Chapter 26
Warm blood splattered, and Naruto, smelling the gore, felt neither excitement nor pity.
Just like slaughtering a chicken, Naruto, having completed his first kill of a fellow Ninja, quickly leaped towards his second target the moment the body fell to the ground with a 'thud'… Under the moonlight.
The head of the Kumogakure Ninja delegation, with Hinata tucked under his arm, was rapidly running through Konoha's streets.
In terms of familiarity with the terrain, he was, of course, no match for these Byakugan users.
Not to mention, the Hyuga Clan's Byakuganpossessed x-ray vision and the ability to detect Chakra, giving them night vision that ignored the darkness.
It would be incredibly difficult to shake them off.
However, the Kumogakure Ninja were not useless individuals who could do nothing.
With his seven comrades waiting ahead, he only needed them to stall for a moment, and he could pass through Konoha's city walls and reach the outside.
Once outside, no matter how powerful these Konoha individuals were, it would be impossible for them to pursue him.
After all, in this era… there was no second Yellow Flash!
However, just as he was full of pride and planning everything, the scent of blood ahead immediately made him stop.
At the same time, Hyuga Hiashi's footsteps also paused.
Both of them stood still in a straight, wide alley.
With walls on both sides, it was a clear path as far as the eye could see.
Hyuga Hiashi's expression was solemn as he slowly assumed the Gentle Fist stance.
The opponent was fast and posed a constant threat to Hinata.
Therefore, he would put everything into the Hyuga Clan's fastest Gentle Fist Art technique, the 'Eight Trigrams Empty Palm'… Just as Hyuga Hiashiresolved to stake his eldest daughter's slim chance of survival with a Ninja's determination, a tender, low voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Byakugan uncle~, you don't need to act…"
Under the pale moonlight, Naruto stood on the left wall, looking down at the three from the end.
"Naruto-kun…"
Hinata, looking dispirited, slowly raised her head and looked up.
Naruto: "…You shouldn't act either."
Hyuga Hiashi: "??"
Hyuga Hiashi, unaware of the truth, had no idea that if he acted, it would lead to an irreversible tragedy.
This thief in a stealth suit was no ordinary bandit.
His true identity… was precisely the head of the Hidden Cloud Village Ninja delegation who had come to Konoha under the guise of seeking peace!
"!"
The latter also looked up, gazing at the suddenly appearing Naruto.
Patches of blood stained Naruto's face, adding an indescribable strangeness to him.
"Uzumaki… Naruto…"
Hyuga Hiashi, of course, recognized that Narutowas the child of Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage.
Unlike the uninformed lower ranks.
As the head of the Hyuga Clan, possessing the Byakugan Bloodline Limit that could observe everything.
Hyuga Hiashi knew too much… Of course, being prudent, he simply never spoke of it.
After all, the destiny of the Hyuga Clan… was to protect the Byakugan, not to participate in worldly political struggles.
And for the head of this Hidden Cloud VillageNinja delegation, a remarkably young child blocking his way became a kind of unspeakable terror.
"Kid, where are my seven comrades?!"
The Kumogakure Ninja head, with a severe expression, questioned Naruto with a ferocious look.
"When I saw them, all seven of them had collapsed… Maybe they suffered from heatstroke."
Naruto softly spoke a cold joke that no one could laugh at.
It was December 27th, the dead of winter; where would a normal person get heatstroke!
This wasn't the Hidden Sand Village!
"Lightning Release!"
The Ninja head, his face growing increasingly ferocious, realized his comrades' demise and, without hesitation, directly launched a killing blow at Naruto.
Using Ninjutsu required hand signs, and usually two hands, which was common knowledge for most Ninjutsu.
But there were a small handful of Ninjutsu that only required one hand sign.
—Or even no hand signs at all, commonly known as 'no-sign Ninjutsu.'
Crackling!
The surging Lightning Release Chakra illuminated the night sky, striking at Naruto like a long spear.
Be careful!
Hyuga Hiashi didn't have time to exclaim before the lightning bolt struck the former.
Naruto fell backward from the wall, his figure immediately disappearing to the other side of the wall.
Thud!
As the body hit the ground heavily, a triumphant sneer appeared on the opponent's face.
However, the next second.
An orange-red figure leaped up and stood once again on the tall wall.
Naruto, covered in a Tailed Beast Cloak, slowly spoke amidst the shocked gazes of Hyuga Hiashi, Hyuga Hinata, and the Kumogakure Ninja head: "Is it… my turn now?"
Chapter 21: Naruto-kun's Embrace is So Warm
An orange-red Chakra cloak seemed to physically cover Naruto's body.
A tail, formed entirely of Tailed Beast power, swayed behind him.
Naruto, draped in the Tailed Beast Cloak, revealed an indescribably ferocious aura on his youthful face.
Although Naruto was still just a child at this moment.
Yet, when the head of the Hidden Cloud VillageNinja delegation saw this scene, he couldn't help but break out in a sweat.
"J-Jinchuriki~?!"
The Hidden Cloud Village possessed the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails.
This also meant that their Village also had Jinchuriki as vessels.
Whether it was Killer Bee, the Eight-TailsJinchuriki, or Yugito, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki.
Past and present Jinchuriki had demonstrated the power and terror of Tailed Beast power in various ways.
The moment he recognized Naruto's identity, a flood of chaotic thoughts rushed into his mind like seawater.
Killer Bee and Yugito had left too deep an impression on the Kumogakure Ninja.
So much so that they extrapolated this power to Naruto.
However… when he clearly saw that Naruto only had one tail behind him, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, forcing himself to calm down and smile.
"But it's only one tail…"
Typically, the strength of a Jinchuriki was determined by the number of tails manifested.
The Nine-Tailed had nine tails.
Yet, this child in front of him could only control one.
There was nothing to fear… he told himself.
After all, during wartime, he was a Ninja head capable of commanding over a thousand Ninja.
Having climbed his way up, his own abilities were equally formidable.
Just one tail, as long as he was careful, taking down the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki would be no problem at all… "That's… the Nine-Tailed's Chakra…"
Hyuga Hiashi, standing nearby, also recognized the true nature represented by the Tailed Beast Cloak.
Although he had never seen the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki go berserk in previous generations. Yet, Hyuga Hiashi still had a very deep and fresh memory of the Nine-Tailed Demon Foxs Attackthat plagued the Village back then.
As Naruto assumed his stance.
Hyuga Hiashi knew he was about to attack.
"Naruto-kun~…"
Hinata, tucked under the Kumogakure Ninja head's arm, struggled to lift her head.
What she saw through her blurry vision was an equally blurry projection of Naruto in his Tailed Beast Cloak mode.
The pale moonlight shone down, illuminating his orange-glowing body, making Naruto look like a demon crawled out of hell.
The ferocity of Tailed Beast power was something the Kumogakure Ninja understood best.
This was also why the Ninja head hadn't used Hinata as a hostage to threaten them.
The battle… was about to erupt!
Whoosh!
Naruto leaped up, charging straight at his opponent.
There were no flashy techniques; just a direct assault would suffice.
His swift figure was like a miniature beast.
As he passed, visible dust rose from the street.
These dust particles formed a channel, a wave stirred up by extreme speed and immense force.
Crack, snap!
Innumerable dense cracks suddenly appeared on the hard bluestone ground.
The saying goes… light as a feather, heavy as Mount Tai.
"Lightning Release…"
On the Kumogakure Ninja head's side, his hands quickly formed hand signs.
Under Hyuga Hiashi's Byakugan vision, the opponent achieved a speed of five hand signs per second.
This was the maximum speed a normal Ninja could reach.
It was enough to demonstrate the solidity of the opponent's basic training.
And the Byakugan not only possessed observation capabilities like a high-magnification camera.
It also had the characteristic of x-ray vision.
The opponent's entire meridian system instantly became active, squeezing out a large amount of energy from his physical body, mixing it with mental power, forming a massive amount of Chakra.
Then, a ball of Chakra, like a ball lightning, appeared from the air and fiercely flew towards the pouncing Naruto.
Under the night sky.
A creature, a cat, intruded by the intense Chakrareaction and killing intent…
It lost its sense of direction, falling into a frantic, headless state of running due to sensing the nearby danger.