"Wait for me here."
With that said, Naruto suddenly dashed towards a wall. Hinata watched as he quickly scaled it, his palm pressing against the wall as he smoothly vaulted over it.
Hinata was very flustered after being interrupted by Naruto, but she didn't try to be stubborn anymore.
Normally, Hinata wouldn't wander off on her own.
Naruto flipped over the wall and jumped onto a nearby rooftop. He maneuvered through the narrow gaps between staircases and soon reached the main street of Konoha. He quickly bought bandages and disinfectant, and also bought a large bag of swelling-reducing medicine.
When he returned again, Hinata was indeed still standing there motionless.
"Hinata, take off your leg wraps."
"Huh?"
Hinata was taken aback as soon as Naruto spoke.
"Huh, what? Your leg is so swollen that the bandages are loose, and there are bruises underneath."
Naruto shook the large bag of pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory medicine in his hand, "We need to treat the wound first. If we leave it like this, it won't heal in two or three days."
Despite her shyness, Hinata nodded.
Naruto had recently grown a lot taller, possibly because he wasn't lacking food and wasn't picky about it, so Hinata now only reached up to Naruto's lips.
Seeing her lower her head and stand on one leg like a crane, struggling to remove the bandage on her other injured leg, Naruto sighed and stepped forward to help Hinata sit on a nearby rock.
"Naruto-kun, where did you get all of this?" Hinata's eyes looked a little dazed.
"I bought it. If you climb over that wall and go through a gap in the buildings, you'll reach the main street of Konoha." Naruto pointed in the direction of the wall and said, "But there was a bit of an issue. The person didn't want to sell it to me."
"Ah, then how did you…?"
"It was nothing."
"I beat up the shopkeeper, and then he sold it to me."
Hinata was stunned and said in a panic, " You'll get in trouble! Shinobi aren't supposed to hurt ordinary villagers."
But Naruto looked seemed unconcerned and pointed to his smooth forehead, "I'm not wearing a forehead protector, so I'm not considered a Shinobi."
"Besides, I'm not on a mission, so I'm just an ordinary villager."
He took out the disinfectant and started unwrapping the bandages on Hinata's leg. Her pants were also torn in several places due to excessive training.
"Your leg is badly swollen. Why did you come back alone? Where are Kiba and Shino?" Naruto asked.
"There haven't been any missions lately, so I went to train alone." Hinata replied, a bit embarrassed, "I accidentally fell down a slope."
"You don't need to push yourself so hard. Overtraining will only make it less efficient." Naruto said as he removed the bandage that was wrapped around her lower leg.
He took out an emergency ice pack and placed it on the swollen area. Her sock was pulled down below her ankle. Contrary to what Hinata had said, her ankle wasn't uninjured, instead, it was so swollen that she'd temporarily lost feeling in it.
Her leg, which is usually smooth and fair, appeared unnaturally swollen, and the normally graceful curve was distorted by bruises and cuts from the stones.
It was hard to imagine how Hinata had managed to walk back on her own.
Naruto held the ice pack against her ankle and looked up as he reminded her with a natural expression.
"Your injury is quite serious. We can only reduce the swelling for now. The Hyuga Clan should have Medical-nin, right? When you get home, you can have someone treat it properly so it doesn't leave a scar."
"Thank you, Naruto-kun."
"Feeling any better?"
"It doesn't hurt as much anymore," Hinata said.
Naruto stared at Hinata for a few seconds before suddenly asking with a strange expression on his face, "Is it because of the Chunin Exams that you're training so hard?"
Hinata's eyes fluttered a few times as she instinctively tried to shake her head.
"Be honest."
"Yeah." Hinata hesitated before nodding slightly, "The gap between me and Neji-niisan is too big. The only person who could hold his own against him that time was you, Naruto-kun."
"I also want to work hard to accomplish something."
"I… I want to stand up on my own!"
Sometimes, when someone is determined, a single sentence can make them shine brilliantly.
The timid girl's uneasy determination for life was more radiant than the sun. It is so bright that Naruto can't look away immediately, as if he has seen the light of the world.
Hinata regretted saying that as soon as the words left her mouth. She covered her face and felt a bit overwhelmed. It was a slip of the tongue, and she had no idea how she ended up revealing her true feelings.
'Ah, I'm going to die!'
'How could I just blurt something like that out? Naruto-kun will probably misunderstand me.'
"Then, Hinata, keep it up. Just be more careful during your training next time." Naruto looked down as he applied the medicine, securing the bandages over her wounds.
When he looked up again, his gaze met Hinata's fluttering gaze.
"I…"
"Okay, let's go, I'll take you back."
Hinata blinked and obviously understood what Naruto meant, which was to carry her back.
In her current state, there was no way Naruto would leave her here or let her hobble back on one leg. Anyway, it wasn't the first time he sent Hinata back, and he remembered the route completely.
"Do you really have to carry me on your back?" Hinata lowered her head.
"Let's just make do for now." Naruto packed up the bag of swelling-reducing medicine and said, "There aren't many people on the street. If you'd prefer not to be carried on my back, I could always carry you with princess carry."
"Then, I'll take the back." Hinata covered her face and whispered, "Sorry to trouble you, Naruto-kun."
"It's no trouble. I just happened to be around. But if you don't want to keep bothering me, remember to protect yourself during training."
Naruto crouched down and Hinata carefully moved onto his back.
'Actually… I'd like to bother you a few more times.' She thought a little selfishly.
Hinata's body was very light, perhaps because she restrained her appetite. Even through several layers of clothing, Naruto could still feel that Hinata's body was incredibly thin.
Perhaps she was too shy, Hinata buried her face in Naruto's back, not daring to look up. Her cold arms were wrapped around his neck, and with each step, a faint, sweet fragrance wafted up to him.
"I'm leaving the village tomorrow," Naruto suddenly spoke up.
"Huh?" Hinata immediately tensed up, "Is it a mission?"
"Something like that." Naruto wasn't sure how to explain it. After all, the mission to find the Godaime Hokage was technically unpaid but required secrecy. "I'll probably be gone for a while."
"Will it take long?"
"It shouldn't take too long, maybe half a month or a month or two."
"Will it be dangerous?" Hinata asked quietly.
'Dangerous? Does the battle between Sannin count? Well, facing Orochimaru, who had killed two Kage, probably wasn't too dangerous if he'd lost the use of his arms.'
Naruto thought for a moment and said, "It'll be very safe."
There were not many people along the way, and the occasional few he met were strangers. Naruto wasn't sure if Hinata knew them, but as long as he didn't, it didn't matter.
When they arrived at the Hyuga Clan's compound, Hinata came down with a blushing face. Her swaying eyes looked at Naruto as she softly said, "We ran into an acquaintance on the way."
"Do you need me to explain the situation?" Naruto asked seriously.
"No no no!!!"
Hinata's face turned even redder as she frantically waved her hands. If her leg wasn't injured, she would have turned and run as far as she could.