The Hyuga compound was a sanctuary of silence and order. Every roof tile was perfectly aligned, every plank of the polished wooden floor gleamed under the soft light of paper lamps, reflecting a world of unbreakable traditions and suffocating expectations. For Hinata Hyuga, walking back through that gate after the warmth of Naruto’s company was like plunging into ice-cold water.

The joy she had felt, that bubbling and novel emotion that had made her smile uncontrollably, vanished, replaced by the familiar mask of submission and stillness. She walked through the immaculate corridors, her steps deliberately silent, her gaze fixed on the floor. But inside, her heart was still beating to a different rhythm, one it had learned on the streets of Konoha, next to the loudest boy in the village.

He was waiting for her.

Hiashi Hyuga was not sitting in meditation. He was standing in the center of the main hall, his back to the entrance, looking at an ancient scroll on the wall that depicted the founder of his clan. His mere presence seemed to absorb all the warmth and sound from the room. He was a statue of cold, absolute authority.

Hinata stopped at a respectful distance and knelt, bowing her head.

“Father. I have returned.”

“You’re late.” Hiashi’s voice wasn’t a shout; it was something worse. It was flat, devoid of emotion, a knife of ice that cut through the air. “Dinner ended an hour ago. Your sister asked for you. The gate guards reported that you arrived with company.”

Hinata felt a knot of ice form in her stomach. She didn’t ask how he knew; she took it for granted. In this place, there were no secrets.

“I was… I was with a friend, Father.”

“Friend?” he repeated the word as if it were a foreign and unpleasant term. “The guards described a rowdy boy in orange clothes. The vessel of the Nine-Tails. Is that what you call a ‘friend,’ Hinata?”

The venom in his words was subtle, but lethal. It wasn’t the anger of a worried father, but the disdain of a clan leader who sees a stain on his lineage.

“He is my classmate from the academy,” she replied, her voice barely a whisper. “We just graduated.”

“That boy is trash,” Hiashi declared, finally turning to look at her. His white, pupilless eyes analyzed her as if she were a defective object. “He is a clanless outcast, a failure who had to retake the graduation exam. The fact that he carries the burden of the fox only makes him a walking danger. He is not suitable company for the heiress of the main house of the Hyuga clan.”

Hinata clenched her fists in her lap, her nails digging into her palms. The injustice of his words burned her throat. Trash? Naruto-kun was the most determined and brave person she knew.

“He is… he is a good person,” she managed to say, her voice trembling, not with fear, but with restrained fury.

“‘Goodness’ is a luxury the weak cannot afford,” Hiashi retorted, taking a step toward her. “Your association with him is unacceptable. It creates misunderstandings. It gives the impression that the main house stoops to the level of the marginalized. It gives the impression that you are weak.”

The word “weak” hit her with the force of a punch. It was his verdict, his sentence, the word that had defined her entire life under that roof.

“I don’t want you to be seen with him again,” Hiashi continued, his voice growing even colder. “Your duty is to uphold the honor and dignity of the clan. A duty you have already failed at repeatedly. Your kindness, your hesitation, your lack of a killer instinct… you are a failure as an heiress, Hinata. Don’t give me any more reasons to be ashamed of you.”

Tears welled up in her eyes, and she couldn’t stop them. But they weren’t tears of sadness. They were tears of pure, helpless rage. Rage at being judged, at being misunderstood, at the only person who had treated her with genuine kindness being despised in such a way.

She didn’t scream. She didn’t beg. She rose slowly from the floor, a silent act of defiance that surprised her father. With her head still bowed in a show of respect she did not feel, she turned away.

“Understood, Father.”

And she left. She walked to her room, each step a reaffirmation of a new promise being forged in her heart. Her father didn’t see it, but her fists were clenched so tightly her knuckles were white.

Once in the safety of her room, she leaned against the closed door, and the tears finally flowed freely. She cried silently, not for her father’s harshness, but for the frustration of not being able to defend Naruto as he deserved.

She went to the mirror and looked at herself. She saw her tear-streaked face, her red eyes. She saw the weak girl her father saw. But then, she remembered Naruto’s smile, the warmth of his hand, the unwavering faith in his voice when he told her she could be invincible.

“I will become strong,” she whispered to her reflection. The whisper wasn’t a wish; it was an oath. “I will become so strong that you will never have to call me weak again. I will become so strong that no one, ever again, will dare to insult the people who are important to me. I’ll prove it to you, Father. I’ll prove it to everyone.”

Her sadness transformed into a determination as cold and sharp as steel. The determination Naruto had inspired in her that afternoon, without him knowing, had just taken root in the most fertile ground of all: a wounded heart with something to protect.

****

The Ninja Academy was silent. Night had fallen, and the halls were now empty. The air still smelled of chalk and the electric energy of the exams.

Iruka Umino was in classroom 301. A small, nostalgic smile played on his lips. Another year was over. Another generation of shinobi was ready to face the world. And among them, his most troublesome student and, secretly, his greatest pride, had finally made it.

With a gust of wind, a figure appeared in the open window frame, silhouetted against the full moon.

“Good evening, Iruka-sensei. Working late?”

The voice was lazy, almost bored, but it startled Iruka. He turned to see Kakashi Hatake, leaning against the windowsill as if he’d been there all night. His orange book was in his hand, though he wasn’t reading it.

“Kakashi-senpai!” Iruka exclaimed, his heart returning to its normal rhythm. “You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that. You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

“My apologies,” Kakashi said, though he didn’t sound very sorry. “I just received my team assignment for the new genin. And from what I’ve heard, I’ve hit the jackpot.”

He hopped into the classroom without a sound, his movements fluid and economical.

“So… that loud kid, the one in the orange jumpsuit… I hear he’s the one they’re assigning to me,” he said, his single visible eye curving into a smile that revealed nothing.

Iruka’s paternal instincts went on high alert. He knew Kakashi’s reputation. The genius, the prodigy, the jōnin who had never passed a single genin team, sending them all back to the Academy. And they had assigned him Naruto.

“His name is Naruto Uzumaki,” Iruka said, his tone turning protective. “And he’s not just ‘the loud kid’.”

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, his interest barely perceptible.

“Oh? His academic record says otherwise. Dead last in his class, the worst at chakra control, a master of disaster. His only noteworthy jutsu seems to be a perverted one he probably invented himself. Doesn’t sound very promising.”

“His file doesn’t define him!” Iruka retorted, his voice gaining a passion that surprised Kakashi. “Naruto… is complicated. He’s loud because it’s the only way he’s found to get people to notice him. He’s clumsy because he has such massive chakra reserves that controlling them is like trying to hold back a flood with your bare hands. But underneath all that…” Iruka paused, searching for the right words, “underneath all that is a will of steel. I’ve seen geniuses give up, Kakashi. I’ve seen prodigies break under pressure. But Naruto… I’ve never seen him give up. Not once.”

Kakashi remained silent, listening. His expression didn’t change, but his mind was analyzing, filing away the information.

“He’s a lonely boy,” Iruka continued, his voice softening. “He’s grown up with no one. All he’s ever wanted is to be acknowledged, to have a place to belong. And for that dream, he’s capable of moving mountains. Don’t underestimate him. He may be an idiot, but he’s an idiot with the ability to change the people around him. He has a heart that draws people in, even if he doesn’t realize it himself. Give him a chance, Kakashi. He’ll surprise you.”

Kakashi watched Iruka for a long moment. He saw the unwavering faith in the instructor’s eyes. He saw an affection that went beyond a teacher’s duty.

Interesting, Kakashi thought. The official report speaks of an unstable and troublesome jinchūriki. His teacher speaks of a budding hero. The truth, as always, must be somewhere in the problematic middle.

“We’ll see,” he finally said, his voice returning to its lazy tone. “Thanks for the warning. I’ll try not to break him on the first day.”

With a swirl of leaves, he disappeared as silently as he had arrived, leaving Iruka alone in the dark classroom.

“Please, Kakashi…” Iruka whispered into the empty air. “Take care of him.”

****

Sakura Haruno’s bedroom was a shrine to order and aspiration. Everything was in its place: textbooks stacked by subject, study scrolls rolled and labeled. On the wall, a poster of the Fourth Hokage, the legendary hero of the village.

Sakura was sitting at her vanity, brushing her long, pink hair. It wasn’t an act of vanity; it was a ritual. One hundred brush strokes, every night. She used a special oil that gave it shine and a cherry blossom scent. Many shinobi considered it stupid to worry about appearance, an obstacle on the battlefield. But for Sakura, it was a weapon. A weapon in a different war: the war for Sasuke Uchiha’s attention.

Tomorrow, she thought, and her heart gave a nervous flutter. Tomorrow, they assign the teams.

She put down the brush and looked at herself in the mirror. She practiced a smile, the one she hoped Sasuke would see when they were announced to be on the same team.

I’ll beat Ino-pig, she told herself, her determination hardening her expression. I’ll be the one by his side. He’ll see how strong I am, and he’ll realize… he’ll realize that I do this for him.

Her mind ran through the scenarios. She and Sasuke, the elite team. Together on missions, fighting side-by-side. It was the perfect dream. There was just one annoying variable that could ruin it all.

I just hope I don’t get stuck with Naruto… she sighed internally. He’s so loud. So annoying. Always ruining everything.

The memory of that afternoon crossed her mind. The encounter on the street. Naruto, yes, but the strange thing had been Hinata. The way she was smiling. A smile she had never seen on her before. Radiant, happy. And she was with Naruto.

How weird, she thought again, frowning. The image was a small puzzle piece that didn’t fit on the board of her world. But she quickly dismissed it. It was irrelevant. The only thing that mattered was tomorrow. Tomorrow and Sasuke.

****

Naruto couldn’t sleep.

The excitement was an electric current running through his body, making it impossible to stay still. He tossed and turned in his bed, got up and paced in circles, practiced hand seals in the air. Tomorrow was the day! His first official day as a ninja!

“Tomorrow! Team! Missions!” he whisper-shouted to the four walls of his apartment.

He stopped in front of the mirror, the Konoha ninja headband gleaming on his forehead in the moonlight.

“I hope I get put on a team with Sakura-chan! She’s so smart and pretty! And with Sasuke-teme, too! That way I can beat him up and show him once and for all who’s number one!”

His mind then jumped to his other big plan.

“And after that… after that, I’ll find Hinata!”

A nervous, excited grin spread across his face.

“She said yes! She really said yes!”

He mentally summoned the blue window, which appeared before him, its light bathing the room. He reread the requirements of the ritual, and his heart began to beat faster, a mix of terror and dizzying excitement.

“On her back… with my blood… This is gonna be so weird! And so cool!”

The idea of what he was about to do was both terrifying and the most exciting thing that had ever happened to him. What if he messed up? What if it hurt her? What if…?

No. There was no room for doubt. Hinata had trusted him. He couldn’t fail her.

The excitement was too much to contain in his small apartment. He went out onto the balcony and looked out at his village. The lights twinkled, and the stone face of the Fourth Hokage watched him from the mountain, a silent reminder of his dream.

Tomorrow, it all began. His path to becoming Hokage. His new life as a shinobi. And his first mission as the wielder of a strange, secret power.

“Konoha!” he whispered to the night, his voice filled with an unbreakable promise. “Get ready! Because Naruto Uzumaki is here, and nothing will ever be the same! Believe it!”

The excitement was so overwhelming that he knew he wouldn’t sleep. So he did the only thing he could do: he started doing push-ups on his bedroom floor, counting out loud, hoping the dawn would come faster.