"Don't move—unless you want this brat dead!"
After Mirai's piercing shout, the Cloud ninja instantly realized that slipping out of the village unnoticed was no longer possible.
So his approach changed.
To the only remaining option—
A desperate and rather pathetic one.
Judging by his appearance and build, he was unmistakably a Kumogakure shinobi.
But his behavior was anything but "Cloud-like."
He chose to take a hostage.
Unfortunately for him, threatening ninja was generally ineffective.
Only in extreme cases—such as holding an irreplaceable high-value individual—would such threats work. In necessary situations, a ninja could even tear themselves apart without hesitation.
If one didn't care about their own life, why would they hesitate over a child?
"Threatening Konoha ninja with Konoha civilians inside Konoha," Hagoromo said calmly.
"Creative—but not something a smart man would do. We're not moving. What do you plan to do?"
True to his words, Hagoromo didn't move an inch—almost as if he'd accepted the threat.
"Move aside!" the Cloud ninja barked.
His goal was still to escape with the "target," but Hagoromo's group blocked his path.
Time was running out.
If he didn't act fast, Konoha shinobi would surround the area completely.
"I heard Cloud came this time to negotiate a peace treaty," Hagoromo continued.
"Your current actions don't exactly align with the word peace. They only raise doubts about Cloud's sincerity."
"So if there's no peace—what exactly did you come to Konoha for?"
"I formally declare that your behavior is now subject to judgment by the Konoha Women and Children Joint Protection Fund."
Hagoromo, of course, didn't step aside.
Was he the kind of person who complied so easily with enemy demands?
Beside him, Tenzō was completely baffled.
Konoha has an organization like that? Since when?
The rumors were true—this absurdly powerful jōnin often said things that made absolutely no sense.
And yet—
At least one person was perfectly in sync with him.
Mirai was nodding vigorously in agreement.
"Move, or—"
Hagoromo cut him off and casually pointed at the man's chest.
"Before repeating your threat," he said lightly,
"you might want to check what you're actually holding."
The Cloud ninja finally noticed something was wrong.
The weight felt… off.
Where was the light, soft body?
What he was holding—
Was a log.
Looking up, he saw the child already in someone else's arms.
Under the night's slanted lighting, that person's upper body remained hidden in shadow.
He couldn't clearly see the face.
Space-time ninjutsu?
No.
Just a Substitution Technique.
But this substitution hadn't been applied to the user—
It had been applied to a third party.
And more importantly—
It was absurdly fast.
No one present had even noticed when the seals were formed.
Hagoromo glanced down at the child in his arms.
Her gaze was unfocused, as if she'd been caught in a genjutsu.
"Look at this," he sighed.
"Scared her so badly she's rolling her eyes back—"
Wait.
That wasn't rolling her eyes back.
This kid didn't need to roll them at all.
She already had Byakugan.
At this point, Cloud's intentions were obvious.
Their desire for peace was real—but since they'd already entered Konoha, they didn't mind taking something valuable along the way.
And a Byakugan was a perfect prize.
Cloud always had good taste in kidnapping targets.
Every ninja they tried to abduct was genuinely valuable.
"Then I'll just have to kill you all," the Cloud ninja said coldly.
Time was against him.
He didn't want to fight—but to retrieve the mission objective, he had no choice.
Kill?
Hagoromo shook his head and stepped forward out of the shadows.
In life, there were three great illusions.
In the shinobi world, they were:
I can learn this jutsu too.
She likes me.
I can turn this around and win.
As Hagoromo fully emerged into the light—
The Cloud ninja finally remembered the terror of being dominated by white hair.
"White… Yaksha…"
According to Cloud intelligence, this man shouldn't even be in Konoha right now.
Why was he here?
At this point, the question no longer mattered.
"Kimimaro, Haku, Mirai," Hagoromo said calmly.
"The enemy is a jōnin. Be careful. Go see if you can handle him."
There was no need for Hagoromo to act personally.
This was a perfect chance for the three of them to gain experience.
Then he turned to Tenzō.
"Provide support. Make sure he doesn't kill himself."
By now, a large number of Konoha shinobi had arrived—
especially members of the Hyūga clan.
The situation was grim for the Cloud ninja.
Victory was impossible.
His best option would normally be escape—but realistically, that was no longer feasible.
Which left—
Suicide.
If he died here, as a Cloud ninja during peace talks, responsibility would shift entirely onto Konoha.
Cloud would have countless ways to exploit that.
So—
He couldn't die.
Tenzō nodded, understanding immediately.
The Cloud ninja before them was the actual envoy—the leader of the peace delegation.
That alone proved his strength.
Letting three children fight him meant victory was impossible.
Even if Kimimaro went all-out, the chances were slim.
And until Kimimaro truly mastered Hiramekarei, the massive blade was honestly less practical than a kunai.
Most people stood back.
Only three children stepped forward.
But the Cloud ninja felt no ease whatsoever.
Because Hagoromo was present.
Ignoring White Yaksha while fighting someone else required a heart stronger than the Raikage's.
So most of his attention was still fixed on Hagoromo.
"Um—Hagoromo," Mirai raised her hand immediately.
"Can I use any jutsu?"
"…Yes."
From her expression, Hagoromo already knew what she was planning.
Under normal circumstances, he strictly forbade Mirai from using high-consumption techniques.
But this situation was special.
The audience was present.
The enemy was in position.
The Konoha Princess's first public return deserved a dazzling debut.
The intent was obvious: Hagoromo wanted three young ninja to train against an enemy.
Questionable, perhaps—
But no one present dared object.
Especially not the Hyūga.
Their clan heir was safely in Hagoromo's hands.
"Heh!"
With Hagoromo's approval, Mirai advanced together with Kimimaro and Haku.
In this team—
Kimimaro was the damage dealer.
Haku served as the tank—Ice Release was perfect for defense.
This also matched their personalities.
Formation:
Front: Kimimaro wielding Hiramekarei
Midline: Haku
Rear: Mirai
Though primarily defensive, this put extreme demands on Haku—he had to constantly reposition to cover every angle.
Mirai wasn't hanging back out of fear.
She was charging chakra.
Once ready, she stepped forward and began forming seals.
Rat → Ox
To Mirai, these weren't one technique—
But two.
An A-rank Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, followed by
an A-rank Chidori Stream.
Mirai split into ten.
Then—
The shrill cry of birds filled the air.
Violent lightning surged between the clones, blinding light illuminating half the night sky.
Hagoromo's abilities couldn't be applied to clones.
And he himself couldn't sustain something like this—his chakra reserves were limited.
But someone else?
Someone born with ocean-level chakra?
She could afford to go wild.
Thus—
The "return debut" was a complete success.
At that moment, any shinobi who understood what red hair represented had the same thought:
As expected… the Fourth Hokage's daughter.
That level of chakra control was something even jōnin couldn't achieve.
Calling it "talent" wasn't wrong.
Though Kushina laid the foundation, praising Mirai as the Fourth's daughter was perfectly reasonable.
Hagoromo once said—
Titles matter.
So Mirai declared:
"I've already thought of the perfect operation name for this battle."
"It's called—In the name of the moon, I'll punish you!"
She was addressing the enemy—
But her forced seriousness only made it sound less threatening.
And worse—
It was a cloudy night.
No moon in sight.
Then—
The Mirais charged the Cloud elite jōnin.
Her presence was fierce.
Her jutsu overwhelming.
Her confidence absolute.
But—
Less than five minutes later, all her clones were gone.
Even with Kimimaro and Haku assisting.
Cloud ninja were masters of Lightning Release.
Against heavy lightning usage, Chidori Stream had poor effectiveness.
And as for experience?
A five-year-old versus an elite jōnin?
Surviving without injury was already impressive.
This was only possible because White Yaksha stood watch.
"Enough. End it," Hagoromo said calmly.
Training was over.
He gestured for Tenzō to act.
Tenzō nodded.
Watching the fight had hurt his eyes—blinding flashes everywhere.
Lightning Release was impressive, yes—
But this had felt like moths flying into a flame.
Hagoromo hadn't specified how to act.
And he certainly hadn't expected this.
Tenzō formed seals.
Instantly, wooden pillars and crossbeams erupted from the ground, forming a cage.
The Cloud ninja had no time to react—
A fish caught in a net.
Then—
A wooden restraint, like an execution device, locked around his neck and arms.
He was immobilized.
"…Wood Release?"
Hagoromo blinked.
So this ANBU had that kind of background?
He'd been treating him as a mere errand runner.
Being this low-key was dangerous—
People might mistake you for a background extra.
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