When Naruto and the three Hokage talked secretly for a long time, until they left the No. 3 survival training ground from different directions and at different times in order to hide people's eyes, it was already the middle of the night when the bright moon was high.

"Speaking of which, Sasuke's kid, it looks like he's already gone back first......"

In addition to the three generations of Hokage who left first, Sasuke, who had finished his water walking practice, had already had enough of playing water fights with Naruto's shadow clone, and after lighting a bonfire to dry his clothes with the help of Fire Escape, he said hello to Naruto's shadow clone early and went home early, showing off to his father the results of his recent cultivation in exchange for his father's praise and recognition...... So much so that unconsciously, Naruto actually returned to the state of being alone at the beginning, making Naruto, who has been accustomed to walking with Sasuke in recent days, more or less unaccustomed to it.

"Is it because you've been spending too much time with that kid lately...... Hehe, I'm still hypocritical, it's not the first time I've gone home by myself, and I care so much about what to do. ”

Shaking his head and throwing the strange feeling out of his mind, because he first inadvertently formed a deep bond with Sasuke, and today he successfully made the three generations of Hokage recognize the reality and change his mind, which made Naruto a little more sure of avoiding the upcoming tragedy in the future. While the car was familiar with the road and shuttled home from the alley, he swaggered and jumped with his hands in his pockets, constantly speeding up, and happily humming a little song.

“…… Huh? Is it my delusion? It's ...... Child? ”

Just as Naruto arrived at the door of the house and was about to go upstairs to sleep to recover from the fatigue accumulated throughout the day, out of the corner of his eye, he inadvertently saw the petite and helpless black shadow that was spinning around in place under the light not far away, which made him curious and stopped, rubbing his eyes with his hands several times to determine if it was an illusion caused by his missight.

You must know that for Naruto, who has been regarded as the incarnation of the nine-tailed demon fox by the entire village since he was a child, and has unreservedly imposed on himself the hatred and disgust that should have belonged to the nine-tailed demon fox who almost destroyed Konoha in the first place, so that since he lived here, Naruto has rarely passed by even the streets near his house, and it is undoubtedly a dream-level illusion to be able to see other people on this big night when the crowds are even more scarce!

"It's really rare that someone dares to stay near my house at such a late hour...... Looks like you need help? ”

Standing on the side of the road and waiting for a while, he found that the person in front of him had no intention of leaving, but instead curled up and squatted down trembling slightly and crying, which made Naruto shrug helplessly.

"Well, for the sake of being in a good mood today, I'll help her...... Although I can probably guess that after the little guy saw me, he would only be frightened by my 'demon fox' and cry even more fiercely, which made the situation even more troublesome. ”

With a smile in his eyes and a self-deprecating joke, Naruto turned around, slowing down as much as possible to avoid startling people, and after estimating that the person in front of him should be able to hear him almost clearly, he smiled and greeted the person in a low tone.

"Huh? What's wrong? Is something wrong? ”

“…… Alas? ”

……

As the temperature continues to drop in winter, heavy snow falls like white goose feathers, gradually covering the thriving Konoha Ninja Village with a layer of white snow.

At this time, night has quietly fallen, and the street lamps on both sides of the road gradually turn on on their own, dispelling the darkness, and also illuminating the thick snow with a warm orange halo that pulls the figure far and near.

"It's been so long, and I still can't find Uncle Hiza, because my father said he died...... If you die, you'll never come back, that's why it's so hard to find......"

In the silent alleyway, Hinata, whose little face was slightly purple from the cold, was staggering forward step by step, muttering to himself while his fleshy little hands were folded in front of him, exhaling hot air from time to time to provide some warmth to himself.

"Woo, that's good...... It's cold...... Woo...... It wasn't so cold a few days ago...... right?"

The rapidly falling temperature turned into frost and froze three feet, causing Hinata to panic in the memory of the sunny world that was full of warmth in the sun a few days ago. Instinctively, he kept rubbing his little hands back and forth, trying to bring more warmth to himself, and at the same time raised his head slightly, looking at this piece of light, although it had just fallen at night, he could still see sporadic lights dotting the night sky like beautiful treasures.

In the past, Hinata would be wrapped in a warm and beautiful winter coat that was impermeable to the wind and cold, standing at the door of the house, reciting the names of the constellations with great interest, and enjoying the beautiful night view. Or play in the snow in the large courtyard...... But now, Hinata is shivering with cold from her own experience, and finally knows what a terrible danger lies in the beautiful and moving snowy night that she has in her previous impressions.

"Why don't you go home and ask your parents first, where will I find Uncle Hiza if he dies, and then wear thicker clothes and go out to continue looking?"

Even an adult ninja whose physical fitness is far stronger than ordinary people can't easily resist the cold devastation from the power of nature, let alone Hinata, a three-year-old child who can't even be considered a shinobi? Stimulated by the deepening chill that eroded her consciousness, the motivation that had prompted her to go out alone to find her uncle had long been exhausted, and her pace slowly slowed down while her heart retreated.

Soon, however, Hinata discovers a more serious and urgent problem than choosing between continuing to search and giving up on returning home.

"Huh? When you go home...... Is it to ...... Which way to go? ”

Shui Ling's bright eyes flickered and blinked as he looked around, and the more he looked closely, the more the panic in Hinata's heart spread and deepened.

As the eldest lady of the Hyuga family who lives at home all the year round and rarely goes out, she has been running aimlessly for a long time, but she has forgotten to remember the route she has walked. It wasn't until I wanted to turn around and go back the way I came, that I realized that I was in a strange environment that I had never been there before.

At this moment, Hinata can't even remember where she came from, not even where she came from.

"......Ahh When I came here, I walked on the left...... No, no, it's supposed to be on the right...... What should I do, it all looks the same, I don't recognize it at all......"

In the eyes of Hinata, who was cold and confused, the dark and deep alleyway was like a beast with a wide open mouth waiting to be devoured, so that Hinata could not have the courage to take a step. After trying to distinguish for a long time, she failed to find her way home, and finally succumbed to her child's natural fear of the unknown.

"What should I do...... Father...... Mom...... Where are you...... Woo......"

He slowly squatted down with his legs bent, buried his face deep between his knees with his hands over his eyes, and sobbed softly as his shoulders trembled slightly.

"Huh? What's wrong? Is something wrong? ”

“…… Alas? ”

Just as Hinata was becoming more and more helpless and frightened, a childish and gentle word came into her ears, and she couldn't help but raise her head again with tears on her face, trying to identify the source of the sound like a drowning man had found a life-saving straw.

"Staying here alone at such a late hour...... Did you run away from home in anger with your family, or did you get separated from your family and couldn't find your way home? ”

As the rustling sound of walking on the snow and the sound of gentle questioning became clearer and clearer, Hinata, who was crouching under the light, gradually saw a boy of her age with his hands in his jacket pockets and a smile from the darkness in front of her.

"Well, no matter what the reason is, in terms of the current weather, it's not suitable to stay outside at night, and you'll catch a cold...... Now, do you remember where your family lives? ”

Clear blue eyes, blonde hair as bright as the sun in the light...... For some reason, looking at the life in front of him as if he was afraid of scaring himself, he was slowly approaching step by step, as if he saw a small sun that warmed people's hearts on behalf of hope, and the despair and fear that filled Hinata's heart gradually faded and faded.

"Don't cry all the time...... Come, take me by the hand, and I'll take you home. ”

“…… Well...... Well. ”

I don't know if it's because of the cold or shyness, Hinata with a slightly red face didn't resist at all under the infection of the gentle words of the person in front of him, and he stretched out to cover the warm palm that held him, stopped his tears and stood up obediently, tilting his head slightly and looking curiously.

At this moment, even Hinata herself didn't notice it......

The image of the little boy in front of her gently smiling and reaching out to her has been deeply imprinted in Hinata's young heart, deeply rooted and eternal.