Hero Saves the Beauty, Part One

The night wind passed through the corridors of the Hyuga estate, letting out a low, mournful howl.

Hinata curled up in the corner of the confinement room, her arms tightly wrapped around her knees. This room was located on the estate's most remote western side. It was usually a storage room for old belongings, but now it had become her prison.

Moonlight slanted in through the high window, casting a pallid patch across the floor.

She recalled what Xiao had said earlier.

"Your father... intends to use you as bait."

"People from the Branch House can be sacrificed at any time."

Those words were like icy needles, piercing her heart one by one. Hinata bit her lower lip, trying not to cry. She had always known her father was strict, and she knew there was a divide between the Main House and the Branch House, but she had never imagined—

Boom!

An explosion sounded in the distance.

Hinata suddenly looked up, her heart tightening sharply. The sound had come from the estate's front courtyard, followed by the sharp clash of ninja tools and men shouting in rage.

"Enemy attack!"

"Protect Lady Hinata—ah!"

The scream came to an abrupt end.

Hinata trembled all over. She wanted to stand, but her legs were so weak that she could not muster any strength. Xiao had told her to stay here and not move, saying someone would come save her. But...

Footsteps.

Not one person. At least three sets of footsteps were rapidly approaching. They had deliberately kept their movements quiet, but Hinata's Byakugan saw everything clearly in the darkness—three men dressed as Hidden Cloud ninja, their faces covered, kunai and short blades in hand.

How did they know she was here?

The moment that thought surfaced, Hinata understood. The information her father had deliberately leaked must have included her hiding place. This was part of the trap, meant to let the Hidden Cloud people "find" her.

The door was kicked open violently.

Wood splinters flew everywhere.

The leading man swept his gaze across the room, immediately locking onto Hinata in the corner. He grinned, his exposed teeth gleaming coldly beneath the moonlight.

"Found her."

Hinata wanted to scream, but her throat felt blocked by something. She desperately shrank back, her back pressed against the icy wall. There was nowhere left to retreat.

"Don't be afraid, little girl." The man approached step by step, his voice teasing. "We're only inviting you to be our guest."

The other two stood guard at the door, warily watching the corridor.

Hinata finally managed to force out a voice. "M-My father..."

"Your father?" The man sneered. "He's taking a fake to the Hokage Tower right now. By the time he realizes he's been fooled, we'll already be out of Leaf Village."

His hand reached toward Hinata.

At that very instant—

A third person screamed in the corridor.

The two Hidden Cloud ninja guarding the door spun around. A figure burst from the shadows, the force of a Gentle Fist palm striking straight for a throat. The attacker was a Hyuga Branch House ninja, his movements clean and swift—clearly at jōnin level.

"Teacher Tokuma!" Hinata blurted out.

Tokuma Hyuga faced two opponents alone, his palm strikes broad and powerful, every blow aimed at the enemy's chakra points. But his expression was grave—these two Hidden Cloud jōnin were stronger than expected, and...

"Watch behind you!" Hinata screamed.

At some point, the third Hidden Cloud ninja had circled behind Tokuma, his kunai stabbing straight toward Tokuma's heart.

Tokuma barely twisted aside, but his left shoulder was sliced open, leaving a wound deep enough to expose bone. Blood instantly soaked through his dark blue clan uniform.

"Tch, troublesome." The leading Hidden Cloud ninja frowned, no longer bothering with Hinata as he turned to join the fight.

Three against one.

Tokuma was immediately forced onto the defensive. He gritted his teeth, veins bulging around his Byakugan as he pushed the Gentle Fist to its limit. Palm wind howled through the narrow corridor, deep palm prints continuously appearing in the walls.

But the Hidden Cloud ninja coordinated too perfectly.

One feinted, one blocked his movement, and the third struck from a blind spot. Tokuma's wounds multiplied, and his breathing gradually grew heavier.

"Teacher Tokuma, run!" Hinata cried.

Tokuma did not turn back. He could not retreat. If he did, Lady Hinata would truly be finished.

But the gap in strength was right there. One Hidden Cloud ninja caught an opening and kicked Tokuma in the abdomen. Tokuma let out a muffled groan, smashing through the railing and falling to the first floor.

"Taken care of." The Hidden Cloud ninja flicked the blood from his hand and looked back at Hinata. "Now, let's get down to business."

Hinata closed her eyes.

She remembered the last look in Xiao's eyes. For the first time, those always gentle Byakugan held something she could not understand—something like determination, but also something like pity.

I'm sorry, Xiao.

I probably... won't be able to wait for you.

"Come with me." The man grabbed her wrist.

Then—

A figure crashed in through the high window.

Glass fragments rained down, refracting countless cold stars beneath the moonlight. The figure staggered slightly upon landing, clearly unaccustomed to this sort of difficult infiltration. But the instant he steadied himself, he had already placed himself between Hinata and the Hidden Cloud ninja.

White pupils glimmered in the darkness.

"Let her go."

Hyuga Xiao's voice was calm, so calm that it did not sound like the voice of a thirteen-year-old boy.

The Hidden Cloud ninja froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Another one here to die? Is the Hyuga Clan wholesale supplying cannon fodder today?"

Xiao did not smile. His eyes swept through the room—Tokuma was gone, and the sounds of fighting on the first floor continued, though there was clearly one fewer person. The plan had reached this point. It was time for him to enter the stage.

"Hinata, get back," Xiao said.

"Xiao, you can't beat them..." Hinata's voice trembled.

"I know." Xiao spoke frankly. "But some things have to be done even if you can't win."

He assumed the opening stance of the Gentle Fist. His movements were standard, but obviously unpolished. One look was enough to tell that this was the level taught in the Branch House's basic training.

The Hidden Cloud ninja finally lost his patience.

"Get lost!"

He threw a punch.

Xiao did not dodge. Or rather, he could not. A jōnin's speed was too fast, so fast that he could only barely raise an arm to block.

Bang!

Xiao was sent flying, slamming into the wall. Agonizing pain spread from his arm through his entire body, and a metallic sweetness surged into his throat. He coughed up blood, staining the front of his clothes red.

"Xiao!" Hinata screamed.

Xiao pushed himself upright against the wall. His left arm hung limply at his side, clearly broken. Yet he still took up his stance again.

"I said..." He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Let her go."

The Hidden Cloud ninja's expression changed. His mockery turned cold.

"You're asking to die."

This time, he got serious. The kunai flipped in his hand as he thrust it straight toward Xiao's heart.

Xiao's Byakugan stared fixedly at the other man's movements. The instant the kunai struck, he twisted aside and swung his right hand at the enemy's wrist from an awkward but precise angle.

Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams One Palm.

Smack.

It hit.

But there was not enough force. The Hidden Cloud ninja's wrist merely went numb, and the kunai shifted by half an inch before piercing through Xiao's right shoulder.

Blood sprayed forth.

Xiao's face turned deathly pale in an instant. But instead of retreating, he used his injured left hand to seize the other man's weapon hand in a death grip.

"Now!" Xiao roared.

He was not shouting at the enemy.

He was shouting downstairs.

Almost at the same time, Tokuma Hyuga—who was supposed to have fallen downstairs and lost the ability to fight—leapt up through the broken railing, both palms striking out together!

Gentle Fist Method: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!

Palm shadows poured down like a torrential rain. The Hidden Cloud ninja was held firmly in place by Xiao and had no time to evade. Every one of Tokuma's palms landed solidly on him, sealing dozens of chakra points.

"Argh—!"

The Hidden Cloud ninja spat out blood, his body going limp as he collapsed.

But the battle was not over.

The other two Hidden Cloud ninja had already reacted. One lunged at Tokuma, while the other rushed directly at Hinata—if they could not take her alive, they would take her corpse back to report their success!

The cold gleam of a kunai shot straight for Hinata's throat.

Hinata's eyes widened, and time seemed to freeze in that instant. She could see every tiny scratch on the kunai, and she could see the icy killing intent in her attacker's eyes.

Then a figure stepped in front of her.

Xiao took the blow in his back.

The kunai pierced through the right side of his chest, its bloodied tip emerging from the front. Xiao's body swayed, but he did not fall. He reached back and grabbed the kunai embedded in his body, gripping it tightly to keep the enemy from pulling it free.

"Hinata..." Xiao's voice was soft, so soft that only Hinata could hear it. "Run."

Tears spilled from Hinata's eyes.

She saw Xiao's blood drip down the kunai, blooming into dark red flowers on the floor. She saw how pale his face had become, like a sheet of paper, yet those eyes were still bright—so bright that her heart shattered.

"I'm not running," Hinata heard herself say.

She stood up.

Before the Hidden Cloud ninja's astonished eyes, the Hyuga Main House's young lady, who had always been weak and timid, assumed the opening stance of the Gentle Fist. Her movements were even more unpolished than Xiao's, but her bearing had never been more resolute.

"Let him go."

Hinata's voice trembled, but her hands were steady.

The Hidden Cloud ninja's eyes hardened as he tried to wrench the kunai free by force. But Xiao held on tightly, his nails digging into his own flesh. On Tokuma's side, he had already suppressed the other enemy and was desperately trying to break away and provide support.

The stalemate lasted a mere three seconds.

For ninja, three seconds were enough to do many things.

For example, assess the situation.

The Hidden Cloud ninja holding Hinata hostage suddenly released the kunai, grabbed Hinata's wrist, then turned and smashed through the window as he leapt outside.

"Hinata!" Xiao wanted to give chase, but the wound in his chest made him stagger and collapse to the floor.

Tokuma finally dealt with his opponent and rushed to the window. In the night, the Hidden Cloud ninja was holding Hinata hostage as he fled at tremendous speed toward Leaf Village's outer wall.

"I'll pursue him!" Tokuma was about to jump through the window.

"Wait." Xiao rose to his feet, coughing blood. "He's deliberately running in that direction... He has backup."

Tokuma abruptly realized it.

That was right. The Hidden Cloud's operation had been meticulously planned. How could they not have an escape route? That direction must have people stationed there, waiting for their companion to succeed and rendezvous with them.

"What do we do, then?" Tokuma asked anxiously.

Xiao tore off a strip of his clothing and roughly bandaged the wound on his chest. His movements were slow, and every motion made sweat bead across his forehead from the pain. But when he finished wrapping it, he lifted his head, his eyes terrifyingly calm.

"I'll go after him."

"Are you insane?!" Tokuma grabbed his shoulder. "In your condition, chasing after them is just throwing your life away!"

Xiao looked at Tokuma and suddenly smiled.

It was a smile Tokuma had never seen on the face of this gentle Branch House boy—a nearly crazed resolve within it.

"Teacher Tokuma, stay here," Xiao said. "The Main House's people will arrive soon. You need to give them an explanation—why you were here instead of in the front courtyard when Lady Hinata was abducted."

Tokuma was stunned.

"As for me..." Xiao walked to the window, moonlight shining across his pale face. "A Branch House boy who risked his life to save Lady Hinata chased after the enemy. Isn't that a very believable script?"

"But—"

"No buts." Xiao cut him off. "This is part of the plan."

With that, Xiao leapt out the window.

His movements were distorted by his injuries, and he nearly fell when he landed. But he quickly steadied himself and pursued the direction in which the Hidden Cloud ninja had vanished.

Tokuma rushed to the window and watched that staggering yet resolute figure disappear into the night.

"Xiao!" he shouted. "Don't chase them! You can't beat—"

The rest of his words were scattered by the night wind.

Tokuma punched the window frame. Wood splinters pierced his flesh, but he could not feel the pain. Xiao's words echoed through his mind.

A script.

This was all part of the plan.

What exactly was that thirteen-year-old boy plotting?

Tokuma did not know. He only knew that what he should do now was follow Xiao's instructions—stay here and wait for the Main House's people to arrive.

Then play his own part well.

He turned around, looking at the fallen Hidden Cloud ninja in the room and the glaring pool of blood on the floor.

Moonlight shone through the shattered window, dyeing everything a cold silvery white.

And on a distant rooftop, Xiao was gritting his teeth as he pursued them.

Every step sent tearing pain through the wound in his chest. Blood continuously seeped through the bandages, staining his dark blue clan uniform a deep purple.

But his eyes were bright.

His Byakugan swept through the darkness, firmly locking onto the figure ahead holding Hinata hostage.

Almost there.

He was almost there.

A cold curve lifted at the corner of Xiao's lips.

The first half of this hero-saving-the-beauty act was over.

For the second half, it was time to change the script.