Kidnapping Hinata, All Parties Stir! Desperate Kekkei Tōta! Vacuum Attack!!

An opportunity!

A golden opportunity!

The Cloud Ninja Leader's heart raced with excitement.

He hadn't forgotten the orders from Kumogakure High Command: during the peace talks, find the right moment to reenact the old scheme—just like Kirigakure did—and seize the Hyuga Main Family's Kekkei Genkai, the Byakugan, from Konoha.

And now, at this very juncture, Hinata Hyuga of the Hyuga Main Family had been kidnapped by an outsider? Wasn't this the perfect chance for the Cloud ninja to claim the Byakugan?

Thinking this through, the Cloud Ninja Leader immediately ordered his men to search for traces of Hinata of the Hyuga Main Family, instructing them to find the girl—taken by a Konoha civilian—before the Hyuga Clan did, and gouge out her Byakugan...

"Yes."

The Cloud ninjas moved swiftly, using Transformation Jutsu to disguise themselves as they scoured Konoha for Hinata's whereabouts.

All of this was quickly noticed by the Konoha Anbu. After watching for a while, the Anbu ninjas realized the Cloud village had set their sights on the Byakugan.

But that very fact made the Anbu ninjas stifle their laughter.

The reason was simple: based on the intel they had, the Hyuga clan leader's missing daughter, Hinata, had been found again just a day after her disappearance.

That meant the Cloud village's intel on Hinata was outdated.

Those Cloud ninjas were truly foolish!

Swoosh, swoosh.

Kakashi, wearing his mask off to the side, didn't join his Anbu comrades in mocking the Cloud ninjas. Instead, he dutifully recorded the written report of the current surveillance mission:

The Cloud village has come under the guise of signing a peace treaty.

But behind the scenes, they've already set their sights on the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan!

They're now scouring the village for Hinata Hyuga, attempting to steal her Byakugan!

However, according to intel, Hinata has already...

Kakashi's pen suddenly stopped mid-sentence. The reason was simple: he spotted a small figure on the street—Hinata Hyuga—alongside a Konoha civilian named Roman.

Watching this, Kakashi frowned and thought to himself:

Hinata left the Hyuga Estate, and they don't seem to be hiding their movements at all.

The Cloud ninjas are bound to notice.

This is getting troublesome.

If the Anbu step in to stop the Cloud ninjas' actions, it could spark a fight between the Anbu and the Cloud village's peace-talk ninjas.

That would definitely harm tomorrow's Kumo-Konoha Peace Talks...

I need to report this situation to the Third Hokage immediately and let him handle it.

Kakashi gave a hand signal to Uzuki Yanxi, who was on Anbu duty with him—"Keep watching; I'll report to the Hokage-sama"—and then vanished on the spot with a Body Flicker Technique.

Meanwhile, Uzuki Yanxi and the other Anbu teammates all grew serious:

Hinata Hyuga was out!

The Cloud village was searching for Hinata Hyuga... If the two crossed paths, a kidnapping was certain.

If the Anbu didn't intervene, Hinata's Byakugan—and Hinata herself—would be taken by the Cloud.

If the Anbu did intervene, it could ruin the peace talks.

In short, the situation was a mess. Only the Third Hokage could handle it now.

The Anbu ninja (Kakashi) had made the right call.

Over ten minutes later, at the Hokage's Office.

Kakashi reported everything he'd observed to the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage, who had been genial moments before, turned stern. He set down his pipe and asked Kakashi, "Kakashi, where is Hinata right now?"

Kakashi: "On the street near the Forest of Death."

The Third Hokage immediately used the Telescope Jutsu to check. Soon, through the crystal ball, he spotted Hinata and Roman at the edge of the Forest of Death.

The two were in the Forest of Death.

But that wasn't the most critical part... What truly mattered was that the Third Hokage saw tails behind them—Cloud village ninjas.

"Hmph. The Cloud village has no sincerity in these peace talks, coveting Konoha's Kekkei Genkai, the Byakugan." The Third Hokage snorted coldly and asked Kakashi if the other Anbu were still monitoring.

Kakashi nodded.

Seeing this, the Third Hokage adjusted the crystal ball's view and spotted another group of Anbu silently trailing the Cloud ninjas.

The Third Hokage breathed a sigh of relief, then fell into thought...

After dozens of seconds, he said, "The Konoha Anbu shouldn't clash directly with the Cloud village. Anbu involvement would ruin the peace talks. Have the Hyuga Clan send their own people to rescue Hinata Hyuga!"

"Kakashi, you... no, your Body Flicker Technique isn't very refined."

"Mitarashi Shishio, Anbu Captain. Go notify Hyuga Hiashi. Tell him to act immediately."

"Yes!"

A voice of acknowledgment shot out from the Hokage Office, and a black silhouette vanished without a trace.

Mitarashi Shishio, Anbu Captain, was on the move.

The Kumogakure peace delegation was on the move. Uzuki Yanxi and the other Konoha Anbu were on the move as well.

Three sides were circling around Hinata.

At this very moment, Hinata and Roman had already entered the Forest of Death. Activating her Byakugan, she scanned a full 360 degrees without blind spots and spotted tails trailing behind them.

Two groups in total.

Both groups had already detected each other, watching one another warily.

Several hundred meters away.

Both Roman and Hinata, upon sensing these two groups, understood that their move into the Forest of Death had indeed drawn out the Kumogakure ninjas—those with designs on the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan Kekkei Genkai.

It had also drawn out another group. Were they Anbu? Or Root?

In short, trouble had arrived.

A solution quickly came to Roman. He turned to Hinata and said:

"The Kumogakure ninjas are locked in a standoff with the Anbu or Root. They haven't reached us yet.

"We can try using a large-scale, high-power jutsu to blast in their direction. That'll scare them off, and they won't figure out who attacked them."

Hinata thought of something. "For example, Vacuum Attack?"

Roman gave a slight nod, raised his hand, and curled his five fingers slightly. He pushed his palm outward, aiming behind him—toward where the Anbu and Root were.

Boom!

Behind him, the air exploded!

The forest shattered!

Countless trees and roots were ripped from the ground.

Endless damp earth and mud were churned up!

Vacuum!

Attack!