next training." Naruto lowered his head to apply medicine and fixed the bandage on the wound.

When he raised his head again, he met Hinata's fluttering gaze.

"I......"

"Okay, let's go. I'll take you back."

Hinata blinked, obviously understanding what Naruto meant, that he wanted to carry her back.

In her current state, Naruto couldn't leave Hinata here or let her walk back alone. Anyway, it wasn't the first time he had sent Hinata back, and he knew the route perfectly by heart.

"Do I have to carry it on my back?" Hinata lowered her head.

"It's too late to just make do with it." Naruto finished packing the bag of swelling medicine. "There aren't many people on the road. If you don't want to carry me, princess-carrying me is fine."

"Then I'd better carry you on my back." Hinata covered her face and whispered, "Thank you for your help, Naruto-kun."

"Nothing, I just happened to see it. If you don't want to bother me again in the future, then remember to protect yourself during training."

Naruto crouched down and Hinata carefully moved onto his back.

"Actually... I'd like to bother you a few more times." She thought a little selfishly.

Hinata's body was very light, perhaps due to her restraint in her appetite. Even through the many layers of clothing, one could still feel that Hinata's body was incredibly thin.

Perhaps out of shyness, Hinata buried her face in Naruto's back, not daring to look up. Her cool arms were wrapped around his neck, and with every few steps, a sweet fragrance would waft from his neck.

"I'm leaving the village tomorrow," Naruto suddenly said.

"Huh?" Hinata suddenly became nervous, "Is it a mission?"

"I guess so." Naruto didn't know what to say. A mission like searching for the Fifth Hokage should be considered unpaid, but it needed to be kept secret. "I'll probably be away for a while."

"Will it take... a long time?"

"It shouldn't take too long, maybe half a month or one or two months."

"Will it be dangerous?" Hinata asked gloomily.

Dangerous? Does the Three Ninjas' War count? Orochimaru, who killed two Kages, shouldn't be too dangerous if he lost both hands.

Naruto thought for a moment and said.

"very safe."

There were not many people along the way, and he met a few people occasionally, but they were all strangers. He didn't know whether Hinata recognized him or not, but it was enough that he didn't know him.

After being sent to the Hyuga base, Hinata came down with a blushing face, looked at Naruto with her swaying eyes, and whispered.

"I met someone I know on the road."

"Do you want me to help explain it?" Naruto asked seriously.

"No no no!!!"

Hinata's face turned even redder and she waved her hands frantically. If it weren't for her leg injury, she would have turned around and ran away.

Chapter 82 The Monster Under the Tower

[Strategy to capture Hinata, Nine-Tailed Fox's approval 19.8%]

"Do you want me to take you in?"

Naruto pointed inside the Hyuga base. The clean and tidy streets and the sparse and orderly houses and courtyards looked decent and solemn.

"I can."

Hinata said timidly, a fleeting gloom in her eyes.

"Goodbye then Hinata, take care."

Upon hearing this, Hinata stood on one leg and saluted, looking a little clumsy but very serious.

.......

It didn't take too much time to send Hinata back to Hyuga. After returning to Konoha Street, Naruto found a place to fill his stomach and then started shopping on a large scale.

Large, brand new appliances will be delivered to your door in the afternoon. Once payment is made, we will provide you with a warm and smiling service throughout the entire process.

It was busy until the afternoon. Naruto took a nap before sunset and it was already dark when he woke up.

He took a shower, changed his clothes, and walked out. He walked along the main street of Konoha, along the direction of the old street, and bought some food and other miscellaneous items on the way.

Among them, some were for Naruto himself, and some were prepared for Tayuya, and to see if she was starving to death. He didn't plan to help Tayuya in any way, just feed her.

Then, I bought kunai, explosive tags, and ninja swords.

I used the old method to enter the abandoned building, searched around in the dark floors, and finally found Tayuya lurking in a corner.

She was quite discreet in her hiding place. There was no unusual smell, indicating she ate and urinated elsewhere. The high-rise location allowed for better observation and prevented others from approaching.

Because the Third Hokage died in battle, Konoha was under martial law during this period.

The Anbu is short of manpower, so the Root have taken over some positions, so the atmosphere in the village has been a bit lifeless recently.