Wait... wait wait wait. No way.
The realization hit Miyuki so hard he nearly launched himself out of the futon, which scared the hell out of the attendant who was still in the room.
"Miyuki-sama? What's wrong?"
"Nothing... Where is my father right now? I need to see him."
He took a deep breath and turned to the young attendant, keeping his voice as steady as a three-year-old could manage. Because if he was right about this, trouble was already on its way to the Hyuuga compound.
In the original story, the Land of Lightning had sent envoys to the Land of Fire to negotiate peace right around the time Hinata was about three years old. And today, the Kumo delegation had arrived. Which meant Miyuki was standing squarely on the day of the incident, and he'd gone and made himself the star of it.
In the original timeline, Hiashi had noticed quickly and chased down the kidnapper, saving Hinata. But killing the envoy had consequences. The next day, Kumo used the death of their representative as leverage, demanding Hiashi's body as compensation or the peace treaty would collapse.
But Hiashi was the Main House head. He couldn't die. So Hizashi volunteered to go in his place, which kicked off years of Neji walking around with a chip on his shoulder the size of the Hokage Monument...
This is bad. If I don't do something, history's going to repeat itself. Tonight, one of Kumo's people is going to come for me, the Hyuuga heir, and then we're right back on the same ugly track.
The simplest solution was obvious: stick to Hiashi like glue. The man had solo-killed the kidnapper in the original story, which meant the Kumo operative wasn't exactly top-tier. As long as Miyuki stayed within arm's reach of his father, he'd be fine.
But then the attendant said something that made his stomach drop.
"Well, tonight is a big celebration, so Hiashi-sama will be entertaining the Elders until quite late. If you go bother him now, you'll definitely get scolded. Best to just stay in bed."
Right. The festival. Today was the Hyuuga's traditional ceremony day. Activities had been running since morning, and Hiashi, as clan head, was buried in obligations.
Hold on. Did Kumo plan it this way? But they only arrived in Konoha today. There's no way they could've mapped out the Hyuuga's internal schedule that fast. Unless...
Miyuki's mind went somewhere darker.
There's a mole.
He turned the thought over carefully, and the more he looked at it, the worse it smelled.
According to the original story, a single Kumo envoy had infiltrated the Hyuuga compound and snatched Hinata. Simple enough when you say it out loud. But think about it for two seconds and it falls apart.
First, the kidnapper wasn't particularly strong. Hiashi had killed him even after the guy had a hostage. That put him at regular jounin level at best. Not even elite.
And yet this mediocre shinobi had waltzed into the stronghold of one of Konoha's two most powerful clans and grabbed the heiress? What was the compound made of, wet cardboard? The whole thing reeked.
"I have something important to discuss with my father. I'm going no matter what!"
Miyuki threw off the covers and pulled on his outer robe, turning to face his attendant with as much authority as a toddler in a kimono could project.
"Huh? That's not really... Wait! Miyuki-sama!"
Before she could even process what was happening, the small figure had already sprinted to the door and yanked the sliding panel open.
Miyuki's quarters were in one of the quieter side courtyards, so the corridor outside was deserted. Under the bright moonlight, the empty walkway looked almost eerie.
Tonight happened to be a full moon. Even in the dark, visibility was excellent. Miyuki didn't spare a single glance back at the bewildered attendant and bolted down the hallway.
If I'm right, Hiashi should still be in the main hall drinking with the Elders. If I just head that way...
THUD.
He rounded a corner at full speed and slammed face-first into something solid. His tiny body bounced off and hit the floor.
"Oh? Miyuki-sama? What are you doing out here?"
Miyuki opened his eyes and looked up. A young man in a white kimono was reaching down toward him, offering a hand. Friendly smile. Helpful posture.
The man had the signature Hyuuga pale eyes. His kimono was spotless. Clean hair falling neatly behind his shoulders.
And the instant Miyuki saw him, every hair on his body stood up.
This guy is not Hyuuga.
He arrived at that conclusion in under three seconds.
Yes, the man looked the part. White eyes, white kimono, the whole package. But there was one glaring problem, and it was precisely how clean he was.
Tonight, the entire Hyuuga clan had been partying. Main House, Branch House, elders, servants, everyone. The men especially had been pouring sake down their throats for hours.
But this guy didn't smell like alcohol at all. His clothes were crisp and unwrinkled, like he'd never set foot in the banquet hall.
The only Hyuuga members who wouldn't have attended tonight's celebration were the shadow guards, the clan's covert security detail. And if he were one of them, he would never reveal himself openly like this in front of the young heir.
So whoever was standing in front of Miyuki right now was almost certainly not who he appeared to be. Factor in the Kumo kidnapping plot that was supposed to go down tonight, and the math did itself.
"Oh, it's nothing. Just felt like a walk."
Despite all of that, Miyuki reached up and grabbed the man's hand, plastering on his best innocent-toddler face as he got to his feet.
"Is that so? Well then... why don't you get a nice, long sleep."
Before Miyuki could even steady himself, the young man's expression shifted into something cold and satisfied. All according to plan. Then he pressed his palm against the young heir's forehead.
Instantly, the world spun like a whirlpool. Miyuki's vision twisted, colors bleeding into each other, and his consciousness began sinking into an artificial sleep...
Got him. That was almost too easy. The Kumo jounin, a man named Darbi, let out a quiet breath of relief. He slung the unconscious boy over his shoulder and, before the attendant could catch up, disappeared down the opposite end of the corridor.
The read was correct. Darbi was not Hyuuga. He was a deep-cover operative that Kumogakure had planted in Konoha years ago.
He'd been living in the village for a long time, blending in. Today, he'd slipped out of Konoha briefly, folded himself into the arriving Kumo delegation, and come back in wearing the credentials of a minor diplomatic official. The actual head of Kumo's envoy team was someone else entirely.
Having spent years mapping the Hyuuga compound's layout, daily routines, and security patterns, infiltrating during tonight's festival had been child's play for an intelligence-specialist jounin like Darbi. And with Kumogakure, Konoha's wartime enemy, arriving on the very same day to sign a peace agreement, nobody would suspect them of pulling something this brazen at this exact moment...
Or at least, almost nobody.
Because even as Darbi carried his prize toward the compound's outer perimeter, a very small brain was working overtime inside that supposedly unconscious head.
This is bad. If I don't do something right now, history snaps back to the original track. But what can I do?
Slung over Darbi's shoulder and playing dead, Miyuki was thinking fast.
Darbi had every reason to believe the three-year-old was out cold, trapped in genjutsu-induced sleep. But Miyuki's mind was fully awake.
The genjutsu hadn't stuck. Or more accurately, it had activated and then been immediately dispelled.
The method Miyuki used to break free was simple. It was the thing currently hovering silently behind him, invisible to everyone else in the world.
His Stand. "Kaguya-hime."