(T/N: Almost Forgot.)
"But that Kumo leader was at least a Jōnin level, and the few Chunin following him had all been through the Third Great Ninja War."
Hinata's father, Hiashi, couldn't help but mumble to himself as he fully calmed down.
Such a team, certainly wasn't weak.
For most missions in the Ninja World, they'd be more than capable of handling them.
But the fact that Kaze single-handedly wiped them all out?
The most shocking part, when Hiashi arrived, was that he had used his Byakugan to observe Kaze.
The amount of chakra Kaze had was more than enough — it was like he hadn't used any at all.
And his clothes? There wasn't a single trace of blood on them, not even a speck of dust.
From this alone, it was clear that Kaze had taken care of those Kumo ninjas without breaking a sweat.
"If Kaze had been severely wounded after fighting those ninjas, I could accept it."
"But from the traces at the scene, it's clear that each of those ninjas was killed with a single blow."
"This means... Kaze's strength far surpasses theirs."
"Maybe this kid... is already on the level of an Elite Jōnin."
Hiashi muttered to himself, a slight sense of awe creeping into his thoughts.
The Uchiha clan had produced yet another genius ninja.
At that thought, Hiashi couldn't help but glance at his own daughter, Hinata, nestled in his arms.
Although his daughter was kind and cute, she lacked the natural talent for the Gentle Fist.
His younger daughter, Hanabi, had made rapid progress, but even she was still a step behind.
Looking at the Uchiha clan...
Shisui, Itachi, Kaze...
It was as if each generation of the Uchiha produced outstanding talent.
Even he, the head of the Hyuga clan, couldn't help but feel a little envious.
While Hiashi was admiring the Uchiha clan and marveling at Kaze's terrifying abilities, the younger generation of the Hyuga clan, along with the village's Anbu ninjas, arrived at the scene.
"Anbu..."
Noticing the appearance of the Anbu ninjas, Hiashi couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
Just earlier, in order to retrieve Hinata, he hadn't even had time to inform his clan members, let alone the village's Anbu.
"Even if someone from the main branch went to inform Hokage-sama, these Anbu arrived so quickly. Isn't that a bit too fast?"
Hiashi secretly muttered to himself.
It seemed like the Third Hokage didn't fully trust the growing power of the Hyuga clan after all.
"Clan Leader, are you alright?"
"Those damn Kumo ninjas, how dare they attempt to kidnap our young lady under the cover of night! Truly sinister."
"Is Hinata-sama alright?"
Upon seeing Hiashi, the clan members immediately surrounded him, inquiring about Hinata's condition with concern.
"Hinata is fine." Hiashi quickly reassured them, explaining that there was no need to worry.
Hinata was safe and unharmed.
However...
Many of the clan members' gazes bypassed Hiashi and instead focused on the only intact body of the Kumo ninja in the distance.
The Anbu ninjas quickly sprang into action, checking the condition of the bodies.
However, they quickly realized that only one body remained intact—the one who had died from a shuriken. The others had been reduced to ashes.
After confirming the situation, the Anbu ninjas furrowed their brows.
"This is bad."
A sense of foreboding quickly spread among the Anbu ninjas.
In their eyes, this matter had to be reported to the Third Hokage immediately.
Elsewhere...
"Truly impressive, Clan Leader, to easily take care of those Kumo ninjas like that."
"Isn't that obvious? The Clan Leader is the strongest in our clan, his strength surpassing even that of an average elite jounin."
"Hmph, those Kumo ninjas deserved to die for daring to lay a hand on the young lady."
The younger generation of the Hyuga clan were exchanging words, praising Hiashi's strength without any restraint, even with the Anbu ninjas present.
Of course...
Hiashi wasn't someone to take such praise lightly.
Seeing that his actions were being misunderstood, Hiashi quickly shook his head and turned to look at Kaze.
At this motion from Hiashi, the rest of the Hyuga clan members took notice of Kaze's presence.
Hiashi then began recounting the events that had transpired.
It wasn't him who had defeated the Kumo ninjas.
It was Kaze from the Uchiha clan.
He had just happened to pass by, noticed the Kumo ninjas' dirty deeds, and intervened to stop them, saving Hinata in the process.
"If it hadn't been for Kaze, the consequences could have been unthinkable."
"He is a benefactor to our Hyuga clan!"
Hiashi's words rang out with unwavering sincerity.
The moment he said this, it caused an uproar among the gathered clan members.
"Clan Leader, are you saying that the young man named Kaze took care of the Kumo ninjas?"
"Are you joking? Those Kumo ninjas were all at least Chunin, with the leader being a Jōnin..."
"Wait, I think I recognize that guy. Isn't he from the Uchiha clan?"
"Even if he's from the Uchiha clan, to handle a Jōnin and four Chunin so effortlessly... the only other person who could do something like that would be Shisui with his Body Flicker technique, right?"
"Did you notice his chakra levels? He barely used any at all..."
"Another Uchiha genius?"
At that moment, the younger generation of the Hyuga clan couldn't help but discuss among themselves.
They marveled at Kaze's strength, feeling a mix of admiration and awe.
If the roles had been reversed, none of them would have been able to do something like that.
In fact, many of them, when they saw the first body, had assumed it was their clan leader, Hiashi, who had done it.
(T/N: Well you should have paid more attention then.)
But no one could have expected…
It was a genius from the Uchiha clan!
And these murmurs didn't go unheard by the Anbu ninjas present at the scene.
In reality...
These Anbu were not like the Hyuga clan.
Their primary daily task was to gather all sorts of intelligence.
Especially information about the Uchiha clan.
"I remember that Kaze... he was forced onto the battlefield at the age of five, but never gained any real credit. Compared to that young man named Itachi, it's like night and day..."
"After he returned, out of respect for the Uchiha clan, he was promoted to Chunin, but his abilities were always mediocre. How come he's so strong today?"
One of the Anbu spoke in a low voice.
He felt there was something suspicious about this whole situation.
Perhaps the one who killed the Kumo ninjas was actually Hyuga Hiashi.
And then the credit was placed on Kaze to distance the Hyuga clan from any involvement in this incident.
After all...
The ninjas who died here had come with the purpose of kidnapping Hinata.
They were likely low-ranking Kumo ninjas who were involved in the plot.
But the problem was...
There was no way to definitively identify any of the dead, as all the bodies were destroyed beyond recognition.
From the cause of death of the other ninjas, it seemed they were either killed by shuriken or by lightning-based techniques.
Completely unrelated to the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist style!
"Could it be that the person who killed these ninjas was really that young Uchiha?"
Another Anbu speculated.
Perhaps all these years, Kaze had been hiding his true strength.
After all...
The Uchiha clan was always full of cunning and schemes.
(T/N: True, True. After all they are the Evil Uchiha.)
But no matter what, the immediate priority was to report these events to the Third Hokage as quickly as possible.
Let him make the final decision and handle the aftermath.
With that, the two Anbu ninjas simultaneously disappeared into the night.
(T/N: Well, I might have gone a bit overboard with the fight scene in the last few chapters, but whatever, my promise still stands—even if I have to rewrite the whole book, I'll make it better than the original.)