"Hm? One more thing? What is it?"
"This... Does it feel that comfortable, holding my Hinata all this time?"
Almost the instant Naruto changed the subject, "Hyuga Hiashi" sensed a massive amount of chakra gathering from Naruto's entire body into a single point without any warning. Naruto should not have been a threat at all.
Before "Hiashi" could even react to the meaning behind his words, a fierce sense of danger shot through him, strong enough to make every hair on his body stand on end.
But before his instincts could drive his body to dodge or defend, the Rasengan's terrifying destructive force smashed into his left arm and tore it apart with brutal ease.
"Guh-ah!"
The high-speed rotation drilling into his shoulder and the heart-piercing pain made "Hyuga Hiashi" cry out and unconsciously loosen his grip around Hinata. Naruto, who had already predicted that moment, seized the opening.
Almost the instant he attacked, the hand he had wrapped around Hinata's waist pulled her out of the man's arms by force. After less than a second of stalemate, "Hyuga Hiashi" could no longer resist the centrifugal force of the spinning chakra.
A spray of blood burst into the air as he was sent flying backward.
He was thrown far enough that he could no longer threaten Hinata's safety, and as white smoke billowed around him, the Transformation Jutsu disguising him as Hyuga Hiashi was shattered by the crudest and most direct method possible: brute force.
This was the greatest advantage of the Rasengan, the original seal-less ninjutsu created by the Fourth Hokage. It broke the limits of common sense. Even an ordinary-looking motion of the hand could hide a lethal killing move.
"Captain!"
The sudden change happened faster than lightning.
Not only did the captain of the Hidden Cloud infiltration squad, who was directly involved, fail to dodge or block in time, even Number Three, who had been suspicious from the start and had never truly lowered his guard around Naruto, felt a brief, unreal daze come over him.
Only when the dull thud of a heavy body hitting the ground reached his ears did he belatedly enter combat readiness again and roar at the top of his lungs.
"Bastard! I knew there was something wrong with you! Number Two! Together! Don't give that brat a chance to run!"
"Got it! Don't worry! I absolutely won't let him escape from me today!"
Hearing Number Three pin his hopes on him in the heat of the moment meant they still had not realized their companion had already been replaced. The Naruto shadow clone disguised as "Number Two" nearly burst out laughing inside.
On the surface, he spread lightning-nature chakra across his body in a convincing act and replied with a vicious, savage nod.
"You damn brat. You tricked us just now... but you won't be so lucky next time! Die!"
Meanwhile, the squad captain, who had been blasted away in a miserable state, rolled several times the instant he hit the ground. Only after most of the centrifugal force dragging his body backward was swallowed by the earth did his body finally stop.
But even after his intimate encounter with the ground, even after sprawling there like a dog that had eaten mud, the situation facing the Hidden Cloud squad captain was still far from optimistic.
The enormous psychological blow of seeing Hinata, whom he had already considered safely in his hands, forcibly taken back by Naruto left him unable to recover for a long while. Worse still, the stump of the arm that had taken the Rasengan head-on was a mangled mess of flesh and blood.
Life flowed out of him along with the blood gushing from the wound like a spring. Having lost one arm, his combat strength had already plummeted, and now he was in an even more dangerous state.
What made the captain even more horrified was that through his own senses, he could clearly detect chakra that did not belong to him rapidly spreading from the wound in the form of a sealing technique. It was expanding through his body as if it intended to cover every inch of him.
He could not spare any effort to stop the bleeding or perform emergency treatment. With the seal constantly devouring and wearing away his chakra, he had no choice but to force himself to resist the unknown seal as it eroded his control over his own body.
In other words, with a single preemptive strike, Naruto had nearly robbed this experienced Hidden Cloud ninja of all ability to struggle.
This was the most obvious difference between a shadow clone with limited chakra and the original body with an abundance of it.
Without any worries holding him back, even adding only a beginner's grasp of wind-nature chakra transformation made the Rasengan far stronger than the one his shadow clone had used while disguised as "Minato Namikaze." Both in destructive force and hidden follow-up, the difference was like heaven and earth.
Not only had it torn apart the Hidden Cloud ninja's arm in one blow, Naruto had also poured in a generous amount of chakra during that brief close-range contact and gifted him a sealing technique on the spot.
"No... no, no, no! This is impossible! It wasn't supposed to turn out like this!"
While resisting the invading seal with all his strength, he raked his remaining hand across the ground, leaving a deep claw mark as he vented his shock and fury. Forcing his body to move, he raised his head and glared at Naruto, the one who had crushed his bright future with a single strike.
Like a wild beast whose savagery had been completely awakened by injury, he let out a roar filled with unwillingness and hatred from deep in his throat.
"We had already succeeded! Why did it have to happen at this exact moment... No... no... this isn't real! No! I refuse to accept this! I...!"
But in the next instant, the resentment already spilling from his mouth froze in his throat.
Because he suddenly realized that the technique the "young man" had used without any hand seals, the one that had caused him such enormous damage, was none other than the Rasengan he had personally witnessed when "Minato Namikaze" appeared earlier.
Once he connected the person before him to the "resurrected" Yellow Flash of the Hidden Leaf, the rage in his heart vanished. The fear and unease he had barely managed to suppress deep within his heart burst free like a runaway horse and spread through his entire body again.
Whether from physical pain or mental terror, this Hidden Cloud ninja, who considered himself experienced and knowledgeable, began trembling violently as if he had been thrown into a sieve.
"Oh? That observation and reaction speed... Looks like you're not as dull as I imagined."
With his sensing ability covering the entire battlefield, Naruto easily noticed the rapid shift in the fake father-in-law's emotions from rage to terror. Using chakra borrowed from Kurama, he formed an orange-red Tailed Beast Chakra Cloak over Hinata in his arms as a precautionary defense.
Then he lifted his head with an icy expression. A faint, disdainful smile tugged at his lips. Under the man's disbelieving gaze, Naruto silently mouthed his ridicule, worried that speaking aloud might wake Hinata and leave her with psychological trauma from seeing such a bloody scene.
"I warned you long ago. If you didn't want to die here, you should have gotten out of my village before my patience ran out... Unfortunately, your foolish and lowly intelligence doesn't seem capable of understanding human speech, does it?"
"...It's over. It's all over..."
After reading Naruto's silent words and confirming that the person before him really was "Minato Namikaze," the captain, already weakened by the pain of losing his arm and the massive mental drain of resisting the seal, fell into overwhelming powerlessness and despair.
His eyes went blank as he muttered to himself and gave up struggling. The seal, which had already been at the final step, completely locked down the flow and circulation of chakra inside his body.
All of this sounded complicated, but to outsiders, it happened in the blink of an eye. When "Number Two" pretended to attack with all his strength, Number Three, already in an isolated and helpless situation, still failed to notice the hidden oddities.
'Good thing Number Two already rushed in... With Number Two there, that brat can't stir up anything bigger. And from the look of it, the captain's wounds are serious. The urgent priority is to stop his bleeding first.'
Because he knew the real Number Two's combat strength, Number Three's tension eased slightly after seeing "Number Two" put on such a fierce, all-out posture. Reason gradually regained control of his body.
Without slowing down, he scanned the area, quietly changed direction, and ran toward the captain, who for some reason had suddenly stopped moving and lay stiffly on the ground like a corpse. He planned to perform emergency treatment and ask for the next step in their battle plan.
What he did not know was that the "young master" he had always looked down on was rubbing his hands together behind him with a strange grin and openly closing the distance between them.
"Impudent child, surrender your life!"
Whether to cover the "young master's" actions or because he had gotten too deep into the act and become a drama king adding his own lines, "Number Two" let out a bizarre shout and arrived before Naruto's real body. His fists carried flickering arcs of electricity as he launched a series of punches.
After only a few "swift and powerful" combinations, Naruto was forced to stagger backward in "shock" under "Number Two's" assault, looking as if he could barely defend himself and would collapse at any moment. The scene was ridiculous enough to be funny.
'As expected. Against Number Two's head-on assault, that brat who only knows how to rely on sneak attacks can't possibly be Number Two's opponent... But what was that line about an impudent child? Where did Number Two learn such weird dialogue? Did he go watch some strange movie before the mission again?'
Seeing Naruto continuously retreat under "Number Two's" pursuit, unable even to counterattack, Number Three became even more convinced that Naruto had no room to pay attention to anything else. While inwardly grumbling about Number Two's inexplicable line, he completely lowered his guard.
After entrusting the task of taking Hinata back to "Number Two," he stopped paying attention to the movement on Naruto's side and rushed straight toward the captain at his fastest speed, hoping to provide the urgent medical support his captain needed.
However, that seemingly optimal choice was precisely what made him focus all his attention on the captain, causing him to completely ignore the "young master" rapidly closing in from behind—the useless waste he had never taken seriously.
Before he could run much farther, he suddenly felt someone pat his shoulder, making him instinctively slow and look around.
"...You? What are you doing?"
When he saw the "young master," whose presence had been nearly nonexistent from beginning to end, Number Three's already anxious mood worsened. His disgust toward this idiot who could not understand priorities deepened.
Assuming the "young master" wanted to argue with him at a time like this, he impatiently waved his hand, trying to slap away the palm on his shoulder, and turned his head back to continue rushing to the captain's side.
"Wake up, idiot! Now isn't the time for internal conflict! I don't have time to deal with a useless burden like you. Whatever it is, say it later!"
But in the next second, Number Three realized something was wrong.
The palm resting on his shoulder felt as if it had been poured from reinforced concrete. No matter how he struggled, he could not break free or move it even the slightest bit.
Even the chakra inside his body, which should have obeyed him like an extension of his own limbs, felt as if it had been filled with lead. He could no longer circulate a single trace of it.
'This is... a seal! How... how is this possible?! I don't remember that useless trash knowing anything like this!'
His body was restrained, and because his chakra could not be used, he could not struggle effectively. The usually calm Number Three finally panicked. As his thoughts raced and he identified the cause of the abnormality in his body, he forced himself to slowly turn his head back. Pretending to remain calm, he gnashed his teeth and roared.
"You... do you even know what you're doing?! Have you gone insane, bastard?! Are you trying to betray the village?!"
"What am I doing? Of course I know very well... Right now, I am personally eliminating foreign invaders for the sake of my village."
Seeing that he had successfully restricted Number Three's movements just as planned, the "young master" continued layering more seals onto him, completely cutting off any possibility of resistance. Hearing Number Three's hoarse roar, the corner of his mouth rose into a mocking, contemptuous smile.
"As for betraying the village? No, no, no. I'm very sorry, but I am a ninja of Konoha, not a companion of you despicable little rats... As for that useless companion you mentioned? Ha, he was already replaced by us along with the man called Number Two, the one you placed so much hope in.
Don't believe me? Then open your dog eyes and take a good look. See exactly what kind of desperate situation you're facing."
"What? Even Number Two...!"
Before he could feel any anger or fear toward the disdain in the man's words, Number Three tried with all his might to shift his gaze the instant he understood what they meant. Number Three saw the fully armed army of Konoha ninjas wearing forehead protectors densely filling both sides of the road.
Not far away, "Number Two" was grinning as he approached the Hidden Cloud squad captain after the "young master" succeeded. He had the lifeless-looking burly man slung over his shoulder like a torn sack, and even deliberately turned around to wave at Number Three with an extremely punchable smile.
Number Three felt as if he had fallen into a nightmare. A dazed unreality filled his heart.
"This... this... mmph!"
"You understand now, don't you? From the very beginning, you should have obediently listened and gotten out of my village... That way, even if your mission ended in failure, at least you could have kept your lives."
While answering indifferently, the "young master" took advantage of Number Three's open-mouthed shock to stuff a piece of filthy rag into his mouth, preventing him from biting off his tongue to kill himself.
Then he released his shoulder and shoved him hard, causing Number Three to lose his balance and fall to the ground.
As the Transformation Jutsu failed without chakra to maintain it, revealing Number Three's original appearance, the "young master" raised his foot and mercilessly stepped on the handsome face he was so proud of, grinding it back and forth every now and then.
After a brief pause, under Number Three's increasingly desperate gaze, he called several naked, muscular men out of the crowd.
"Unfortunately, not only did you ignore my kindness, you just had to set your sights on the Hyuga Clan's little princess... Did you really think Konoha was such a soft persimmon that you could squeeze it however you liked, coming and going as you pleased?"
"Mmph... mmph... mmm!"
"Shh... Quiet. Don't worry... These subordinates of mine will give you a proper 'welcome,' pretty boy... Oh, right. As the host, there's one more thing I almost forgot to say."
As the muscular men gradually surrounded Number Three, sizing him up with strange grins, the "young master," who already knew what was about to happen, withdrew his foot and stepped back.
After a short pause, he curved his eyes into a harmless smile and spoke lightly toward Number Three, whose terrified, despairing whimpers were already coming from within the crowd.
"Welcome to the simple and honest Hidden Leaf Village."
"Mmph! Mmph--!"
...
At the same time, after personally confirming that the remaining two members of the Hidden Cloud infiltration squad had been controlled, Naruto noticed that Hinata in his arms was beginning to shake off the effects of the drug and show signs of waking thanks to his continuous healing.
He quietly dispelled the Transformation Jutsu that had disguised him as an adult and returned to his original childish appearance.
Since everyone present had their attention focused on the two intruders, he silently blended into the crowd and left at an unhurried pace, hiding his achievements and fame.
"Mm... Hwa--! Na... Naruto-kun?!"
Not long after Naruto carried Hinata away from the crowd, Hinata's lashes trembled and her eyes slowly opened. She woke fully. Instinctively looking around, she realized she was in Naruto's arms, and her face instantly flushed bright red as she stammered.
"Y-you... why are you... Huh? Where... where am I?"
"Oh, you're finally awake, sleepyhead?"
Hinata's reaction confirmed to Naruto that everything earlier had not harmed her at all. Because the Hidden Cloud ninjas had used a drug, she had conveniently forgotten the kidnapping entirely. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
A gentle, doting smile appeared on his face as he slowly lowered his head and planted a soft kiss on her rosy cheek, explaining in his usual tone.
"Did you forget? After the exam ended, you were too tired and fell asleep in my arms."
"Mm... I-is that so...?"
"Of course. Look, I'm taking you home right now, aren't I?"
"Oh, right. Before we go home, do you want to come with me to Uncle Ichiraku's and eat a bowl of ramen? I heard Uncle Ichiraku recently added a lot of new flavors. Don't you want to try them?"
"Eat ramen with Naruto-kun... Mm! I want to!"
Though she vaguely felt that many things had happened while she was "asleep," after seeing Naruto's doting smile, one that seemed capable of melting both her body and heart, the pure-hearted young Hinata instinctively chose to believe him.
She curved her eyes into a sweet, brilliant smile, then gathered her courage and, before Naruto could pull his head back, imitated his movement and awkwardly kissed him on the cheek.
"Hehe. I like Naruto-kun the most!"
"...Me too, my dear little princess..."
...
As Hinata cast aside her doubts because of Naruto's affection and became fully immersed in looking forward to delicious ramen, she probably would never imagine it.
For her sake, Naruto had calmly brushed over everything that had happened in such a short time and continued to dote on her just as usual. For her sake, he had mobilized a force comparable to what would only be deployed if the Daimyo of the Land of Fire were assassinated.
As a result, for a very long time afterward, an unspoken rule circulated through the ninja world.
No matter who you are or where you come from... if you want to set your sights on Hyuga Hinata, please be prepared to make an enemy of the entire Hidden Leaf Village.