The Cloud Village's Visit

"Did Grandpa Kamen have something to say just now?"

Hyuga Natsu looked at Hyuga Gen in puzzlement.

"I don't think it was anything important."

Hyuga Gen answered vaguely. Still, the way Hyuga Kamen had looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't had been pretty amusing.

Of course, he knew what Kamen had wanted to say. After all, just last night, Kamen had warned him not to go out for the next few days. But there was no way he was going to stay home. Was he supposed to spend all three days cooped up indoors?

The teacher had announced yesterday that school would be closed for three days to welcome the Cloud Village delegation. Hyuga Gen didn't think the holiday was necessary, but what could he do if the school was closed?

Of course, he also had Natsu to thank for being able to go out. He knew that if Hyuga Natsu hadn't come to invite him, Hyuga Kamen might not have let him leave the house.

A moment ago, Hyuga Kamen had called out to Hyuga Gen. Gen had pretended not to know anything and looked at Kamen in confusion, and then Hyuga Natsu had turned to look at him too.

In the end, Hyuga Kamen hadn't said what he'd been about to say, and Gen had gone out with Natsu.

Of course, Natsu had come to see him today because they'd made plans yesterday.

Yesterday hadn't been long enough, after all, and Rotation wasn't something he could learn that easily. So they'd agreed to study together over the next three days. Naturally, Gen would be continuing to teach Natsu Rotation.

"Natsu, why don't we go see the Cloud Village envoys first? They should be arriving soon."

"Sure! I want to see them too. I've never seen people from another country before."

Hyuga Natsu agreed to Hyuga Gen's suggestion without hesitation. She seemed pretty curious about the Cloud Village delegation too.

Before long, Hyuga Gen and Hyuga Natsu reached the gate. They were in luck: the Cloud Village delegation hadn't arrived yet, but they would probably be there soon.

He'd spotted someone standing to the side, engrossed in a strange book. Gen completely ignored the two masked teammates beside him.

He didn't need to look closely to know what the book was. It could only be Icha Icha Paradise. Just like in Shippuden, Kakashi was still the same.

"How did I forget to buy a copy of Icha Icha Paradise and read it?" Hyuga Gen felt as if he'd missed out on something.

That book had always been a mystery to him. He wanted to find out what was inside.

Perhaps because he'd been staring too intently, he seemed to have aroused Kakashi's suspicions. Kakashi lifted his head and glanced in Hyuga Gen's direction.

"Hm? Someone from the Hyuga Clan?" Kakashi asked, looking at Hyuga Gen in surprise.

When he noticed Kakashi looking his way, Hyuga Gen smiled and nodded in greeting. That only made Kakashi feel even more curious.

Kakashi was about to walk over and ask the strange white-eyed kid why he'd nodded at him. But just as he was about to approach, he saw the Cloud Village envoys appear beyond the gate.

Kakashi immediately forgot about talking to Hyuga Gen and turned to head toward the delegation. That was why he'd been waiting here.

"Brother Gen, are they the Cloud Village envoys? They look a lot like us. There's nothing special about them."

"Yeah, they really are pretty similar."

They were all people, with two eyes, one nose, one mouth, and two legs. What was so special about that?

By then, Kakashi had started speaking with the Cloud Village delegation.

"Welcome to Konoha. I'm Hatake Kakashi, the Anbu Captain, and these are my teammates. We've been expecting you."

Kakashi introduced himself calmly and confidently.

"So you're Hatake Kakashi? Your reputation precedes you. I'm Dodai, the person in charge of this mission, and these are my teammates."

Dodai gave a brief introduction too.

"You're the Raikage's right-hand man, the strong shinobi with Lava Release, aren't you? It's an honor to meet you."

Kakashi offered him a compliment too.

"Oh? I didn't expect you to know who I am."

Dodai wasn't as famous in the Ninja World as Kakashi, which was only natural. His work was more along the lines of a civil official's.

"I'll take you to see Lord Hokage."

Kakashi didn't waste any time and got straight to the point.

"Of course. We'd appreciate it."

With that, the group headed toward the Hokage Building.

So this was Dodai. I'd almost failed to recognize him. He looked quite different, and he wasn't wearing that eyepatch. During the Fourth Shinobi World War in Shippuden, he'd helped Naruto seal the Raikage, and he was pretty strong.

But his bloodline was called Lava Release, and Mizukage Terumi Mei's bloodline was also called Lava Release. It felt like Dodai's should really be called Scorch Release instead.

Terumi Mei's was the real Lava Release: she could spit out a mouthful of blazing red magma. It was pretty impressive. Unfortunately, her opponents had all been geniuses like Sasuke and Madara, making Lava Release seem rather ordinary.

Dodai's Lava Release looked soft and sticky. That rubber ball of his had pretty good defensive power, though it was hard to say how strong it was offensively. But no shinobi with a bloodline limit was ever ordinary.

The Fourth Shinobi World War had also shown that Dodai was quite clever. But when he helped Naruto, he'd seemed like a kind uncle. You'd never have guessed he was such a calculating and crafty person.

There were four people in the delegation. Hyuga Gen knew that one of the other three would fight later, though he wasn't sure which one. It was hard to tell how strong a shinobi was just by looking. You could only get a rough idea from actual combat or when they used a jutsu.

Even judging a shinobi's strength by sensing their chakra required them to stir up their chakra first. Normally, their chakra wasn't very active, so the amount you sensed was more or less the same.

Of course, someone with a powerful sensory technique could still tell. Karin's Mind's Eye of the Kagura was in a league of its own.

"Brother Gen, let's go back and practice Rotation."

Hyuga Natsu wasn't very interested, so she spoke up. Rotation was much more fun.

"All right. I'll teach you another jutsu later, and then you can work on both of them."

Hyuga Gen thought it over. He decided to teach Hyuga Natsu the Rasengan too. It would be good to have one offensive technique and one defensive technique.

"There's another jutsu? Great! Then let's hurry!"

Hyuga Natsu grabbed Hyuga Gen's hand and ran with him toward their training spot.

Meanwhile, the Hyuga Clan meeting had ended, and everyone else had left. Hyuga Kamen, however, had stayed behind.

"Uncle Kamen, it seems like you have something to say. Everyone's gone now, so go ahead."

"Could the Cloud Village be after our Byakugan? They've coveted it for a long time. Of course, maybe I'm worrying over nothing, but you should still be careful, Clan Head. It's better to be cautious."

For some reason, although Hyuga Kamen didn't believe something like that would happen, he couldn't stop thinking of how seriously Hyuga Gen had brought it up. A voice inside him kept telling him to warn Hyuga Hiashi.

"Good thing everyone else has left. If they'd heard you say that, it would have caused trouble. The Cloud Village is coming to negotiate as the defeated side. How could they possibly do something like that? You're worrying too much, Uncle Kamen."

"I suppose you're right. Then I won't keep you, Clan Head."

With that, Hyuga Kamen slowly made his way out.

"Uncle Kamen is getting old,"

Hyuga Hiashi sighed as he watched Kamen's back.

As for these negotiations with the Cloud Village, he'd heard that much of the credit went to Uchiha Shisui. Body Flicker Shisui's reputation was now no less than Hatake Kakashi's. And when he thought of Uchiha Itachi becoming a Chunin, Hyuga Hiashi grew even more worried.

"The Uchiha Clan is full of talent, while the Hyuga are in decline."

Who knew whether he'd be able to sleep tonight?

We didn't know whether Hyuga Hiashi could sleep, but our protagonist, Hyuga Gen, wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.