"Yo, Hiroshi you're back late again."
"Hiroshi, you're only five years old, and you always running outside the village. You're the young master of the Hyuga clan, with such a noble status. What if you get kidnapped by traffickers?"
"That's right, the ninja world isn't exactly peaceful. It's only a bit safer here in Konoha, but you still need to be careful. What if ninjas from other countries come here to cause trouble? It could be dangerous."
At the entrance of Konoha Village, two gatekeeper ninjas greeted Hiroshi.
"Haha, I know, I know, thanks for the reminder, uncles. I was just wandering around the edge of the village, not going far."
"Besides, we have all the elite ninjas of Konoha protecting the village, right? I doubt anyone would dare to cause trouble here."
Hiroshi scratched his head, smiling at the two gatekeeper ninjas.
"What?! Un... uncles?! You little brat, I'm only twenty-five! How can you call me uncle?!"
"Exactly, we're still young. You should call us big brothers!"
"You little rascal, how many times have we told you? Call us big brothers, not uncles. You're making us sound old!"
Clearly, Hiroshi "uncle" remark had upset the two ninjas, and they loudly complained to him.
"Mhm, okay, uncles. Got it, uncles."
"Well then, uncles, I'll head back now. See you later."
With that, Hiroshi waved at the two ninjas and walked into the village.
"That little brat."
The two ninjas watched Hiroshi retreating figure, shaking their heads with a smile.
Over the past six months, Hiroshi had occasionally sneaked out of the village to train in secret. Over time, he had become quite familiar with the village gatekeepers.
Hiroshi would also play harmless jokes on them.
"I'm back."
Entering the Hyuga clan's courtyard, Hiroshi called out to the house. Soon, the sound of light footsteps could be heard from inside.
Whoosh, the wooden door slid open, and a small figure ran toward Hiroshi, throwing herself into his arms.
"Big brother, you're back!"
Hiroshi looked down at the little girl in his arms, affectionately patting her head.
It was his younger sister, Hyuga Hinata.
At this time, Hinata was only three years old, with short hair and a delicate, adorable face that was utterly endearing.
"Yo, Hinata, look what I brought for you."
Hiroshi pulled out a lollipop from his pocket and waved it in front of Hinata.
"Ah, a lollipop! Thank you, big brother!"
Hinata happily took the lollipop.
"Hiroshi you're giving your sister snacks again. Kids shouldn't eat too many snacks, or they'll get cavities."
Another person walked out of the house, standing there with a smile as she watched the siblings. It was their mother, the wife of the Hyuga clan leader.
"Haha, it's fine, Mom. Kids need snacks once in a while."
"Calling Hinata a kid? You're only two years older than her. You weren't this greedy when you were her age."
"If you spoil her like this, she might get spoiled rotten."
"Ah, girls are meant to be spoiled. If you spoil them a little when they're young, they won't be easily fooled by boys when they grow up, right?"
Hiroshi looked up at his mother, smiling as he spoke.
"You always have so many twisted arguments, child. By the way, where did you go wandering off to today?"
"I didn't go far, just took a stroll around Konoha. I found the scenery of our village to be quite nice."
Hiroshi, faced with his mother questioning, began his usual routine of lying.
"You're always sneaking out of the village every other day. Whenever I ask, you always say the scenery of Konoha is nice... I wonder, is it really that beautiful?"
"Alright, go wash your hands. It's time for dinner. Hinata, you can have your lollipop after dinner."
"Okay."
Little Hinata looked at the lollipop in her hand with reluctance before tucking it into her pocket.
At the dinner table, Hiroshi glanced around and couldn't help but ask, "Huh? Mom, isn't Dad eating with us today?"
"Oh, your father has some business to attend to today. He'll be back late, so we won't wait for him for dinner."
"What's going on? Did something happen in the village that he can't even make it for dinner?"
"It's nothing major. Some people from Kumogakure came today to sign an alliance agreement between our villages. The Hokage and the village elders are discussing matters with them, so he'll be back late."
"Oh, I see. Well, let's not wait for Dad then. Let's eat."
Hiroshi casually nodded but didn't dwell on it. After all, there hadn't been any large-scale wars between the major villages for a long time, and on the surface, the relationship between villages were relatively peaceful. So, such alliance agreements were quite normal.
After dinner, Hiroshi played with Hinata for a while until she fell asleep, and then he returned to his room.
Exhausted from a day of training, Hiroshi collapsed onto his bed, too tired to get up again. Gradually, he drifted into sleep.
In the middle of the night, Hiroshi suddenly woke up because he heard movement on the roof.
The sound was faint, easy to miss if one wasn't paying attention, but Hiroshi noticed it thanks to his relentless training over the past six months.
"Who could it be? Sneaking into the Hyuga clan's territory at this hour? It's not like the Hyuga clan has any treasures worth coveting, right?"
"Could it be enemy ninjas? That doesn't make sense. Konoha's defenses are so tight. How could enemies infiltrate so easily? And to avoid the Hyuga patrols, the intruder must be quite skilled."
Hiroshi still laying in bed, pretending to be asleep, while his mind raced.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.
"Wait, earlier Mom mentioned that people from Kumogakure visited today. I remember in the original story, there was an incident where three-year-old Hinata was kidnapped. It was because the Kumogakure ninjas, under the guise of signing an alliance, kidnapped her in the middle of the night, aiming to steal the Hyuga clan's Byakugan."
"So, it's happening today. But instead of targeting Hinata, they are after me now?"
In that moment, Hiroshi mind worked quickly, piecing together the cause and effect, and realizing the identity of the intruder ninjas from Kumogakure.
"What should I do? what if the intruder is too strong and kills me before my father arrives? That would be the end."
Hiroshi was momentarily overwhelmed with anxiety, but he could only feign calmness and pretend to be asleep. In the years since he had transmigrated into the Naruto world, this was the first time Hiroshi had encountered an assassination attempt, leaving him at a loss for what to do! Over the years, Hiroshi combat abilities had steadily improved, but he was still just a genin. Even when sparring with Hiashi Hyuga, Hiashi always kept his strength at the level of a genin!
Moreover, Hiashi sparring with him was more of a light, controlled practice, and Hiroshi had never truly fought with anyone else! If a ruthless ninja were to come after him, Hiroshi could really be in mortal danger. Just as Hiroshi was unsure of what to do, the system's voice suddenly rang out!
"A new day has arrived, and since the host is still awake, may I ask, my dear host, would you like to sign in today?"
Hearing this, Hiroshi heart leaped with joy. The Hinata kidnapping incident was, after all, a somewhat significant event, wasn't it?
Surely, the rewards from today sign-in wouldn't be too shabby.
"System, I want to sign in," Hiroshi said to the system in his mind.
"Understood, Host. Sign-in commencing."