This Naruto Is a Player!

Naruto shuffled over. When he arrived, quite a crowd had already gathered. Many people were gnashing their teeth, not even sparing a hateful glance for Naruto. It seemed the priority of hatred for an external enemy was even higher than for the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

Naruto peered inside, seeing the dense crowd. There were even Anbu protecting the outside of the inn, likely fearing vendettas against the Cloud Village delegation. With so many people, he wouldn't even get a whiff of the action. Time to go home.

Actually, Naruto was quite interested in other countries, but there were too many people. Naruto thought the conflict with the Cloud Village was over, but two days later, things seemed to shift slightly. Yet, for him, an "outsider," none of it concerned him. He didn't even know what exactly was happening. He tried to ask around, but no one would talk to him.

The only thing Naruto could do was to become stronger, continuously stronger. Only then could he establish a firm anchor for himself in this turbulent, dangerous world.

Another two days passed.

This evening, after downing a bowl of pork bone ramen with char siu, Naruto went for a walk to digest. He ambled over to his usual swing set, where he spent half an hour swinging. Childhood was truly interesting. Four-year-old Naruto might not have thought so, but twenty-four-year-old Naruto now felt: Hmm, indeed.

He had a lot of free time, spending every day wandering around, exploring the world.

After half an hour on the swing, Naruto prepared to head home. It had snowed heavily that morning, leaving a thick layer on the ground. The weather was cold, but his clothes weren't particularly thick. Fire-natured chakra constantly warmed his body, and wind-natured chakra helped him counteract the cold wind. Under his remarkable Chakra Control of 132 points, Naruto's mastery of these abilities had reached perfection. When out and about, he usually trained himself this way, without revealing his superhuman abilities.

There were few pedestrians on the road. He walked for a long time without encountering anyone. Until...

A small girl in plain black clothes came running from the opposite distance. She took a few steps, then fell to the ground and started crying.

"What's wrong?" Naruto walked over. She was about the same age as him. Not seeing any adults accompanying her, Naruto felt a flicker of joy inside. Finally, someone he could talk to.

"Say something. If you just cry, I won't know what happened to you."

"I... I..."

"Where's your home?" As he got closer, Naruto noticed the girl had Byakugan eyes. These eyes looked familiar. It seemed only one clan possessed such eyes.

"Come on, I'll take you home." With that, Naruto took the girl's hand.

Naruto kept talking the entire way, but the little girl remained silent, like a tree hollow that couldn't speak. Humans were social creatures, after all, and deep down, Naruto desperately wanted a friend.

There was once a hypothetical question: If you had plenty of food, Wi-Fi, a phone, and a computer, how long could one stay at home? Some said half a year, some said a lifetime, some said they'd go crazy in a few months. But weren't phones and computers already a form of social interaction? With phones and computers, you're constantly receiving new information and interacting online.

What about Naruto? He had nothing. No one to talk to, no one to accompany him. Those who disliked him wouldn't even spare him a glance. Most people avoided him as if he carried a contagious virus. Naruto only felt endless loneliness. If he didn't possess a strong inner spirit, he would have succumbed to depression. He, such a lively person in his previous life, why had he fallen to such a state in this life?

At this moment, Naruto deeply understood Tom Hanks' plight in Cast Away. He wasn't on a deserted island, yet it felt like it. Surrounded by people, he didn't even have anyone to talk to. This little girl was his Wilson.

After a long string of words, the two finally arrived at the gates of the Hyuga Compound.

"Your house is pretty big."

Possessing such a grand mansion, having parents, and countless people to talk to her, why was she still so sad, running out to cry? A bit overly sensitive, really.

Though he thought this, Naruto still tried to console her: "You have such a big home, why are you still crying?"

"Look at me, even though I don't have any family, I never easily shed tears." With that, Naruto showed a brilliant, exemplary smile.

"Ga-na~!"

After seeing her home, Naruto waved goodbye with a smile. Naruto thought their encounter would end there, but he was wrong.

Two years later.

It was another snowy winter day, and Naruto was on the swing. Childhood days were just this boring and repetitive. Besides fishing, playing pranks, swinging, lying on the Hokage Rock enjoying the breeze, adventuring in the forest, and observing the village from high places, there wasn't much for him to do alone.

As Naruto checked his status panel and planned his next reinforcement, a commotion arose from behind him.

"Are you the Hyuga clan's daughter? Show us your Byakugan."

"If you don't want to, then don't look at us. Your eyes are so eerie."

"You're totally a monster."

"Byakugan monster."

"Hahahaha."

Byakugan monster? Heh! Naruto hated people who discriminated against others for their physical traits the most, as he was hated by the entire village because of the Nine-Tails.

'This kind of thing, I, the crime-buster Naruto Uzumaki, cannot shirk!'

"Hey! Let go of that girl!" Naruto yelled as he charged over.

"Who are you?" a small kid asked.

"My name is..." Naruto was cut off before he could finish.

"I know you! You're the one who draws graffiti everywhere!"

"That's right, that's me." Naruto nodded in affirmation. Those were all things he did to complete the "Prankster Star" side quest.

"Pranks?"

"You're an idiot, aren't you?"

"Hahaha, moron."

The three took turns mocking him. Naruto said nothing and walked forward.

Slap, slap, slap~

Three slaps, loud and crisp. The right side of their faces instantly turned crimson and swelled high. The three were dumbfounded, completely unable to react. Only then did they feel the pain. Instantly, they all screamed in agony. Seeing this, Naruto raised his hand again, feigning another strike.

"Run!"

The leading child yelled and ran off, the other two following, crying as they fled.

"Hahaha."

For some reason, bullying little kids was actually quite fun. Oh, right, he was also a kid. Never mind, then.

"Um..."

"What is it?" Naruto turned to look at the girl. Deep blue hair, Byakugan eyes, about his age. Why did she look familiar?

"Thank you, very, very much." Hinata bowed in gratitude.

"No biggie, ga-na~~" Naruto waved goodbye. It was almost dinner time; he had to hurry to claim his spot.

Halfway there, Naruto suddenly remembered. This was the little girl he had walked home two years ago. He really hadn't expected her to still be so timid... umm... so...

Never mind, time to eat.

Meanwhile, Hinata watched Naruto's retreating figure, just watching, watching...

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