Chapter 287: The Warm-Hearted Masked Man
"Kiba, that stuff downstairs just now… could it be…"
What Kiba did not expect was that Hinata would be the first to speak.
She clasped her hands in front of her, her gaze drifting as she spoke in a small voice.
"Huh? Hinata, you actually know?"
Kiba was shocked.
"No, I don't know~"
Hinata hurriedly denied it.
But that denial only made it more obvious.
"So what exactly is it?"
In the end, it was Shino, the most knowledgeable among them, who knew nothing and had to ask Kiba for help.
Kiba sighed helplessly and began explaining it to Shino.
He had originally been too embarrassed to say it, mainly because there was a seemingly shy and innocent girl in their team — Hyūga Hinata.
But now Kiba seemed to have realized something.
She might understand even more than he did.
After thinking about it carefully, though, it was not that strange.
Among the existing Konoha clans, the Hyūga clan was the most conservative. Their clan rules seemed even more important than the village's regulations.
As a clan member himself, Kiba had heard his elders talk about the Warring States period when recounting the great achievements of the First Hokage.
The purpose was to show just how great the First Hokage's accomplishments were.
During the Warring States era, the average lifespan was less than thirty years. Note, that was for people in general, not just ninja.
Aside from the ninja fighting on the front lines, that average was actually raised by civilians farming in the rear, as well as nobles, officials, and merchants.
It was said that in those days, members of the Inuzuka clan did not live as long as their dogs.
Even the sons of the Senju clan leader, the First Hokage's two younger brothers, Senju Kawarama and Senju Itama, had been killed at the age of seven.
Seven really was a critical age.
Some died at seven.
Some could think about problems from a Hokage's perspective at seven.
Some were already awakening the Tenseigan at seven.
In an era where the average lifespan was so low, where children went to the battlefield at seven, how could a clan ensure it did not perish?
First, you absolutely could not produce a seven-year-old who thought like a Hokage. If you did, there was no saving anything.
After ensuring that first point, the rest was simple.
A clan was only a clan if it had people.
As long as the entire clan was not wiped out in one go, it only needed to ensure a stable output of fresh blood.
If you were going to the battlefield at seven, that was already extremely dangerous.
Fortunately, in the ninja world there was chakra. People developed earlier on average. Within a few years, they would be capable of reproduction.
Once they could reproduce, the clans of that era would arrange things immediately.
Because no one knew whether the next time they went to the battlefield, they would come back alive.
As for why they did not delay the age of going to war until after producing children?
First, there was not enough time.
Raising them a few more years meant losing a large batch of fighting strength.
Second, selection.
If someone could not survive the battlefield, it meant they were not qualified to leave behind descendants. Any offspring they left would likely be useless.
Better to give the opportunity to those who survived and let them produce several excellent descendants.
As for the clan leader's sons and daughters, they had a bit of privilege. They could be kept for political marriages and alliances.
In short, no matter what, at that time all clans began education in this area very early.
And there was no taboo about it.
Only after the First Hokage ended the wars, when children no longer had to go to the battlefield at seven and did not have to become parents at ten, did things change.
Since the Hyūga clan was so conservative, perhaps this kind of education had remained an important part of their upbringing.
That was Kiba's reasoning.
But the real situation was different.
As everyone knew, under the erosion of the will of the ninja world, the children of major clan leaders were treated as lowly. Whether it was Uzumaki Kushina, Uchiha Itachi, or Hyūga Hinata, they were bullied.
And aside from certain fixed "respawning" characters, no clan members would stand up for them.
Under such circumstances, Hinata did something that, if the genders were reversed, would receive tens of thousands of comments.
She stalked and peeped.
Naruto was very innocent. Although he studied seductive-type jutsu, it was only superficial, more like a child deliberately pretending to be an adult as a prank.
And being somewhat dim-witted, he did not truly understand much about those matters.
But Hinata was different.
When she followed Naruto and discovered that he was reading certain kinds of books, she naturally grew curious about their contents.
With the Byakugan's overpowered ability of X-ray vision plus telescopic sight, nothing could stop Hinata from learning whatever knowledge she wanted.
In the movie 'The Will of Fire', since there was no designated movie heroine, Kakashi took that role instead.
At the end of the movie, when Kakashi smiled at Naruto and everyone was relaxed, Hinata suddenly spoke up and said, "That's too filthy."
She then followed it with, "I didn't expect Kakashi-sensei to have that kind of preference toward Naruto…"
Successfully redirecting everyone's attention and making them question Kakashi's abnormal feelings toward Naruto.
By the Boruto era, while Sakura next door would still blush shyly over a single name, Hinata could flip through Jiraiya's 'Icha Icha' series in front of her son without blushing, without a racing heart, completely expressionless.
That tells enough.
——
"Woof woof."
After enjoying a satisfying meal of Pakkun-brand dog food, Akamaru trotted over happily with a piece of paper in his mouth.
"What's this?"
Kiba, who had just finished explaining to Shino what the stuff on the ground was, took the note.
Written on it were the words—[Be careful of Kakashi. He is a repressed perverted wolf wearing a mask. — A warm-hearted citizen who once held Naruto as a child.]
"That solves the mystery completely!"
Kiba stood up clutching the note and pointed at the windowsill. "It must have been a warm-hearted, righteous masked hero passing by who discovered Kakashi-sensei's filthy actions and couldn't stand it anymore. That's why he smashed those bottles and jars and exposed Kakashi-sensei's evil deeds to everyone!"
The masked man had left that note for a very simple reason.
He hoped Konoha would discipline Kakashi and stop him from constantly using the Sharingan to suck up filth.
It was seriously affecting the normal life and combat readiness of another tenant.
"Sniff, sniff."
"Wait, why does this room smell like crap?"
Kiba sniffed the air.
This was the trace scent the masked man had accidentally picked up after entering the Kamui space earlier, leaving a faint residue when he came to Kakashi's house.
"Naruto-kun is so pitiful."
Hinata covered her face.
"Uh…"
Kiba's puzzled expression froze instantly.
How did Hinata understand again? This was really hurting his pride.
Fortunately, faced with Shino's questioning gaze, Kiba racked his brain and finally pieced together a reason.
"You can know a person's face but not their heart. Kakashi… I never expected he would actually squeeze Naruto's… all out!"
Kiba wore a sorrowful expression, tilting his head at a forty-five-degree angle toward the ceiling.
"Should we report this to the Hokage?"
Shino offered his suggestion.
"Of course! We have to report it!"
"But before that, we need to find more evidence here."
"If we leave now and Kakashi comes back and destroys the evidence, we'll have nothing. Our opponent is a jōnin!"
"Hmph, so what if he's a jōnin? Kakashi has fallen into the hands of three geniuses. All three of us are reconnaissance-type ninjas. Hinata, Shino, let's move!"
With Kiba's command, three people and one dog began rummaging through drawers and cabinets, searching for evidence.
(End of this chapter)