CHAPTER 287: YOUNG HYUGA HINATA-CHAN

Chapter 286: The Kidnapped Byakugan, Young Hyuga Hinata-chan

"Got it! The Hyuga Clan’s Byakugan! Hahaha, this is a huge accomplishment!"

"Enough talk. Mission accomplished, retreat!"

Two masked ninjas carried a child and sprinted through the forest.

The Byakugan is the Kekkei Genkai of the Hyuga Clan, a prominent family in Konoha. The main branch of the clan possesses the purest form of this power.

"Tsk, two pieces of trash."

Crack, crack, crack!

The indifferent voice was filled with contempt, accompanied by a spreading cold aura and the sound of solidifying frost.

"Who’s there!"

The two ninjas were about to search for the speaker when they found their feet frozen solid by ice.

"Wh—"

Their eyes bulged. Before they could even pull their feet out, the ice rapidly ascended their bodies. In an instant, they were turned into ice sculptures.

"Esdeath, there’s no need to act so quickly. This child was almost frozen by you."

"Your target is her. I don’t think you would just watch her get frozen."

Not far away stood Ren and the others. This was already their fourth timeline.

Uchiha Mikoto was completely numb to it by now. They really did travel through time.

Not long ago, they had gone back to the past, and she and Kushina had both turned into seven or eight-year-old children.

Now they had come to the future again. The time here was Konoha 54, ten years after her own time.

Her body had also changed, no longer young and beautiful, but starting to look middle-aged, old enough to be a mother. The same was true for Kushina.

Most importantly, new memories had appeared in their minds—the corrective forces of the intervening years.

From Ren’s perspective, this wasn’t a problem. Upon arriving in a new era, they would become their future selves, gaining the memories of that period.

What surprised Ren was this: after the time correction, the future had already changed. The same was true for the Uchiha Mikoto in Kushina’s new memories.

But wasn’t Kushina supposed to be dead in this timeline?

So Ren asked, "Kushina, according to Tsunade, you should be dead at this point in time. Did you gain any memories of dying?"

Uchiha Mikoto was stunned. "Kushina died?!"

Ren nodded. "Tsunade from Konoha 64 said that Kushina died in Konoha 51."

"!!!"

"Doesn’t that mean Kushina died at 24?" Uchiha Mikoto couldn’t believe it. Just as she was Kushina’s best friend, Kushina was hers. How could she bear the thought of her friend dying? She was extremely worried.

Kushina was stunned, but then felt happy at Mikoto’s concern. She really did still have good friends.

Then she thought carefully. After a while, her eyes lit up.

"It seems not! I didn’t die at this point in time, and Lady Tsunade is the Fourth Hokage!"

Mikoto seemed to remember at this point too, a relieved and excited smile appearing on her face.

"That’s right! The Third Hokage’s darkness and the village’s corruption were all exposed by Lady Tsunade. The current Konoha is a newly emerging Konoha."

"And Kushina didn’t die! That’s wonderful!"

However, after a few more seconds, Mikoto’s gentle face also showed disappointment. "But I’m still single. I don’t even have a husband..."

Kushina’s body stiffened, her face turning dark as she gritted her teeth in frustration. "Why am I still an old maid at 27!"

Ren didn’t know what to say for a moment. The corrective ability of time was truly powerful. Every action they made was affecting the future.

A question couldn’t help but arise in his heart: Could Naruto, Sasuke, and Itachi still be born?

However, he didn’t really care much about that. His current focus was only on the apocalypse factor.

He looked down at the little girl in his arms, who had almost been frozen along with the two ninjas by Esdeath. This was where he had sensed the Time Anchor’s presence.

On this little girl.

But upon closer inspection of her pretty face, Ren paused. Byakugan, light purple short hair... these features were very familiar.

Isn’t this Hinata Hyuga?

So, this was the moment Hinata was captured by the Cloud Ninjas. What a coincidence.

It seemed the Time Anchors were always embedded in people. In the previous timeline, the anchor was inside a rogue ninja from Iwagakure, who had been frozen to death by Esdeath.

Now it was on Hinata.

Ren placed his hand on her chest. Under the pull of his time power, he retrieved another Time Anchor.

After Gluttony swallowed it, he looked at the Hinata-chan in his arms, whose eyelashes trembled, and chuckled. "Open your eyes. Stop pretending."

"..."

Hinata-chan’s body trembled. Her eyes closed even tighter, and her small fists were clenched. It was clear she was nervous and scared.

Seeing this, Ren placed her on the ground. "The people who kidnapped you are gone. Go home when you wake up. We’re leaving."

Her ears twitched. Hinata-chan heard the footsteps gradually fade away. Only then did she dare to slowly open her eyes.

"Wah!"

However, Hinata-chan was startled when she opened her eyes. Ren’s exquisite face was right in front of her, a playful smile on his lips.

"Not pretending now?"

"Ugh..."

Hinata-chan sat up, her entire body turning into a ripe little apple. She lowered her head and let out a shameful whimper.

He knew I was pretending!

Ren was amused by her shy and adorable appearance. The grown-up Hinata was beautiful and well-endowed, but Hinata-chan at this age was truly cute.

He placed his large hand on her small head and ruffled her hair. "What I said earlier is true. The people who kidnapped you are gone. Go home."

As his voice fell, Hinata-chan felt the warm hand on her head disappear. She hastily looked up, only to find that the handsome, gentle-voiced big brother was gone.

Looking at the dark surroundings, a cold wind howled. The profound darkness of the forest made Hinata-chan tremble with fear. She didn’t know which way to go.

Tears welled up in her eyes. She lowered her head to wipe them away with her small hands.

Suddenly, she saw a line of text and an arrow appear on the ground in front of her.

Crying won’t help. You need to be strong. Follow the arrow, and you’ll be able to return to Konoha.

"!!!"

It’s... it’s the big brother from just now!

Hinata-chan immediately thought of him. She felt very touched and happy, wiping away her tears. She cheered herself on with two small fists.

I have to listen to the big brother. Don’t cry, Hinata! You must be strong!

And so, in the quiet forest, Hinata-chan began to follow the arrows Ren had left, slowly walking out of the forest. Although she was scared by wild beasts along the way, she managed to get out safely.

[Inorin Note:

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