Hiroshi stood on a small hill outside the Hidden Leaf Village, gazing at the evening glow on the horizon.
It had been half a month since the incident of the Cloud ninja kidnapping.
During these two weeks, tension had been stirring between the Hidden Leaf and the Hidden Cloud Village, with frequent bloody incidents occurring along the borders of the two nations.
The envoys from the Hidden Cloud Village who had come to sign a treaty had all died in the Hidden Leaf, which became their excuse to accuse the Hidden Leaf of wrongdoing.
It was clear that the Cloud Ninja had attempted to kidnap the young heir of the Hyuga clan to seize their Byakugan, yet they twisted the truth, claiming that the Hidden Leaf had malicious intentions and deliberately killed the envoys from the Hidden Cloud.
That night, the Cloud Ninja who stayed behind to cover their retreat were intercepted by the enraged members of the Hyuga clan, and the Anbu who arrived shortly after. Although the intention was to capture them alive, they chose to commit suicide cleanly and decisively!
Of the two Cloud Ninja who had taken Hiroshi away, one was ultimately killed by Hiroshi himself, while the other, who had been severely injured by Byakurai, succumbed to his wounds when the Hidden Leaf reinforcements arrived.
The Hidden Cloud Village, emboldened by the fact that the Hidden Leaf had no captives to testify against them, dared to act so recklessly.
As for Hiroshi, the person directly involved, the Hidden Cloud Village claimed,
"He is your Hidden Leaf village people. Who knows if this entire incident was staged by yourselves?"
Then, they presented the Hidden Leaf with two options either hand over the head of the Hyuga clan, or the two great ninja villages would go to war.
Ridiculous! Wasn't it Hiroshi himself that suffered? But what was even more absurd was that the Third Hokage actually compromised with the Hidden Cloud Village! He chose to sacrifice the Hyuga clan in exchange for peace between the two villages.
Although he did not directly order the Hyuga clan to hand over their leader, his silence on the matter spoke volumes about his stance.
Thinking of this, Hiroshi couldn't help but clench his fists tightly.
The final outcome of the incident followed the original plot. Hizashi Hyuga, the younger brother of Hiashi Hyuga, sacrificed himself in his brother's place, and his body was handed over to the Hidden Cloud Village.
Every time Hiroshi thought of his uncle, his heart was filled with turmoil. Over the past three years, Hiroshi had developed a close and harmonious relationship with him.
Unlike the dissatisfaction with Hinata in the original story, perhaps Hiashi saw hope for the Hyuga clan in Hiroshi, or perhaps Hiroshi had inadvertently expressed his discontent with the "Caged Bird" seal to Hiashi.
In any case, Hiashi had been very caring toward his nephew. Whenever Hiashi was busy with official duties, Hiashi would take Hiroshi and Neji out to train together, and after training, they would wander the streets.
But now... from this day forward, he would never see his uncle again. Neji, who was a year younger than him, had become an orphan and was branded with the "Caged Bird" seal. All of this... was because he wasn't strong enough.
If he had possessed sufficient strength, perhaps none of this would have happened. At this moment, Hiroshi heart was filled with a deep longing for power. He yearned to have the strength to protect everything he held dear...
Hiroshi walked through the streets of the Hidden Leaf Village, observing his surroundings. The villagers continued their daily lives as usual. The streets were bustling with people, the chatter of villagers, the calls of vendors, and the laughter of children—everything seemed so peaceful and ordinary, the common folk were unaware of what had transpired during this time.
Hiroshi shook his head, dispelling his thoughts, and made his way toward the Hyuga clan compound.
"Hahaha, look, look, this is the young lady of the Hyuga clan, such a shy little thing."
"The young lady of the Hyuga clan? shouldn't she be high and mighty, with servants and guards when she goes out? Why is she running around alone?"
"Get lost, you freak, or I'll beat you up!"
As Hiroshi walked down the street, he suddenly heard the noise of children arguing in a nearby alley. He wasn't planning to pay attention to children's squabbles since it was quite normal.
But then he caught the words "Hyuga clan" and "young lady," and his heart skipped a beat. Could it be...? Hiroshi headed towards the alley where the voices were coming from. Turning the corner, what he saw made his blood boil.
In the corner of the alley, three brutish kids, about seven or eight years old, had cornered two small figures and were mocking them mercilessly. One of the kids even threw a stone at them.
The blond-haired child shielded the little girl behind him tightly against the incoming stones.
"That's enough, get lost, what kind of person pick on little girl?"
"Hahaha, you idiots, we're going to pick on you!"
"Yeah, you two, one's a crybaby shy girl, and the other's a fox demon. We're the great heroes here, and we're going to defeat you."
"Damn it!"
Faced with the taunts, the blond-haired child swung his fist fiercely at them, but outnumbered, he was quickly pinned to the ground.
The brats continued to laugh and mock.
"I say, have you little brats had enough fun yet?"
Suddenly, a voice filled with suppressed anger sounded behind them.
The kids turned around to see someone standing there, head bowed, face dark.
"Big brother... wowww..." Hinata, in the corner, couldn't hold back her tears upon seeing the newcomer.
Hiroshi looked at Hinata current state—her hair disheveled, her clothes dirty, and her delicate little face marred with a few wounds—and he felt a pang of heartache.
"What's this? I thought it was someone important, but it's just the young master of the Hyuga clan. Hey, your sister knocked over my ice cream, how are you going to make up for it?"
Seeing that the newcomer was just a kid younger than themselves, the brats felt emboldened and started to charge at Hiroshi, shouting.
'These brats, lacking the beatings of society, aren't they? No one at home to discipline them?' Hiroshi shook his head.
"Bakudo Number One - Sai!"
Immediately, the hands of the charging kids were suddenly bound behind their backs, their bodies losing balance, and they tumbled to the ground in a heap.
Thud, crash.
"What's going on? Why can't I move my hands?!"
"Waaah, he's a monster!"
"I want to go home, mommy, save me!"
The brats now sprawled on the ground, panicked and began to cry and scream.
"Big brother..." Hinata sobbed and threw herself into Hiroshi arms.
"So, Hinata, why aren't you staying at home? What are you doing out here alone?" Hiroshi asked Hinata.
"Big brother, you've been away all day. I wanted you to play with me, so I came out to find you, but... but then I ran into them, and they bullied me, wuwuwu..." Hinata said with a pitiful look on her face.
"Honestly, running out alone like that, Mom would be worried if she couldn't find you. Don't do it again, understand?"
"Hmm," Hinata nodded in response.
'So cool...' At that moment, the blond-haired kid who had been lying on the ground got up. He looked at the group of troublemakers who had been taken down by Hiroshi in a single move and thought to himself in amazement.
Hiroshi looked at the kid in front of him, about the same age as Hinata, with a head of yellow hair and six long whisker-like marks on his face, and immediately understood.
'So, this must be Uzumaki Naruto!'
"Hello, I believe your name is Naruto, right? Thank you for protecting my sister," Hiroshi said with a warm smile.
"Huh? Big brother, you know me? Ah... it's nothing, really. Protecting the weak is what I should do, ha ha," Naruto scratched his head and laughed awkwardly at Hiroshi.