"Sasuke, you…"
Naruto helped Sasuke stand up, then they went to sit under a tree.
Naruto was someone who couldn't stay calm. Worried but wanting to comfort Sasuke, he opened his mouth—but a sharp look from Sasuke immediately shut him up.
Naruto suddenly realized he could almost read Sasuke's thoughts from that gaze.
"Don't tell anyone about what happened before—not even the teachers."
Everyone knew Sasuke had a bad temper.
So when Sasuke said this, Naruto didn't think it was a problem at all and nodded seriously in agreement.
What followed was a long silence. The two boys leaned quietly against the tree by the school playground until the end of classes.
"Sasuke, it looks like you skipped class."
When the dismissal bell rang, Naruto looked at Sasuke with wide eyes, as if witnessing a miracle.
"Sounds like you didn't skip class yourself."
Sasuke gave Naruto a disdainful look, realizing this idiot's thought process still needed a lot of work; otherwise, he'd never know where Naruto's brain would jump next.
"Skipping class is normal for me—Iruka-sensei is used to it. But you're a genius!"
Naruto had long accepted his position as the underdog. He winked at Sasuke, as if teasing him for falling from the pedestal of a genius.
Yet, at that moment, Naruto felt an unexpected happiness spreading through him. His resentment value actually dropped directly to 20%.
Sasuke couldn't stay calm after that.
"Hmph!"
With a disdainful snort, Sasuke steadied himself against the tree, then started heading out of the school.
The resentment dropped so fast—this idiot Naruto really needed to be handled.
"Sasuke, you dummy, you're struggling to even walk, and you…"
Naruto watched Sasuke stagger step by step, finally realizing his slow-witted mind must have touched a sore spot.
He wanted to step forward and help, but after Sasuke shot him a glare, he helplessly stopped at the school gate.
Maybe Sasuke didn't want to cause trouble for him.
If Naruto helped Sasuke in front of others, more people would probably bully Sasuke even more.
Those people were so hateful—why did they always have to pick on kids who already had nothing?
"…"
Sasuke looked at the resentment value suddenly jumping back up to 35%, leaning against the wall outside the school, not wanting to complain any further for the moment.
Naruto's current state—immature in mind and spirit—was so unstable, swinging wildly from one mood to the next.
[The host encounters the eldest daughter of the Hyuga clan being bullied. Please make a choice: 1. Step forward to help; 2. Watch quietly; 3. Turn and leave.]
Unexpectedly encountering this situation, Sasuke stopped and looked ahead at several upperclassmen pushing and shoving. Was the Hyuga clan not present here?
Hyuga Hinata, the eldest daughter of the Hyuga clan, was even being insulted as a "Byakugan demon"?
"I choose 3."
Although he knew choosing option one would be best, Sasuke simply turned and walked away.
Still near the school gate, he signaled Naruto with his eyes to follow him.
Fortunately, with the Byakugan perspective and the temporary chakra supply from the Nine-Tails, Sasuke observed the situation carefully.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have realized that Hyuga Hinata was being bullied right under the watchful eyes of Hyuga Hiashi and the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Conspirators—always a bunch of conspirators!