Chapter 16
"Phew… the view up here really is great!"
Little Naruto wiped his sweat, gazing down at the entire Hyūga compound spread out below.
Beside him, Xuanming's projection felt an odd sensation…
Just now, something had seemed to "watch" them.
But the feeling vanished so quickly it felt like an illusion.
"Fox Sage, what's wrong?" Naruto noticed Xuanming's expression.
"…Nothing. Probably just my imagination." Xuanming suppressed the unease.
He hadn't brought Naruto here for sightseeing—he was scouting.
The goal: memorize the roads around the Hyūga compound.
"Naruto, look carefully at that path down there."
Xuanming pointed to the outer wall. "That's the quickest escape route from here. If someone tries to do something bad in this place, they'll have to pass through there."
"Why do we need to check that kind of thing?" Naruto scratched his head.
"Just in case!" Xuanming replied calmly.
Naruto had spent the afternoon wandering the village, observing routes, eventually ending up near the Hyūga compound.
As the notorious village troublemaker, this was normal behavior.
The watching Anbu simply assumed the child was playing and running around—no reason to interfere.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side of the village.
The Kumo delegation hadn't stayed quietly in the guest inn.
"This Konoha festival is pretty nice!"
The Kumo leader strolled the nearby streets with his two escorts, casually eating dango.
They called it "admiring our ally's prosperity and learning from it."
In reality, their eyes tracked the Konoha Military Police patrol routes and gauged how closely Anbu was monitoring them.
Kumogakure had done this kind of operation before—they knew exactly how to pull off a kidnapping in Konoha.
The rough plan was already set. Now they were just gathering final field intel before acting.
The three Kumo ninja exchanged subtle signals, cold glints in their eyes.
"If things go smoothly, we move tonight. Once we have the Byakugan, we're gone—treaty or no treaty."
A silent net of hunt and counter-hunt was quietly spreading around the Hyūga clan.
...
After scouting the slope outside the Hyūga compound and confirming escape routes, Naruto's mind wandered from the scenery.
He kept thinking about the big sister from earlier—ninjutsu seemed so cool.
"Fox Sage! Teach me that technique you mentioned—the one that goes 'poof' and turns you into someone else!"
Naruto clung to Xuanming, begging.
"That's the Transformation Technique—one of the three basic ninjutsu. It's foundational. You'll learn chakra extraction and ninjutsu properly once you enter the academy.
"Most kids are too young—refining chakra too early can affect growth."
Xuanming floated in midair, patient. "But for you, it's different. You already have chakra, so this won't be hard."
"The hand seals are Dog → Boar → Ram. Follow my gestures. Focus on controlling your body—imagine who or what you want to become, then wrap chakra around yourself to mimic the appearance…"
And so, the entire afternoon, Naruto practiced amid endless poof poof poof sounds.
From no reaction at first → feeling chakra → turning into rocks, logs, weird lumpy people…
Later: chubby Naruto, big-nosed thick-lipped Hiruzen, and finally a perfect replica of Xuanming.
"You learn fast." Xuanming's projection in the seal space nodded approvingly.
Now that he—the Nine-Tails—was far more restrained than in the original story, he no longer actively influenced Naruto's chakra usage, indirectly unleashing the boy's natural talent.
One afternoon, and Transformation Technique was mastered. All that remained was practice.
Naruto learned it for fun—but Xuanming agreed to teach it for tonight's potential action.
...
Night fell. Deep midnight. All was silent.
Inside a room at the Kumo guest inn.
The Kumo leader left a shadow clone pretending to sleep. His real body donned pitch-black night gear.
"Move."
Under the concealment technique cast by his two subordinates, his presence melted completely into the night—slipping past outer Anbu surveillance.
Like a ghost, he evaded Konoha's monitoring net and headed straight for the Hyūga compound.
At the same time—on the small slope outside the Hyūga compound.
After finishing Transformation practice and growing bored, Naruto had been meditating—or rather, dozing—until a voice in his mind jolted him awake.
"Wake up! They're here!"
Xuanming's projection popped out. Time was short, but enough.
Worst case, he'd tap the emergency reserve.
A strand of malice—like the Kumo leader's—was moving through Konoha. Against the Nine-Tails' innate malice perception, no concealment technique could hide.
Human malice felt similar, but distinguishing was easy.
Late at night, something brimming with malice heading straight for the Hyūga compound—with nine tails you could guess what was happening.
"That bad thing is about to act."
Xuanming directed: "Naruto, are you scared? This won't be like fighting kids. You could get hurt. It's dangerous."
"No problem! I'll listen to Fox Sage!"
Naruto was still half-asleep and groggy, but he trusted Xuanming completely.
He stood, short legs pumping, and dashed down the slope—running full speed through the snow toward the street Xuanming indicated.
Timing was tight, but he could make it.
Xuanming's voice continued: "Listen. Use the Transformation Technique you learned today. Turn into the girl who gave you snacks three days ago. Then walk slowly toward the main gate."
On the necessary escape route outside the Hyūga compound.
The Kumo leader in night gear was speeding through the streets, a small unconscious figure tucked under one arm.
He hadn't expected it to go so smoothly. The main family heiress had been asleep—snatched without raising an alarm.
Just cross this road, then he could escape cleanly…
Suddenly, his steps halted.
In the moonlit snow ahead, a small girl in winter clothes—dark blue short hair—walked slowly toward him, rubbing sleepy eyes.
"Eh…? Who… are you?"
The girl saw the Kumo leader. Confusion filled her pure white pupils as she spoke in surprise.
She looked exactly like the main family heiress he was carrying!
"What?!"
The Kumo leader's pupils contracted.
He looked down at the genjutsu-sleeping Hinata in his arm, then at the one approaching.
What the hell—two main family heiresses?
Clone? Shadow clone? Twins? Did I grab the wrong one?
Though hesitant, now wasn't the time.
No matter—since he couldn't tell real from fake, he'd take both!
The leader's gaze hardened. He unleashed a burst of genjutsu that instantly enveloped the approaching "Hinata."
Naruto felt the street warp into a maze—no matter which way he ran, he couldn't escape.
In reality, his eyes glazed over. He stood frozen in place.
The Kumo leader sneered. Just a kid.
He extended his free right arm, mimicking the same carry hold he used on the real Hinata, and scooped up the unconscious Naruto.
Left arm: real Hinata. Right arm: fake Hinata.
He resumed his escape route.
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