[At the same time as Toneri dealt with Hiashi, he continued to carry out what Hiashi had previously refused.]
[He first sent a puppet to directly kidnap Hyūga Hanabi to the moon, intending to take her Byakugan, and then personally went to find Hyūga Hinata.]
[According to official information, Toneri had once visited the ninja world with his father when he was a child. Using the Ōtsutsuki clan's unique abilities, he secretly watched Hinata and thought she was cute. He wanted to marry her.]
"???"
"Naruto, are you seriously okay with this?"
In the timeline of the Fifth Hokage.
Kakashi looked at Naruto with a strange expression, curious to see how he'd react to someone coveting his wife.
But to his slight disappointment, Naruto didn't show any dramatic emotion—just clenched fists and tightly gritted teeth.
"Come on, Kakashi-sensei. This really isn't the time to joke around."
Since Orochimaru hadn't yet fully mastered the Resurrection Jutsu, Kakashi hadn't switched bodies either—in other words, he was still that slightly eccentric Kakashi.
Naruto knew that, so he didn't bother arguing with him too much.
If Sasuke had made that kind of joke, Naruto would've definitely shouted him down like a rabid dog.
"Tch, how boring. If I knew someone was eyeing my wife, I'd rush up and teach him why roses are red."
"Uh… forgive me for being blunt, Kakashi-sensei, but do you even have a wife?"
"Exactly. That's why I can say that so confidently."
"…Alright then, whatever makes you happy, Kakashi-sensei."
Unlike the teasing tone between Fifth Hokage's Timeline Kakashi and Naruto, Second Hokage's Timeline Tobirama Senju focused his attention on Hyūga Hanabi.
"Why would Toneri go after that little girl's Byakugan? Is there something particularly special about her eyes?"
After he finished speaking, he turned his gaze toward a few of his disciples.
Back when the first version of this world was updated, these disciples could still be of some help during his early travels.
But as time passed, Hiruzen and the others became more and more useless.
Since that was the case, he couldn't be bothered to ask what they were doing every time they traveled to the Third Hokage's timeline.
It was always the same—strolling the streets, eating, and buying whatever caught their interest.
Because of this, they actually understood the current state of Konoha during the Third Hokage's timeline better than he did, their teacher.
Seeing Tobirama's gaze shift toward them, Akimichi Torifu quickly spoke up.
"Teacher, from what I know, this girl named Hyūga Hanabi is the second daughter of the Hyūga clan. That makes her Hyūga Hinata's younger sister. Her talent seems to far surpass Hinata's, and it looks like the clan elders intend to make Hanabi the next clan head."
Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen looked surprised.
"So you're saying Hinata was abandoned? That she's going to be branded with the Caged Bird Seal and sent to the branch family?"
Torifu nodded and replied, "That would be the normal course of things."
Hiruzen asked, "Then why hasn't Hinata been made a branch family member yet?"
Danzō cut in, "Are you being dense on purpose? Hinata is the second female lead. She's the wife of the main character. If she gets sent to the branch family, even someone as mild-tempered as Naruto would blow up."
Hiruzen snapped, "I'm talking about reality here. Don't start dragging in story logic and character settings."
Danzo: "I won't stop. I'm going to keep messing with the setting. What can you even do about it? Nyeh nyeh nyeh~"
". . . Fine. Just wait. Once the video ends, I'll make sure you've had enough of your little games."
"Tch~ You think I'm scared of you?"
". . ."
Tobirama shook his head. He didn't bother getting involved in the argument between Hiruzen and Danzo.
Fighting when you're young was nothing unusual.
What he really didn't understand was—why would Toneri need the Byakugan?
"Could it be. . . because of the Tenseigan?"
[After Toneri found Hinata, he ordered his puppet to tie her up. Just as the kidnapping was almost complete, Naruto appeared.]
[To keep Naruto from interfering, Toneri sent a large number of puppets to stop him.]
[But the puppets that even Hiashi couldn't defeat were nothing but small fry to Naruto. In the end, Naruto successfully rescued Hinata.]
[Toneri could tell this blonde kid wasn't ordinary, but still didn't fight him. Instead, he boldly declared in front of Naruto: "Kid, you might not believe it, but the end of the world is coming. I'm taking your girlfriend. Before this planet is destroyed, I'll take Hinata with me."]
[With those dramatic words, Toneri vanished.]
"Wait, isn't the village's defense way too weak?"
In the timeline of the Third Hokage—
Jiraiya watched the battle between Naruto and the puppets on the glowing screen and couldn't help but comment. Then he glanced at the Third Hokage.
The Third Hokage shook his head and said, "The video is set two years after the Fourth Great Ninja War. That was a time of peace. The village guards might've become a little too relaxed."
Before the Uchiha Clan was wiped out, they were in charge of the village's security.
The Uchiha were always serious about their duties. Their pride wouldn't allow them to slack off.
But after the Uchiha were gone, Konoha's defense system became a bit of a mess.
There were Anbu, regular shinobi on missions, and some patrol squads made up of smaller clans.
Even Danzo's Root would occasionally take part in guarding the village.
Once the personnel became a mixed group, managing them became significantly harder.
On top of that, at that time, Naruto and Sasuke were already the strongest in the entire ninja world.
Only an idiot from another village would dare mess with Konoha.
Because of that, the Third Hokage came up with this idea.
"Comfort isn't an excuse for them to get complacent."
Jiraiya paused for a moment, then looked at his old teacher and continued, "To avoid a situation like the one in that video, I've decided—Old Man, I'm putting you in charge of Konoha's defense."
"Me?"
The Third Hokage pointed at himself in disbelief.
Ever since Tobirama Senju had named Jiraiya as the Fifth Hokage, he had let go of all his power and lived peacefully as a retired old man.
Even after being resurrected in a young body, he never once thought about seizing power again.
Now that Jiraiya wanted him to step back into action, his first instinct was to refuse.
"No way. I'm no longer fit to manage the village. If you really want to delegate authority, go to Tsunade, Sakumo, or Minato."
Hearing that, Jiraiya shifted his gaze to the three people Hiruzen had just mentioned.
Tsunade: "You try giving me work, and see if I don't punch you through a wall."
"."
Sakumo said, "I don't have time. I still need to train Kakashi at home."
"Yes, Lord Hokage. My swordsmanship still needs further guidance from Father."
"...Alright then."
Minato added, "Don't look at me, Jiraiya-sensei. I have to be with Kushina and Naruto. Sorry."
"...I understand."
Jiraiya looked around, his eyes finally landing on the Third Hokage with a face full of grievance.
"What a cruel world... Even at my age, I still have to come out of retirement to help you."
"Sensei, you don't look old at all right now."
"...You've got a point."
And just like that, the Third Hokage came out of retirement once more, stepping in to help Jiraiya manage Konoha's defense forces.
****
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