The events in Kirigakure fermented with astonishing speed.
In less than a single day, spies planted in Kirigakure by the other villages rushed intelligence reports to their respective Kage desks with the highest urgency.
No one had expected that Konoha's Nine-Tails jinchūriki had already become a perfect jinchūriki—and that his very first battle would be a one-man sweep of Kirigakure.
Slaying the Three-Tails.
Breaking the formation alone.
Capturing the Mizukage alive.
Even the infamous Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had been beaten down into a pitiful remnant—reduced to the so-called "Lucky Trio," with Zabuza's generation shattered, and Samehada's future wielder, Kisame, fleeing in cowardice.
Each achievement alone was shocking. Taken together, they were downright terrifying.
And when it was revealed that Kirigakure had provoked such a calamity over a single Byakugan, the reaction everywhere was a sharp intake of breath.
It was the definition of a bad trade.
If Kirigakure had at least managed to keep the Byakugan, one might say there was some small consolation—but they lost the eye anyway. Truly a case of losing both the lady and the soldiers.
Worse still, before leaving, the Nine-Tails jinchūriki had fired a Tailed Beast Bomb directly at the Mizukage. Even though it wasn't aimed at the village itself, the damage was enough to leave Kirigakure nearly crippled, falling completely out of the ranks of the Five Great Villages.
They were barely better than Takigakure now.
Just as Sarutobi Hiruzen had anticipated, the Kazekage, Tsuchikage, and Raikage all felt the same chill at almost the same moment.
A single person breaking a village's defenses—
They could all do that.
But the village destroyed would never be one of the Five Great Villages.
The Nine-Tails jinchūriki's strength was simply too overwhelming.
And so, almost instinctively, they arrived at the same conclusion:
Alliance. They had to form an alliance.
If Konoha picked them off one by one, the shinobi world would become a one-village dictatorship.
No one believed Sarutobi Hiruzen to be the benevolent idealist that Senju Hashirama once was.
After all, Sarutobi Hiruzen bore the title "The Ninja Hero."
The only man in the shinobi world capable of wielding all five elemental transformations.
A title earned through blood and corpses on the battlefield.
Every great village had personally experienced his iron-fisted methods.
At this point, no one even cared whether the Third Mizukage had survived that Tailed Beast Bomb.
While accelerating their military expansion, the villages rapidly opened communication channels with one another.
If Kirigakure hadn't still possessed the Six-Tails jinchūriki and the solid foundation of the Land of Water, it might have already been torn apart and divided among the others.
Even so, recovery would not be easy.
Every village watched Kirigakure like wolves circling prey—waiting for the slightest stumble before pouncing.
That was the fate of the weak.
Without strength, there was only one ending: elimination.
—
Hyūga Clan
Bare feet stepping lightly across polished wooden floors, a girl with waterfall-like black hair and sharp, luminous eyes moved through a training hall in crisp practice attire.
Her attacks were fierce.
Each palm strike carried cutting force, her Byakugan sharp with intensity.
Opposite her was an elderly man, well past sixty—yet not a hint of frailty showed in his movements. His counters were just as swift, just as precise.
The spar ended when the girl's hand blade stopped perfectly at the old man's throat.
"Naori," the man said calmly,
"Your injury hasn't affected your strength."
He was Hyūga Sōju, Naori's father—and the current head of the Hyūga clan.
Naori took a towel from a nearby attendant, wiped the sweat from her brow, and sat down directly on the floor.
Here, among family, etiquette was unnecessary.
"…Still not enough," she murmured, staring at her hands.
"Still too weak."
Her fingers clenched tightly.
Being intercepted.
Having her eye forcibly taken.
Returning home in disgrace—nearly losing her position as the next clan head.
Every scene replayed vividly in her mind.
Even though her Byakugan had been returned thanks to Kyusei, the bitterness remained.
She wasn't the type of girl who could hide behind someone else forever.
She needed to be stronger.
Stronger.
Even stronger.
Strong enough that no one would ever dare covet her eyes again.
At that moment, Naori felt as if she could glimpse her own future.
If she continued following the conventional path, she would at best become an elite jōnin.
If she wanted more, she would have to break past the limits of Gentle Fist.
Striking tenketsu and internal organs was powerful—but not enough.
Not even close.
Kyusei's assault on Kirigakure had shaken the world. Even Naori, who had been bedridden for days, had heard everything.
Sōju had told her after returning from a jōnin meeting convened by the Hokage himself.
When the image of that red-haired boy surfaced in her mind, Naori felt inexplicably restless.
What was I thinking back then…?
She had kissed him.
On impulse.
And that stupid kid hadn't even refused.
It was unbearable.
She was five years older than him!
Naori lifted her gaze to the blue sky beyond the courtyard, white clouds drifting lazily.
Her beautiful eyes grew distant.
When there exists someone who, upon learning that your most precious thing has been stolen—
Travels thousands of miles alone.
Storms the enemy's territory single-handedly.
Slays generals, breaks formations, tears through an army.
And retrieves what belongs to you from the heart of enemy lines—
Then leaves without hesitation.
It was the most clichéd story imaginable.
And yet, when it truly happened…
For the girl involved, it was an utterly lethal emotional strike.
"What's wrong?"
Sōju asked, sitting beside her.
He had lived long enough to see through his daughter at a glance. Her thoughts had long since drifted far away.
"N-Nothing," Naori replied quietly.
"You're thinking about that jinchūriki, aren't you?"
As the Hyūga clan head, Sōju had been fully aware from the beginning—Naori's role as a former guard to the jinchūriki, and later her long-term assignment to stay by his side.
None of that had happened without his knowledge.
"N-No,"
"Why would I think about that idiot?"
Her cheeks flushed faintly.
Sōju sighed inwardly at her obvious denial.
Originally, his thinking had aligned with Jiraiya's.
Uzumaki Kyusei, as the Nine-Tails jinchūriki, was Konoha's most critical asset. The moment he was forced onto the battlefield, it meant the situation had already become desperate enough to rely on the Nine-Tails' power.
If Naori truly stayed by his side, her life would be filled with hardship.
But Kyusei's performance…
It shattered all expectations.
One man equaled the fighting power of an entire great village.
With strength like that, Sōju naturally became supportive of his daughter and the jinchūriki.
Yet a problem remained.
That jinchūriki already had someone by his side.
Was his daughter supposed to… share a husband with another woman?
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