Rotation: Flash Chain

The crowd erupted in panicked, despairing screams.

The terrifying Tailed Beast Ball tore mercilessly through residential buildings and continued barreling toward the crowd. Terrifying chakra flickered atop it, as though it could detonate at any moment and rip everything apart.

A Konoha ninja leaped high into the air, trying to stop the Tailed Beast Ball with ninjutsu, but his technique was ruthlessly torn apart like paper in the next instant.

The Tailed Beast Ball was so fast that he barely had time to react, let alone attempt any remedy or escape afterward.

It was over.

At that moment, nearly everyone had the same thought spring into their minds.

"Rotation: Flash Chain!"

A white flash suddenly appeared.

In the air.

It was as though blue flowers had bloomed one after another. Deep-blue chakra barriers materialized out of thin air, one after another, moving so quickly that ordinary people could not even make out Yuzuru Hyuga spinning desperately within them.

Taking it head-on was impossible, but the sight of the Third using his Adamantine Staff to alter the Tailed Beast Ball's trajectory had given Yuzuru Hyuga a little inspiration.

If he could not stop it, then he would try to move it.

A chain of Rotations nearly burst into a straight line through the air. It looked as though several blue whirlpools had suddenly appeared around the massive Tailed Beast Ball. As they carefully touched it, they also guided it away from its straight path.

The terrifying Tailed Beast Ball shifted slightly in midair. The immense tailed beast chakra finally lost its balance and, as it flew toward a residential district, exploded with a deafening boom, becoming a terrifying mass of energy that erupted as though it would swallow heaven and earth.

Countless houses collapsed, and the flying debris and bricks made many scream in pain. Fortunately, Yuzuru Hyuga had done everything he possibly could. The Tailed Beast Ball had not detonated directly amid the crowd.

Yuzuru Hyuga staggered as he landed, gasping for breath. The gale from the explosion whipped his long hair into disarray, and the terrifying shockwave shoved him more than ten meters across the ground. The successive, high-frequency full-power Rotations had even left his chakra pathways aching faintly.

That had been far too lucky.

Only as he steadied his breathing did the cold sweat on his forehead finally trickle down.

Tailed Beast Ball explosions came in many forms. A tailed beast could even crush one directly in its mouth, releasing it as a shockwave.

But fortunately, this Tailed Beast Ball had been interrupted and knocked off course by the Third, yet it had still flown out in the intact form of a "ball." It had not even detonated upon striking the residential buildings, which was what gave Yuzuru Hyuga room to act.

It was still far inferior to how Hashirama Senju had once faced a Tailed Beast Ball head-on, used the Wood Dragon Technique to redirect it, then simply pressed it onto the Nine-Tails after a whole sequence of maneuvers. Yet such precise control—using Rotation to alter a Tailed Beast Ball's path without detonating it—was still extraordinarily difficult, almost unbelievable.

If not for the Byakugan allowing him to accurately judge the form of chakra, and if Yuzuru Hyuga's mastery of Rotation had not already reached its maximum level—a perfect realm unparalleled before or since—this would have been impossible.

"Nicely done!"

A gratifying voice of praise sounded beside him.

Yuzuru Hyuga turned to look. Shisui Uchiha stood atop a streetlamp, staring at the scene before him with lingering fear in his eyes as well.

"Hurry and evacuate the civilians. Yuzuru, you did great."

As Shisui Uchiha repeated his praise, members of the Uchiha Clan finally arrived on the street behind him. They quickly began guiding and directing the civilians away, and even Itachi Uchiha could be seen among them.

Yuzuru Hyuga adjusted his glasses. "Why are you so late?"

That brief question made Shisui Uchiha's expression turn somewhat awkward and gloomy. After a moment of silence, he shook his head. "Let's talk once we're somewhere safe."

The two exchanged looks for a moment, then stopped wasting words and quickly began directing the civilians away.

Yuzuru Hyuga suddenly looked up. With his Byakugan, he could see the precise composition of chakra. At that moment, a terrifying ocular power wrapped around the Nine-Tails was slowly dissipating—apparently, Minato Namikaze and Obito Uchiha's first clash had already produced a preliminary victor.

When the careless Obito had been taken down by a Rasengan, Minato Namikaze had also seized the opportunity to free the Nine-Tails from Obito Uchiha's control and restore its senses.

"Hah!"

The Third roared furiously, and the Adamantine Staff in his hand suddenly lengthened. With one strike, the Nine-Tails' enormous body was sent flying toward the outskirts of the village.

But with its thick hide and tough flesh, the Nine-Tails was only hurt, not injured, by his attack. Dust filled the sky as the terrifying tailed beast continued to stare directly at Konoha with eyes full of hatred, its massive form blotting out the sky.

"Yuzuru!"

Izumi's crying snapped Yuzuru Hyuga back to his senses. He did not linger any longer and decided to retreat somewhere safe first.

To be honest, if another Tailed Beast Ball came, all he could do was run. He would never dare step forward and attempt those maneuvers again.

Doing something like that once in a lifetime was enough. It was already enough to leave his name in history and brag about it for decades—assuming this was the only highlight of his life.

Yuzuru Hyuga led the crowd in a rapid evacuation along the streets. It was not until members of the Hyuga Clan came to receive them that he was ordered not to approach the Nine-Tails, and could only take part in rescue efforts from the outskirts.

In fact, this was no different from what the Uchiha Clan was doing.

The Uchiha Clan had also been given similar orders.

Evacuate and rescue civilians. No need to engage the Nine-Tails head-on.

In truth, the Uchiha Clan did not want this.

When the Nine-Tails Incident broke out, many of them had proposed confronting the Nine-Tails directly. On one hand, it would demonstrate the Uchiha Clan's selfless contribution to Konoha; on the other, it would prove that the Uchiha Clan had nothing to do with the Nine-Tails Incident, since anyone with eyes could see the Sharingan ocular power wrapped around the Nine-Tails.

However, Danzo had suddenly appeared. Using the Sharingan ocular power surrounding the Nine-Tails as an excuse, he ordered the Uchiha Clan to avoid suspicion. They were not to approach the Nine-Tails and only needed to evacuate the civilians.

Left with no choice, the Uchiha Clan could only accept. They did not know that, because of this, they had fallen into a massive trap.

"Yuzuru, thank you!"

Izumi's voice made Yuzuru Hyuga glance sideways. He turned to look at her. Her little face was tear-streaked, her eyes red, and the admiration and barely perceptible inferiority in them left him feeling conflicted. He gave Izumi a gentle nod, then did not rest and instead actively joined the rescue efforts.

From within her mother's arms, Izumi watched his receding figure from afar. For the first time, she realized that she did not understand at all the boy she admired—and perhaps even liked.

The words he had once said to her resurfaced in her mind at the most inappropriate moment.

"If there are bad people, will you protect me?"

"Yeah."

He had done it.

Biting down hard on her lower lip, Izumi clearly realized for the first time just how vast the gap between them was. Yet she could not suppress the heart pounding ever more fiercely in her chest.

She wanted to stay by his side. She wanted to become a ninja as strong as him.

She stared blankly, only to see a girl in white clothes silently following behind him.

Was that Kaoru?

Dazed, she did not dare to be certain, but the two figures vanished into the crowd of ninja and refugees.

Among the ninja conducting the rescue, five-year-old Yuzuru Hyuga stood out particularly sharply. The Hyuga Clan's white clothing was conspicuous even in the darkness. Though everyone was doing the same thing, Yuzuru Hyuga drew far more attention than the other ninja.

At some point, Kaoru Hyuga had followed after him. She assisted him from behind, helping guide the refugees while naturally introducing Yuzuru Hyuga to the grateful villagers.

"This is the genius ninja of our Branch House, Yuzuru Hyuga."

"Though Young Master Yuzuru is still young, he is already an outstanding and powerful ninja."

"Thank you. I will be sure to pass your gratitude on to Young Master Yuzuru."

Before long, rumors began spreading through the chaos about Yuzuru Hyuga, the genius of the Hyuga Clan's Branch House, blocking a Tailed Beast Ball.

The rumors were wildly fantastical. Some versions claimed Yuzuru Hyuga had blocked the Tailed Beast Ball with a single Rotation. Others said he had awakened a special bloodline of the Hyuga Clan. Some simply claimed that Yuzuru Hyuga was actually in his twenties and merely short.

Short my ass. If he was over twenty and that tall, he would be a damn dwarf.

Some thought it was nonsense, some believed it had to be exaggerated, while others were half-convinced. All sorts of rumors flew about, brewing among the refugees being escorted by the Hyuga Clan.

But no matter what, Yuzuru Hyuga's name had appeared in the public eye for the first time.

In this fantastical ninja world, it was not difficult to accept that a five-year-old boy could possess exceptional ninja ability.

But—

"Isn't that a little too exaggerated?"

Someone could not help muttering, "That was a Tailed Beast Ball..."

A man in distinctive clothing, his face painted deathly white with bizarre makeup, stopped in his tracks upon hearing that.

"What did you just say?"

Orochimaru, who had decided to slack off for the time being, paused in his efforts to "save the civilians." His deep, snake-like pupils fixed upon the ordinary villager who had spoken.

"Lord Orochimaru!" The man was startled at first, then respectfully recounted every rumor he had heard.

Orochimaru smiled with great interest. "Ah, I see. Yuzuru Hyuga, was it? I will certainly explain his merits to the Hokage."

"Thank you!" The villager was overwhelmed with gratitude, never expecting that a few words from him could help that young hero receive a reward.

The Hokage was fair in rewards and punishments. Young Master Yuzuru would surely be rewarded for this, right?

Orochimaru unhurriedly disappeared down the street, as though the person who had just spoken with him had been a ghost.

Yuzuru Hyuga, however, knew nothing of this.

Now that he had stepped into the spotlight, he had never intended to keep a low profile in the first place.