Uchiha Obito once again appeared in the southern part of Konoha, right at the village's main gate.
"The most dangerous place is the safest place. I refuse to believe a village as huge as Konoha has people guarding every corner."
"Ahhh..."
A massive yawn rang out.
Hyūga Hiyasu slowly walked out of the guard station, rubbing his sleepy eyes.
"You took forever. I was about to fall asleep."
"You knew I was coming?"
Only then did Uchiha Obito finally understand why no matter where he went, someone was always there waiting for him.
But he still couldn't figure it out.
Even he himself had only learned from Black Zetsu that the Nine-Tails jinchūriki was about to give birth. On a whim, he had decided to come see whether there might be a chance to seize the Nine-Tails for himself.
So how could Konoha possibly know his movements so precisely?
Could Black Zetsu be a traitor?
"Hey, you think we wouldn't take the Nine-Tails jinchūriki giving birth seriously? Are you looking down on Konoha too much?"
Hyūga Hiyasu spoke casually.
So they had prepared in advance?
Looks like I overthought things.
As expected, Konoha really is the hardest enemy to deal with.
A chain appeared in Obito's hand.
He had never heard of any especially powerful Hyūga before. This guy should be easier to handle.
I'll gamble on it.
Can't exactly leave empty-handed, right?
Obito immediately charged toward Hyūga Hiyasu.
Hiyasu still looked half-asleep.
Obito sneered.
Just a fake front. His entire body is full of openings.
But the instant Obito attacked and materialized—
Hyūga Hiyasu instantly activated Lingbo Microsteps, dodging the attack with an incredibly strange movement.
His left hand shot out at terrifying speed, aiming directly for Obito's throat.
"Not good!"
"Intangibility!"
Obito hurriedly entered his intangible state.
However—
Rip!
Obito permanently lost the five fingers on his right hand, along with the entire thick arm behind them.
Cold sweat poured down Obito's face.
Clutching the wound, he stared at Hyūga Hiyasu in shock.
"How could you be that fast..."
"Don't slander me. I may not have a girlfriend, but I'm definitely the man with the most stamina."
As he spoke, Hiyasu sent a burst of force into the severed arm in his hand.
The arm instantly exploded into minced flesh.
"There are all sorts of bizarre methods in the ninja world. Maybe someday you'd find a way to reattach it. But that would take a lot of time and effort, so to save you the trouble, I crushed it completely. Pretty considerate of me, right? Go ahead, say thank you."
Uchiha Obito: Are you insane?
But after suffering enough blows in Konoha today, Obito no longer wanted to say anything.
"Kamui."
Hiyasu tilted his head and dodged.
When he looked back again, Obito had already disappeared.
"Work's done. Time to go home and sleep."
Hyūga Hiyasu vanished into the darkness.
Then suddenly appeared once more.
"Byakugan!"
After carefully scanning the surroundings—
"He really left? That little determination?"
"Whatever. I'll just sleep in the guard station tonight."
"Better safe than sorry."
...
Outside Konoha—
Uchiha Obito clutched his injured left arm while shouting:
"White Zetsu!"
"White Zetsu!"
A White Zetsu emerged from underground.
"Obito-sama."
Obito instantly grabbed him by the throat.
"I shouted for so long. Why did you only come out now?!"
"O-Obito-sama, I... I didn't dare go in. The underground there is full of bugs."
"What?!"
Obito was shocked at first, but then he remembered the Aburame ninja he had encountered on Konoha's eastern side.
"Konoha really is troublesome... but there's always next time. We'll settle this eventually."
Obito chopped off White Zetsu's right arm and attached it to his own stump.
After moving the reattached arm a few times, Obito disappeared.
The one-armed White Zetsu: So nobody's going to speak up for me?
Thus, the operation to protect Naruto ended in total success.
...
The memories ended there.
Naruto had now safely reached the age of three.
This time, both of his parents were alive.
So—
"Naruto! You caused trouble again!"
Kushina had already transformed into her red-haired demon form, scaring Naruto so badly his legs trembled.
He quickly hid behind his father, Minato Namikaze, staring at him with wide pitiful blue eyes.
"Dad, save me!"
There was no way Minato could resist that look.
Turning to face Kushina, he said seriously:
"Kushina."
"Hm?"
"Naruto's right here. Hit him gently."
Minato immediately shoved the Naruto hiding behind him forward.
Naruto stared at his father in utter disbelief.
How could you do something like this?!
Minato tightly shut his eyes.
He simply couldn't bear to watch his son being punished.
So he chose not to look.
If he couldn't see it, then it wasn't happening.
The next morning—
Boruto Naruto rubbed his still aching butt as he walked down the street.
"Damn old man. No loyalty at all. I'm so pissed."
"Whatever, where should I go play today?"
"The Aburame clan?"
But Naruto immediately remembered that terrifying bug uncle.
Nope nope nope.
Absolutely not.
"How about the Police Force?"
But then he thought of the uncle with white bandages wrapped around his eyes.
Nope nope. That guy doesn't look trustworthy either.
"I should just go play with Shikamaru. Everywhere else is way too scary."
Naruto ran all the way to the Nara residence.
"Shikamaru! Shikamaru! Come out! I came to play!"
...
Inside the Nara residence—
Nara Shikaku, who had finally gotten a chance to rest, glanced at Nara Shikamaru lying nearby while reading shogi records.
"Shikamaru, your friend came to play with you."
"Not going. Too troublesome. It's hot outside, I'll end up covered in sweat, and if I come back late I'll get scolded. After getting scolded, I'll have to wash up again. Way too troublesome."
Cold sweat appeared on Nara Shikaku's face.
This is definitely my biological son. Nobody else could produce a child like this.
But Naruto had already rushed inside.
After seeing Nara Shikaku, he still greeted him politely.
"Hello, Shikaku-san. I came to play with Shikamaru."
"Sure. Shikamaru's right there. Go drag him out to play."
Shikaku pointed at Shikamaru's position, then got up and left the room.
Even children needed their own private time.
Naruto walked over to Shikamaru and gently shook him.
"Come on, Shikamaru, let's go play outside."
"Not going. Too troublesome. I'm gonna read a little more, then go to sleep. Go find someone else."
"Okay, I'll take you to find someone else then."
"That's not what I mea—"
Before Shikamaru could finish, Naruto grabbed his hand, yanked him up, and dragged him outside.
In the courtyard, Nara Shikaku happened to glance over and saw Shikamaru being dragged along behind Naruto like a kite.
"...Sigh."
"Shikamaru... turns out your friend is just like my friends."
"What sins did our father-and-son pair commit to deserve this..."