Naruto: Hinata, wanna see my big treasure!

The night faded, and a pale fish-belly white tinged the distant sky. The rising sun cast its light and warmth over the village.

Hokage Office.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, bit down on his pipe and prepared to begin the day's work.

Whoosh! An Anbu appeared before him.

"Oh, it's Kakashi. What's the matter?"

Without looking up, Hiruzen continued flipping through his paperwork.

His mood was excellent.

He seemed relaxed and cheerful, as if he had shed a dozen years.

Just yesterday, the village had held a grand celebration to mark the signing of the Peace Treaty between Konoha and Kumogakure.

Peace had finally arrived.

The villagers were surely still reminiscing about yesterday's ceremony, praising the Third Hokage's lofty achievements.

The reputation issues caused by the Naruto incident were finally on their way to being resolved.

"Lord Third Hokage, it's about the Kumogakure Envoy Delegation."

Kakashi knelt below, his expression complicated. But with something this big happening, he had to report to the Hokage for a decision immediately.

The Envoy Delegation? Hiruzen's face stiffened.

He had been expecting the delegation to take the signed Peace Treaty back to Kumogakure.

Could it be... something had gone wrong?

A vague sense of dread stirred in Hiruzen's heart.

"What happened?"

Kakashi took a deep breath and relayed the intelligence he had gathered.

"At around one o'clock last night, the Kumogakure Envoy Delegation infiltrated the Hyuga Clan Compound, abducted the Main Family Eldest Daughter, then engaged in combat on the streets. In the end..."

Hiruzen's heart skipped a beat.

"In the end, what?"

Kakashi was silent for a moment.

"From the intelligence I've gathered, it seems all of them are dead."

Clatter!

The pipe in his mouth fell weakly, striking the desk with a crisp clatter. Scattered ash and embers burned holes through the documents on the Hokage's desk.

His wrinkled face drained of all color. Hiruzen looked as though his very soul had been ripped away, frozen stiff in his chair, unable to collect his thoughts for a long time.

It's over...

It's over...

The Peace Treaty was signed just yesterday, and the Envoy Delegation was slaughtered that very night.

If word of this reached the Raikage's ears, all his efforts would be for nothing.

His reputation, which he had only just managed to salvage!

"Who?!"

"Who did this?!"

"Who would commit such an outrageous act?!"

Bloodshot veins burst at the corners of Hiruzen's eyes. At this moment, all he wanted was to tear the perpetrator limb from limb.

As for the part of the report about the Cloud Ninja abducting Hinata, he simply skipped over it.

Kakashi hesitated.

"It was Namikaze Mirai..."

Namikaze Mirai?! "You again!"

Hiruzen gritted his teeth.

Meanwhile.

Hyuga Clan Compound.

In an elegant and dignified mansion, a maidservant in a kimono knelt by a low table, pouring fragrant tea into cups on either side.

"Mirai, try some of the Hyuga clan's tea."

Dressed in formal attire, Hyuga Hiashi smiled lightly and gestured for Namikaze Mirai to taste the tea before him.

The Hyuga clan's rules were strict, and offering tea to a guest was the highest form of courtesy.

"Excellent tea."

Namikaze Mirai took a sip, let out a murmur of appreciation, then set down the tea cup.

After the pleasantries, Hyuga Hiashi's expression turned serious.

"Mirai, regarding the envoy delegation that died last night, what are your plans?"

Last night, when he pulled off the black cloth covering the man's face, he broke out in a cold sweat in an instant.

The face of the dead man was unmistakably that of the Cloud ninja envoy who had signed the Peace Treaty in the Hokage Office during the day.

The treaty was signed in broad daylight, and by nightfall, the man was killed.

Hyuga Hiashi could already imagine the fury of the Raikage upon learning this news.

If things went wrong, the war that had just ceased might flare up again.

This was a major diplomatic incident!

Even as the head of the Hyuga Clan, he couldn't bear that responsibility! Faced with Hiashi's earnest inquiry, Namikaze Mirai did not answer directly. Instead, he picked up the tea cup from the low table and took a drink.

"What do you think Sarutobi Hiruzen will do when he finds out about this?"

Hyuga Hiashi furrowed his brow.

Without a moment's thought, he replied directly, "Forgive my bluntness, but knowing the Third Hokage as I do, I suspect he will shift all the blame onto the two of us."

Konoha's strength had now dropped to its lowest point in history.

Orochimaru had defected, Jiraiya and Tsunade had left the village—none of the Sannin remained in Konoha.

During the Nine-Tails Attack, Minato and his wife died in battle, and the village lost a large number of Jonin.

In contrast, Kumogakure's strength was far greater.

Both the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails Jinchuriki were perfect Jinchuriki, in their prime, at the peak of their power.

The enemy was strong, and we were weak. If it were the younger Sarutobi Hiruzen, once called the Ninja Hero, he might have used political maneuvering to navigate the situation.

But now, advanced in age, it was hard for him to stay firm.

He would likely do everything possible to pin the blame on the two of them and wash his own hands clean.

That was what worried him.

He couldn't bear this responsibility.

"Killed is killed. Why worry about it?"

Taking a slow sip of tea, feeling the warmth and fragrance spread through his mouth, Namikaze Mirai cast a calm glance at Hiashi.

"Mirai, you..."

Hyuga Hiashi's face froze for a moment. He was pacing in anxiety, while Namikaze Mirai acted as if nothing had happened.

If this matter wasn't handled well, even the Hyuga Clan might be in danger.

Namikaze Mirai seemed not to notice his distress. He turned his gaze toward the yard outside.

There, two children were playing happily.

Children always had boundless energy. Even after the thrilling events of last night, they showed no signs of fatigue.

Those azure blue eyes softened into a gentle smile.

Outside the house, in the yard.

Naruto glanced around, making sure no one was watching, then secretly called Hinata over.

"Hinata, let me show you my big treasure! Don't tell anyone else, okay?"

"Huh? What big treasure?"

Hinata looked Naruto up and down, her pure white eyes filled with curiosity.

Naruto pulled down his pants and took out the Electromagnetic Railgun strapped to his waist.

"Here, this is it!"

The strange metallic structure immediately caught Hinata's attention.

"Wow, amazing!"

Her pure white eyes were full of admiration.

Last night, the weapon Naruto used to defeat those bad guys—

This was it, wasn't it? It made those villains so wary they didn't dare come close.

So this was Naruto's big treasure! "My uncle gave this to me!"

Naruto held his head high, his face full of pride.

Thanks to Namikaze Mirai's relentless efforts, he had gradually shed that gloom and listlessness, regaining the vitality a child his age should have.

"My uncle said this is just the beginning. He'll give me even cooler stuff later!"

"Naruto, can I touch it?"

Hinata stared at the gun barrel in Naruto's hand, a hint of longing in her pure white eyes.

She wanted to get a close look at the structure of this strange weapon.

"Of course, but you can only touch it, okay?"