The Mysterious Masked Man

Time flowed quietly like water. Before long, Konoha Village welcomed two entirely different major events.

The first piece of news swept through the entire village—the delegation from Cloud Village of the Land of Lightning had officially arrived, and the two nations had begun alliance negotiations.

The villagers in every street and alley wore joyful smiles. Perhaps they did not understand the games of interest played in diplomatic negotiations, but to them, the word "alliance" meant peace and stability. Shops hung colorful banners, the izakayas were doing better business than usual, and all of Konoha was immersed in a festive atmosphere.

The other matter, by comparison, seemed insignificant—Hinata, the eldest daughter of the Hyūga Clan's Main Family, was celebrating her third birthday. It should have been a joyous day, yet it came with a cruel tradition: Neji Hyuga of the Branch Family would receive the "Caged Bird" Curse Mark that day. From then on, the child's life would no longer belong to himself. The sole meaning of his existence would be to protect the Main Family's eldest daughter.

When Naruto heard the two pieces of news, he understood that it was beginning. Cloud Village's conspiracy, Hizashi's sacrifice—everything was unfolding along the trajectory of the original story.

Is it finally here...

But then a grave question surfaced in Naruto's mind. Even if he intercepted Cloud Village's convoy and saved Hizashi, what if the Hyūga Clan's Main Family insisted on sacrificing Hizashi to settle the matter? With the tyranny of the Caged Bird Curse Mark, Hizashi would die on the spot with just a single thought from the Main Family.

Should he infiltrate the Hyūga Clan and directly knock out—or kill—Cloud Village's envoy? But would Cloud Village truly let the matter rest?

Naruto irritably scratched his hair. If he could use Adamantine Sealing Chains to temporarily suppress the Caged Bird's activity, perhaps he could buy Hizashi some time...

Just as he was racking his brains, the system notification suddenly rang out in his mind.

Ding!

Original major event detected: Main quest "Hizashi's Death" triggered

Quest objective: Intercept the Cloud Village convoy and change Hizashi Hyuga's fate

Quest reward: Unlock the Multiverse Lottery channel and obtain the Substitution Ability "Crazy Diamond"

A day later, another piece of news exploded through Konoha Village, sweeping across the entire village. The incident in which the Cloud Village delegation had attempted to kidnap the Hyūga Clan Main Family's eldest daughter, only to be killed on the spot by Hyuga Hiashi, had in the blink of an eye escalated into a diplomatic crisis capable of sparking a war.

"Did you hear? Those Cloud bastards actually had the nerve to turn around and accuse us!"

"They said Konoha killed their envoy for no reason..."

"That's utterly shameless!"

In the streets and alleys, the villagers discussed the matter with righteous indignation. In the taverns, ninja slammed their hands on tables, while merchants fumed with anger. Yet beneath this wave of outrage, an undercurrent of unease stirred—people feared war, feared the threats the Cloud envoy had left behind before departing.

After that came the meeting between Konoha's old fossils and the Hyūga Clan. The result was exactly the same as in the original story: under pressure from those two old bastards, Homura and Koharu, the Hyūga Clan was forced to make a sacrifice. Then the Main Family proposed that Hizashi serve as the scapegoat.

Cloud Village's terms were clear—the killer had to be handed over alive to the Raikage to "face judgment." Behind those lofty words, everyone knew what they truly wanted: a complete Byakugan bearer.

When the blindfolded Hizashi was escorted out through Konoha's gates by Cloud ninja, some among the watching villagers sobbed, some cursed, and more simply watched in silence. The procession gradually moved farther away, eventually vanishing down the road.

Konoha Village, public restroom

Naruto stood inside a stall, rapidly forming hand seals with both hands.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu."

With a soft poof, another identical blond boy appeared beside him. The Shadow Clone winked at him and gave him an "OK" gesture before swaggering out the door.

All right... now it's up to you.

Naruto pricked up his ears and faintly heard the light footsteps of Anbu ninja outside—sure enough, those bastards tasked with monitoring the Jinchuriki immediately followed the Shadow Clone.

Now!

He swiftly formed the seals for the Transformation Jutsu. His figure blurred, and in the blink of an eye, he became an utterly unremarkable villager—short black hair, slightly weary eyes, and ordinary coarse clothes. People like this could be seen everywhere in Konoha and would not attract any attention at all.

Konoha's outskirts, edge of the forest

After confirming that no one was around, Naruto released the Transformation Jutsu and returned to his original appearance. He took a deep breath and retrieved a card glowing with purple light from the System Space—the Menma Uzumaki Template Trial Card.

The card grew faintly hot in his palm, then seeped into his skin as though melting. In an instant, a torrent of unfamiliar Chakra surged through his body. Naruto felt his bones and muscles being reshaped, his body rapidly growing taller, while his clothes were replaced by that iconic robe.

This feeling... is really strange.

He lowered his head and looked at his hands—slender and powerful, entirely those of an adult. Raising a hand to touch his face, his fingertips met a cold mask.

Even my hair has turned black...

What surprised him even more was that the formerly distinct sensation of Kurama's Chakra within his body had completely vanished. It was not being suppressed; it was as though it had never existed at all.

Is this Menma's power...

Beneath the mask, Naruto's lips curled slightly. Then... it's time to teach those Cloud bastards a lesson.

Whoosh—

As a gust of wind swept past, the black figure vanished from the spot in an instant, leaving only a few fallen leaves slowly drifting through the air.