I Punch the Tailed Beast Ball

Chapter 468: Social Anxiety vs Social Butterfly

"You’re lost? You can’t find your way home?"

Naruto scratched his head.

Internally, he was thinking, Man, this girl’s voice is so quiet. If my hearing wasn’t sharp, I wouldn’t even catch what she said.

"Mm."

Hinata shyly nodded, her voice still so soft it forced Naruto to lean in and listen carefully.

"Where do you live? I know Konoha really well, maybe I can take you home. But we’ll have to wait until the rain stops. It’s coming down way too hard right now."

Naruto said with a bright, sunny smile.

He and Sasuke didn’t mind the rain. Their bodies could handle it. But for a little girl? Not necessarily.

"Thank you."

Hinata softly replied and finally looked up at Naruto.

Earlier, she was so shy she nearly buried her whole face in her knees. She hadn’t even seen what this warm-hearted boy looked like.

Now, curiosity nudged her to sneak a few glances at him.

Blond hair. She didn’t see that color often, especially not on kids their age. The Hyūga clan didn’t have unusual hair colors, everyone had black hair.

Naruto’s smile was so warm, like he was always happy. It reminded her of the midday sun.

"He looks so cheerful... His life must be really happy too. I bet he has a lot of friends..."

Hinata thought enviously.

She couldn’t show that kind of natural, radiant smile. She was far too timid.

Naruto, who was standing, could easily see all of Hinata’s subtle movements as she sat curled up on the ground.

When Hinata looked up, he caught her gaze, and froze for a second when he saw her pure white eyes.

He’d seen all sorts of eye colors before, but never eyes like this. They looked so... clean. Untainted.

They weren’t blank white like rolled-back eyes. Just clear and serene.

Naruto hadn’t read many books and didn’t know how to describe them properly, so he just said,

"Your eyes are really pretty. So special."

Hinata instantly became even more embarrassed, burying her head back into her knees.

Sasuke, who had been wringing water from his clothes, heard Naruto’s comment and turned to look, only to find Hinata’s head buried. He couldn’t see her face at all.

Naruto wasn’t embarrassed in the slightest. He laughed heartily.

"Don’t be shy! Your eyes really are unique. I’ve never seen white eyes before. They’re so clear, so pretty!"

"White eyes?"

Sasuke muttered, thoughtful.

Hinata’s already-red face turned even redder from Naruto’s repeated compliments. After a while, she whispered,

"They’re not special... Everyone in my clan has eyes like this."

Naruto thought to himself, If we weren’t huddled together avoiding the rain, it’d be really hard to talk to her. Her voice is so small, like she hasn’t eaten in days.

He shot her a sympathetic look. Poor girl... So small and already going hungry? Is her family really that poor?

But when Hinata mentioned that her entire clan had eyes like hers, Naruto got curious. He did have some understanding of clans, after all.

Mostly because Sasuke wouldn’t shut up about the Uchiha Clan, always boasting about how strong and glorious their ancestors were.

"Really? That’s amazing! A whole clan with the same kind of eyes?"

"Tch."

Sasuke clicked his tongue.

"What an idiot. You’ve got no clue."

"Only idiots can’t even learn breathing techniques,"

Naruto shot back smugly.

Back in the day, he could only say "It takes an idiot to call others idiots." But now? He actually had something Sasuke hadn’t learned.

Sasuke turned red and trembled slightly before shouting,

"I just haven’t mastered Sun Breathing yet! It’s not like I can’t learn it!"

"Ohhh, someone who can’t even learn Sun Breathing. Sasuke, you’re such a loser."

Naruto went all in with the taunts.

Sasuke snapped, shouting,

"Teacher Nagasawa said my body type just isn’t suited for it! He’s going to find me a different, equally strong Breathing Style!"

"You still failed Sun Breathing though."

Naruto clung to that fact and hammered it home with relentless strikes.

"You..."

Sasuke was speechless, retreating to a corner muttering things like "True shinobi never say they can’t learn something" and "Everyone’s physiology is different," making Naruto laugh out loud.

The broken-down shelter echoed with the sound of laughter, lifting the mood entirely.

Hinata, who had been silently listening, couldn’t help but smile too. She didn’t understand the context, but Naruto’s laughter was infectious.

Even the gloomy cloud in her heart felt lighter.

"So where do you live? Maybe I’ll recognize it."

Naruto asked Hinata again.

Still burying her head, she softly replied,

"My home is in the Hyūga Clan’s compound... The biggest house there."

"Hyūga Clan compound..."

Naruto scratched his head.

He was familiar with Konoha from all his wandering, but "Hyūga Clan"? That he wasn’t sure about.

"Never heard of it. But I can ask around and take you there! Leave it to me!"

Naruto said confidently, patting his chest.

"Heh."

Sasuke smirked coldly.

"See? You really don’t know anything. Never even heard of the Hyūga Clan."

"You do?" Naruto asked.

"Of course. The Hyūga Clan is one of Konoha’s noble families. Those white eyes? That’s their Kekkei Genkai, the Byakugan!"

Sasuke said proudly.

He had no idea where he heard it, he only remembered when Naruto mentioned white eyes.

"So do you know where their compound is?"

Naruto asked.

"Uh..."

Sasuke froze. How would he know that? He was a three-year-old Uchiha kid.

"No."

Sasuke admitted.

"Then what’re you acting all smug for? I thought you could take us there."

Naruto shot him a look.

"I’m an Uchiha! Isn’t it normal not to know where the Hyūga live? I only need to know how to get to the Uchiha compound."

Sasuke said, puffing out his chest.

Surprisingly, Naruto kind of agreed.

But then, he noticed the white-eyed girl trembling slightly. Her body shivered, and Naruto leaned in,

She was crying.

"Why are you crying? Don’t cry, I’ll take you home, okay?"

Naruto panicked a little.

He had no idea how to handle crying girls. The only girl he really knew was Yurika...

But Yurika? He couldn’t even imagine her crying. She was the kind of kid who could stab a bird with a kunai without blinking, the queen of terror. No way she’d cry.

"It’s your fault, Sasuke!"

Naruto blamed him instantly. He didn’t know the reason, but Sasuke had been the one talking, so it must be him.

"Why me?"

Sasuke was baffled. I didn’t even say a word to her! You’ve been talking the whole time!

But funny enough, it actually was Sasuke’s fault.

When he said "I only need to know how to get to the Uchiha compound," Hinata spiraled into self-blame again.

This stranger was also a child, also from a shinobi clan, yet she couldn’t even find her way home. And she was supposed to be the Hyūga heir?

All the day’s misfortunes piled up, and Hinata couldn’t hold it in anymore.

But she cried very quietly. If Naruto hadn’t been close, he wouldn’t have noticed.

"If not you, then who? You’re the one who was talking all that nonsense."

Naruto defended his point.

"I never even talked to her! It’s probably your fault."

Sasuke argued.

Hearing them argue over her, Hinata quickly wiped her eyes and said,

"It’s not your fault... It’s my fault. Please don’t fight."

"Haha, it’s fine! Sasuke just talks tough. If I don’t sass him back, he gets itchy. We’re always like this. Not a real fight, don’t worry."

Naruto scratched his head and smiled.

This was just their daily routine. Ever since they met, they clashed, like cats and dogs.

But despite that, their friendship only grew deeper. Whether training or playing, they were practically inseparable.

"I’d argue, but yeah... this doesn’t count as fighting."

Sasuke surprisingly agreed.

He also found it weird. As much as he wanted to argue with Naruto, being around him felt oddly comfortable.

Hinata was relieved. She didn’t want to be the reason two friends fought, especially someone as warm as Naruto.

Seeing them bicker but still get along made her a little envious.

She didn’t have a friend like that.

Her cousin Neji used to be kind to her, but ever since last year, he had grown distant.

Neji was her uncle Hiashi’s son, one year older than her, already four.

Most kids in the Hyūga clan didn’t dare approach Hinata. After all, she was the heiress of the main family.

And with her shy nature, she never had the courage to reach out.

"What’s your name? I’m Naruto Uzumaki. We’ve talked so long, but I still don’t know yours."

Naruto smiled.

"H-Hinata Hyūga..."

Hinata hesitated, then softly answered.

"Your clan all shares the same surname, huh? Then I’ll call you Hinata. That okay?"

Naruto asked.

In this world, calling someone by their first name wasn’t as strict as in some cultures, but generally, people weren’t so casual right away... unless they were a social butterfly like Naruto.

"Mm..."

Hinata’s voice was barely audible. Her face turned visibly red.

"You can call me Naruto! All my friends do."

Naruto continued.

"And that guy’s Sasuke. He’s a little shy, so he doesn’t talk to strangers. Please don’t mind him."

Sasuke was starting to break. This intro sounded less like a friend introducing another friend and more like a dad introducing his son.

"Mm..."

Hinata was starting to zone out. She didn’t even catch what Naruto was saying, she just nodded along.

"Once the rain stops, I’ll ask for directions and take you home."

Naruto said, glancing outside. The rain was still strong, but at least it wasn’t getting worse.

"Mm."

"If we can’t find the way, we’ll go to Uncle Nagasawa! He’s amazing. I always hear people praising him. Plus, he’s got strong subordinates. Taking you home will be easy."

Naruto added.

"Mm."

Hinata just kept nodding.

"But you know, even though Uncle Nagasawa’s super strong, I think he’s still scared of something. Once, I visited his house and saw a blonde lady scolding him, and he didn’t even talk back! Just like when I get yelled at by Mom..."

The conversation drifted. Naruto started rambling about his daily life.

Through his stories, Hinata began to see what kind of person he was, lively, cheerful, and a bit silly.

Just as Hinata was thinking, Maybe today wasn’t so bad after all, she heard familiar voices.

"Young Miss, what are you doing here? It’s time to go home."

Two Hyūga clan shinobi walked over holding umbrellas.

"Mm."

Hinata slowly stood up, gave a tiny wave goodbye, and walked toward the two guards.

"So your family came to get you? That’s good. Just make sure you remember the way next time!"

Naruto said cheerfully.

Hinata turned back with a red face and nodded, then quickly turned away again.

"Whoa, they really all have white eyes. So cool."

Naruto muttered as he watched the Hyūga ninja leave.

Sasuke gave him a look. What’s so special about that? Uchiha eyes turn red with Sharingan, after all.