Chapter 46: Leaving the Storm Behind
White feathers continued their silent descent, and the audience that had been cheering moments before felt their eyelids grow heavy. One by one, they slumped in their seats, unconscious expressions frozen on their faces.
Even the weaker ninja present couldn't resist the overwhelming exhaustion. Their heads drooped, their bodies going limp.
Fwoosh—
Two afterimages leaped from the rest platform. Kankuro and Temari vanished into the chaos, abandoning the arena without a backward glance.
Hinata looked up at Ryuzen, confusion evident in her pale eyes. "Ryuzen-kun, this is..."
"An illusion." Aburame Shino answered before Ryuzen could, his voice calm despite the unfolding chaos.
The three Team 8 members exchanged glances. Simultaneously, they raised their hands in the familiar seal.
"Release!"
The white feathers that had been disturbing their chakra fluctuations scattered harmlessly away from them. The illusion shattered.
After dispelling the genjutsu, Ryuzen pointed toward a section of the stands. "Hinata, go get your sister. The real battle is about to begin."
"Yes."
Hinata didn't question his command. Six years of absolute trust had trained her to act first and ask later. Her Byakugan activated, scanning the crowd until she located Hanabi's familiar chakra signature. Then she leaped from the rest platform, rushing toward her younger sister.
Ryuzen hesitated for a moment, then followed. He couldn't shake the unease of letting Hinata go alone, even for a few seconds. Before leaving, he glanced back at Shino.
"Hide. Observe. Wait for the right moment."
Shino nodded behind his high collar. "Understood."
Ryuzen caught up to Hinata quickly, and together they reached Hanabi's position in the stands. The younger Hyūga girl lay slumped in her seat, victim of the sleeping genjutsu like everyone else.
Hinata gently lifted Hanabi's head, formed hand seals, and pressed two fingers to her sister's forehead.
"Release!"
For a moment, nothing happened. Then Hanabi's eyes fluttered open, unfocused and confused. She looked up at the face hovering above her and hesitated: "Sister...?"
Hinata pressed a finger to her lips. Shh.
Hanabi's eyes widened as full awareness returned. She took in the chaos around her—the fighting, the fallen spectators, the invading ninja—and nodded quickly, understanding passing silently between sisters.
Swish swish swish!
Several spectators in the rows behind Hanabi suddenly shed their civilian disguises. Kunai appeared in their hands as they launched themselves at the two Hyūga girls.
Shing—
A dazzling white flash streaked through the air before they could complete their attack.
Ryuzen stood with his red paper umbrella extended, one arm wrapped protectively around both Hinata and Hanabi. Blood rained down on the oil paper, staining the spectators nearby who hadn't moved fast enough. The bodies of the attackers fell in pieces around them.
When the bloody rain stopped, Ryuzen discarded the umbrella—its purpose served—and looked at the two sisters. Hanabi's face had gone red, pressed against his side without quite understanding how she had gotten there.
"Stay close to me. We're leaving this venue together."
Hinata took Hanabi's hand and nodded firmly. "Mm."
They moved quietly through the stands toward the exit, three figures weaving through chaos with practiced ease. Hinata's Byakugan remained active, tracking threats before they appeared. Hanabi, her hand clasped tightly in her sister's, stole glances at the silver-haired boy leading them.
This man... he came with sister this morning. He protects her. He protects me. What is he to her?
"Ryuzen-kun—"
Swish—thud!
A sword light too fast to follow flashed in front of them. A spectator who had been rushing from the side suddenly stopped mid-stride. His head, complete with Sound ninja forehead protector, rolled across the floor.
Hanabi's eyes went wide. "So... so amazing!"
She had watched Ryuzen's match from the stands. She had seen that incredible slash that carved through the arena wall. But viewing from a distance was nothing compared to witnessing it up close—feeling the displaced air, seeing the instant death delivered without hesitation.
Swish! Swish!
Two more figures materialized in front of them, arriving back-to-back in a whirlwind of leaves.
Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy stood before them, both battle-ready despite the chaos surrounding them.
"Ryuzen." Kakashi's visible eye was serious. "In the name of the village, I'm assigning you an A-rank mission. You're to—"
"Sorry. Please allow me to refuse."
Ryuzen cut him off mid-sentence. "Right now, I'm taking Hinata's sister back to the Hyūga compound. After that, I'll be saving villagers throughout Konoha. I believe there are already many Sand and Sound ninja inside the walls."
He had no interest in whatever mission Kakashi was about to assign. Chasing after Sasuke. Dealing with Gaara. Playing bodyguard for the revenge-obsessed Uchiha. That kind of mission held absolutely no appeal.
Kakashi studied him for a moment, then nodded. "Is that so? Then go. We'll cover you."
Ryuzen nodded once and turned to the sisters. "Speed up."
They ran.
As the three figures disappeared through the venue exit, several Sound ninja engaged in nearby fighting glanced their way. Some shifted as if to pursue.
A hand stopped them.
Yakushi Kabuto, still wearing his ANBU disguise, held up a palm. "Let them go. Unless you want to die."
The Sound ninja hesitated, confusion on their faces.
Kabuto's eyes tracked the retreating figures with an expression that mixed respect and calculation. He had witnessed that S-rank slash from the stands. He knew that Ryuzen's power couldn't be measured by age. This was a genius who should have been born in an era of war—the kind of prodigy who would have made a name for themselves across the entire ninja world.
Any fool who tried to stop him would simply die.
As if sensing Kabuto's gaze, Ryuzen turned his head mid-stride. Their eyes met for a brief moment—red meeting pale behind glasses. Then Ryuzen was gone, leading the Hyūga sisters out of the venue.
Before passing through the exit, Ryuzen's gaze lifted to the roof above the Hokage's platform.
Through the barriers, he could just make out two figures locked in combat. The Third Hokage. And Orochimaru, finally revealed.
He knew what he was seeing. He knew this was the last time he would ever see the Third Hokage alive.
When this was over, the man known as the "Professor," the "God of Shinobi," the leader who had guided Konoha through decades of peace and war alike—that man would be dead.
If Ryuzen went to help, the Third Hokage wouldn't die.
He believed in his own strength. The Four Violet Flames Formation trapping them couldn't stop his slashing attack. He could hear its breath, could cut through barriers that trapped lesser shinobi. He could intervene, could change the outcome.
He had no intention of doing so.
As Orochimaru said, Konoha's windmill needs a strong wind to turn it.
The Third Hokage had lost his edge as a ninja. Age had stolen his stamina, his reflexes, the overwhelming power that had once made him a legend. He was no longer fit to lead. Konoha needed a new pillar—someone strong enough to face the coming storms.
Ryuzen wanted him to die.
Only through his death would Jiraiya return to the village. Only through his death would Tsunade be found and convinced to become the Fifth Hokage. Only with a strong leader like Tsunade in power could Shimura Danzo be suppressed.
If the Third Hokage survived, if Ryuzen's display of S-rank power reached Danzo's ears through other channels... the man who feared nothing, who operated in darkness without the Hokage's knowledge, would become a threat. Danzo would do anything to control or eliminate power he couldn't command.
Ryuzen had no intention of becoming Danzo's target.
So he turned away. He left the Third Hokage to his fate.
Behind him, the battle for Konoha raged on.
Outside the venue, the streets of Konoha had already descended into chaos.
Smoke rose from多处 buildings. Civilians ran screaming in all directions. Teams of invading ninja moved through the streets, cutting down anyone who got in their way.
Ryuzen led the Hyūga sisters through the chaos with purpose. His Kenbunshoku Haki painted the battlefield in his mind—enemy positions, civilian concentrations, the flow of battle. He avoided the worst fighting, not out of fear, but because his priority was getting Hanabi to safety.
They rounded a corner and found their path blocked.
Three Sand ninja stood over the bodies of two Konoha civilians. Their weapons dripped blood. Their eyes lit up when they saw new targets.
Ryuzen didn't slow down.
His hand moved. Once. Twice. Three times.
The Sand ninja fell without a sound, their bodies joining the civilians they had murdered.
He stepped over them without a glance and kept moving.
Behind him, Hanabi stared at the bodies, then at his back, then at her sister's calm expression. She wanted to ask questions, but no words came.
Hinata squeezed her hand and kept running.
They reached the Hyūga compound's outer wall. The gates stood open, guards absent—likely drawn into the fighting elsewhere.
"Go inside," Ryuzen told Hanabi. "Bar the gates. Don't open them for anyone you don't recognize personally."
Hanabi nodded, still slightly dazed. She looked at her sister, then back at Ryuzen. "You're... you're not coming in?"
"No. I have work to do."
He turned to leave.
"Wait!"
Hanabi's voice stopped him. He glanced back.
The young Hyūga heiress hesitated, then asked: "What... what are you to my sister?"
Ryuzen looked at Hinata. Hinata looked at him. A silent conversation passed between them in a single glance.
"Someone who will always protect her," Ryuzen said simply.
Then he was gone, vanishing into the smoke-filled streets.
Hanabi stared at the space where he had been, then at her sister's face—which had turned a delicate shade of pink despite everything happening around them.
"Sister... that person..."
Hinata smiled softly. "Come inside, Hanabi. We need to secure the compound."
Hand in hand, the two Hyūga sisters entered their clan home.
Outside, the invasion continued. And somewhere in the chaos, a silver-haired boy with a sword was about to begin his real work.
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