Her clothes were half-open.
Her jade-like body bloomed like a lotus. Hinata Hyuga resembled a flower just beginning to blossom—her budding figure faintly revealed, her shy expression carrying a trace of youthful innocence.
Standing on a tree branch not far away, Raiden quietly watched the scene…
A hint of awkwardness hung on his face.
"Master once taught me: do not look at what is improper, do not observe what is improper," Raiden muttered. His hands seemed to cover his eyes—but gaps remained between his fingers, perfectly embodying a certain saying:
His mouth said no, but his body was honest.
Though a powerhouse, he was still a man.
"It's only natural to appreciate beauty. I'm not that old—just taking a glance doesn't count for anything. It's not like I'm doing it on purpose," Raiden thought, his gaze involuntarily drifting somewhere.
Uh…
Seems like…
She's developed quite well.
At that moment, however, the branch beneath his feet suddenly creaked.
He had been so distracted by the sight that he forgot to restrain his strength…
Crack!
The sound instantly alerted Hinata Hyuga. She snapped her head toward the tree—and in that instant, saw Raiden.
Their eyes met.
Awkward!
"Ah!!"
With a sharp cry, Hinata hurriedly pulled her slipping clothes back into place. Her face flushed red instantly, as if reaching an unimaginable temperature—so red it seemed steam might rise from it.
Overwhelmed by extreme embarrassment…
Her vision spun, and she fainted on the spot.
"Th-this is a misunderstanding, I—"
Before Raiden could finish, Hinata had already collapsed.
The moment she fell, his figure vanished—and in the next instant, he appeared beside her, catching her in his arms.
If anyone had seen this, they would have been stunned! They wouldn't even understand how Raiden moved—he crossed twenty meters in less than a hundredth of a second!
"She… fainted?"
Hinata's shyness far exceeded Raiden's expectations. When they first met, she had dared to attack him—he had thought that meant she had some courage.
Now it seemed…
Just a tiny bit. That was all.
Her personality was… far too shy.
"Actually, looking at her this close… she's quite beautiful," Raiden thought as he held the unconscious girl, a strange idea surfacing in his mind.
"Huh? I actually have thoughts like this now? I never used to. Is this what happens when you try to integrate into ordinary people's lives?" he pondered, gazing at Hinata, an inexplicable fondness arising within him.
Time passed.
After about half an incense stick's worth of time, Hinata slowly opened her eyes.
She looked around in confusion, realizing she was lying beneath a large tree. Then suddenly—her gaze froze.
Raiden.
Not far away, Raiden lay on the ground, staring at the sky as if deep in thought.
The moment she saw him, her face flushed red again. Her first reaction was to check her clothes.
Thankfully… everything was in order.
"…Wait."
After waking, Hinata suddenly felt that her lips were… moist.
"Wait—my lips are wet? Could it be… while I was unconscious, he… stole a kiss from me?!"
The moment the thought formed, her mind exploded. Her heart raced wildly, her face turned crimson—and in the next instant—
Thud.
She fainted again.
"…Uh."
Raiden had just been about to apologize when she collapsed once more.
"Am I really that scary? I think I'm pretty approachable…" he muttered helplessly, looking at her again.
"Her lips were dry—it didn't look good. I gave her some water, and sure enough, they look much better now," Raiden thought with a smile.
Time passed again…
Another half incense stick later, Hinata woke up once more.
The instant she saw Raiden, her face flushed bright red again.
"Ah! You big bad guy!"
Eyes tightly shut, she shouted, then hurriedly got up and ran away.
"…"
Raiden stood there speechless.
Watching her retreating figure, he called out loudly:
"Sorry, Hinata! I didn't mean it…"
That's right—he didn't mean it…
He did it intentionally.
Hearing this, Hinata's mind fell into complete chaos.
Did he see everything? Did he see it all? When did he even show up? How did I not notice? Did he kiss me? This is so embarrassing!
The more she thought about it, the more flustered she became—her pace quickened.
(So here's the question: how exactly did Raiden give her water?
A. With a leaf
B. With his hand
C. With his mouth)
"This girl… isn't she even going to question me? Why does it feel like she's the one who did something wrong…" Raiden shrugged helplessly. Even so, he felt—
This was… quite nice.
Pure as a white lotus.
"This kind of peaceful and interesting life… isn't bad either. Hinata Hyuga, huh? I'll remember you."
With that, he glanced at the sun.
"Just about time… seems like it's the gathering time Kakashi mentioned."
Konoha.
East Gate.
As soon as Raiden arrived, he saw a familiar figure.
The blond kid—Naruto Uzumaki.
"Hey there, blondie…"
Sitting on the ground, Naruto's mouth twitched.
"I've told you so many times—I'm not 'blondie'! I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Watch my mouth! Na-ru-to U-zu-ma-ki!"
"Alright, alright—Naruto Uzumaki," Raiden replied with an easygoing smile.
"Tch…"
At that moment, beside Naruto stood a boy with an aloof, arrogant expression, clicking his tongue in disdain.
"How about it? Got a problem with me, Sasuke?" Naruto snapped, veins bulging on his forehead.
"Heh."
"Calm down, calm down. We're all classmates—we should work together," said a girl. Her pink hair was especially eye-catching, along with her notably broad forehead—she was Sakura Haruno.
"Dead last—just don't drag us down," said Sasuke Uchiha coldly, his tone full of arrogance.
"Hmph! For Sakura's sake, I won't argue with you!" Naruto huffed, turning his head away childishly.
"But this time, Kakashi-sensei told us to wait here… I wonder what he wants to announce," Sakura thought to herself.
"Who knows? Probably a mission," Naruto said, then turned to Raiden.
"Raiden, why are you here? Just passing by?"