Hinata, the big eater of the ninja world, could out-eat even the Akimichi clan next door.
After ruling out the possibility that Hiashi or Rinka were playing around too much, there was only one truth.
Her bloodline was purer.
Maybe even atavistic.
The Hyuga clan's ancestors were the Otsutsuki clan, with immense power and terrifying bloodlines.
According to the law of conservation of energy, the purer the bloodline, the harder it is to develop.
Hunger was undoubtedly a signal from the body—it needed energy.
As the saying goes, fine horses are common, but a good judge of talent is rare.
No one understood Hinata's situation, plus her introverted personality, so she'd never eaten her fill.
If you're not full, you lack strength.
Her potential couldn't be unleashed.
In Hiashi's eyes, she was worthless, her talent far inferior to Neji's.
As the heir to the main family, this was unacceptable.
Pretty pitiful.
Natsume glanced at her oil-smeared mouth, pulled out a tissue, handed it to her, and said, "Wipe it off."
Hinata nodded embarrassedly.
It was her first time losing composure.
Especially in front of an outsider, acting so rudely—eating chicken with her hands instead of chopsticks.
After wiping her mouth, Hinata wiped her hands, removing the oil.
"Are you full?"
Natsume asked again.
Hinata hesitated for two seconds, remembering what he'd said earlier—that she could be free in front of him, no need to lie.
"No."
She nodded. Though honest, admitting her appetite made her extremely embarrassed.
As expected.
Natsume felt a bit apologetic and said, "I don't have more food right now. I'll bring you some later."
He'd only taken one plate of roasted chicken when he left.
But he didn't dare leave, afraid Samoya would show up and kidnap the little girl.
If because of his butterfly effect, Hiashi didn't stop it, that would be ridiculous.
Hinata nodded obediently.
But a moment later, she suddenly realized the issue.
Why was Natsume here?
And it seemed like he'd sneaked in.
"You... are you... here specifically... to bring me food?"
Hinata lowered her head, not daring to look at him, her two fingers poking each other anxiously.
Your reaction time is really long.
Good thing you met me.
Natsume thought for a moment and said, "I saw a Hidden Cloud ninja acting suspiciously, possibly targeting you, so I came to see you."
"Eh?"
Hinata's eyes widened.
It was a reason she hadn't thought of.
But after the shock came gratitude.
This was already the third time he'd saved her.
She didn't even consider the possibility of lying.
Being stared at with such pure eyes made Natsume feel pressured.
He suddenly understood Tsunade—no wonder she couldn't resist.
"Th-thank... you."
Hinata glanced at him, then quickly looked away.
"You're welcome."
Natsume stroked her smooth hair, then had a sudden idea and summoned a fist-sized slug.
"What's this?"
Hinata looked at the white, soft thing and couldn't help asking.
"My summoning beast. I'll leave it with you for now."
Natsume didn't explain further and said, "Remember to hide."
He turned and went to the door.
The early warning he'd set up had been triggered.
Samoya was nearby.
It wouldn't take more than a few seconds for him to find Hinata.
Natsume flipped out of the room through the window again.
Hinata instinctively wanted to run over, but remembering his words, she hid in the closet.
Originally, she was quite scared.
But now with the slug, her tense emotions eased a lot.
"He's really kind."
Hinata realized the purpose of Natsume leaving the slug.
She placed her hand on her heart, feeling it beat quickly.
Though she didn't know what emotion it was, she knew she was happy.
As the young lady of the Hyuga clan, she'd received many precious and rare gifts tonight.
But in her heart, none compared to that chicken leg.
"Who's there?"
Samoya suddenly turned and saw a somewhat familiar boy.
Natsume looked regretful—his stealth still wasn't perfected.
He'd planned to sneak behind him and give him a kidney shot.
"It's you!"
Samoya's face turned ugly. "Tsunade's disciple, Natsume."
"Am I that famous now?"
Natsume was a bit stunned to have his name called out.
Samoya didn't bother explaining.
He recognized Natsume not because he was famous, but because he'd participated in that battle where the Cloud ninjas were flooded.
Unfortunately, he was one of the flooded ones, but luckily, he survived and saw this kid again.
The next moment, his figure melted into the night, drawing his blade at high speed and slashing at Natsume.
Samoya didn't use ninjutsu.
He still thought he could quickly deal with Natsume and then find Hinata.
But facts proved he was dreaming.
In an instant, Natsume drew the Sword of the Thunder God, infusing it with chakra, revealing its golden blade.
Samoya's eyes widened.
The Sword of the Thunder God cut through his long blade like tofu, and with momentum to spare, aimed to bisect him at the waist.
But his reaction was quick; he slid backward, then flipped to avoid the attack.
Natsume pressed forward, raising and swinging the blade.
Samoya sensed the danger, gritted his teeth, lightning bursting from his body as he dodged the Sword of the Thunder God and ran outward.
He couldn't take down Natsume quickly, which meant failure.
No matter how lax the Hyuga clan was, they'd notice.
"Intruder!"
Natsume shouted directly, giving him a little help.
At the same time, he formed seals at high speed for Water Style: Water Fang Bullet, the spinning water turning into bullets that flew out, slowing Samoya's speed.
The next moment, several shadows appeared, surrounding him.
In the middle was none other than Hiashi.
He glanced at Samoya, then at Natsume, and asked, "What's going on?"
"Why is a ninja from your village attacking me without reason? Are you trying to start another war?"
Samoya, seeing he couldn't escape, played the victim first.
He'd dared to come kidnap Hinata because he was betting the Konoha wouldn't want to fight again.
And that was indeed the case.
But in the original story, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Hiashi's actions were brain-dead.
They actually let Hizashi pay with his life.
Ridiculous.
Had Sarutobi Hiruzen not considered how that would chill the other ninjas' hearts?
Now, because of Natsume's intervention, Samoya hadn't died, and the Hidden Cloud was at fault first, with no excuse.
Next, they just needed to prove it was his fault.
Hiashi naturally didn't believe Samoya. He looked at Natsume, waiting for his explanation.
"I went out to the bathroom and saw him running into the inner courtyard. I got suspicious and followed him, but I didn't expect him to target Miss Hinata, so I stopped him."
After Natsume spoke, Hiashi and the others' anger maxed out, surrounding Samoya with killing intent.
A Cloud ninja versus a disciple of the Sannin.
Who to believe was obvious.
"He's slandering me!"
Samoya shouted.
"Then please explain why you were in the inner courtyard?"
Natsume easily delivered the killing blow.
Samoya immediately stammered.
The inner courtyard was where the women lived.
Why would a normal guest wander there?
"Lord Hyuga, please hand this over to the Hokage to handle, to avoid affecting the peace talks between the villages."
Natsume was afraid Hiashi would kill him in anger.
You're not killing a Cloud ninja—you're killing your own brother.
Hiashi, who was fuming, immediately calmed down. Samoya wasn't an ordinary Cloud ninja; he represented the Hidden Cloud Village now.
He gave Natsume a grateful look and ordered the twelve Cloud ninjas at the banquet to be captured and sent to the Hokage Building.
[Because of your actions, Hizashi's fate has changed. You gain 80 fate points.]
[Because of your actions, Neji's fate has changed. You gain 29 fate points.]
[Because of your actions, Hinata's fate has changed. You gain 69 fate points.]
[Because of your actions, Hiashi's fate has changed. You gain 17 fate points.]
A huge harvest.
Natsume's mood immediately brightened.
One last thing tonight: deliver takeout to Hinata.