Late-Night at the Hyuga Compound
The stars shimmered above the silent courtyard, casting pale light over the twin brothers standing side by side, their silhouettes long in the moonlight. The night was still, but tension stirred beneath the surface.
Hiashi: "So… what are we dealing with?"
Hizashi: arms folded, voice tight "There were tracks—leading into the forest, signs of someone running. The satchel was dropped… but that's it."
He shook his head.
Hizashi: "No signs of struggle. No torn leaves. No blood. No chakra residue. It's like a ghost took him—or a ghost was taken."
Hiashi: brows drawn "You think the children could have made the whole thing up?"
Hizashi: with a scoff "Two three-year-olds staging adult-sized tracks? Picking a window lock? For what?
They just met today—no time to plan anything. No, this was real."
Hiashi let out a long, measured breath.
Hiashi: "Then for now… we keep this to ourselves."
Hizashi: "Agreed. But let's pray it doesn't come back to haunt us."
A pause stretched between them; the silence weighted with unspoken concern.
Hiashi: "Tell me something… what exactly have you been teaching Kugi?"
Hizashi: frowning "What are you implying?"
Hiashi: "He told me he risked his life to protect the Main House… said it's his reason for living."
Hizashi: softly, almost bitterly "Isn't it?"
Hiashi turned to him sharply.
Hiashi: "Come on, brother. It's me."
Hizashi: "Exactly. You're my brother. I can say these things to you—when we're alone. But to Kugi, you're not just my brother. You're the head of the clan."
He sighed deeply.
Hizashi: "How do I teach a child to walk a line even grown men struggle with? That family can be spoken to as equals in private, but bowed to in public?"
Hiashi: quietly "There has to be a better way."
Hizashi: "There isn't. Not right now.
And until that changes, all I can do is prepare him for the world as it is.
Hiashi: "At least talk to him. Tell him not to risk his life like that again."
Hizashi: "Yeah… Leave that to me."
The Departure of the Kumo Delegates
Morning light spilled across the gates of Konoha, warming the stone as the Kumo delegation readied their departure. Their expressions were calm, courteous, unnervingly so.
Hiruzen: smiling "I trust you had a pleasant stay?"
Kumo Representative: "We did. You've been a most gracious host, Hokage-sama."
They bowed, turned, and disappeared down the road. Moments later, at the edge of the forest—one of the delegates vanished in a puff of smoke.
A clone.
He should be meeting with us soon, one of the shinobi murmurs.
After a long wait, they noticed that something was wrong.
They looked around for him, if he was dead, they could accuse someone of killing him.
They searched. Scoured the Land of Fire. No sign. No body. Nothing.
And thus, no accusation.
Konoha remained innocent—officially.
But in the quiet space between politics and war, suspicions festered.
The Next Morning – Kugi's Room
Sunlight spilled softly through the paper windows of the Hyuga residence. Hizashi slid open the door to his son's room, finding Kugi sitting upright on his futon, already awake.
Hizashi: "So… why did you do it?"
Kugi yawned and stretched, then gave a cheeky grin.
Kugi: "Good morning to you too, Dad."
Hizashi (firmly):
"Kugi."
Kugi's expression turned serious. He looked down at his lap.
Kugi: "Would you believe me if I said I did it… to save your life?"
Hizashi blinked. That wasn't the answer he was expecting.
Hizashi (quietly): "Explain."
Kugi (calm and composed): "The intruders weren't from Konoha. Based on the timing and the diplomatic talks, I guessed they were from Kumo. It made sense—they've tried something like this before."
He paused, choosing his words carefully.
"If they'd taken Hinata-Sama, Hiashi-Sama would've gone after them personally. And if he killed the kidnapper… Kumo would demand blood. They'd ask for the killer. And you…"
He looked up, looking into his father's eyes.
"…you would volunteer to take his place. You'd sacrifice yourself, wouldn't you?"
Hizashi stared, jaw clenched.
Kugi: "But if I got kidnapped instead, things wouldn't escalate the same way. Hiashi-Sama would stay calm. You'd live. Kumo wouldn't get the excuse they were looking for."
Hizashi's gaze wavered for the first time. He sat down beside his son.
Hizashi: "…And you thought all this through… in the moment?"
Kugi (smirking slightly): "I'm a quick thinker."
Hizashi: "What about the story you told us? The one about the clash in the forest?"
Kugi: "Most of it was true. I had help. Someone… I can't talk about. We made sure the body disappeared. No evidence. No blame can fall on Konoha."
Hizashi stared at his son in silence, processing everything.
Hizashi: "Telling you never to do something like this again wouldn't stop you, would it?"
Kugi (grinning): "No, probably not."
Hizashi: "Then promise me this—next time, tell me first. Don't go in alone."
Kugi: "I promise. But…"
He looked hesitant now, more like the three-year-old he was supposed to be.
"…please don't tell Uncle Hiashi."
Hizashi reached out, ruffling his son's hair with a rare, gentle smile.
Hizashi: "Don't worry. No one needs to know that my son is an evil genius."
They shared a quiet moment—father and son, shinobi and heir, bound by duty and love in a world that demanded far too much from children.
Months Later – Near the Kiri Border
A scouting team from Kumogakure stumbled upon a decomposing body near the mist-covered edges of the Land of Water. The corpse was barely identifiable, but the flak vest and forehead protector confirmed it — one of their own. A high-ranking shinobi who had vanished during the Konoha delegation months ago.
The most troubling detail wasn't just that he was dead — it was how he died.
The killing blow had pierced straight through the heart with surgical precision, but what stood out even more was the nature of the wound. A sharp, clean impalement that bore an eerie resemblance to the legendary Shikotsumyaku of the Kaguya clan — an extinct bloodline known for weaponizing their own bones.
The Kumo-nin stared in disbelief.
"What was he doing all the way out here? This is half a country away from Konoha…"
"Did he betray us? Was he trying to defect to Kiri?"
"Could he have taken the Hyuga heiress and lost her somewhere on the way?"
"No trace of the girl... not even chakra residue."
"Could Kiri be involved in this?"
"Can we pin this on Konoha somehow...?"
The questions piled on with no answers. No message. No battle signs. Just a dead shinobi with a wound that didn't make sense. The implications were dangerous. If he had indeed tried to kidnap a Hyuga — one of Konoha's treasured bloodlines — and failed, why was his body so far from the village?
And worse — was this an execution for betrayal, or a cover-up by another village?
They had no choice but to return to the Raikage with a troubling report and too many questions:
Did our own man go rogue?Was this a failed mission sanctioned by someone above?Or was it a trap that spiraled out of control?
Whatever the truth was, it had slipped far from their grasp — and someone had gone to great lengths to keep it that way.
Kumogakure – Raikage's Office
The storm outside mirrored the mood inside. Thunder cracked against the mountains as the heavy doors to the Raikage's office swung open. A squad leader, soaked from the journey, stepped in and knelt.
Raikage A sat behind his desk, arms crossed, his eyes narrowed beneath his Kage hat.
Raikage: "Report."
The scout captain placed a scroll on the table but spoke before the Raikage could even unseal it.
Captain: "We found the missing operative… dead, near the border with Kirigakure."
The Raikage's jaw tightened.
Raikage: "Details."
Captain: "Clean kill. Pierced through the heart. The wound pattern was consistent with… the Kaguya clan's Shikotsumyaku."
A beat of silence. The Raikage leaned forward, his voice like a low growl.
Raikage: "You're saying one of our top operatives was killed by a dead clan?"
Captain: "Or someone who inherited the bloodline. Possibly a survivor. Possibly trained. We found no trace of the Hyuga child, and no evidence to directly link the incident to Konoha… or Kiri. No chakra residue. No second body. Just… him."
Raikage: "So we have a rogue shinobi who vanishes during a peace mission, reappears dead with a forbidden injury halfway across the continent, and we're left with a corpse and no explanation."
Captain: "Yes, Lord Raikage."
He opened the scroll and unfurled a rough sketch of the wound site. The Raikage studied it in silence. The signature style — puncture, bone-fracture spread, internal collapse — was unmistakable.
Raikage: "They've buried this well. Either someone in Konoha cleaned house… or another hand is playing this game."
He stood, the floor creaking under his massive frame.
Raikage: "Tell Intelligence I want dossiers on every known Kaguya survivor, potential Byakugan candidates, and all mission records involving Konohagakure and Kirigakure from the past five years. I don't care if it's a rumor or bedtime story — I want it."
Captain: "Yes, sir!"
Raikage: (darkly) "If Konoha thinks they can hide a bloodline mix like that, they're playing with fire. And if someone else is pulling strings, I'll burn the whole forest to find them".
The captain bowed and vanished in a blur of lightning. The Raikage turned to the window, watching the rain streak across the glass.
Raikage (to himself): "Shikotsumyaku… Byakugan… Who the hell is out there?"
A Year Later
Now that the kids had grown a little older, their training entered a new phase—daily, intense physical conditioning. Their routines were relentless: high-speed sprints, tree climbing drills, basic combat sparring, and strength-focused exercises. They weren't training just to become strong—they were sculpting themselves into warriors.
But unlike the usual lean builds favored by their clans—like the wiry Rock Lee—they had a different goal in mind: muscle. Full, functional, powerhouse muscle. They wanted the kind of physique that would make even the Raikage raise an eyebrow.
The Akimichi boy, Chosuke, thrived under this regimen. His clan's natural calorie-burning abilities meant he had to eat twice as much as the others just to keep up. For him, the high-calorie diet wasn't just a strategy, it was a necessity. And it showed. His body was transforming fast.
Near the Forest of Death
One humid afternoon, Inuzuka Kaito was deep into his training with his partner, Tatsumaki, near the Forest of Death. The forest's thick air buzzed with tension, but they were used to it by now. Or so they thought.
A sudden rustle—then a massive tiger burst from the underbrush, eyes wild, fangs bared.
Kaito didn't flinch. He steadied himself, ready to strike—but before he could even move, Tatsumaki leapt.
The beast collided with the tiger mid-air, and the two became a blur of growls, claws, and chaos. But it didn't last long. Seconds later, the sounds stopped.
From the silence emerged Tatsumaki, now standing over the collapsed tiger. But something was off—very off.
The black, viscous symbiote that made up Tatsumaki's body began to envelop the tiger. Slowly, eerily, the tiger's massive frame shrank, consumed and absorbed by the creature. Its essence vanished into Tatsumaki, whose body began to change.
When the process was done, the difference was startling:
A second head, feline and fierce, now rested beside Tatsumaki's own.His claws and fangs had grown longer and more lethal.Two muscular tails swayed behind him.His entire frame was denser—thicker, more powerful. Predatory.
Kaito let out a low whistle, half impressed, half concerned.
"I knew you'd evolve eventually, but not this fast... and not like this. Still, I gotta admit—the result is amazing."
He approached calmly, a small smirk forming.
"Now, how about you turn back to your regular form? Let's not freak out the others when we head back."
Tatsumaki tilted his dual heads, then began reverting to his usual, compact size—still powerful, still mysterious, but now unmistakably changed.
Kaito gave one last glance at the spot where the tiger had fallen. Nothing remained.
"Guess we'll need to update your profile."