"Minato! Wait up!"
Nawaki, panting heavily, leapt down from a pile of rubble and blocked Minato Namikaze, who was clearly on his way home. Dust still clung to Nawaki's clothes, and his breathing hadn't yet recovered, but his eyes were bright with excitement.
"I remember you participated in the Chunin Exams, right?" he said rapidly. "You were at the venue, weren't you? The aftermath of the battle came from there! The ANBU sealed the place off immediately, didn't they?"
He didn't even pause to breathe before continuing.
"Do you know what happened?!"
Minato felt a headache coming on from the barrage of questions. He raised one hand and gently pressed it downward, signaling Nawaki to calm down.
"Nawaki, slow down," Minato said patiently. "I just finished giving my statement to the ANBU and was about to head home."
"Perfect!" Nawaki leaned in eagerly, completely ignoring the lingering fatigue on Minato's face. "Then tell me everything! I heard the Third Kazekage died right here in our village! Is that true? Did Hokage-sama do it? And they say that Hiroki guy single-handedly—"
Before he could finish, someone shuffled out from a nearby alley, still dressed in full Uchiha clan attire.
It was Uchiha Yoshihiro.
He kept his head lowered, dragging his feet as if he only meant to pass by. However, his ears were clearly tilted toward the conversation, and his hesitant posture made it obvious that he wanted to listen but didn't quite dare to approach openly.
Minato sighed inwardly as he glanced at the overly excited Nawaki and the obviously eavesdropping Yoshihiro. It was clear that this matter wouldn't stay secret for long.
In fact, the ANBU had already said there was no real need to hide it anymore.
Too many people had witnessed the events firsthand, and more importantly, Ōnoki had fled with his subordinates. A Kage would never help Konoha conceal information, especially information of this magnitude.
Besides, Konoha itself had no reason to continue hiding Hiroki's existence.
The combat ability Hiroki had displayed today practically cemented his position as the future Hokage. In terms of talent, no one could possibly surpass him.
He was only ten years old.
The same age as Minato himself.
Thinking of that, Minato couldn't help but sigh quietly. Even he—praised by Jiraiya-sensei as a once-in-a-generation genius—found it increasingly difficult to keep up with Hiroki's pace.
Every time they met, it felt as though Hiroki had undergone another leap in strength.
Minato found a relatively clean stone nearby, sat down, and rubbed his temples.
"I'll start from the second round," he said slowly. "The moment the examiner called out 'Start'—"
His voice unconsciously lowered, as if recalling something deeply unsettling.
"All of the examinees who weren't from Konoha collapsed."
"Huh?" Nawaki froze. "Collapsed? What do you mean? Were they defeated?"
"No," Minato replied, shaking his head. "They didn't fight at all. They just collapsed. It was as if someone pulled the plug. One after another, they fell straight to the ground and lost consciousness. Hiroki didn't move, didn't form a single hand seal—nothing."
Uchiha Yoshihiro's body stiffened instantly, and his breathing faltered for a brief moment.
Wasn't that exactly what had happened to him in the library?
Nawaki stared at Minato in disbelief. "You're kidding, right? There were dozens of people there! There had to be experts among them. You're telling me they all collapsed just like that—from a single glance?"
"Yes," Minato said, nodding gravely. "After that, the ninjas from Sunagakure and Iwagakure began fighting each other, and the whole place turned into chaos. I only know that Hiroki faced a Hidden Sand ninja named Rasa alone. That man used Magnet Release—golden sand. It was terrifyingly powerful."
"And then?" Nawaki urged. "What happened after that?"
Minato looked straight at him and said slowly, emphasizing every word.
"Hiroki killed him. During that fight… he used Scorch Release."
"Scorch Release?!" Nawaki repeated blankly. "What is that supposed to be?"
"That's the Bloodline Limit of a female ninja from the Hidden Sand Village," Minato explained. Then, after a brief pause, he added in a voice filled with disbelief, "But here's the part I still can't wrap my head around—he learned it just by watching."
Silence fell.
Nawaki stood there, completely stunned, unable to process what he had just heard.
A Bloodline Limit… could that really be learned?
Beside them, Uchiha Yoshihiro's face turned deathly pale in an instant. His legs gave way, and he had to lean against the wall to keep himself from collapsing.
Learned it just by looking?
As a member of the Uchiha clan—and a Sharingan user—he understood better than anyone how absurd that sounded.
To copy a Bloodline Limit, one needed at least two chakra nature transformations. Even then, accurately reproducing the ratio and fusion of those chakra natures was almost impossible. In reality, the fusion step alone had defeated countless Uchiha over generations.
That was precisely why, even now, the Uchiha clan possessed no second Bloodline Limit of its own.
And yet Hiroki… learned Scorch Release simply by watching?
So that day in the archives… he hadn't been serious at all. In fact, I hadn't even been worth fighting properly.
Yoshihiro felt dizzy, but after a moment, his thoughts shifted, and he forced himself to steady his breathing.
If even the geniuses of Sunagakure and Iwagakure were instantly defeated by Hiroki, then what did that mean?
It meant Yoshihiro wasn't weak.
Hiroki was just overwhelmingly strong.
Across the street, hidden beneath the shadow of a massive tree, a young boy from the Hyuga branch family stood silently.
He had heard every word.
His fists clenched tightly at his sides, his fingernails digging into his palms as sharp pain spread through his hands.
If Hiroki was truly that strong…
Then maybe—just maybe—there was a way.
But would Hiroki even know who he was? Would seeking him out accomplish anything at all?
The Hyuga boy took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
No—there was no time to hesitate. As a member of the branch family, Hiroki was now the only person he could think of who might be able to save his mother.
Konoha Hospital, general ward.
The sharp smell of antiseptic stung her nose, accompanied by the monotonous, rhythmic sound of "drip… drip… drip."
Pakura's eyelids twitched, and after a great deal of effort, she finally managed to open them.
A white ceiling greeted her gaze, along with an unfamiliar room.
Where… am I?
She sat up abruptly, the blanket sliding off her body as her eyes swept across her surroundings. When her gaze passed through the window and landed on the massive stone faces carved into the distant cliff, her body froze completely.
Konoha.
Hokage Rock.
Her memories surged back all at once, like a dam bursting open. The Chunin Exams… the black-haired boy… that devil—
And then, nothing.
She had been captured.
Knocked down and captured in an instant.
The realization sent a chill through her entire body.
No—wait. She was a Hidden Sand ninja participating in the Chunin Exams. By all rights, she was a guest. At worst, she should have been knocked unconscious and taken to the infirmary.
The infirmary…
Being taken down instantly by that boy was humiliating beyond words. She needed to regroup with her team immediately. She needed to find Rasa, or even the Third Kazekage himself, and reclaim her dignity.
But if she was already in Konoha's hospital…
Had they placed any restraints on her?
Distrustful by instinct, Pakura closed her eyes and carefully examined the chakra flowing through her body.
There was no obvious abnormality.
A faint spark of hope ignited in her chest.
She immediately raised one hand, her fingers moving rapidly as she formed the hand seals she had practiced countless times.
"Scorch Release: Excessive Steam—"
She mobilized her chakra, attempting to fuse Wind and Fire nature energy together.
Nothing happened.
She tried again.
Still nothing.
The two chakra natures flowed separately through her pathways, like parallel lines that refused to intersect no matter how hard she tried.
"Huh…?"
Pakura stared at her own hands in disbelief.
Refusing to accept it, she tried again with greater force and concentration.
The result didn't change.
It felt as though her body knew exactly what to do, but simply refused to cooperate—like a hand trembling uncontrollably despite the mind's commands.
Panic surged through her chest.
She hurriedly attempted other techniques.
Fire Release. Wind Release. Substitution Jutsu.
None of them worked.
She remembered every hand seal. She remembered every principle. Yet her body felt as though it had forgotten all of them.
"No… no!!" she screamed, clutching her head as her nails dug into her scalp. Her eyes turned bloodshot. "Where is my ninjutsu?! Where is my Scorch Release?! How could this happen?!"
At that moment—
Creak.
The door opened.
A Konoha medical ninja in a nurse's uniform stepped inside, carrying a tray of medicine. Seeing that Pakura was awake, her expression remained calm and professional.
"You're awake," she said.
"What did you do to me?!" Pakura shouted hysterically. "Where is my ninjutsu?! Why can't I use it?!"
The medical ninja set the tray down on the table and looked at her the same way she would look at any ordinary patient.
"Your body is fine," she said evenly. "All of your vital signs are normal. You're no different from an ordinary person. You simply need rest."
She paused briefly before delivering the final words.
"After all, young miss—you are a prisoner from the Hidden Sand Village."