Chapter 305: Hinata's Secret Crush on Naruto
"Naruto, watch out!"
Sasuke shouted as he glanced toward Iruka's direction, only to find no sign of him.
"Where's Iruka-sensei?!"
The other students finally realized the situation as well. A girl quickly explained, "Iruka-sensei left earlier with a masked ninja!"
"It was an ANBU operative!" Sasuke, familiar with Itachi and Shisui's work, recognized this immediately.
But that wasn't the issue right now—the real problem was the giant beast charging toward them.
The beast's massive, elephant-like frame and frenzied charge made the ground tremble lightly underfoot.
It was Sasuke's first time facing such a life-threatening situation.
There was no older brother, no Uncle Haneda—no ninja around at all.
This could really kill him.
Yet Sasuke didn't hesitate. Stepping forward, he positioned himself between Naruto and the beast. Imitating Itachi's calm demeanor, he stiffened his face and said:
"Naruto, fall back. Leave this to me."
"I'm the only one here who can deal with this monster right now!"
"Come on, Sasuke, I—" Naruto, though clearly scared, stubbornly shook his head.
"No way! We're best friends and rivals! I'm fighting alongside you!"
"Stop arguing. It's coming!"
Sasuke channeled the Lightning Release technique Haneda had taught him the night before to his legs, enhancing his speed. He grabbed Naruto and dodged the beast's attack just in time.
Naruto seized the moment to shout orders to his shadow clones:
"Go! Naruto's Thousand Barrage!"
The clones, previously busy harvesting, swarmed the beast like ants.
But the beast merely shook its head and swung its massive tail, dispelling the clones with loud pops of smoke.
Against such overwhelming strength, even a thousand fragile shadow clones were no match.
"Naruto, it's useless! You're too weak—your attacks barely tickle it!" Sasuke shouted.
Glancing behind him, Sasuke saw that the other students had retreated and were running to find their teachers. He let out a small sigh of relief.
But suddenly, he noticed two white eyes in the crowd, staring in their direction—or more specifically, at Naruto.
It was their classmate, Hyuga Hinata, accompanied by the older Hyuga Neji.
Naruto's gaze followed Sasuke's and happened to meet Hinata's.
Hinata's face immediately flushed red, while Neji's expression darkened with an unspoken fury.
"Hinata-sama, stay back! I must protect you!" Neji said firmly when Hinata timidly whispered,
"Neji-niisan, can you help Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun?"
"No. My priority is your safety!"
Neji had no intention of helping the blond-haired Naruto.
For one, it was his duty as a branch member to ensure Hinata's safety. For another, the situation was extremely dangerous.
Even as the strongest Hyuga prodigy, Neji couldn't withstand a beast of this size—it would take everything just to stall it like Sasuke was doing.
If something happened to Naruto or Sasuke, the Hyuga clan might even have to take responsibility.
That was absolutely unacceptable.
"Neji-niisan, please~ Neji-niisan~" Hinata pleaded, her voice soft and sweet, making Neji's heart race.
Although the situation was dangerous, and although he had little patience for Naruto, he couldn't refuse Hinata's request.
As her older cousin, and for the sake of her smile, he had no choice.
"I am Hyuga Neji, Hinata-sama's protector. You two step back—I'll hold it off," Neji declared, stepping forward with the confident demeanor of an experienced warrior.
With his years of taijutsu training, Neji was confident he could distract the beast long enough for the teachers to arrive and handle the situation.
"We don't need your help!" Sasuke snapped.
"I'm an Uchiha, the fourth genius of my clan, trained by three other geniuses. My strength is already on par with some genin!"
"Yeah, we've got this!" Naruto added, preparing to summon another thousand shadow clones to prove his point.
But before he could, Hinata tugged at Naruto's sleeve. Her face was bright red as she softly whispered, "Naruto-kun, let Neji-niisan handle it. I'll… I'll take you somewhere safe."
???
Neji froze, his face filled with question marks as Naruto responded with unwavering determination:
"No way! I'm going to be Hokage someday—I'll never abandon Sasuke!"
"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Naruto crossed his fingers in a familiar hand sign, and in an instant, thousands of clones materialized once again, surrounding the massive boar.
"See that? I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I'm just as good as Sasuke—no, better!"
"Naruto, your clones won't last more than a minute! Follow me, let's take it down together!" Sasuke shouted.
"Got it, Sasuke!"
Without hesitation, Naruto pulled away from Hinata and joined Sasuke in stepping toward the beast.
Watching Naruto's courageous, determined figure, so much like a hero's, Hinata's face turned an even deeper shade of red.
But as she saw him walking away, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness. She poked her fingers together nervously, her eyes following Naruto until Neji reminded her to leave the battlefield.
She didn't go far, though, choosing instead to crouch behind a pile of harvested straw, peeking out to watch Naruto.
Hidden in the shadows, Haneda couldn't help but comment:
"The princess of the Hyuga clan—so shy and timid. She'll never catch up to Naruto like this."
Kakashi nodded in agreement. "It's clear she has a crush on him. Too bad Naruto's completely oblivious… and her brother's jealous."
Realizing something, Kakashi smacked Haneda on the back of the head.
"Are you seriously worrying about love lives at a time like this?!" Kakashi scolded.
"You've forbidden the teachers and ANBU from intervening. What if Naruto and the others really get hurt?"
Haneda, rubbing his head, replied with mock indignation:
"Come on, Kakashi, I told you—Naruto's got the Nine-Tails. There's no way anything serious will happen."
"And besides, I'm focusing on what's really important here: Naruto's love life!"
…
Meanwhile, the battle against the boar continued, now with Neji joining Naruto and Sasuke.
The three of them took turns distracting the not-so-bright beast, playing a game of cat and mouse.
Naruto stood out the most, expending chakra like it cost nothing. His shadow clones clung to the boar's legs or blocked its path, slowing it down enough for Sasuke and Neji to dodge its attacks.
The battle lasted so long that Shikamaru eventually returned with some of the other teachers.
Finally, Haneda had to intervene. Teleporting directly to the scene using the Flying Thunder God Technique, he eliminated the boar in an instant.
As the fight ended, an exhilarated Naruto high-fived Sasuke.
"Sasuke! We're a perfect team, aren't we?!"
"Not bad," Sasuke replied, turning away with his usual aloofness. But the small smile on his face betrayed his pride.