A minute ago;
Naruto was clenching his grip on the railing. He was conflicted, beyond just being angry.
He knew the result of this battle. He knew the consequences that Hinata would suffer.
And that's exactly why he couldn't help but feel conflicted.
Although he hadn't fallen in love with Hinata, she was still his classmate and a friend.
What made it worse was that he couldn't get angry at Neji either. He had seen what Neji went through. He knew Neji's mind more than Neji himself.
That's why he was feeling utterly useless and confused. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want Hinata to get hurt.
But he also didn't want to break Hinata's confidence, as this would mark a milestone in Hinata's journey as a ninja.
But just thinking of seeing Hinata injured made his skin crawl.
Kakashi watched this with interest. He saw that Naruto was feeling conflicted about something.
And when he thought about Neji's reputation and his past, he realized that this battle would be more than just a simple battle between two Genins.
But he didn't understand why Naruto was showing so much emotion towards this battle.
'Could it be this boy fell for Hinata after facing countless rejections from Sakura?'
He almost gave Naruto a thumbs-up.
Why settle for a tree when there was a whole forest outside?
Since Sakura wasn't going to give him a chance, why not find someone else to fall for?
At this moment, a voice rang in Naruto's head.
'Boy, do you want to keep her safe?'
When Naruto heard this voice, his eyes widened for a moment.
'Can you help me?'
'Tch! Idiot, do you think I want to help you? Are you kidding me? You are just a pest, an insect I want to crush.'
Hearing his words, Naruto couldn't help but be speechless and angry at the same time.
For a moment, he almost got some hope when he heard Kurama's voice. It turned out to be a ruse.
'But I like that girl. So, I can give some of my chakra to her. Remember, I am not helping you. I am helping her.'
The voice continued, which made Naruto blink.
He didn't think for a moment. He simply dashed in front of Hinata and passed some of Kurama's Chakra into her body.
'Why do you do that all of a sudden?'
He asked.
He was genuinely confused by Kurama's action.
He didn't understand why he should show the same loathing and anger towards him while also helping Hinata.
'I was confused why he would send his memories to the past despite knowing that he was nothing more than an idiot in the past.'
'But now, I understand why. He knew you wouldn't have the brain capacity to take in all the information at once.'
'So, you will not blurt out everything to others.'
Hearing that, Naruto immediately retorted.
'No, you don't know that. You don't know me. I just don't want to think about it.'
He clenched his fist when he said that in his mind.
'I don't know you? I DON'T KNOW YOU, BOY? I know everything about you, boy. You are scared, afraid that once you learn the truth, you will feel betrayed.'
'You are scared that you will make one wrong move and everything will start falling apart. You are scared, boy.'
'You know me. You have seen me in those memories, but you still can't grasp that connection with me because you are scared of me.'
Naruto almost raged out, but thinking about the people around him, thinking about Hinata's match, he calmed down.
'You are right. I am scared. I don't understand him. I don't understand his choice. But I don't want to break down now.'
'And...I am not scared of you.'
As he said that in his mind, he took a deep breath and walked towards Kakashi and others.
He pushed back every thought of the future. He didn't want to think about it.
He didn't want to think about why the Third Hokage didn't reveal that his father was the Fourth Hokage.
He didn't want to think about why he would only receive his parents' stuff after he turned nineteen.
He didn't want to think about why his father would seal Nine Tails inside of him. Because he knew the answer to all of them.
But it was hard to accept it.
He was still just a child, a twelve-year-old child.
He could bear every kind of physical pain, but he was scared of hurting his feelings.
He didn't want to think about those sad things. He didn't want to think about changing the Third Hokage's future.
He didn't want to think about Pervy Sage. He didn't want to think about the Fourth Great Ninja War.
Right now, he just wanted to watch Hinata's match, finish this Preliminary, and go back home.
As Kurama sensed Naruto's feelings, he went silent.
He forgot something. He was thousand year old fox while Naruto was just twelve years old kid.
He understood the weight of the future. He understood the consequences of making a wrong move.
His understanding was directly opposite to Naruto's self-deception. That's why he got so angry for a moment.
But as he thought about Naruto's situation, he decided to kick back those feelings.
He knew this brat hadn't gone through much. Only after losing Sasuke, almost losing Gaara, and Jiraiya, did he understand the importance of choices.
Sasuke chose Orochimaru because, for him, that person could give him the strength to kill Itachi.
Gaara chose to protect the Sand Village because he was the Kazekage of the Sand Village.
Jiraiya chose to infiltrate and fight Pain because he believed Pain was the result of his actions.
These losses help Naruto grow. But right now, Naruto hadn't lost anyone.
Despite knowing how helpful Kurama would be, he couldn't fathom the idea of his own father sealing a monster inside of him.
Since he couldn't understand these choices, Naruto chose to ignore them. But Kurama realized that Naruto only needed one crying session to accept it all.
'I hope you can accept it quickly, Naruto. The future is far more dangerous than you can imagine.'