At the border of the Land of Fire.
A caravan moved along the dirt road, shattering the tranquility of the borderlands. This was a merchant group that had just returned from a successful trade mission in the Land of Wind. The caravan leader, beaming with joy, chatted with his companions, the wagons laden with goods that spoke of their satisfaction with the journey.
Walking alongside the caravan were three ninjas, spread out to guard the group as they advanced.
On one of the wagons, piled high with supplies, a boy around ten years old lay on the roof, chewing on a blade of grass and basking lazily in the sun.
This boy is Hiroshi.
Suddenly, Hiroshi eyes flickered, and he spoke calmly to the people below, "Stay alert. There are a few flies."
Upon hearing this, the ninjas immediately assumed combat stances.
Boom!
From the flat ground, five figures suddenly emerged.
"Tch, we've been spotted? We were hoping for a sneak attack."
"It's just a kid from the Hyuga clan. Their Byakugan is such a nuisance."
"But it's no big deal. Just a few genin and a brat. We'll take care of them in no time."
The ninjas wore forehead protectors from the Hidden Sand Village, but a horizontal line was etched through the symbol, marking them as rogue ninjas.
The three genin and the merchants below grew visibly tense. The attackers consisted of two chunin and three genin, a force that slightly exceeded their ability to handle.
Rogue ninjas, having abandoned their villages, lost their source of income and resorted to raiding villages and caravans to survive. Clearly, they had set their sights on this caravan.
Hiroshi slowly stood up, glancing at the rogue ninjas blocking their path. "I'll give you a chance. Leave now, and I won't kill you. I suggest you consider this offer. Don't be ungrateful."
The rogue ninjas burst into laughter upon hearing Hiroshi words. "What?! You little brat, are you joking?"
Hiroshi gave them a disdainful look and didn't bother responding. Instead, he drew his long sword and charged at them.
One minute later, the battle was over.
The caravan continued its journey toward the Hidden Leaf Village, leaving behind five mutilated corpses as dinner for the circling vultures.
.......
Now, five years had passed since the kidnapping incident.
Five years ago, after Hiroshi killed the Jonin from the Hidden Cloud Village, he caught the attention of the Hidden Leaf's higher-ups. After all it was an extraordinary feat for a five year old boy who had single-handedly taken down a chunin and a jonin—even if the latter was only a special jonin.
Within days, Hiroshi was summoned by the Third Hokage. The Third had no doubts about Hiroshi claim of killing the Hidden Cloud ninja, as Hiroshi was a legitimate member of the Hyuga clan, and his lineage was beyond question.
Moreover, before this, Hyuga Hiashi had already informed the Third about Hiroshi exceptional talent in training. Hiroshi had also revealed that he had recently attained a chunin level strength, and the Hidden Cloud ninja had underestimated him, leading to their downfall.
Upon hearing that Hiroshi had reached chunin level at just five years old, both the Third Hokage and Hyuga Hiashi were thrilled. After all, a chunin at such a young age was a prodigy, no matter where you looked.
Before this, the only genius ninja was Kakashi, who passed the exam to become a Chunin at the age of six.
Although Hiroshi had reached the required strength, he hadn't officially passed the Chunin exam yet. However, this was only due to a lack of corresponding experience. With his current strength, if he were sent out on a training mission, becoming a Chunin would be no problem at all.
Thus, after leaving the Hokage's office, Hiroshi officially became a Genin. The very next day, he began carrying out missions under the guidance of a Jonin from the Leaf Village.
The Third Hokage was determined to nurture Hiroshi, so he didn't assign him trivial tasks like "finding a rich woman's pet cat" or "Painting a fence for an old grandma."
Initially, the Jonin team leader took him on several C-rank escort missions to help Hiroshi get accustomed to the mission format and integrate into the team.
After that, they began taking on B-rank missions that required combat with other ninjas.
At first, Hiroshi struggled quite a bit. Although the enemies in B-rank missions were mostly Genin or Chunin, they had a certain level of combat experience, and their unpredictable tactics left Hiroshi constantly on edge.
The team leader, who had clearly received private orders from the Third Hokage, was testing Hiroshi and never stepped in to help, which caused Hiroshi to suffer some minor setbacks initially.
Fortunately, with the insight provided by the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan and his Chunin-level combat strength, Hiroshi managed to avoid any major disasters.
After several missions, Hiroshi learned from his experiences in battle and grew rapidly. Soon, he became adept at handling enemies, and those Genin-level foes could no longer pose a threat to him.
Half a year later, during one mission, the team was ambushed by an enemy Jonin and three Chunin. The team leader was held up by the enemy Jonin, and the other two teammates were severely injured. In this critical situation, Hiroshi unleashed an astonishing level of combat power.
On the battlefield, Hiroshi moved like a ghost, using the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist technique. Within minutes, he had taken down all three Chunin. Then, he assisted his team leader in defeating the enemy Jonin, leaving both the team leader and the Third Hokage, who later learned of the incident, utterly stunned.
Everyone is also a ninja, so why are you so exceptional? As a result, Hiroshi was arranged to take the Chunin exam.
Then, at the age of six, Hiroshi became another genius ninja of the Leaf Village, just like Hatake Kakashi before him, achieving the rank of Chunin at the age of six.
After becoming a Chunin, Hiroshi began leading his own team on missions.
.......
As the caravan moved along, the gates of the Leaf Village gradually came into view, and the previously tense members of the caravan visibly relaxed.
The caravan leader looked at the ninjas escorting them and said, "Ah, thank you all for your protection on this journey. Once we return to the village, I will submit a positive review of your mission to the higher-ups. I hope we can work together again in the future."
The Genin walking at the front of the group responded, "Boss, you have a good eye. If you need missions, you've come to the right place. We guarantee your safety."
Another female ninja accompanying them curled her lips upon hearing this. "Enough with the boasting. Isn't it all thanks to the captain? You should know that since the captain started leading missions, we've never once failed, and every mission has received a perfect rating. If it weren't for the captain always protecting you with your meticulous skills, you'd have died countless times by now."
The ninja who was being rebuked blushed and stammered, "Well... isn't the captain strength the same as our strength since we're in the same team? Really, why do you have to nag about it?"
Listening to the bickering of the two below, Hiroshi, lying on the roof of the vehicle, remained completely unfazed. Clearly, he was already accustomed to the dynamics between his teammates in the squad.