Infiltration Discovered

Konoha.

Two ordinary-looking men were strolling down the street. One had long hair, moved with stiff precision, and carried himself with aristocratic bearing. The man walking ahead of him was tall and powerfully built, his well-proportioned muscles giving him an air of strength.

As they walked, they spoke quietly.

"There are simply too many members of the Hyuga clan, and I don’t know what they’re really thinking. How about this? I’ll get your son out first."

The tall man spoke to the black-haired man beside him. Naturally, the two were Yota and Hizashi Hyuga.

In truth, there was another reason Yota had not told Hizashi Hyuga: he rather looked down on the Hyuga clan.

After all, the Hyuga clan’s frontal combat strength was only so-so. As for the Byakugan’s long-range surveillance, it could not compare to Observation Haki. Who knew why the Ōtsutsuki clan’s bloodline had become so underwhelming by the time it reached them? Look at the Uchiha, the Senju, and the Uzumaki—whose potential was not greater than that of the Hyuga clan?

Hizashi Hyuga naturally had no objection to Yota’s words. In fact, relationships within the Hyuga clan were rather indifferent. They were completely unlike the Uchiha, a ninja clan that constantly went on about being one family.

More accurately, the Hyuga clan was not indifferent—they were laid-back. Or, to put it bluntly, they had simply given up.

No matter how strong the Branch Family became, they still had the Caged Bird Curse Mark on their heads. Once they bore that mark, they naturally had little desire to strive any further.

What did it matter how talented you were? If you truly became powerful enough to reach Kage-level, the Hyuga clan’s Main Family might decide you were a threat and get rid of you one day.

As for the Hyuga clan’s Main Family, there were only a few of them, and they rarely went to the battlefield in order to protect the Byakugan. Where could any real talent come from?

The entire Hyuga clan was filled with a decaying, dispirited air. Or rather, every one of them gave people a thoroughly depressing feeling.

Under such circumstances, most people were merely acquaintances who nodded at one another. As long as Hizashi Hyuga could save his son, why would he care whether ordinary Hyuga clan members lived or died?

After reaching an agreement with Hizashi Hyuga, Yota had him lead the way as they wandered through Konoha.

"Is that Ichiraku Ramen?" Yota looked at the ramen shop, a trace of reminiscence appearing in his eyes.

When he was young, Yota had often gone there for noodles as well. Ichiraku Ramen could hardly be called an unparalleled delicacy, but its portions were generous, its prices affordable, and its flavor was indeed far better than ordinary ramen.

On top of that, Teuchi, the shop owner, was cheerful, warm, and humorous, so the ramen shop had always remained immensely popular in Konoha.

"Come on, let’s eat some noodles." Yota took the lead, while Hizashi Hyuga silently followed him into the shop.

"Boss, two bowls of Tonkotsu Ramen! Large bowls." Yota glanced at Teuchi and was surprised to find that the uncle’s Chakra was not weak at all. He was at least at the level of a Chunin.

Could there really be such a thing as cooking ninja? Yota muttered to himself, thinking of a certain unreliable movie. However, the thought only flashed through his mind. Whoever Teuchi really was, that was for Konoha to worry about. What did it have to do with him?

Still, it did explain why the ramen shop owner had always remained unharmed through so many disasters. His combat strength was not particularly high, but it was barely enough to avoid the aftermath of battles.

Fortunately, he was not some Ōtsutsuki Ichiraku dreamed up by overactive fans online. Otherwise, Yota would really have fainted.

"Sure, two bowls of Tonkotsu Ramen!" Teuchi replied with a broad smile. A moment later, he placed two steaming large bowls of ramen on the table.

"Slurp, slurp." Yota and Hizashi Hyuga quickly finished their bowls. They did not run into Naruto from the original story at the ramen shop, leaving Yota with a faint sense of disappointment.

But then again, Uzumaki Naruto was only a little over three years old now. No matter how miserable his life was, he could not possibly have come out to eat ramen alone at this age.

In fact, Uzumaki Naruto in the original story had never suffered any direct physical harm. He had merely endured cold violence.

After all, the villagers believed he was the demon fox, while the ninja feared that he might go berserk. So everyone took detours whenever they saw him. But those fanfictions where people cursed him every day, threw stones at him, and mixed sand into his rice—what? Did they really think a Jinchuriki would not go berserk? Or did they think every Kage was as idiotic as Rasa?

If they dared treat a Jinchuriki like that, they could head to the Anbu for tea next. The charge would be attempting to provoke the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki into going berserk and destroying Konoha!

Naruto’s living conditions in the original story were actually decent. He had a small single apartment and all kinds of appliances. As for drinking expired milk, eating instant noodles, and wearing that shit-yellow outfit every day—that only meant no one took care of him and that he lived sloppily. For one thing, what market sold expired milk? He had bought fresh milk and let it expire himself.

And as for him having no money… did people really think instant noodles, milk, and eating out were cheaper than cooking for oneself?

Overall, Naruto’s childhood in Konoha had not been wealthy, but he certainly had no worries about food or clothing.

With that thought, Yota lost interest now that he knew he would not be seeing the protagonist. He got up, paid, and prepared to leave the ramen shop.

At the entrance, Yota brushed past a white-haired, one-eyed ninja. The man seemed to deliberately bump into Yota, then nearly fell to the ground himself.

Yota looked at the young ninja with a faint smile. "Be careful. Are you already this weak at such a young age?"

After saying that, he did not help the ninja up and simply turned to leave.

That young ninja was naturally Kakashi Hatake. As he watched Yota disappear into the distance, a thin sheen of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

"What’s wrong, Kakashi?" Two other young ninja stood beside him: Kurenai Yuhi and Might Guy. Today was the day his two classmates had become Special Jonin, so the three of them had planned to celebrate.

Yet while they had been on the street, Kakashi had suddenly spotted the two men eating at the ramen shop. Although both Yota and Hizashi Hyuga had altered their appearances with the Munch-Munch Fruit, a ninja like Kakashi could never forget the man who had taken his friend’s eye.

Though Yota’s appearance had changed, certain distinctive qualities still filled Kakashi with suspicion.

It was only a peculiar feeling, but Kakashi had still decided to test him.

That test had revealed a problem. The moment Kakashi collided with him, it felt as though he had slammed into a mountain. He immediately confirmed the enemy’s identity, and vigilance naturally rose within him.