Hiashi

"Minato... Minato?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi dropped his pipe in shock, stammering as he spoke.

Minato nodded slightly, then said to Hiruzen Sarutobi, "A little girl from the Hyuga Clan has been kidnapped. Naruto is following them. Third Hokage, quickly dispatch the Anbu to the Forest of Death. The exact location is..."

He spoke extremely quickly.

Clearly.

Minato did not have much Chakra left.

After hearing him out, Hiruzen Sarutobi's scalp went numb.

He had known the Kumogakure envoys had come here with no good intentions.

But he had not expected them to dare set their sights on a Kekkei Genkai.

They were outrageously bold.

Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately shouted, "Someone!"

An Anbu appeared in the Hokage's office. "Third Hokage."

When he saw Minato, he broke out in a cold sweat as well.

Who would not be terrified to see a dead man come back to life?

Hiruzen Sarutobi said to the Anbu, "Have all currently available Anbu depart at once. Go to the Forest of Death and find Naruto Uzumaki!"

Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's order, the Anbu quickly lowered his head. "Yes!"

With that, he vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.

Soon after.

The Anbu responsible for watching Naruto rushed over. "Third Hokage, this is bad. The Fourth has come ba—"

After charging into the room, he saw Minato there as well.

But Minato looked somewhat unstable.

His figure flickered on and off, like a lightbulb in the final seconds before burning out.

Minato said to Hiruzen Sarutobi, "Don't worry. Naruto is my son. Nothing will happen to him."

"I'll have to leave him in your care from now on, Third Hokage."

At this moment.

Minato still did not know what Naruto's childhood had been like.

Hiruzen Sarutobi revealed a guilty expression upon hearing that.

Meanwhile, the Anbu was utterly shocked.

What had he just heard?

Naruto Uzumaki.

That monster rejected by the entire village!

Was actually the son of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze???

What exactly was going on????

Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Anbu assigned to watch Naruto fell silent.

Minato did not notice anything strange either.

His Chakra was exhausted, and he vanished into the air.

After a long while.

The Anbu stared sharply at Hiruzen Sarutobi and asked, "Lord Hokage, what exactly have you been hiding?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi explained, "Minato had too many enemies. This was also done for Naruto's safety."

That explanation...

Did not really hold up.

But who told him he was the Hokage?

A wave of sorrow immediately rose in the Anbu's heart.

If he put himself in Naruto's place.

He was the son of a Konoha Hero, and from the moment he was born, he had become a Jinchuriki for Konoha.

And what happened then?

Naruto had been "enjoying" that kind of treatment.

In that instant, the Will of Fire in the Anbu's heart wavered slightly.

The village was home, and the villagers were family.

But...

Hiruzen Sarutobi interrupted his thoughts and said, "Don't think too much about it. Some things are beyond our ability to change."

The Anbu felt chilled to the bone after hearing that. He asked Hiruzen Sarutobi, "Lord Hokage, what about the Kumogakure envoys...?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "Don't alert them for now. Find Naruto first."

In truth.

In Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes.

Naruto was the priority.

Hinata, whom Naruto had risked his life to save, was secondary instead.

Who would have thought that, to the Anbu's ears.

Those words meant Hiruzen Sarutobi was abandoning Hinata...

And besides.

Kumogakure had done something like this.

Why was Hiruzen Sarutobi, a Shinobi Hero, not immediately killing the Kumogakure envoys? Why was he waiting instead?

Since when had Konoha become so easy for others to bully?

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The Anbu's mind was a mess.

When he thought of how he had watched Naruto before, he felt ashamed.

"Lord Hokage, perhaps we should not have been watching Naruto..."

"What if the Nine-Tails' seal develops a problem?"

"Enough. Do not discuss these matters with me."

"You are tired too. Go back and rest for a few days."

The Anbu knew that this so-called rest for a few days.

Probably meant he was being dismissed outright.

What a shame...

Inside the Forest of Death.

Naruto carried Hinata in his arms as he headed toward the Hyuga Clan compound.

Hinata had been under immense mental strain and was utterly exhausted.

She had already fallen into a deep sleep.

Naruto looked at the adorable little girl in his arms and smiled faintly.

But it vanished in an instant.

Why?

Why would Kumogakure's people kidnap Hinata at the Hyuga Clan compound?

It made no sense.

Naruto would sooner believe they could assassinate Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Than believe they could successfully kidnap Hinata under the watchfulness of the Byakugan.

That was complete nonsense!

Still, the outcome was not bad.

He could only learn the answer later from the Kumogakure shinobi.

Kurama said, "Hey! Naruto, don't forget your promise."

Hearing Kurama's words, Naruto said gratefully, "Of course I have not forgotten. But not now, because I am not certain I can survive after having a Tailed Beast extracted from me."

Kurama's voice immediately erupted in rage. "You lied to me?"

Naruto shook his head and said with absolute certainty, "Kurama, I am sorry. I cherish my life. I need to find a way to separate us without either of us dying."

Kurama's voice did not sound again.

But he did not cause trouble for Naruto either.

Perhaps Kurama knew Naruto had not deceived him.

And Naruto did not place an even stronger seal on Kurama.

That was called trust.

Naruto made his way all the way to the Hyuga Clan compound.

He was carrying Hinata in his arms, and he was spotted before he even got close.

"Who are you?! Why are you carrying our young lady?! Speak!!"

Three or five Hyuga Clan members quickly surrounded Naruto.

Naruto clicked his tongue and smiled. "Heh, now this is more like it~ You spotted me while I was still several hundred meters away."

"Then let me ask you this: why was Hinata kidnapped by Kumogakure shinobi?"

The Hyuga Clan members immediately exchanged looks.

Naruto's expression turned cold. "Let's return to the compound first. I want to see Hiashi."

The Hyuga Clan members had wanted to argue.

But seeing Naruto's terrifying expression, along with the heavy pressure radiating from him.

They did not dare object...

After all, if it was true.

Naruto had saved Hinata.

He was the Hyuga Clan's benefactor.

One of the Hyuga Clan members softened his tone and said to Naruto, "Uh... Naruto Uzumaki, come with us."

Very quickly, the group entered the Hyuga Clan compound and soon met Hiashi.

When Hiashi saw Naruto holding his daughter in his arms, his expression stiffened slightly.

The Hyuga Clan had never married their daughters off to outsiders.

That was tradition!

Judging by Hinata and Naruto's appearance, they had clearly already developed to a certain extent.

However...

Why did something seem wrong with Hinata?

With a stiff face, Hiashi asked, "Naruto Uzumaki, what is going on?"

Just then.

Hinata woke up.

She opened her eyes and saw Hiashi's frightening expression.

Hinata jolted in fright, broke free from Naruto's arms, and obediently stood to one side.

Naruto asked Hiashi, "Did none of you notice that Hinata had been kidnapped?"

Hiashi frowned upon hearing that and asked Hinata, "Hinata, weren't you resting in your room?"

Hinata then recounted what had happened to her...

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