Chapter 6
"You… just you wait!"
The first boy crawled out of the snow pit, face covered in snow crumbs.
Seeing Naruto looking so relaxed, the usual sense of superiority from bullying others shattered—replaced by furious, humiliated madness.
"I hadn't even used any strength yet, and you already went down?"
Naruto blinked innocently, face full of harmless confusion.
Those words completely ignited the boy's rage.
"Die, you fox demon!"
In a frenzy, he reached into his coat and pulled out a pitch-black kunai!
He had secretly taken it from his ninja father's pouch to show off; now, in his anger, it became a deadly tool.
Cold light glinted off the blade as he gripped it tightly and charged at Naruto like a madman.
"Naruto-kun! Be careful!" Hinata cried out in worry.
High in the nearby treetops, a hidden Anbu's pupils contracted sharply.
He could ignore children fighting—but pulling out a ninja tool changed everything. One mistake could cost a life.
The Third Hokage's orders weren't just surveillance; protection was included.
He was about to activate Body Flicker Technique—
But someone was closer.
"Tch."
Xuanming's normally lazy gaze sharpened instantly.
"Kids fighting shouldn't involve this kind of thing. Not even in Konoha."
Standing behind Naruto, Xuanming raised a hand. Chakra gathered lightly—and with a casual slap—
Pa—
A burst of force struck the kunai.
The weapon flew from the boy's grip, tracing a silver arc through the air.
Thunk!
A crisp sound.
The kunai embedded itself in the tree trunk behind him.
The boy's hat, caught in the flight path, was also nailed firmly to the bark.
If it had been just a little off…
The boy froze mid-charge.
A chill ran over his scalp; warmth flooded his pants—he had wet himself in terror.
Up in the tree, the Anbu halted his movement. He sensed the chakra fluctuation from Naruto: "That chakra release just now… so it's not only good for cooking?"
Naruto was startled too, but he could see Xuanming.
He quickly recovered, dropping his stance, hands on hips, and roared with borrowed bravado:
"Next time it won't be your hat!"
"Waaahhh—!!"
The leader screamed, scrambling backward on all fours. The other two followed like they'd seen a ghost.
"Fox demon… the fox demon's gonna kill us…"
"Don't kill me, I don't wanna die!"
"Hey! You forgot your hat!" Naruto shouted after the fleeing trio.
They didn't hear—or didn't care—vanishing into the snowy distance without looking back.
The grove fell suddenly silent.
Naruto dusted off his hands, picked up the snack box that had nearly been trampled, and held it out to Hinata.
"Here—your snacks. Good thing they didn't get ruined."
A bright, sunny smile lit up his face.
Seeing Hinata freeze, Naruto reached out and gently took her hand, pulling her up from the snow.
Looking at the girl who was about the same height as him, he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"By the way… I think I've seen you before, but I still don't know your name."
Hinata opened her mouth to answer—but Naruto's sharp eyes caught something.
"Your hand!"
When she'd been pushed down earlier, her palm had been cut open. The wound wasn't deep, but fresh blood seeped out, staining the snow red.
"Fox Sage! Can you help heal her?" Naruto shouted toward Xuanming. "She's bleeding! It must hurt a lot!"
Hinata also noticed the blood. She wanted to explain to Naruto—it really wasn't that bad.
As the main family heir of the Hyūga clan, she underwent strict training daily. A small cut was nothing; during family sessions, full-body pain was common.
But seeing Naruto so worried made her already shy nature freeze up completely—she couldn't get the words out.
"Don't panic. I've got this," Xuanming said calmly, far steadier than Naruto. "Hold her injured hand first."
Since it was a reasonable request from Naruto, Xuanming would naturally comply.
Over these three years, by sorting through the Nine-Tails' memories, Xuanming had fully grasped chakra conversion mechanics.
A ninja's chakra was a mix of physical energy (from the body) and spiritual energy (from the mind)—physical stamina formed the foundation for taijutsu, while chakra itself powered ninjutsu via hand seals.
Unused chakra after a technique could be converted back into stamina, with efficiency depending on skill level.
The original Nine-Tails chakra was filled with hatred and corrosion—touching it would erode the mind with its will, let alone heal anyone.
But Xuanming was different.
Day and night in the seal space, he suppressed the Nine-Tails' malice through cultivation and visualization.
Like a filter, his will purified the chakra within his own body—stripping away the hatred and transforming it into chakra infused with Xuanming's own calm, clear intent.
This "Xuanming-version" Nine-Tails chakra was far easier for the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style to convert into Naruto's own chakra—and could even be transferred to others, breaking down into life energy.
Precise medical ninjutsu like Tsunade's was impossible, but crudely accelerating natural regeneration? Easy.
The only drawback was chakra waste—but as the Nine-Tails, he had the most chakra in the shinobi world.
Naruto was still too young; his daily chakra conversion had limits—that was why Xuanming's external projection time was capped.
"This uses way more chakra than cooking a meal… oh well, I'll just head back early and nap."
Seeing Naruto's anxious expression, Xuanming gave an indulgent smile. "Who told you to care so much about this little girl?"
Hearing Xuanming's words, Naruto obediently wrapped both hands around Hinata's injured one.
"N-Naruto-kun…?" Hinata's face flushed crimson, steam rising in the cold air. She instinctively tried to pull away.
"Don't move! It'll be done soon!"
Naruto closed his eyes solemnly, hands clasped like in prayer.
Xuanming placed a hand on Naruto's head and ruffled his hair gently.
The next instant, under his guidance, a warm, faintly cyan-tinged chakra flowed through Naruto's grip into Hinata.
The pain vanished. The chakra carried Naruto's emotions—a hard-to-describe warmth entered her body.
Hinata's pure white eyes widened in shock.
The cut on her palm stopped bleeding at an unnatural speed, then sealed and healed completely—skin smooth and unmarked.
Less than a minute total.
"A-Amazing…" Hinata stared at her hand in disbelief, then at Naruto.
Even medical ninja at Konoha Hospital couldn't heal this fast so casually.
"Phew…" Naruto exhaled, wiping nonexistent sweat from his brow and grinning wide. "See? I told you Fox Sage is awesome!"
The wound was healed, but the awkward, warm atmosphere lingered.
"Stop showing off. Remember to cultivate calmly! I'm heading back."
Xuanming gave Naruto a farewell; his figure gradually faded.
"Oh—okay! Bye, Fox Sage!"
Interrupted mid-thought by Naruto's words, Hinata watched him pull his hands away and felt an inexplicable pang of loss.
Suddenly remembering why she'd come out today, she hurriedly thrust the snack box forward.
"Um… this is for…"
Naruto blinked, looking at the delicate box, then at Hinata, asking dumbly:
"For? For who?"