A Minor Tribulation

"Hanabi, answer me!" Hinata chased after them, her heart burning with anxiety as she sent a message to Naruto via the Red Thread of Fate on her ring finger.

Hanabi has been abducted by a mysterious person; I am in pursuit.

Konoha Sake House.

Kakashi held Naruto with his left hand and Lee with his right, smiling as he said to Might Guy, "A man only grows after experiencing heartbreak. These bone-deep memories will teach us to become better men. Guy, don't cry. Drink, keep drinking."

Might Guy's eyes were red and swollen from a long bout of sobbing. "Kakashi, I don't understand! What is wrong with me? It hurts so much."

Might Guy finished speaking and lifted a sake pot to his mouth, already too drunk to realize he was searching for more to drink.

Lee looked toward Naruto. "What should we do? It seems we've come at a bad time."

Naruto's ring finger trembled as he received Hinata's message: "Lee, we can't worry about them. Something has happened to Hanabi. We must head to the back mountain and intercept the enemy."

"Understood." Lee bowed, shook off Kakashi's hand, and shot away in tandem with Naruto.

Mid-air, Naruto's peripheral vision swept over a lone, arrogant-looking youth who felt somewhat familiar.

Sasuke, possessing keener observation skills, also spotted Naruto. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly. Four years have passed, Naruto. Have you become stronger again?

The forest behind Konoha was dense, blocking out even the moonlight.

Hinata chased the villain who had abducted Hanabi through the thicket for over ten minutes before the culprit finally stopped and turned around.

Hinata scolded the man, "Let my sister go, or I won't be polite."

"I have a mission from the Raikage to complete. If you want me to release your sister, you'll have to defeat me first." The villain had wrapped his hair in a cloth; his face was pale, and his eyes were slowly turning blood-red. "My little friends, come out and play with the young lady before me."

The moment Hinata's gaze met the man's eyes, she fell into a genjutsu, her body frozen in place.

Countless gray moths flew out from beneath the surrounding leaves, each possessing a pair of blood-red eyes, before swarming to surround Hinata.

"Goodbye, young lady."

"Explode!"

Each moth was equivalent to a small-yield bomb.

Just as Hinata faced the blast, Naruto arrived in a flash: "Water Style: Surging Water Ball!"

The water sphere enveloped both Naruto and Hinata, the shockwave of the moths' explosion neutralized by the ripples of the water.

Hinata broke free from the genjutsu and felt her tense heart settle as she saw Naruto holding her and leaping onto a tree branch. "The opponent's eyes can cast genjutsu."

"Lee, did you hear that?" Naruto said to the front.

Konoha's Blue Beast, Lee, seemed to tear through the distance, arriving before the villain in the blink of an eye: "Leaf Whirlwind!"

Lee had opened the Gate of Pain, his spinning kick causing the air to crackle. "I don't need eyes to sense him."

Indeed, Lee's eyes were closed.

The villain's face took the brunt of Lee's kick; he didn't even have time to scream before his skull fractured and he was sent flying like a ball.

Lee spun in the air and caught Hanabi securely in his arms.

"This person is truly audacious," Lee said with hatred. "To dare lay a hand on Hanabi! Hinata, if you hadn't kept on his trail, Naruto and I would never have found such a perfect opening."

Naruto could tell Lee hadn't held back; it was truly a strike of fury. "Is Hanabi alright? At such a young age, if she's caught in a deep genjutsu, it could cause brain damage."

Hinata took Hanabi into her arms and called out softly, but Hanabi remained with her brows furrowed, refusing to wake.

None of the three were genjutsu experts; Naruto could remain immune to genjutsu, but he couldn't help others achieve the same.

"Take her to Konoha Hospital immediately," Naruto said. "Lee, take the trouble to hand the villain's corpse over to Kakashi-sensei."

Naruto's body flicker speed was faster than Lee's, so it was decided that Naruto would take Hanabi to Konoha Hospital.

"Hanabi will be fine. Hinata, go home and inform Hiashi, alright?" Naruto opened the Sixth Gate in an instant.

Hinata pulled her hand back from Hanabi's forehead. "Yes!"

Whoosh!

Three seconds later, Naruto appeared in the lobby of Konoha Hospital.

Naruto realized in a flash that there were basically no doctors at Konoha Hospital proficient in genjutsu. He would be better off finding Fugaku Uchiha to use the Sharingan to dispel Hanabi's genjutsu first.

Thus, Naruto changed course, and three seconds later, he landed at the entrance of Fugaku Uchiha's home.

He happened to run into Sasuke, who was standing outside, afraid to go in.

Naruto was briefly confused. "Sasuke?"

There was no surprise, nor did he feel any shock; Naruto recognized Sasuke at a glance.

His expression was the same as when they first met—arrogant, like a phoenix among chickens.

Sasuke huffed. "What's wrong with the little girl in your arms? It looks like she's caught in a genjutsu!"

Naruto, thinking of how to dispel Hanabi's genjutsu immediately to minimize the damage to her body, said, "Do me a favor. Please use your Sharingan to dispel this genjutsu."

The two were not as close as they once were.

Sasuke's black pupils revealed the Three Tomoe in an instant, and he gently pried open Hanabi's eyelid. The Three Tomoe spun. "It's already broken. She likely fell for a genjutsu produced by a dojutsu; the Byakugan's ability is still a bit weak."

Naruto watched as Hanabi's brows smoothed out. "Whether an ability is strong or not depends on who is using it. Since you're home, spend more time with your parents. Itachi has written many letters to you; you should read them. That is all."

Whether Sasuke takes Naruto's words to heart depends entirely on his own state of mind.

A general ward in Konoha Hospital.

Hyuga Hiashi, having just sobered up, ran in barefoot and looked at Hyuga Hanabi with a panicked expression.

"She's asleep," Naruto said.

Upon hearing the news of the incident involving Hyuga Hanabi, Hyuga Hiashi was suddenly reminded of the harrowing moment when Hinata was nearly abducted years ago, and an inexplicable tightness in his chest left him feeling incredibly distressed.

Hyuga Hiashi's expression eased slightly: "Drinking leads to mistakes. The Land of Lightning has still not given up on the Byakugan. We wanted to ease the tensions between our two nations, yet they used this opportunity to harm my child. I must demand an explanation from the Land of Lightning."

His words, spoken in the heat of the moment, sounded incredibly firm, yet Hyuga Hiashi's personality had a compromising side; if the upper echelons of Konoha decided that the matter should not be pursued, Hyuga Hiashi would likely let it go.

Naruto stopped disturbing them and quietly left the ward, only to see Hinata leaning against the corridor wall alone, her head bowed and looking a bit unhappy.

"Feeling unbalanced?" Naruto walked over to Hinata's side and leaned against the wall. "A parent's love will always vary in measure; it is difficult for parents with two children to treat them with perfect equality. You and Hyuga Hanabi possess different kinds of love."

The words on the tip of Hinata's tongue remained unspoken, but her eyes shone with a radiant light: "Naruto, I understand Father's favoritism. Hyuga Hanabi performs better than I do, but I have you, Neji, and Lee by my side. In truth, I am happier than Hyuga Hanabi."