The atmosphere in the room was a bit awkward. Menma leaned quietly by the window. Misaki's hands were tightly clasped. Although the Adamantine Sealing Chains Menma had shown did prove his Uzumaki identity, the unease in her eyes had not completely disappeared. Her body remained in a position where she could get up at any moment.
Karin, on the other hand, knelt obediently beside her mother, occasionally stealing glances at Menma, her eyes shining with a mixture of curiosity and confusion.
Menma completely understood their silence and unease. The woman before him had joined the Hidden Grass Village to seek protection for her daughter, only to be nearly bitten to death by her so-called "comrades"—an experience like that would make anyone instinctively wary of the word "protection."
Actually, besides that, there was another reason: stereotypes...
Standing before them now was the feared leader of [JIN]. The terrifying rumors carefully spread by the Hidden Cloud Village had long since painted "Menma" as a bloodthirsty demon. When a legendary mass murderer suddenly says he's going to protect you, anyone would suspect it's a new trap.
It will take time...
Menma sighed inwardly. Trust was something that took a long time to build but could be destroyed in an instant.
Finally, the paper door was pulled open hastily.
A middle-aged man in a hard hat stood hurriedly at the door, clearly having run all the way after receiving the message. He wore ordinary work clothes, looking just like any other construction worker in the Land of Hot Water.
"Tanuma"—the nameless merchant registered in the Land of Hot Water—now stood awkwardly outside the door. After entering the room, the moment he took off his hard hat, a puff of white smoke rose as he released his Transformation Jutsu.
Hizashi Hyuga's true form gradually appeared. The signature Byakugan declared his identity.
"Lord Menma! I apologize for keeping you waiting!"
Hizashi's voice was apologetic. His sleeves were still stained with a bit of cement dust; Hizashi had come directly from the construction site. Ever since he had received the mission to build the main base, the younger brother of the Hyuga clan head had devoted all his energy to business management and construction.
Then Menma simply gave Hizashi his instructions.
When Hizashi heard that this mother and daughter were of the Uzumaki bloodline, he was clearly surprised. But he quickly composed himself and bowed his head. "I understand."
He didn't ask where Menma had found them, nor did he question why he was taking them in. But without any price, under absolute loyalty, Hizashi had only one course of action—he just needed to follow orders, no questions asked.
The task was actually simple: give them a place to stay and ensure their lives were comfortable. The only restriction was that for safety reasons, they had to maintain a Transformation Jutsu when they were out and about.
Misaki listened quietly to Menma's arrangements, the anxiety in her heart gradually dissipating.
Is that... really all? No cruel experiments, no harsh conditions, not even asking them to pay any price.
And... this person... her gaze fell on Hizashi. Those pure white eyes undoubtedly belonged to the Hyuga clan.
Wait a minute... the Hyuga clan member that [JIN] was rumored to have captured, wasn't he tortured to death? Why is he still alive? And he looks... like he's doing quite well?
After giving his instructions, Menma didn't stay long.
"Well then, I'll leave the rest to you."
With that, his figure vanished in a faint glow of the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Next... Naruto returned to Konoha, a slight smile on his lips. Just give them some time to live in peace...
The bond points will come naturally.
And so, the [JIN] organization, feared throughout the ninja world, once again showed its fangs to the world.
In the following weeks, the obscure little ninja village of the Hidden Grass suddenly became the focus of the five great nations. ANBU from Konoha, tracker teams from the Cloud, reconnaissance ninja from the Stone... elite spies from all the villages, like sharks smelling blood, swarmed into this small border village, trying to dig up any clues about [JIN].
However, no matter how they investigated, the intelligence they obtained was surprisingly consistent—Menma had appeared this time only to take away the Uzumaki clan members sheltered by the Hidden Grass Village.
But it was this simple piece of information that made the Kage of the five great nations sit on pins and needles.
[JIN] is collecting Kekkei Genkai?
Besides deterring war with military might, what other purpose did this organization have?
All sorts of terrifying speculations swirled in the minds of the various "Kage." Unfortunately, in the face of a Space-Time Ninjutsu like the Flying Thunder God, any tracking method was useless. The trail of [JIN] once again vanished like mist into the shadows of the ninja world.
As for Naruto... he had long since returned to his "ordinary" daily life.
Splashing youth with Might Guy on the streets of Konoha in the morning, sparring with the Uchiha heiress at the training ground in the afternoon... he lived a full life under these circumstances.
But Naruto's actions were causing a series of butterfly effects.
In the dojo of the Hyuga main family, Hiashi Hyuga stared at Neji, who was sparring with Hinata, his brow unconsciously furrowing. According to his expectations, this child who had lost his father should be full of resentment towards the main family.
Although Hizashi's last letter had clearly explained the truth about the substitution, Hiashi had even prepared himself to be hated by his nephew, planning to tell him the whole truth himself when Neji was a little more mature.
However...
"Please, Lady Hinata."
Neji bowed respectfully, his eyes showing no trace of gloom. His movements were crisp and clean, stopping just short of making contact, completely lacking the resentful viciousness he had imagined. What confused Hiashi even more was that the gaze this child directed at him held a sincere respect.
This isn't right...
Logically, the tragic death of his father should have been a huge blow to this precocious child. But the Neji before him was not only not depressed but was full of energy and trained every day, his eyes burning with an astonishing obsession and conviction.
Neji didn't think too much about it. In his mind, there was only one thought.
Get stronger...
I must get stronger...
Neji had only one pure goal in his heart. The "death" of his father had not brought him hatred, but a strange sense of release. Because the man in the fox mask had made him understand—
As long as you are stronger than anyone else, you can break any shackles and fate.
So he had to get stronger, so that he could live up to that person's expectations, so that he could become that person's asset, so that in the future, he could stand by that person's side and offer his strength.
Neji didn't even realize the astonishing obsession in his own heart. It could be said that Neji's attitude towards Menma was no different from Kimimaro's attitude towards Orochimaru in the original story.
Time flowed by like a quiet river.
The appearance of the [JIN] organization was like a brief thunderstorm—it came on strong, but then vanished in an instant. The intelligence departments of the five great nations were still frantically searching for any clues about this mysterious organization, but they came up empty-handed.
And just as the entire ninja world was holding its breath for [JIN]'s next appearance...
Konoha, Year 54.
The man hailed as the "Darkness of the Ninja World," the "Destroyer of Worlds," and the "Public Enemy of All Mankind"—was about to have a major life event.
Naruto was about to report to the Ninja Academy and become a glorious elementary school student.
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