By order of the Fourth Raikage-sama, for the honor of the Hidden Cloud Village...
After the blond young man of unknown origin said those keywords, not only "Hyuga Hiashi," but even Number Three and the others who had surrounded him could not help freezing for a moment. Because of that, the young man easily slipped past their encirclement.
That unexpected development slowed the three of them by half a beat, leaving them no choice but to watch as the young man, wrapped in an unstoppable, vicious momentum, rushed away. They watched him pursue the retreating "Hyuga Hiashi" with ruthless, lethal attacks.
From a bystander's perspective, they could also clearly see the Lightning Style he favored.
Whenever "Hyuga Hiashi" dodged and his attacks missed, his hand would pierce into the solid stone road as easily as a blade cutting tofu, displaying the signature piercing power that proved his mastery of Lightning Style to an exquisite degree.
As Number Three and the others exchanged doubtful looks in secret shock, they half-believed the young man's claim that he came from the Hidden Cloud Village. Just like "Hyuga Hiashi," they felt a helpless urge to laugh and cry.
"There's no mistake. I can't tell what jutsu he's using for now... but that is definitely lightning-nature chakra. Judging by its power, he has already achieved a basic grasp of lightning-nature chakra transformation.
There aren't many ninja in the Hidden Leaf Village, where Fire Style is the mainstream, who specialize in Lightning Style to this level."
As a sensory-type ninja, Number Three could obtain far more subtle changes and intelligence through his sharp observation than he could with his eyes alone.
Because of that, while murmuring his evaluation in a low voice, he secretly trusted the words of this youth who had attacked without warning a little more.
He put away the kunai he had just taken from his ninja pouch with a strange expression, then slowly raised his free hand and rubbed his forehead with a helpless sigh.
"Unfortunately, while his strength is decent, trying to attack and directly take down the head of the Hyuga Clan alone... I don't know whether to say he's extremely confident in his own strength or simply full of a newborn calf's reckless courage."
"And most importantly, he mistook his target. He thought the captain was the real Hiashi... Looks like sometimes acting too perfectly isn't a good thing. Our own people fighting our own people--this kind of ridiculous misunderstanding really leaves me... speechless."
Perhaps because the change was too unexpected, even the usually taciturn Number Two could not help twitching at the corner of his mouth and nodding along. After a short pause, seeing Number Three gradually lower his guard, he likewise put away his weapon.
Then, like someone watching a show, he watched the blond young man chase "Hyuga Hiashi" around until he looked utterly undignified. Scratching his head, Number Two raised a brow and asked curiously,
"Still, what should we do next? Is it really fine for us to just watch him hunt down Cap--Hiashi-sama? Shouldn't we stop him?"
"It's better not to interfere for now. I keep feeling that something about this situation is still wrong... Besides, didn't you notice? The captain hasn't sent another distress signal. That means he should be thinking the same thing I am."
After a little thought, Number Three raised his hand to stop Number Two, who could not bear watching "Hyuga Hiashi" get chased around like a dog and was about to step forward to reveal their identities.
At the same time, Number Three narrowed his eyes at the expression on "Hyuga Hiashi's" face, then shook his head slightly and lowered his voice.
"For now, the captain's disguise hasn't been exposed... So we can use this opportunity to test whether there are any hidden Konoha agents nearby. After all, an assassination attempt against the head of the Hyuga Clan isn't a trivial matter that can be brushed aside."
"You mean... use that guy as bait? That... doesn't feel right."
After hearing Number Three's explanation, Number Two, with the experience and tacit understanding built through many missions together, quickly understood what he intended. He looked at the young man's brave fighting figure with a strange expression and frowned slightly as he muttered,
"If he really is here to assassinate Hyuga Hiashi on the Fourth Raikage-sama's orders, aren't we harming a colleague by doing this? And if it causes his mission to fail... when the Fourth Raikage-sama finds out, he'll definitely be furious!"
"That's true, but first of all, his claim that he was sent by the Fourth Raikage-sama is just his own word. At least for now, there is no hard evidence proving that he really is a ninja from the Hidden Cloud Village like us.
Second, if there really are hidden agents nearby and they have already gone to report, then revealing our identities now would do nothing for us besides forcing us to escape together with a man whose background we don't know."
In the face of Number Two's worries and doubts, however, Number Three remained exceptionally calm--or rather, indifferent and merciless. His eyes stayed fixed on "Hyuga Hiashi" and the blond young man.
Although he hesitated at the mention of the Fourth Raikage, he soon began listing his reasons one by one without turning his head. His expression grew colder as he carefully observed the young man's every move and refuted Number Two's suggestion with sound logic.
"Moreover, we don't know each other at all. A ninja's duty is to complete the mission. In other words, our current priority is to ensure the smooth completion of our mission, not to become another batch of despised failures for the sake of some reckless brat we don't even know!"
As he spoke, perhaps because he remembered his older brother--a man who had sacrificed his life for the village, only to be criticized by the villagers and crowned with such "honors" as incompetent and useless--Number Three's fingers clenched tightly into fists. Even his cold expression gradually took on a strange, crazed color.
After all, because of that one failure, not only had his brother died, with all of his achievements in life turned into shame and abuse, but Number Three, as his own younger brother, had also been implicated and discriminated against. In both life and work, nothing ever went smoothly.
That made Number Three, who had already been obsessed with completing missions, become even more willing to use any means necessary.
'No matter who it is, no one can stop me from completing my mission... Anyone who tries to get in my way and stop me from washing away my shame and proving myself, even if they're from the same village, can obediently become a stepping stone on my road to success!'
"...All right, all right. I think with the captain absent, you're the most suitable person here to give orders and make decisions... Since even you're saying that, we'll listen to you. As for that idiot, let's just say he had bad luck. He chose the worst possible time to block our path."
After sensing the shift in his companion's mood, Number Two immediately raised both hands in a tactful gesture. While agreeing softly to soothe him, he quietly stepped back, afraid of being caught in Number Three's anger.
After a short pause, confirming that Number Three's attention remained fixed on the blond young man and "Hyuga Hiashi," he gave the equally complicated-looking young master a sidelong glance and muttered under his breath.
"Huh. That guy's almost pathological fixation on missions... Why does it feel like I've seen it somewhere before? Hm... Hm! Oh! I remember now. Isn't this just like Kakashi back when White Fang was driven to death by those fools in the village and he couldn't get over it for a while?"
"Well, looks like that sensory-type ninja has a story of his own... Sigh. Every family has its own troubles."
At this moment, the arrogant air on the young master's face had long since disappeared. Hearing Number Two's words, he shrugged under the cover of Number Two's broad body. His mouth sighed with pity, but the cold killing intent gradually surfacing in his eyes had not lessened at all. If anything, it was growing stronger.
"Too bad. Under normal circumstances, I might spare his life. But who told them to do something so suicidal as kidnapping Hinata, and right when that strange energy body is acting restless... Isn't that practically the same as forcing me to kill them?"
"No helping it. Those who invite disaster have no one to blame but themselves... Besides, didn't that guy just personally provide me with an excellent excuse for killing them later?"
As he spoke, Number Two, whose character setting was supposed to be silent and taciturn, also quietly became much more talkative. With a calm expression, he casually revealed his true thoughts of getting rid of Number Three and even not letting "Hyuga Hiashi" off either.
At the same time, he moved his neck slightly, looked around, and gradually fixed his gaze on a black cylindrical object barely showing on a nearby rooftop, so subtle that it was extremely hard to notice. The corner of his mouth gradually rose as he murmured teasingly,
"If rescuing Hinata counts as my mission... then it's only natural for me to kill those who get in my way, isn't it?"
"Exactly... More importantly, I won't be impulsive like my foolish father-in-law, recklessly making a move and leaving behind a handle for others to use, forcing himself to swallow the loss in silence."
Compared to Number Two, who was looking around, the young master's gaze had been fixed from beginning to end on "Hyuga Hiashi"--or more precisely, on Hinata, unconscious in "Hyuga Hiashi's" arms.
From her occasional instinctive physical reactions, he confirmed that Hinata was still alive, and he also observed every move the blond young man made.
Only after confirming that every one of the man's attacks just so happened to avoid Hinata, and that "Hyuga Hiashi's" dodges created the illusion that he was deliberately protecting her, did he nod in satisfaction.
As Number Three's gaze instinctively began to turn toward him, he withdrew all the killing intent in his eyes, slightly raised the corners of his lips, and revealed the smile of someone whose plan had succeeded.
"Since we've already confirmed that they really were sent by the Hidden Cloud Village... everything is ready now. All that's missing is the right moment for me to add another spark."
...
At the same time, while the blond young man of unknown origin and "Hyuga Hiashi" chased and fled through the street, making the entire road restless, a large number of elite ninja from every faction in Konoha were silently lying in ambush inside the buildings on both sides of the seemingly empty street.
Just as Number Three had feared, there truly were Konoha's hidden agents around them... only, compared with merely sending a report, the number and purpose of those agents perhaps leaned more toward directly capturing them or even cutting them down on the spot the moment a certain person's signal arrived.
At this moment, some held weapons while others observed intently. In the tense atmosphere, everyone's attention was highly focused, and all of them maintained the perfect state to strike at any time.
Because of that, inside one of the relatively sparsely populated buildings, the figure of a blond child sitting leisurely with his legs crossed was especially conspicuous, jarringly out of place.
"They still haven't taken the initiative to reveal their identities... Heh, their vigilance is quite good.
Still, since I can confirm Hinata is safe for now, and since I've added another Flying Thunder God mark to her as insurance just in case, and since I've completely confirmed that you really are from the Hidden Cloud Village, I don't mind waiting a little longer with you.
After all, the ones in a hurry to escape are you, not me. Isn't that right?"
As if muttering to himself in mockery, the child's figure looked a little blurry under the dim yellow light because most of the doors and windows were closed, leaving only narrow gaps for observation.
Together with the crimson liquid still dripping faintly from his clothes, he seemed even more eerie and sinister. At the same time, every word that left the child's mouth was accompanied by occasional muffled whimpers filled with despair from in front of him.
"Shh. Quiet... I know. This is very surprising. For example, why is the Minato Namikaze who terrified you actually just a child? Why does a child know the Rasengan and the Flying Thunder God Technique? Why was I able to find you two so quickly?
Why are the Lightning Style jutsu you were so proud of completely useless before me... Oh, like a hundred thousand whys. I'm sure your minds are full of answers you desperately want to know, aren't they? Don't worry. I'll explain them to you slowly...
After all, dead men burned to ash, without even a scrap left, have absolutely no way to leak these secrets, do they?"
As the scene shifted, the child's figure gradually became clear. It was none other than Naruto, who had flown into a rage because Hinata had been kidnapped. However, compared with when he had just set out, the anger on Naruto's face had already vanished completely.
But compared with that icy smile--a smile so terrifying and monstrous that even Kurama, the strongest of the Nine Tailed Beasts, felt a faint chill merely from watching as a bystander--if given a choice, most people would probably rather see Naruto losing his temper at them.
At the same time, the people Naruto seemed to be speaking to in his neurotic self-monologue were now fully revealed... They were the young master and Number Two, who should have been traveling with Number Three and the others, watching "Hyuga Hiashi's" embarrassing state!
"Mmph--! Mmmph!"
At this moment, the young master and Number Two were both covered in wounds. The young master's tongue and eyes had even been cut out and gouged away by Naruto with a kunai.
After all, when this fool who did not know death saw Naruto for the second time, he had still openly voiced his filthy intentions toward Hinata, who was equal to Naruto's reverse scale. That was why, after hearing Naruto's words, all he could do was let out desperate, helpless whimpers.
That was also the source of the blood on Naruto's body.
"Shh... I said, be--quiet. I'm working hard to carve a beautiful flower tattoo on your cute little face... Or a skull might be nice? Oh, whatever. I'm not good at this sort of thing. You know, I just... want you to stay awake and not pass out so quickly.
After all, in my opinion, letting you die just like that would be far too cheap for you."
As Naruto spoke in broken, teasing fragments, the blood-dripping kunai gripped tightly in his hand moved with every swing of his arm. Each time it stabbed down, the young master let out an even more miserable, helpless scream.
But because of the dense seals spread all over his body, even without any ropes binding him, he could not muster the slightest strength to struggle or resist.
"Mm, I really love this feeling... Listen. What wonderful music. This is truly the finest sound in the world... Oh, don't worry, poor little thing. I promise your remaining two companions will come to keep you company soon. After all, I won't let off a single person who dares to target Hinata."
Naruto narrowed his eyes in enjoyment, allowing his movement to pause for a moment. His empty left hand did not remain idle either.
Pure chakra filled with the breath of life spread across his palm, constantly repairing the young master's injuries so that even his desperate wish to die became an extravagant hope.
Then Naruto casually stabbed and dragged the kunai again without mercy, deliberately avoiding the vitals that would kill him in one blow. As the corners of his lips rose, the smile on his face became even brighter.
"Speaking of which, let me introduce you to an interesting punishment I know. It's called death by a thousand cuts. You slice the flesh from the body one cut at a time. Normally, by the end, only a bare white skeleton remains. A very interesting game..."
"...Mmph--! Mmph--! Mmmph--!"
"Haha! Wonderful... Looks like you're looking forward to it, aren't you? Well, don't worry. I guarantee that with my healing, you will absolutely endure it and won't die so easily."
"After all... besides death by a thousand cuts, there are at least nine other equally interesting 'games' waiting for you to experience one by one..."
Tenzo, who stood nearby as Naruto's guard and witnessed the entire thing: Master is terrifying... For safety's sake, I must never provoke the mistress in the future. Absolutely never... [Trembling in the corner, scared.jpg]
The Third Hokage, peeping through the Crystal Ball: Is... is this really the good child Naruto I remember...? [Doubting life while trembling.jpg]