Epilogue (2): Team Kurenai Yuhi's Discovery
Before this incident came to a close, there were two other incidents.
First, Akamaru seemed to sense something and cried out in unease.
At first, I thought it was because it was uneasy about the presence of unfamiliar Anbu in the vicinity.
Then Kiba Inuzuka lifted it down from its dog throne and exchanged a few words in dog language that no one but the Inuzuka family could understand. Only then did they realize that Akamaru was smelling a strange odor from afar.
"Let me take a look." Without waiting for Kurenai or any other Jonin give instructions, Hinata volunteered to take on the responsibility. "Shino, you can use the insects to search as well."
Although Team Kurenai Yuhi is a reconnaissance specialization squad, all three members of the squad are quite formidable in combat.
Shino's insects are bizarre and mysterious, making them impossible to defend against; Kiba's Taijutsu is excellent, with speed and strength among the best of the Genin; and Akamaru can cooperate with him to use the Inuzuka family's Secret Technique, making their attack power extremely strong.
However, the strongest Team Kurenai Yuhi is still a woman—not referring to Kurenai Yuhi, the team leader who was recently promoted to Jonin —but Kurenai Yuhi, who possesses the Hinata Hyuga Byakugan.
Hinata's fighting ability, even before the Chunin Ninja Exams, was only slightly inferior to Neji's.
Because of her low aptitude for Gentle Fist, Hinata's childhood was not very pleasant. Hyuga Hiashi disliked her, believing that her aptitude was too weak to inherit the Main Family's name, and after sending her to the Ninja Academy, he never paid much attention to her training again—especially after Hanabi began to show her Gentle Fist talent.
However, unlike the original story, Hinata in this world has a transmigrator, Sakura Haruno, as her friend. With a mature and close friend by her side to comfort, console, and then give her feel-good platitudes, and finally give her some cynical advice, this strong-willed, Byakugan girl quickly overcomes her inferiority complex and becomes confident and cheerful.
Hinata's talents are actually quite good. She has strong Chakra control and high comprehension. In the original work, the Hinata who wasn't enhanced by Sakura created many of her own techniques. In this world after being disrupted by the transmigrator, influenced by Sakura, Hinata drastically modified Gentle Fist, adding elements of Strong Fist to it, making it a perfect blend of softness and hardness, and turning it into Hinata style of martial arts.
This modification avoided Hinata's weakness in Gentle Fist, and with Sakura Haruno always by her side to assist her, after graduating from the Ninja Academy, Hinata's talent, like a rough gem, gradually became apparent, and her strength, like a balloon, grew in size.
By the time of the Chunin Ninja Exams, she was almost as good as Neji.
Regardless of the three overpowered members of Team 7, Hinata is undoubtedly the best among this year's freshmen.
Ya was certainly resentful of her; he didn't like having someone more assertive than him in the group, especially a woman.
Kiba, who possesses various powerful clan Secret Technique, admits that he is inferior to ninjas like Sakura and Sasuke. However, he is not so convinced when facing Hinata, who did not show off her skills during the Ninja Academy.
When there are two strong-willed people in a class, there will be all sorts of clashes: the result of their resentment is constant challenges.
At the beginning, Kiba was only slightly at a disadvantage in their sparring matches, confident that he could turn the tide using his clan's Secret Technique. However, Hinata grew rapidly, and the gap between them widened. Even his Secret Technique couldn't make up for the decline. After repeated defeats, the proud Kiba finally recognized the reality.
That means he really couldn't beat a delicate, pretty girl...
Admit it, the girls this year are definitely better than the boys.
Shino, who always kept a low profile and liked to hide behind sunglasses and a high trench coat collar, had been observing in secret and had long since discovered this fact.
Team Kurenai Yuhi's team was formed, he bowed down to Hinata, knowing that his strength was inferior to Hinata's...
He always completed the tasks Hinata assigned him meticulously and without any compromise.
Upon hearing her command, it didn't hesitate and immediately released the insects.
Hinata also activated her Byakugan and followed the direction Akamaru pointed out, quickly finding her target.
"We've found them! They're two kilometers away, speeding away from us!"
"Sorry, they were too fast; my bugs couldn't keep up with them. But I found where they were just standing; it's in a secluded corner not far from here."
The boy in sunglasses pointed to a dense thicket of trees a few hundred meters away and said with a hint of apology.
"..." Kakashi glanced at the bushes, lost in thought.
That place is quite close to the battlefield... The area affected by the battle Kimimaro and his student Sakura Haruno just now was much larger. What are they trying to do by hiding in a place like this?
"Can we see more information, Hinata?" Kakashi's eyes darted around as he pressed for more details.
"Okay," the Byakugan girl channeled more Chakra into her eyes, magnifying the visible details even further, "I can see them facepalming..."
She paused for a moment, then said, "... It's the symbol of the Konoha Ninja!"
"Konoha Ninja, huh..." Kakashi lowered his eyelids and said calmly, "Thank you for your help, Hinata, Shino."
The Jonin present exchanged glances, each already having their own guesses.
The Konoha ninjas, hiding so close, didn't offer any support during the battle; they just watched as a girl from their own village fought a life-or-death struggle with the enemy...
This is unlike what a typical Konoha Ninja would do.
Almost without a doubt, the Jonin present were all intelligent people and immediately figured out their identities.
The Root...
Kakashi's gaze gradually turned cold.
Watching his adorable students fight without offering any help is one thing... but hiding so close to the battlefield, acting so suspiciously, I'm afraid he has ulterior motives.
Kakashi, though not particularly interested in politics, still possessed considerable status and strength— the Fourth Hokage's direct disciple, an Elite Jonin, and even qualified to become Hokage—so he knew some information Danzo Hokage.
That old bastard, sending people to stake out here, I'm afraid he doesn't have any good intentions.
Of course, Kakashi believed that Danzo wouldn't let Orochimaru take Sasuke away. However, as for how to specifically prevent Orochimaru from obtaining Sasuke, Danzo's approach probably wouldn't be to protect the last bloodline of the Uchiha like they did. On the contrary, directly killing Sasuke and making Orochimaru give up completely would likely be a simpler and less troublesome method.
The entanglement between Danzo and the Uchiha Clan Massacre was something these ninjas, whose positions were close to the Konoha High Command, had heard of. Rumors circulated that Danzo considered the Uchiha Clan an unstable element and had refused to spare Sasuke, hoping to eradicate them completely...
Now it seems that this rumor is probably not unfounded!
The masked youth had a serious expression.
Danzo has been very active lately, always jumping around... He wants to take advantage of Tsunade's unstable position to do something.
However, he set his sights on his prized disciple?
Kakashi let out a cold snort deep in his throat.
"The reinforcements have all arrived. It seems there won't be any new enemies... Let's go."
Kakashi carried Sasuke on his back, glanced at the sleeping girl on Hinata's back, waved his hand, and led everyone away.
(1/. Happy Qixi Festival! Double updates resume today, concluding this volume.)
(A new week has begun, please recommend! Please add to your favorites!)
(Some people are hoping I'll write a side story today, but don't get your hopes up too high. Maybe I'll write one if I get some inspiration.)