27. Attempted Kidnapping

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...

The guests from Kumo were supposed to stay in the Leaf Village for four days if everything went well regarding the peace treaty. The next day, around noon, they arrived again at the Hokage's office to begin discussing the details.

Naruto, like yesterday, stood next to his father with the same task.

Even before the main discussions began, the same advisor to the Raikage as yesterday glanced at Naruto, surprised by his presence.

"Why is your son here?" he asked, not wanting to be rude, but his eyes betrayed his dislike for uninvited guests in the room.

"Naruto is my son, and I want him to gain more experience in political discussions," Minato explained directly, not revealing Naruto's true task.

The Kumo advisor nodded slightly, no longer paying much attention to Naruto. To him, the crippled boy was inconsequential.

In the Fourth Hokage's office, there were now only two advisors from Kumo present, and the individuals tasked with protecting them stood outside. Naturally, Minato's three advisors, Homura, Koharu, and Danzo, were also present. All three had extensive experience from the Three Great Shinobi Wars, and Minato gladly listened to their valuable advice.

Danzo secretly observed Naruto with his only functional eye. He knew the true reason for Naruto's presence, just like the other Hokage's advisors. Since Naruto informed his subordinate yesterday and especially surprised him with his appearance, Danzo started to look at the Fourth Hokage's crippled son differently. Apparently, he was hiding more than everyone knew, and Danzo decided to watch him closely.

He truly regretted that Naruto had a damaged Chakra Network; otherwise, he would have tried to recruit the boy into his Root Anbu. With such talent at his age, he would be a monster in the future if he could use Chakra. Unfortunately, Fate decided to mock him; evidently, it deemed Naruto born with too much talent, and even the Heavens were envious, so it made him a cripple.

"Let's begin then..." Minato announced, starting the main discussion about peace between their nations.

For most of the time, Naruto had his eyes closed, seemingly not listening to the adults, but he attentively watched the two Raikage Advisors with his sensory perception.

The conversation proceeded calmly, without major arguments. Minato raised his voice several times, hearing unrealistic conditions from the Cloud Village, demanded by the current Raikage. The Cloud Advisors themselves were strangely calm, as if they weren't interested in the peace talks, which was really odd considering the conditions they proposed.

Naruto already suspected it was about something else. The Raikage never intended to sign a peace treaty with Konoha, so he proposed such unrealistic conditions that Konoha had to fulfill. Even without his sensory perception, he would have figured it out, but his sensory perception just made it easier for him, confirming his suspicions when he felt negative emotions directed their way several times.

When the initial discussions concluded, and both sides gave themselves time until tomorrow to consider their decisions, Naruto turned to Minato.

"As I said, Tou-san, they can't be trusted. They don't even plan to sign a peace treaty with us; they're just playing with us, wanting to gain more time," he explained, and Minato's and his advisors' eyes narrowed uncomfortably.

"Why do you draw such conclusions?" older Homura asked.

"It's simple, I see and feel it. They're setting unrealistic conditions, and they don't even care if we fulfill them; they're just worried about the limited time, which they'll undoubtedly try to extend as much as possible. I wouldn't even be surprised if their real goal was to try to abduct several children from great Clans with powerful lineage," Naruto spoke calmly, not even trying to convince them. While Minato might believe him, his advisors were less eager, though they also had their concerns about the guests from Kumo.

"Well, for now, they haven't done anything yet. We'll keep a close watch, and hopefully, nothing bad will happen," Minato replied. They couldn't do anything yet; Kumo hadn't taken any steps, and if they were to attack first, the Raikage would blame them, and the peace treaty talks would surely fail. Konoha would then be tarnished with a bad reputation and lose many alliances with other nations or important figures.

"If that's all, I'll be going, Tou-san," Naruto announced, bidding farewell to his father and his advisors.

...

For the next two days, everything unfolded as Naruto had predicted. The Raikage's advisors couldn't reach an agreement with Konoha, forcing them to extend their stay in the Leaf Village for another two days. If nothing changed, they would return to the Raikage, conveying the information they had obtained, and he would issue appropriate orders on what to do. These two days were the maximum the Raikage's advisors could obtain; after hearing his son's words, Minato decided not to extend their stay as if it were nothing.

It was the fifth day of the guests from Kumo staying in the Leaf Village. Night fell when one of the Jounin guarding the two advisors slipped away from their temporary accommodations. He evaded the vigilant Root Anbu thanks to his renowned spying technique and headed towards the Hyuga Clan courtyard.

It took several good minutes before the Root Anbu realized one of the Kumo Jounin was missing. They immediately sent a message to their leader and set out to search. Of course, they also left one person behind to monitor the remaining people from Kumo in case they planned something suspicious.

Meanwhile, the Kumo Jounin quickly reached the Hyuga Clan courtyard and without hesitation headed towards the residence of the clan head's heiress. On his way, he encountered two Hyuga patrolling the area; they had activated their Byakugan, so he couldn't bypass them.

His clan's spying technique was called the "Sleeping Tortoise Technique"; he could become invisible to all human senses except sight. And the Byakugan, known as the legendary Dojutsu, could catch him. What good would it do to hide all traces of his presence in this world if he encountered the gaze of a Hyuga? The Kumo Jounin had to eliminate the two patrolling Hyuga; he did so quickly and hoped no one would detect their deaths.

Tonight was the night when Himiko, Naruto's younger sister, stayed overnight at her best friend's house. Hinata was the eldest daughter of the Hyuga Clan head and was a rather shy child, so her friendship with the always energetic Himiko was quite strange in the eyes of others, but both girls got along great.

The girls didn't stay up too late, but eventually they both fell asleep from exhaustion in one bed. Himiko brought a big plush frog from home and hugged it tightly while sleeping, and Hinata held onto Himiko's clothes with one hand, as if tethered to her.

When the Kumo Jounin entered Hinata's room, he was surprised to see another girl beside her. He was stunned by her enormous reserves of chakra and quickly realized she must be a Jinchuriki of a Bijuu! The Jounin couldn't hide his huge smile at his luck. The Raikage would surely reward him handsomely for his efforts, finally allowing him to retire to his dream retirement.

He approached the two girls and covered their mouths and noses with a cloth soaked in a sleeping agent. Both immediately opened their eyes disoriented, waking up from sleep, and seeing a stranger Shinobi from another Village with a forehead protector, they were terribly frightened. They tried to break free, but the sedative effect sent them back into the realm of dreams. Himiko resisted much longer than Hinata, her senses screaming that falling asleep would put her in great danger, but her childish body was too weak, and she eventually passed out.

The Jounin stuffed their bodies into a huge sack and threw it over his shoulder. Without hesitation, he fled the scene, practically certain that someone was already chasing him.

He headed towards the Village gates as fast as he could to escape, leaving his companions behind. His speed was immense, aided by his clan's special spying technique. These two things helped him become famous in Kumo as the best spy in the entire Village, capable of infiltrating anything he desired. The Raikage highly valued him and never allowed him to retire early due to his usefulness. After this mission, he would finally be able to rest after thirty years of service, and he couldn't wait.

He swiftly approached the gates of Konoha; once he bypassed them, he would easily lose anyone tracking him with his spying technique. He would hide near the Village for a few days, leaving false trails leading his pursuers in random directions. Once the area was clear, he would calmly return to Kumo. The biggest problem would be avoiding the Byakugan, but with his sensory abilities, he would try to evade it.

No one expected the kidnapper to be so close all the time. They say it's darkest under the lamp, and for a high-class spy, it's the perfect description of their work. The closer you are to the person looking for you, the better you can hide, except for the damned Byakugan.

About thirty to thirty-five meters from the Konoha gates, the Jounin felt danger. All his senses screamed, and the hair on his body stood on end. He didn't detect anything with his sensory ability; it wasn't strong, but it often saved him from dangerous situations, but now he felt nothing. Just after thirty years of service in his profession as a top-level spy, his body developed something like a sixth sense, allowing him to block the incoming blade at the last moment.

It was aimed straight at his head! Not only had someone found him, but they had managed to get close to him practically unnoticed! The Jounin didn't even know how long this person had been watching him! He involuntarily felt goosebumps all over his body, wondering what kind of monster Konoha had sent after him. Did Konoha even have someone so powerful? Maybe it was some ace up Leaf's sleeve?!

"What a stupid girl, I told her not to go to her friend's place, but she didn't listen to me..." Naruto sighed heavily. "If you had only kidnapped the Hyuuga heir, I would have let you go, but you also took my younger sister...!"

The man stopped and looked at the silhouette of the person who attacked him. It was a kid...? He looked like he was nine, maybe ten years old, wait... he reminded him of someone. Yes, he knew! He was the oldest son of the Fourth Hokage!

So, the other girl, the Jinchuriki Bijuu, was his sister, and also Minato's daughter? The Kumo Jounin didn't know if it was luck or a curse. The Raikage would surely reward him handsomely for kidnapping Minato's daughter, but the consequences could be enormous...!

Well, he couldn't hesitate now; he had to kill Naruto and escape before reinforcements arrived.

"Now I understand why the Hokage kept you with him; you have an incredibly developed sensory ability and can probably tell if someone is lying. That's why you found me now, unfortunately for you..." the man didn't finish, as thin metal wires appeared out of nowhere around him, trying to catch him.

"You won't succeed..." he commented.

The Kumo Jounin fled, but Naruto pulled the wires, and many hidden shurikens shot out of them. It was an advanced Shurikenjutsu technique. Surprised, the man narrowly avoided them, appearing on the roof of one of the buildings. Surprise attacks didn't work on him; thanks to his clan's movement technique, he was too fast for that.

In the next moment, he appeared right next to Naruto, planning to pierce him with his blade. However, he was surprised when instead of thrusting the blade into his body, sparks flew due to the metal-on-metal collision.

Are the rumors about the Hokage's crippled son false? The man began to deeply contemplate. Besides the incredible sensory ability, this kid could almost match him in hiding, thanks to his clan's technique! If he hadn't blocked the first surprise attack, he would have surely died!

However, the overall strength behind these attacks was perhaps at the level of a beginner Chunin. It was too weak for him, but considering that Naruto was only ten years old, he was truly a monster for his age! Could Leaf Village be giving birth to another monster on the level of the famous Uchiha Itachi?! He could never allow that! He definitely had to kill him now to prevent any trouble for Kumo in the future.