Chapter 278: Investment and a Potential Stock

Recalling the previous fight that he had with Hiruko, Kuroto can't help but speak, "Without a doubt, Hiruko will not leave Konoha out of trouble for too long, now that he has completed his Kekkei Genkai Absorption Ritual."

Hiruko hopes to destroy the order of the entire shinobi world, so it's obvious that he will start with the strongest shinobi village.

Even if Obito can manage to hold back Hiruko for a while, Hiruko won't be restrained for too long, and in that case, Obito will obviously make sure that Hiruko's first target is Konoha.

This is not very difficult to guess.

When Shisui heard this, he was a bit worried, because if what Kuroto said is true, then anyone other than him won't be able to defeat Hiruko within current Konoha, and Kuroto can't afford to reveal his strength in front of the whole village, as that would give away his other identity of 'Yama!'

…

A few hours passed by shortly.

The snow-covered Konoha, bathed in the cold moonlight looked more and more dream-like. The white snow reflected the moonlight, giving the snow an unreal glow, making the night much brighter than usual.

At this time, Kuroto stood in one of the many streets, with his hands in the pocket of his short Kimono, he was leaning against the wall of the entrance of this particular alley.

After a while of waiting, Uzumaki Naruto walked into the alley with a downcast look, the whole person was a little absent, he didn't even bother dusting of the snow that gathered over his head and clothes.

With the arrival of Naruto, Kuroto raised his hands and said, "Yo!"

Hearing the sudden sound, Naruto raised his head to look at the person who spoke, then lowered back his head with a saddened expression, and continued walking away.

Kuroto whose hand was still raised felt a little awkward.

No one had ever bothered to actively greet Naruto, so Naruto subconsciously thought that this person wasn't talking to him but speaking to someone else, as such Naruto ignored him.

Seeing Naruto walking away while ignoring him, Kuroto sighed, "This kid!"

Shaking his head helplessly, Kuroto ran forward and shouted, "Hey kid, stop I am talking to you!"

Naruto's ears perked up, he turned his head to look at the person, then glanced around himself, when he noticed that there was no one else on the street other than him and this person, Naruto pointed at himself and asked in a confused manner, "Ano, Onii-san, were you talking to me just now?"

Kuroto nodded, "Who else do you see here besides the two of us?"

Naruto noticed Kuroto's eyes, and suddenly remembered that they were very similar to the ones that the girl had, realizing, Naruto said, "Ne-ne Onii-san, your eyes are exactly, exactly the same as the eyes of that girl I met today!"

Kuroto nodded and patiently explained, "You are right, these eyes are called Byakugan, and Byakugan is a Kekkei Genkai of the Hyuga Clan, every one of the Hyuga Clan has similar eyes like mine."

Naruto tilted his head and muttered, "Byakugan? Kekkei Genkai? Ano, what's a Kekkei Genkai?"

Kuroto shook his head, "You will learn that in the future, anyway, I am here for another purpose."

Naruto was confused and asked, "Another purpose?"

Kuroto nodded and spoke, "Well that girl you helped today is sort of like a distant sister to me, and since you helped her out, I appreciate what you did for her, and am therefore here to say thank you. To repay the favor, I decided to treat you to some food, how about it? Would you like to eat some ramen?"

Naruto's eyes suddenly sparkled, his whole demeanor changed instantly and he became extremely excited, "What? What? Onii-san, are you really going to treat me to ramen? Datebayo!"

Kuroto nodded, then patted Naruto's head, and spoke with a smile, "Mhm, come on, I'll treat you to some ramen." – After doing so he started walking towards the direction of Ichiraku Ramen Shop.

When Kuroto's hand approached Naruto's head, Naruto instinctively clutched his eyes, but when he felt the sensation on his head, Naruto's eyes widened in surprise.

And when that sensation went away, Naruto turned to look at the back of the Onii-san, touched his head for a moment, then excitedly followed the person.

When the two arrived at the Ichiraku Ramen, they noticed that the shop was empty, with only the owner of the Ichiraku Ramen, Teuchi-san was leisurely sitting at the counter.

Seeing the two customers walk in, Teuchi got up, but noticing the identity of the two people, Teuchi raised an eyebrow.

Kuroto spoke, "How are you Teuchi-san? It's been a while since I have come to eat ramen."

Teuchi nodded with an amiable smile, "Indeed it has been, how have you been Kuroto? Well come on in, we can have the pleasantries later, first let's get you something to eat. And I also see that you have brought someone along with you."

Kuroto nodded, "Well, Uzumaki Naruto-Kun did a good thing today, so I decided that he must be rewarded for helping out the girl who was being bullied, and I figured that Ramen would be the best way, so here we are."

Teuchi was surprised and not so at the same time, after all, he knows whose son Naruto is, and he couldn't agree more with Kuroto's words. "Certainly-certainly, a good deed must always be rewarded, so Naruto, tell me what would you like to eat?"

Naruto observed the Hyuga Onii-san's discussion with Teuchi, and when Teuchi asked Naruto what he would like to eat, Naruto glanced at the menu with a tangled expression, after hesitating a little, Naruto turned towards Kuroto and asked, "Onii-san, can I… can I order anything?"

Kuroto folded his arms over his chest in a deep-thinking posture.

Naruto was a bit nervous.

Finally, Kuroto nodded with a grin, "Alright, you can order whatever you want, but there is a condition."

Naruto hurriedly questioned, "What… what condition?"

Kuroto said, "The condition is that you must finish all the things that you order!"

Naruto hurriedly nodded, and cheered, "Yahoo… In that case, one pork cutlet, chicken cutlet, fish cutlet, and… and…"

Immediately Naruto ordered a series of bowls of ramen.

And soon enough, Teuchi-san presented several bowls of ramen for Naruto.

Looking at the five bowls of ramen, each one larger than Naruto's head, Kuroto can't help but shake his head slightly.

After presenting Naruto's order, Teuchi-san turned towards Kuroto and asked, "And what for you Kuroto?"

Kuroto just shook his head, "Nothing for me Teuchi-san, my fiance should have cooked a meal at home, so it's best that I don't eat outside."

Teuchi nodded in understanding and got busy with some other things.

With that out of the way, Kuroto watched Naruto happily eat up the different bowls of ramen, and even he was dumbfounded at the speed he was eating at, 'He really is her child, through and through!"

Although Kuroto didn't have much of an interaction with Uzumaki Kushina, however, because he knew her identity, Kuroto still saw her many times, most of the time at Ichiraku Ramen.

The reason why Kuroto never tried to have any interaction with Uzumaki Kushina, because Kuroto didn't want to attach himself to her, if there is friendship then there would be an attachment, and then guilt.

The reason for such behavior was not something foolish like preserving the timeline or anything, but it was for his own safety, Kuroto had no confidence in being able to help out the Yondaime couple, as such, it was better to stay away from both of them so that he at least doesn't feel guilty about their death.

But now Kuroto has confidence.

And because Naruto has been unfairly treated by the villagers, Kuroto obviously wants to use this opportunity to win over Naruto.

For Naruto, who is still a kid, rejected and shunned by the whole village, and not even understanding the reason why he is going through this, the whole village obviously hates him.

And if someone were to appear at this time, and he doesn't hate Naruto, only gives a little bit of care and love he would be able to gain unparalleled importance in Naruto's heart.

Umino Iruka is a clear example of this.

Unlike Uchiha Sasuke, who didn't hesitate to turn his face on the whole village, he didn't even hesitate to turn against Hatake Kakashi, the person who taught him without any reservation.

Naruto is the kind of person who will always remember you in his heart.

As such it wouldn't be wrong to say that if feelings are an investment, then Naruto at the moment is a potential stock with the cheapest investment requirement and the best future returns.

And Kuroto who understands this would obviously not hesitate to invest in such prospective stock.

While Kuroto was considering all these things, Naruto had already finished eating.

"Burrrppppp…!!!" – a loud burp escaped Naruto's breaking Kuroto out of his thoughts.

Seeing the empty bowls, Kuroto was surprised, "Finished already?"

Naruto nodded happily, "Thank you so much for the hospitality!"

Then Naruto suddenly laughed a bit embarrassed and spoke, "Onii-san, onii-san… actually… you see, actually, the one who saved your sister today was not me, but someone named Uchiha Sasuke… so…"

Kuroto thought, 'This kid didn't speak so before eating the ramen.' – And asked curiously, "Oh? Then that Uchiha Sasuke should very strong, right?"

Naruto nodded quickly while dangling his legs, "Yeah, yeah, he is very strong, I have never seen someone so strong, he was able to single-handily knock down all the three bullies, very-very strong, datebayo!"

Kuroto's lips arched in a smirk, and he deliberately spoke, "Oh, it turned out that the benefactor of my sister is this Uchiha Sasuke, then I must thank him."

Hearing Kuroto's words, Naruto lowered his head apologetically and said, "I am sorry."

"It's okay." – Kuroto said with a smile and ruffled Naruto's hair. "You at least tried to help her, sometimes our intentions are also very important, you have a pure heart and you tried your best, that's what's important, and that's why I treated you, so don't be sad, cheer up."

Naruto didn't speak anything.

Then Kuroto stood up and said, "Alright Naruto-kun, I'll be going home now, you should also go to your home and rest." – Speaking so, Kuroto placed the money on the counter, walked out of the Ramen shop, and started walking towards his home.

Naruto didn't speak anything for a while, he still sat at his position with his head down.

Teuchi collected the money as well as the empty bowls, and spoke to Naruto, "Naruto, go for it!"

Naruto raised his head and looking at Teuchi-san's encouraging smile, he also grinned and ran out of the shop.

Hurriedly chasing out of the shop, Naruto shouted, "Ne, Onii-san, I forgot to ask, what's your name?"

Kuroto did not stop in his tracks, but he still answered Naruto's question without turning back, "My name is Hyuga Kuroto."

Naruto nodded, and shouted again, "Kuroto-nii-san, I am Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto. Don't forget it, datebayo!"

Kuroto waved his hand and said, "Sure thing."

Naruto grinned and again shouted, "Kuroto-nii-san, are we… are we friends?"

Being asked this, Kuroto suddenly stopped, turned back to glance at Naruto, and asked with a curious expression, "Do you want to be friends with me?"

Naruto immediately replied, "OF COURSE! If… if you don't mind."

Kuroto took a long dramatic pause to think it over.

Naruto was obviously very nervous seeing Kuroto's expression.

Just when Naruto thought that he isn't going to agree, Kuroto said, "Alright, then we are friends"

After leaving that sentence, Kuroto didn't wait for Naruto to react, turned back, and walked away.

Although Kuroto wants to win over Naruto, he still can't show his eagerness, otherwise, it will attract Sandaime-sama and Shimura Danzo's attention.

So even if he wants to invest emotions into the most potential Uzumaki Naruto stock, Kuroto still has to maintain a moderate distance and be mindful of his approach.

If not for the fact that Naruto helped Hinata today, and Kuroto, as a Hyuga had a legitimate excuse to approach Naruto, Kuroto wouldn't have chosen to make contact with Naruto.

After walking through the long street, Kuroto suddenly frowned and glanced at an alley at the left corner.

After gazing in the direction of the dark alley for a while, Kuroto faintly said, "Come out."

Prompted by Kuroto's words, a person walked out of the shadows and said in a respectfully mocking tone, "Senpai is really worthy of being the person most valued by Orochimaru-sama, even with the Byakugan deactivated, senpai easily perceived me, the perception is really outstanding."

Kuroto looked at the person, and his expression condensed.

The figure who walked out of the shadows had onyx-eyes, and ash-grey hair tied in a small ponytail, his most consistent feature are his black-rimmed circular glasses. He wore a black cloak that covered most of his body.

And Kuroto was definitely surprised seeing him here.

Because this person was none other than Yakushi Kabuto, Orochimaru's right-hand-man. But the current Kabuto is much younger, probably about twelve or thirteen years old, so he looks much immature compared to how he looked during the chunin exams in the original series.

After observing Kabuto for a while Kuroto spoke coldly, "Orochimaru-sama sent you?"

Kabuto nodded, "Yes!"

.

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