Konoha Village lay buried beneath heavy snowfall, wrapped in an eerie stillness. Streets that had bustled with life just days ago now echoed only with the soft whisper of snow drifting down.
Goose-feather flakes fell thick and dense, weaving together into a white curtain that cloaked the entire village in hazy silence.
After finishing his afternoon training—twenty laps around Konoha—Uzumaki Naruto wandered through the village. His boots crunched unevenly through the snow as he took a secluded path downstream along the Naka River.
Almost no one ever used this route. Even the snow here lay thicker than on the main roads.
His ill-fitting winter clothes were already soaked dark where snow had melted into the fabric. The elbows and knees were worn thin and pale from long use.
The icy wind slipped through his sleeves and pant legs like needles, raising goosebumps along his exposed arms and calves.
Naruto subconsciously buried his face deeper into his scarf. Through the gaps in the knitted fabric, his blue eyes flickered restlessly, like fish swimming beneath a frozen lake.
From time to time, villagers paused beneath the eaves along the main street, breathing out clouds of white mist. But whenever Naruto spotted them from afar, he immediately veered off into a side alley.
The memory from three months ago still lingered vividly in his mind—being splashed with dirty fish-washing water outside a fish shop. The twisted face of the woman who cursed him as "bad luck" had felt colder than the icy droplets that struck the back of his neck.
He tightened his grip on the edge of his scarf, his knuckles reddened by the cold.
Since his presence invited nothing but disgust, he might as well choose deserted places where no one passed by.
Naruto had long since grown accustomed to this during the years since his transmigration.
The crooked footprints he left behind were quickly buried beneath fresh snowfall—just like the boy himself, always taking the long way around, forever outside Konoha's main currents, walking a solitary path of his own.
The silence was suddenly shattered by harsh shouting from the entrance of a nearby alley.
Several children wrapped in thick cotton coats stood in a semicircle, cornering a small figure in the center.
Leading them was a tall, skinny boy, his finger nearly poking into the forehead of the person trapped before him.
"You're from the Hyuga Clan, right?" he shouted. "Then show us your Byakugan!"
The one being surrounded was Hyuga Hinata.
Her beige scarf made her small face look even paler than usual.
Faced with the finger pointed at her and the hostility closing in, she looked like a startled fawn. Her lips were tightly pressed together, her slender shoulders trembling faintly.
When she didn't respond, the other children joined in with mocking jeers.
"If you don't want to, then don't look at us!"
A chubby boy crossed his arms, sneering.
"Those eyes are creepy!"
"What do you mean creepy?"
The tall boy let out a malicious laugh and declared,
"They're monster eyes!"
Finally, the group shouted in unison:
"You're a Byakugan monster!"
That chorus of insults became the final straw.
The fear and grievance Hinata had been desperately holding back overflowed at once. Tears welled up in her large eyes.
She lowered her head, her small, fragile body trembling harder than before. A tear clinging to the corner of her eye finally fell, sliding down her pale cheek and instantly turning icy in the freezing air.
She bit her lower lip to keep herself from crying out loud, but her silent sobbing was more heartbreaking than any wail.
Just as the echoes of "Byakugan monster" faded—
A solid snowball, packed hard and icy like a cannon shot, smashed straight into the tall boy's face.
Smack!
The snow exploded against the bridge of his nose, shards scattering everywhere. The impact cut him off mid-sentence, making him cry out as he staggered backward and fell flat onto the ground.
Everyone froze, their attention snapping toward the source.
Uzumaki Naruto stood nearby, having appeared without anyone noticing. His throwing posture was still held in place, his right hand dusted with snow. His blue eyes burned with fury that stood in sharp contrast to the biting cold.
His chest rose and fell rapidly, white mist pouring from his mouth like the breath of an enraged young beast.
"I'm talking to you!"
His voice rang out, loud and seething with anger.
"You're all a bunch of damn idiots!"
Before the stunned children could react, Naruto bent down, scooped up another handful of snow, and crushed it tightly between his hands. In an instant, a second snowball formed in his grip.
The children finally snapped out of their shock. The tall boy wiped the melting snow from his face and pointed at Naruto, fear and rage mixing together as he shouted the words everyone dreaded:
"It's the Demon Fox!"
The phrase was sharper than the cold wind, plunging the tense atmosphere straight into icy silence.
Watching the boy clutch his face and retreat in panic, Naruto's eyes flashed with disdain.
A coward who bullied the weak and feared the strong. If he was like this as a kid, he'd grow up to be nothing but trash.
Ever since his soul had transmigrated into this body—becoming Uzumaki Naruto—he hadn't wasted his days in ignorant foolishness like the original had.
He didn't have some miraculous system or golden cheat, but he possessed something far more valuable.
A mature mind from another world—and clear knowledge of the future.
After confirming that his body could endure chakra extraction, the effort he put in far surpassed what Naruto had done in the original timeline.
"Second one!"
Naruto let out a low shout. The snowball in his hand shot forward in a straight line, striking the stunned chubby boy square in the face.
"Aow!" the boy cried, reeling back in a daze.
Before the remaining children could react, Naruto swiftly crossed his hands in front of his chest.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
White smoke burst outward. Two figures identical to Naruto appeared beside him, their expressions sharp and movements perfectly synchronized.
This wasn't the basic Clone Jutsu taught at the Academy—it was the Shadow Clone Technique, which he had won in a bet against Inuzuka Kiba.
Even with only two clones, it was more than enough to deal with the three bullies.
"Run!" shouted the only boy who hadn't been hit yet, his voice trembling.
Moments ago, they had been arrogant and vicious. Now, faced with three Narutos charging toward them, their courage completely collapsed.
They fled like startled rabbits, abandoning even their dropped cotton hats as they scrambled around the corner of the alley, leaving behind only a trail of frantic footprints.
Naruto watched them go, making no move to pursue.
Scaring them off had been his only goal—and that was enough.
If he'd actually beaten them up, the Third Hokage would be knocking on his door tomorrow.
He formed hand signs once more. With a few soft poof sounds, the two Shadow Clones dissolved into white smoke and vanished into the cold air.
Silence returned to the snow-covered alley.
Only Naruto and Hinata remained.
Naruto brushed the snow from his hands and turned toward the small figure still standing with her head lowered.
He did his best to soften his voice.
"Hey… are you hurt?"
Hinata's shoulders trembled slightly. She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve and clutched the hem of her clothes nervously.
Her voice was barely audible, still carrying a trace of sobbing.
"N-no…"
After a brief pause—like she was gathering all her courage—she took a small step forward and bowed deeply.
Her voice trembled with emotion, yet rang out clearly.
"Th-thank you very much!"
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto," he said. "You're Hinata, right? We're in the same class."
He had tried talking to her at the Academy before, but she'd been so shy that after one or two attempts, he'd given up.
"Yes… I'm Hyuga Hinata."