"Who?!"
The Root ninja hidden in the shadows gasped, startled by the figure that suddenly appeared.
Naruto didn't even glance at him.
In an instant, he was in front of the masked intruder—his fist already flying.
"Damn it, a Leaf shinobi?!" the man cursed, whipping out a kunai to force Naruto to pull back.
But his eyes widened in horror a second later.
That fist didn't stop. It ignored the kunai's edge completely.
The black metal covering Naruto's hand gleamed strangely under the snowy night.
Clang!
The kunai was knocked away, spinning into the dark.
The man retreated with lightning speed—only for Naruto to vanish in a flicker, reappearing right in front of him. The armored fist drove forward, relentless.
The intruder threw up an arm in desperation—
Crack!
Bone shattered. The fist smashed straight through his guard, caving his chest in.
The man dropped to his knees, eyes wide with disbelief, then collapsed lifelessly into the snow.
Hinata slipped from his arms—Naruto caught her quickly.
He exhaled in relief. She was only unconscious, her breathing steady.
"Evil thief—don't you dare harm my child!"
A fierce palm strike blasted toward Naruto's back.
Boom!
He didn't dodge. He gently set Hinata down, then straightened to take the blow.
The attacker's eyes narrowed. "What kind of armor is this? My chakra can't penetrate it?"
It was Hyuga Hiashi, head of the Hyuga clan. His gaze flicked between the fallen intruder and the armored figure before him. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Hinata, but kept his expression tightly controlled.
More Hyuga shinobi flooded into the courtyard, the commotion growing louder by the second.
Naruto looked once more at Hinata, then flickered out of sight.
The bedrock armor's Void Teleport carried him away.
"A thief dead on the ground… at least Hinata's uncle won't suffer. Things will calm down now."
A few blocks away, Naruto ducked into the shadows, grinning to himself. He felt giddy, proud.
Killing? No—this wasn't murder.
That man deserved death.
Naruto's thoughts hardened. With others, I can be forgiving… but touch Hinata, and you die.
Still, unease tugged at him. What if this gets messy? I'd better check back.
Instead of going home, he circled quietly back toward the Hyuga estate.
Inside, Hyuga Hizashi pulled away the intruder's mask. His expression darkened.
"Brother… it's from the Cloud delegation."
Hiashi held his unconscious daughter close, his face turning grim.
The leader of the Cloud peace talks—caught sneaking into the Hyuga estate as a kidnapper. Absurd.
"Take Hinata inside. Triple the guard around her. She mustn't learn what happened."
He handed her over, then turned to his men.
"Bring the body. We'll go to Lord Hokage at once. This must be dealt with directly, or it cannot be contained."
The Hyuga group marched toward the Hokage Tower, carrying the corpse.
From the rooftops, Naruto trailed silently behind, curious.
That's when he discovered just how powerful the bedrock armor was.
The anti-reconnaissance system highlighted every hidden ninja around him—bright lights against the darkness, impossible to miss. Even the Hyuga's Byakugan couldn't pierce his concealment.
It even displayed strength ratings—the brighter the glow, the stronger the shinobi.
Avoiding them became child's play.
"What now?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen stepped out of the Hokage Tower, looking exhausted.
Just earlier, Danzo had pressured him to raise the border defenses against a possible Cloud strike. His advisors had been arguing for hours. And now—Hyuga trouble.
Not a moment of peace.
"Lord Hokage, this is what happened…" Hiashi explained quickly.
He recalled Naruto's earlier warning—that Hinata might be targeted. Because of that, he had raised her security. But even so, she had nearly been taken.
"The leader of the Cloud peace talks," Hiruzen muttered, stunned. "He went to your estate, kidnapped Hinata… and was killed by a mysterious figure?"
It sounded impossible.
But the corpse told no lies.
When Hiruzen saw the face, his stomach dropped.
The Cloud delegation's chief negotiator—dead.
The treaty was to be signed tomorrow. And tonight, the envoy lay slain in Konoha.
His mind buzzed, almost blank from the weight of it.
"Hokage-sama," Hiashi pressed, voice hard with anger. "You must bring justice to the Hyuga clan. The Cloud tried to steal the Byakugan. It's unforgivable."
The fury in his words was unmistakable. For Cloud to target Hinata—this was a direct insult to their clan's pride.
"I'll handle it," Hiruzen said stiffly. "Return for now. I'll see that justice is done."
He needed time to think.
But before he could breathe—
"Lord Hokage," a shinobi whispered at his side. "The Cloud delegation is here."
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