Shindai hurled Naruto ahead and stood alone against the three Cloud Ninjas.
Though he had mentally prepared himself, facing three ninja—elite jonin at that—their overwhelming auras made Naruto's legs tremble. Naruto felt the urge to run away.
Mustering his courage, Naruto shouted with a trembling voice, "Hey! Put down Hinata right now, or I'll finish you!"
[Snorting], just a little brat. Kill him and get out fast!
A Cloud Ninja drew a kunai and lunged at Naruto.
Panicked, Naruto completely forgot about the armguard on his arm and stood frozen.
Meanwhile, Nagare watched from the shadows, his hands already shaping the seals.
[Magnet Release: Chaotic Magnetic Field!]
The space around Naruto surged with chaotic, fluctuating magnetic waves.
Using his technique, Nagare focused the wild magnetic forces on the attacking Cloud Ninja, throwing his nervous system into chaos.
In other words, his limbs no longer obeyed him.
The Cloud Ninja tripped over his own feet and face-planted into the ground, sliding to a stop right in front of Naruto.
Naruto and the Cloud Ninja exchanged uneasy glances.
The Cloud Ninja struggled to rise and thrust the kunai at Naruto, but the blade remained pinned to the ground by magnetic force. His limbs twitched helplessly.
Suddenly recalling the armguard, Naruto frantically pressed the red button.
The armguard automatically activated [Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique]. A concentrated stream of flames shot straight into the Cloud Ninja's head.
"Ahhh!"
Flames roared across the Cloud Ninja's head as fire quickly consumed his entire body.
The other two Cloud Ninjas stared at Naruto in disbelief.
It was shocking enough for someone who looked only three or four years old to use a ninjutsu—but an unsealless technique? That was nearly impossible!
Because of the commotion, Hinata woke up.
Finding herself being held captive, she felt terrified.
Hadn't she been asleep? How did she end up here?
And there was such a strong smell of burning…
Following the scent, Hinata spotted Naruto. "Naruto!"
Though still terrified, Naruto refused to show fear in front of a girl.
"Hey! I came to save you!"
The leader among the Cloud Ninjas grew increasingly worried—the noise would definitely attract attention. The Hyuga ninjas might already be on their way here.
"Forget him! Protect the Byakugan—retreat!"
"Don't think so!" Naruto yelled.
He pressed the blue button, activating [Lightning Release: Thunderbolt].
A lightning ball rocketed toward the two fleeing Cloud Ninjas. But the current grew stronger, splitting into branching arcs that spread wider and wider.
[Magnet Release: Electromagnetic Field!]
[Lightning Ball!] The Lightning Ball released by Naruto caused the positive and negative charges in the electromagnetic field to resonate, generating powerful electric currents.
Within this dense current, a second Cloud ninja suffered nervous system disruption. While trying to flee, he suddenly stumbled and was instantly struck by multiple electric shocks. His entire body became charred black, his hair turned into a frizzy Afro, and he collapsed on the ground twitching.
Because he was worried about accidentally harming Hinata, the ninja squad leader wasn't hit by the current.
Naruto stared wide-eyed at the scene and stammered, "W-wow… I'm actually this strong?"
Ignoring his two fallen comrades, the ninja squad leader continued charging forward.
Naruto pressed the third button on his bracer.
[Wind Release: Gale Slash Technique!] A blade-like gust of wind shot toward the squad leader.
But the ninja suddenly came to a stop—not because of Naruto's Gale Slash Technique, but because right before him had appeared Hiashi Hyuga.
Hiashi didn't waste words. He immediately activated his Byakugan and landed a direct blow to the enemy's vital spot.
The enemy leader dropped to his knees, and just then Naruto's Gale Slash jutsu struck his back, leaving a massive wound across the ninja leader's back.
With Hinata's danger cleared, Naruto quickly ran over to her and asked urgently, "Hinata, are you okay?"
Still shaken, Hinata's face was extremely pale. After a pause, she answered softly, "I'm fine. Thank you for saving me, Naruto."
Just then, the remaining seven Cloud ninjas who had come to Konoha arrived at the scene, surrounding Hiashi, Hinata, and Naruto.
Hiashi shielded Naruto and Hinata behind him, then glanced in one direction.
He took up the Gentle Fist stance.
[Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!]
An illusory Bagua diagram formed beneath Hiashi's feet as he retaliated against three charging Cloud ninjas.
Meanwhile, Shindai knew that Hiashi had detected him, so he simply stepped forward and revealed himself.
[Sand Iron Binding Coffin!] Using iron sand, Shindai wrapped two Cloud ninjas within it.
[Magnet Release: Iron Sand Funeral!] The pressure from the iron sand crushed the two Cloud ninjas to death.
At the same time, Hiashi swiftly eliminated the other three Cloud ninjas.
Now only two Cloud ninjas remained.
As Hiashi was preparing to kill them, Shindai stopped him.
"Leave a couple alive. Those who managed to infiltrate the Hyuga clan compound and take Hinata were surely not ordinary people."
On those two remaining Cloud ninjas, Shindai silently left behind an Iron Sand Binding Field.
Shindai formed a seal, sending the iron sand into their bodies. They were instantly paralyzed and collapsed to the ground.
Hiashi Hyuga yanked off their face masks, revealing a forehead protector of Kumogakure.
Frowning deeply, Hiashi Hyuga said, "They're actually Cloud Ninja!"
He then turned to Shindai with suspicion. "Did you already know they were from the Cloud?"
Shindai shrugged. "How could I possibly have known beforehand? These guys managed to sneak into the clan compound silently, which means their skills must be formidable. And right now, just as ninja from Kumogakure have arrived in Konoha, it's not hard to connect the dots, is it?
I originally wanted to take Naruto out for a midnight snack. When I saw some shady figures skulking around, I followed them, but lost track of them. As I was about to go get help, I noticed they had come out from the clan compound, carrying Hinata with them. When Naruto saw her being captured, he rushed forward without thinking to save her.
Hinata looked at Naruto gratefully. "Thank you, Naruto."
"N-No problem," Naruto replied awkwardly, scratching his head. What snack? He hadn't brought him here on purpose at all!
Hiashi Hyuga didn't dwell on it—after all, if Shindai had really known earlier, he would've spoken up long before instead of waiting until the Cloud ninja made their move.
Many clansmen of the Hyūga clan had also arrived at the scene.
Hiashi Hyuga addressed his clansmen. "Go inform the Fourth immediately! The Cloud ninja are trying to steal the Byakugan!"
Gazing down at the corpses of the fallen Cloud ninja and the two paralyzed ones trapped by Shindai's Iron Sand Binding Field, Hiashi Hyuga's expression darkened.
This incident was extremely serious—Kumogakure had used the guise of alliance to attempt stealing the Byakugan of the Hyūga clan.
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