Kumogakure's Visit

"Yo, Narak, back late again, huh?"

"Narak, you're only five, and you keep running outside the village. You're the young master of the Hyuga Clan—prestigious and noble. What if some kidnapper grabs you?"

"That's right, that's right. The whole ninja world isn't exactly peaceful. We're safe enough here in Konoha, but you still need to be careful. What if some ninja from another country comes causing trouble and you run into them?"

At the entrance of Konoha, two gate-guarding ninjas greeted Narak.

"Ah... haha, got it, got it. Thanks for the reminder, uncles. I'm just hanging around the edge of the village—I won't go far."

"Besides, isn't the village's safety protected by all of Konoha's elite ninjas? I doubt anyone would dare cause trouble here."

Narak scratched his head and smiled at the two guards.

"What... uncles? You little brat, I'm only twenty-five, and you're calling me uncle..."

"Yeah, we're still young, you know. How can you call us uncle? Remember, it's big brother."

"You little punk, how many times do we have to tell you? Call us big brother, not uncle. Calling us uncle makes us sound old."

Clearly, Narak's "uncle" had ticked off the two ninjas, and they grumbled loudly at him.

"Mm-hmm, got it, uncle. I know, uncle."

"Well then, uncles, I'll head back now. See you."

With that, Narak waved at the two ninjas and walked into the village.

"That little brat..."

The two ninjas watched his retreating back and couldn't help shaking their heads with a smile.

Over the past six months, since Narak often snuck outside the village to train in secret, he'd gotten pretty familiar with the gate guards. He'd also crack harmless jokes with them.

"I'm home."

Stepping into the Hyuga Clan's compound, Narak called out toward the house. Soon, the sound of light footsteps came from inside.

"Shh..."

The wooden door slid open, and a small figure ran toward Narak, throwing herself into his arms.

"Onii-chan, you're back!"

Narak looked down at the little girl in his arms and ruffled her hair affectionately.

It was his sister, Hinata Hyuga.

At just three years old, Hinata had short hair and a small, delicate face—utterly adorable.

"Hey, Hinata, look what big brother brought you."

Narak pulled a lollipop from his pocket and waved it in front of Hinata.

"Ah, a lollipop! Thank you, big brother!"

Hinata took the lollipop with a delighted smile.

"Narak, you're giving your sister snacks again. Little kids should eat fewer sweets, or they'll get cavities, you know."

Another person walked out of the house, standing there with a gentle smile as she watched the siblings. It was their mother, the lady of the Hyuga Clan.

"Haha, it's fine, Mom. Kids need a little treat now and then, right?"

"You call Hinata a little kid, but you're only two years older than her. You were never this greedy for food when you were small."

"You spoil her too much. Be careful she doesn't get spoiled rotten."

"Ah... girls are meant to be spoiled. Spoil them a little when they're young, and they won't get tricked away by some boy so easily when they grow up, right?"

Narak looked up at his mother and grinned.

"You and your twisted logic. Anyway, where did you run off to today?"

"Nowhere special. I just took a stroll around Konoha. I realized the scenery here is pretty nice."

Narak started his usual round of lying in response to his mother's question.

"You, always sneaking outside the village every few days. Every time I ask, you say the scenery's nice. I wonder—is Konoha's scenery really that good?"

"Alright, go wash your hands. Dinner's almost ready. Hinata, save the lollipop for after the meal, okay?"

"Okay~"

Little Hinata looked at the lollipop in her hand, then reluctantly tucked it into her pocket.

At the dinner table, Narak glanced around and asked curiously, "Hey, Mom, is Dad not eating at home today?"

"Oh, your father has some business today. He'll be back late, so we won't wait for him for dinner."

"What's up... Did something happen in the village? He can't even make it for a meal?"

"Nothing major. Some people from Kumogakure came today to sign an alliance treaty between our villages. The Hokage and the village's higher-ups are discussing things with them, so he'll be late."

"Oh, I see. Well, forget it then. Let's not wait for Dad. Let's eat first."

Narak asked casually, not giving it much thought. After all, there hadn't been a large-scale war between the major ninja villages in a long time, and relations between villages were still ostensibly peaceful, so such an alliance treaty was normal.

After the meal, Narak played with Hinata for a while until she fell asleep, then returned to his own room.

Back in his room, Narak collapsed onto the bed. After a day of training, he was already exhausted. Too tired to get up again, he lay there and gradually drifted off to sleep.

In the middle of the night, Narak jolted awake from his slumber. He heard movement on the roof.

The sound was faint, easy to miss if one wasn't listening carefully, but Narak caught it—thanks to his six months of relentless training.

"Who could it be? Sneaking into the Hyuga Clan compound in the dead of night. It's not like the Hyuga Clan has any treasure worth coveting, does it?"

"Could it be a ninja from an enemy village? That doesn't make sense. Konoha's defenses are so tight, how could an enemy slip in so easily? And to avoid the Hyuga Clan's patrols, this intruder must be pretty strong."

Narak lay in bed, not daring to act rashly. He kept pretending to be asleep, his mind racing.

Suddenly, a flash of insight struck him.

"Wait, Mom mentioned earlier that someone from Kumogakure visited today. I remember in the original story, there was an incident where three-year-old Hinata was kidnapped. It started with Kumogakure ninjas using the pretext of signing an alliance with Konoha to kidnap Hinata in the middle of the night, trying to steal the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan."

"So that means it's tonight. But in the original, the target was Hinata. Now, have they switched it to me?"

In that moment, Narak's thoughts spun rapidly. He pieced together the cause and effect and identified the intruder's identity: a ninja from Kumogakure.

"What do I do? If I call for help now, and the intruder is too strong, they might kill me before Father gets here. That would be the end!"

Narak's heart pounded with panic, but he forced his face to stay calm, feigning sleep.

In the few years since he'd been reborn into the world of Naruto, this was the first time he'd faced an assassination attempt. He was at a loss.

Though his combat power had been steadily rising, he was still just a genin. Even when Hyuga Hiashi sparred with him, he kept his strength at the genin level.

Moreover, Hiashi's sparring was more about light, controlled exchanges. Narak had never actually fought anyone for real.

If a ruthless ninja came for him now, Narak would truly be in mortal danger.

Just as Narak was panicking over what to do, the system's voice suddenly rang out.

"A new day has arrived, and the host is still awake. May I ask, my dear host, would you like to check in?"

Hearing this voice, Narak was overjoyed. The Hinata kidnapping incident was at least somewhat significant, right?

So the reward from today's check-in probably wouldn't be too bad.

"System, I want to check in," Narak said in his mind.

"Understood, host. Check-in commencing."