Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, Hinata and Kamizuki were both three years old.
It had not been long since the Third Shinobi World War ended. Although the Five Great Nations had stopped their large-scale fighting,
they still occasionally clashed over various interests, resulting in small-scale skirmishes.
One day, a rumor spread through Konoha: a border patrol unit of four elite jonin from Konoha had somehow clashed with a four-man Cloud ninja squad on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning. The battle ended with the Cloud ninja unit wiped out, at the cost of one elite Konoha jonin.
When the Third Raikage heard about it, he issued a stern statement, demanding that Konoha give Kumogakure an explanation.
In the end, the daimyo of the Land of Fire and Konoha's council of elders gave in to the Raikage's demand, arguing that the war had ended only recently and both the country and the village needed time to recover.
Not long after the rumor spread, a delegation from Kumogakure arrived in Konoha in a very public fashion to sign a compensation agreement.
The agreement simply required Konoha to pay Kumogakure some material goods. The Konoha High Command couldn't understand why the Third Raikage had reacted so fiercely when he wasn't demanding much compensation. That just wasn't how Kumogakure usually operated!
But the Konoha High Command had no way of knowing what the Cloud ninja's true objective was.
In fact, ever since the First Shinobi World War, Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning and the Hyuga Clan of Konoha in the Land of Fire had been bitter enemies.
During the First Shinobi World War, the Hyuga Clan's founder and first clan head, Tenin Hyuga, fought the First Raikage.
In the end, Tenin Hyuga—whose strength was on par with that of the First, Hashirama Senju, and Madara Uchiha—used his ultimate technique, the Thousand-Eye Byakugan, to defeat the First Raikage.
The Hyuga Clan and their Byakugan became famous throughout the Ninja World because of that battle. The First Raikage later died from his severe injuries.
In every Shinobi World War that followed, many Kumogakure ninja died at the hands of the Hyuga Clan. The Cloud ninja hated the Hyuga, but they also desperately wanted to obtain the clan's Byakugan.
So this time, Kumogakure had used the signing of a compensation agreement as a pretext. Their real objective was the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan.
Before coming to Konoha, Kumogakure had gathered a great deal of intelligence on Konoha's Hyuga Clan. The Cloud ninja's Anbu had learned that the Hyuga clan head had two three-year-old children, who would be easy targets.
On a dark, windy night—the perfect time for kidnapping and murder—the Kumogakure jonin could no longer resist such a good opportunity.
Four in the morning was when people slept most deeply. Two Cloud ninja, dressed in all-black clothing with no identifying marks, sneaked into Hiashi Hyuga's home.
Because of Kamizuki's arrival, the original story had already changed after this little butterfly had inadvertently flapped its wings.
In the original story, a Kumogakure jonin had secretly slipped into Hiashi's home and abducted young Hinata. Hiashi had caught up with the Cloud ninja during his escape and killed him. For some reason, Hiashi hadn't disposed of the body.
Kumogakure then claimed that their jonin had died for unknown reasons in Hyuga territory. They reported his disappearance to the Raikage, who issued a fiercely worded statement demanding that Konoha hand over the killer. Otherwise, the Land of Lightning and Kumogakure would do whatever it took—even start a war—to make Konoha pay the price.
In the end, both Konoha's High Command and the daimyo of the Land of Fire pressured the Hyuga Clan to hand someone over. But Hiashi Hyuga had killed the Kumogakure ninja, and the Hyuga couldn't possibly turn over the head of their own clan!
In the end, Hiashi's twin brother, Hizashi Hyuga—Hyuga Neji's father—stepped forward and gave his life in exchange for Hiashi's.
But the butterfly effect caused by Kamizuki had changed the story.
After hearing from the adults that people from Kumogakure had come to Konoha, Kamizuki recalled this part of the story. He knew what the Cloud ninja were really after, but he didn't realize they had included him in their plans and intended to take him along too.
So for the past few days, Kamizuki hadn't slept deeply at night. He'd stayed in a state of half-sleep, ready to wake at any moment.
The moment the two Kumogakure jonin silently slipped into Hinata and Kamizuki's room, Kamizuki noticed them.
Just as the two Cloud ninja were about to lift Hinata and Kamizuki from their little wooden beds, Kamizuki suddenly let out a loud noise. The two highly tense jonin were so startled that they nearly lost their wits.
Kamizuki's loud cry also woke Hiashi, who was fast asleep in another room.
Hiashi leaped up and rushed into Hinata and Kamizuki's room. There, he saw two people in dark clothes about to attack his children.
Without hesitation, Hiashi used the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist against the two unidentified figures. The black-clad men proved worthy of being Kumogakure jonin; they reacted quickly and used the Body Flicker Technique to dart out of Hiashi's reach.
Seeing that Hiashi had arrived, the two Kumogakure jonin knew they had to leave. If they waited much longer, other members of the Hyuga Clan would surround them, and the consequences would be disastrous.
The Cloud ninja weren't afraid of dying. What they feared was being captured alive by the Hyuga. That would not only mean their mission had failed, but could also bring unforeseen trouble to Kumogakure. The two jonin exchanged a glance, signaling that it was time to flee.
But just as one of the Cloud ninja was about to escape through the window, Hiashi struck him in the back with Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Mountain Crusher, killing him instantly.
Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Mountain Crusher was a full-power attack that used chakra to create a massive beam of energy. Its power was immense—enough to flatten a small mountain in an instant.
Hiashi's use of the devastating Eight Trigrams Mountain Crusher made it clear that he was absolutely furious.
The other Cloud ninja escaped through the doorway. Hiashi was about to chase after him when little Kamizuki somehow ran to his side. He tugged on Hiashi's pant leg with one small hand and gazed up at him with his adorable little white eyes, looking utterly pitiful.
So Hiashi stopped himself from pursuing the fleeing man.
And just like that, Kumogakure's conspiracy was foiled by Kamizuki. Since the Cloud ninja had been killed in the room of Hiashi's two children, Kumogakure had no excuse to make a scene with Konoha. In the end, they had no choice but to leave with their paltry compensation.
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