Chapter 258: Three Years Old
(PS: The author has increased Hanabi's age in this book by two years.)
Neji and Hinata peeked their heads out quietly from the corner.
Hiashi keenly noticed the arrival of his nephew and daughter, but he didn't say anything, continuing to play Shogi with Hizashi opposite him.
"Father might lose,"
Hinata whispered to Neji.
Neji nodded; the Clan Head's Shogi skills were indeed inferior to his father's, but under normal circumstances, it should end in a draw!
The two little ones looked at the chessboard from time to time, then toward the Delivery Room.
A little girl ran over.
"Clan Head, several Elders have arrived."
Hiashi flipped over the King piece in his hand.
He was already feeling irritable while waiting; why were those old geezers coming over now?
Hizashi pursed his lips and silently packed up the Shogi board.
His older brother was a terrible Shogi player, the kind who was bad but loved to play.
There was no choice; since he was the younger brother, he just had to let him have his way.
After putting away the Shogi, Hizashi stood up.
Six Elders also walked over.
"Congratulations, Clan Chief."
The Grand Elder smiled and cupped his hands in greeting.
Hiashi also put on a smiling face and returned the gesture.
"Oh, you uncles are Elders; I should have brought the child to see you all after he was born."
"Eh, that's not right. This child is very likely the future successor of the Family, so of course we should come to see him."
The Sixth Elder patted Hiashi's shoulder.
"I congratulate you in advance, Hiashi, on the birth of your son."
"Haha, thank you, Sixth Uncle."
On the surface, Hiashi was beaming, but in reality, he was already thinking about how to help Hinata avoid the application of the Caged Bird Seal.
Hinata was the eldest daughter; he could completely use the rules to suppress these six old fogies.
As for the younger son?
Haha, who would put a Caged Bird Seal on the successor of the Main House?
Back to Hinata?
You want to engrave the Caged Bird Seal on the eldest daughter too?
That violates ancestral traditions; you won't be allowed into the ancestral grave after you die!
They waited for another twenty minutes or so before the Delivery Room door finally opened.
A female Medical Ninja walked out and spoke to Hiashi with a smile.
"Congratulations, Hiashi-sama, it's a girl."
The second one is also a daughter?
The faces of the six Elders immediately drooped; she's just a future branch house member, nothing worth seeing!
The smile on Hiashi's face also stiffened slightly.
Fortunately, he had already prepared a plan for the possibility of the second child also being a daughter.
Then he nodded to the female ninja.
"Good. How is my wife's health?"
"Lady Hyuga's body was already weak; she needs to recuperate well after returning this time."
"Alright, thank you."
A daughter then; a daughter is also fine.
——————————
The aftermath of the Third Great Ninja War had not yet completely subsided.
Those brutes from the Hidden Cloud Village looked physically developed but simple-minded, but in reality, they were more calculating than anyone.
The large-scale war had been at a standstill for nearly four years, yet they were still dragging out the progress of the peace talks.
Pulling and tugging for another year.
They talked from the beginning of the year to the end.
Then, the incident occurred where a Kumogakure Envoy sneaked into the Hyuga Clan Compound at night to kidnap the eldest daughter of the Main House and was subsequently killed.
Hidden Cloud Village was furious.
Hidden Leaf Village was even more incensed.
"Bastards, they think our Hidden Leaf Village is made of clay."
Danzo Shimura's cane slammed onto the ground.
The Third Hokage also stared with a dark expression at the Kumogakure Envoy who was making outrageous claims.
"Your meaning is that your person accidentally entered the Hyuga Clan Compound, accidentally picked up Hyuga Hinata who was resting in her own room, wanted to take her away from her home to help her find her way back, and was then killed by the Clan Chief of the Hyuga Clan."
The Kumogakure Envoy nodded.
"Exactly."
The Chakra on Hiruzen Sarutobi's body erupted instantly.
"Does your Hidden Cloud Village take us for fools?
Go back and tell the Raikage that if he wants war, there's no need for this.
If he wants to fight, then let's fight!"
Every ninja clan was watching the Third Hokage!
Today Hidden Cloud Village steals Hyuga Hinata; tomorrow will they come to steal our children?
If the Third Hokage didn't show some strength, his position as Hokage wouldn't last long.
"As long as you hand over the murderer, Hyuga Hiashi, this war can be avoided. Otherwise, wait for the war to begin!"
The Hidden Cloud Village envoy wasn't flustered at all; he was here to cause trouble.
If he were killed by Hidden Leaf Village, his mission would be 200% complete.
So the Hidden Cloud Village envoy became even more provocative.
"I wonder, without the Fourth Hokage, how many people in Hidden Leaf Village can stop Lord Raikage?"
"That is not for you to worry about. Hidden Leaf Village is full of talent. If he dares to come, guess what... Hidden Leaf Village had one Might Duy, so could there be even more Might Duys?"
The Third Hokage slapped the table.
Although Hidden Leaf Village's foundation had been depleted quite a bit, there were still many who could stand against the Raikage.
Even though Danzo lost an eye, as long as he and Danzo joined forces, stalling the A-B Combination would be no problem.
By then, Jiraiya leading Shikaku and others to fight Hidden Cloud Village's people wouldn't be an issue.
——————————
Heavy snow fell.
Hinata, wearing a black training uniform, walked alone on the street at night, her eyes brimming with tears.
Today was her uncle's funeral.
Hinata knew her uncle died in place of her father.
She felt very guilty; if she hadn't been captured by Hidden Cloud Village, her father wouldn't have killed the other party.
Her uncle wouldn't have died either.
Hinata sat down on a public bench under a streetlight.
So cold... Her father's grieving face and the sight of Brother Neji's face contorted in pain from the Caged Bird Seal flashed through her mind.
Why am I so useless... If only I hadn't been captured... This thought repeatedly gnawed at her heart, making her feel worse than the cold.
A red scarf was wrapped around her small face, followed by a still-warm white winter coat draped over her.
So warm... Naruto, who had been called away by the Third Hokage for their monthly heart-to-heart talk, saw Hinata on his way home.
Naruto's first reaction wasn't even whether this was the start of a plotline, but rather, whether this was a test from that Third Hokage guy.
Recently, he had really developed a bit of a stress response to the old man's testing.
After a brief thought, Naruto covered Hinata with his winter clothes and wrapped the scarf around her small, red-frozen face.
Has she already lost consciousness from the cold?
The Third Hokage is being a bit harsh this time!
No, that middle-aged guy Hyuga Hiashi is also quite harsh; isn't he afraid his daughter will get sick from the cold?
Don't tell me the Hyuga Byakugan is...
The Nine-Tailed opened its eyes and barely leaked some Chakra through the gaps in the Seal to maintain Naruto's body temperature.
"Another test from that old man?"
No, is this old man even human?
'Not sure.'
Naruto replied to the Nine-Tailed, then picked up Hinata and walked toward the Hokage Building.
Soon, six Anbu surrounded Naruto.
Wait, what's going on with the other side?
The three animal-masked Anbu were a bit confused; did Lord Third Hokage also send secret sentries?
The three ghost-pattern masked Anbu stared warily at Naruto and the other Anbu.
They were members of Root.
They saw the presence of the red Nine-Tailed Chakra, so they all appeared here at the same time.
Red Chakra slowly gathered around Naruto, forming a small fox head.
The six Anbu felt like they were facing a great enemy.
They were supposed to fight the Nine-Tailed?
For real?
The Third Hokage, who had just arrived home and was preparing to rest, also rushed over.
He had just sensed the Nine-Tailed's Chakra; although it was faint, the Seal should be at its strongest these years, so a Nine-Tailed rampage shouldn't happen.
But for safety reasons, the Third Hokage came anyway.
He didn't expect the situation to have developed like this; the Nine-Tailed Chakra on Naruto was not only large in quantity but also contained.
It really almost allowed the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox to break the Seal!
After knocking out the bewildered Naruto, the Third Hokage asked his direct Anbu for the reason.
Upon learning that Naruto had rescued a girl, the Third Hokage also guessed the reason for the Nine-Tailed Chakra leak.
Naruto gave his warm clothes to a child in the Village, causing his body temperature to drop.
Naruto's will weakened, and the Nine-Tailed took advantage of the opening.
'Did he give away his own winter clothes to protect a child of the Village?'
After much thought, the Third Hokage decided to use a Memory Sealing Technique on Naruto and the girl he was holding.
He couldn't let Naruto know he was being watched, nor could he let him notice the presence of the Nine-Tailed.
The next day, Naruto opened his eyes.
The Nine-Tailed told him what happened last night.
'That old man Third Hokage's move is too ruthless.'
Just sealing a child's memory like that?
After getting out of bed, looking at the Konoha Village silver-clad outside the window.
Naruto was silent for a long time.
He realized that this was the original plot where Naruto and Hinata met.
Recently, he's been getting almost paranoid from the old geezer Third Hokage's testing.
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