The Hyuga Clan Presses the Palace, Troops at the Gates

The lights in the apartment cast a warm yellow glow.

After finishing the dinner Haku had personally made, Naruto Uzumaki sprawled across the only sofa like some lord, enjoying the gentle shoulder massage from the girl behind him.

Haku's little hands applied just the right amount of pressure, kneading the muscles that were slightly sore from the Sage Body's outburst. It felt so good that he nearly moaned.

"Mm... not bad. Your technique's getting more professional by the day. As expected of the maid Naruto Uzumaki chose."

With his eyes closed, Naruto happily made calculations in his mind.

An exquisite maid with S-rank potential serving him around the clock—he would not trade this life for immortality itself!

However, that rare peace and warmth was shattered by a sudden set of heavy footsteps approaching from afar.

Immediately afterward, a suffocating pressure mixed with more than a dozen icy chakra signatures forcefully descended over the shabby apartment building.

"Hmm?"

Naruto slowly opened his eyes. There was not a trace of surprise in his blue gaze, only the lazy irritation of someone whose peace had been disturbed.

Haku, who had been diligently massaging him from behind, instantly tensed up!

She stopped her hands almost on instinct. Her petite body blurred into an afterimage as she flashed in front of Naruto. Her soft hands assumed the opening stance of the Gentle Fist, cold air surging around her as she vigilantly stared at the rickety wooden door.

"Lord Naruto, there are enemies!"

Naruto could not even be bothered to move. He merely raised a hand lazily.

"Relax. They aren't enemies."

He grinned, baring a mouthful of white teeth, his expression full of amusement.

"They're... local specialties delivered right to our door."

Before his words had even faded.

Bang—!!!

A deafening crash rang out!

The apartment door, already battered by the elements, was kicked open from outside with brutal force!

Wood chips and dust scattered everywhere. A tall figure in a white kimono stood at the doorway with his hands behind his back, his face frosty.

It was none other than the current head of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Hiashi!

Behind him stood Neji Hyuga, his face so gloomy it seemed water could be wrung from it.

Behind them were twelve elite jonin in standard Hyuga Clan combat uniforms. Without exception, every one of them had activated their Byakugan!

More than a dozen pale white eyes glowed faintly in the dim corridor. Veins bulged around their temples, forming an intimidating pressure that locked onto everything inside the apartment.

The air throughout the hallway seemed to freeze at that very moment.

"Naruto Uzumaki! Get out here!!"

Hyuga Hiashi's voice exploded like thunder, carrying volcanic rage as it boomed through the narrow corridor and shook dust from the walls!

His Byakugan, belonging to the main house, fixed firmly on Naruto behind Haku. When he saw the beautiful girl standing resolutely in front of Naruto, the fury in his heart burned even hotter!

It was this seductress!

It was this woman of unknown origin who had taken the place that should have belonged to his daughter, Hinata!

"Lord Naruto!"

Haku felt the other side's utterly undisguised killing intent. Her pretty face turned cold as her hands instantly formed seals!

Buzz!

A visible burst of extreme cold erupted from her body. The temperature in the surrounding air plummeted, and a thin layer of frost even spread across the floor at a visible pace!

At a single command from Naruto, she would freeze every one of these uninvited guests into ice sculptures without hesitation!

But a warm, large hand gently pressed down on her shoulder just as she was about to complete her seals.

Naruto had somehow already risen to his feet. He approached Haku from behind and chuckled into her ear quietly enough that only the two of them could hear.

"Be good. The lady of the house should stand behind and watch her husband show his strength."

He gently moved Haku aside from in front of him. The motion was tender, yet impossible to refuse.

"They're just a few unenlightened old fossils. I'll handle them."

Haku's body trembled, and the Ice Release chakra that had been on the verge of erupting instantly dispersed.

She stared blankly at Naruto's back. Her little face flushed to the tips of her ears in an instant, and she obediently stepped aside. The coldness in her eyes had been replaced by nothing but adoration and infatuation.

With his hands in his pockets, Naruto strolled out of the room with the swagger of someone who feared neither heaven nor earth.

He even yawned lazily in front of everyone, as if the dozen or so murderous Hyuga elites before him were merely a bunch of obstructive wooden posts.

That utterly contemptuous attitude nearly made Hyuga Hiashi's lungs explode with rage!

Naruto reached the doorway and stopped less than three meters from Hyuga Hiashi. Tilting his head, he looked the man up and down as though he were an idiot.

Then, beneath everyone's stunned gazes, he spoke.

It was an earth-shattering bombshell!

"Coming to visit so late at night with so many people, Father-in-law? You couldn't give me a heads-up?"

Boom!

The words "Father-in-law" detonated in the minds of the Hyuga Clan members like a massive bomb!

Neji's face instantly turned liver-red, and he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood!

As for Hyuga Hiashi, his face had already been as dark as the bottom of a pot, but now it began turning purple from fury. His body even trembled slightly with extreme rage.

"Impudence!!!"

He squeezed out the word through clenched teeth, every syllable carrying bone-piercing chill.

"Who is your father-in-law? You arrogant brat who knows neither heaven nor earth!"

Pointing at Naruto, Hiashi roared sharply, "I order you! Immediately! At once! Cut off all contact with Hinata! Then kneel and kowtow to apologize for your arrogant ignorance! Otherwise, don't blame the Hyuga Clan for showing no mercy!"

"Showing no mercy?"

Naruto seemed to have heard the greatest joke in the world. He dug at his ear. "With this dozen or so patients suffering from advanced cataracts?"

"You're courting death!"

Neji Hyuga, who had been suppressing his rage all along, could no longer endure it. He took a sharp step forward and pointed at Naruto's nose as he cursed.

"Demon Fox! What the hell are you? You defiled Lady Hinata's purity, and you still dare to spread such nonsense here!"

His expression twisted with jealousy and hatred, his voice shrill and grating.

"With the clan head here today, this is the day you die! We'll cripple you with our own hands and show you the consequences of offending the Hyuga Clan!"

Neji's voice echoed through the hallway, brimming with the thrill of vengeance.

He could practically see it already: the Demon Fox who had once trampled his dignity into the trash being surrounded by his father and clansmen, having his limbs broken, and kneeling like a dead dog to beg for mercy!

Yet in the face of his barking, the mocking smile on Naruto's face gradually faded.

His blue eyes slowly turned toward Neji. The amusement and laziness within them vanished, replaced by a bottomless chill that made one's heart tremble.