—Outside the Wooden House—
While the moon stood at its highest point in the sky, Yamato watched it in silence. However, he turned around and found Hiashi.
"You should be sleeping, Hiashi-san."
He stopped dead in his tracks, his expression becoming serious. Veins surrounded Hiashi's eyes; his Byakugan was activated.
"Is something wrong?"
The Hyuga nodded.
"Thirty people are slowly approaching us."
"...It was already strange enough that we hadn't been attacked before."
Yamato let out a sigh. He had already sensed that they would be attacked sooner or later, but he hadn't expected the ambush to be this massive.
"It's not strange that, as the clan leader, they've tried to kill me," Hiashi said. He sighed tiredly, having lost count of how many times people had tried to kill him.
Given what Hiashi had said, Yamato thought that he now had to fulfill his duty as a shinobi of Konohagakure and protect Hiashi.
"In any case, thank you for telling me the number of enemies. Now, I ask that you return to the house; it will withstand a massive attack. I'll take care of hiding the house so they can't find it."
Yamato looked at Hiashi seriously, but a small laugh escaped Hiashi's mouth.
"That's not necessary," Hiashi said.
For a few moments, Yamato looked at the moon rising in the sky, and a smile appeared on his face.
"Then we need to draw the enemies away from this place. I'll hide the house so they don't find the children."
After saying that, Yamato approached the house, looked at it for a few seconds, and brought his hands together.
"All right..."
Without taking his eyes off the house, the trees around them began to move and completely covered it. When everything was finished, Yamato separated his hands and sighed.
—Inside the House—
Still unable to fall asleep, Toru could hear the trees beginning to cover the house.
'I knew it...'
It was obvious that they would be attacked sooner or later.
'I'll go take a look...'
Toru got up from the futon and approached the door, but just before opening it, he heard a knock. Someone was lightly knocking on Toru's door.
"Are you asleep, Toru?"
Hinata's voice could be heard from the other side of the door.
"What is it?"
"I was wondering if... um... I... I was wondering if you wanted to talk for a little while..."
Hinata looked at the floor while holding onto the sleeves of her sweater. Meanwhile, Toru remained silent behind the door for a few seconds before opening it.
"Come in," Toru said, letting Hinata enter the room. "You can sit on... There's nowhere to sit, but you can use the futon. I'll sit on the floor."
"Okay..."
Sitting across from each other, the two remained silent. It was uncomfortable, even for Toru, so Hinata, looking at the floor in an attempt to avoid looking into his eyes, forced herself to speak:
"You get along well with Hanabi, don't you?" she said, almost whispering.
'I don't understand the reason for that question.'
He crossed his arms and replied:
"You could say that. You know that."
After hearing Toru's answer, Hinata smiled slightly while looking at the floor.
"Hanabi always gets along well with everyone..."
Interesting... Toru could already understand a little of what was going through Hinata's mind.
"Hanabi has always been very strong and talented."
Toru remained silent as he remembered the day they were chosen to form Team 11.
'She said she wanted to become strong.'
Suddenly, Toru's expression changed. He got up from the futon and began walking around the room with slow, calm steps. This made Hinata raise her gaze so she could see Toru.
"It's strange..." He stopped and looked into her eyes.
"Huh?"
Toru's eyes seemed to have a strange glow, but perhaps it was because of the small candle flickering on the floor.
—Somewhere Near the Wooden House—
Yamato observed the surroundings with a serious expression. Behind him stood Hiashi, whose Byakugan was activated to detect the enemies.
"They're close," Hyuga said.
Ten people dressed in black emerged from between the trees. Each one held kunai and shuriken in their hands.
"Are the others hiding?" Yamato asked.
"Ten are in front of you, ten in front of me, and the other ten are hidden. We're surrounded."
"Then we have to make them come out."
Yamato looked at the ten people standing in front of him. For a moment, he sighed as he thought of a quick strategy.
"One will cover the other's back. It'll be fifteen each. Are you ready, Hiashi-san?"
"Always. Let's finish this quickly," Hiashi said, raising his palms.
The Hyuga Clan leader's hands began to glow blue, while Yamato stood firmly at his side.
"Now!"
They launched themselves into the attack. Without wasting any time, the enemies responded to the hostility of the men in front of them.
At first, Yamato tried using his fists to damage the enemies, but it didn't work, as his opponents were agile. Forced to use ninjutsu, he decided to finish the enemies quickly.
"Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kōtan."
Bringing his hands together tightly, tree branches began bursting from the ground. The enemies tried to dodge the powerful strikes of the branches, but only one succeeded, while the others ended up trapped between them.
Bones cracked and groans of pain echoed through the area.
Meanwhile, Hiashi was fighting with his bare hands.
From his perspective, the enemies' chakra pathways and tenketsu were visible. This caused the enemies to retreat. They knew that if they were struck by Hiashi, they wouldn't live to tell the tale, but they had no idea what the man in front of them was capable of.
"Jūkenpō Ichigekishin!" Hiashi said, appearing in front of the enemies in less than a second.
All those thugs could see was the burst of chakra surrounding Hiashi's hands.
Only thirty seconds had passed, but a third of the enemy forces had already been defeated in pathetic fashion.
Those hiding among the trees were terrified and feared for their lives. Accepting this job had been a terrible decision, but none of them had time to escape because Hiashi was already standing in front of them.
"Jūken: Tenketsushin!"
Hiashi's rapid hand movements struck all the enemies hiding among the trees. Every strike was aimed at their central chakra pathways; a critical blow to the enemy.
Yamato was still fighting the remaining ten.
"Moku Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Bringing his hands together, Yamato caused roots to emerge from the ground, forming four wood clones. The clones joined him in the battle against the others.
"Mokuton: Fukushuu Senbon!"
Yamato brought his hands together once again. Instantly, a wooden pillar rose from the ground, releasing hundreds of spikes that were directed at two of the enemies.
"Mokuton: Moryuheki!"
One of Yamato's clones summoned a wooden wall, protecting him from the explosive-tag kunai that struck the wall.
Yamato leaped toward the trees alongside one of his clones.
"Mokuton: Ueki Tsuiraku!"
Yamato and the clone brought their hands together to use the jutsu. Instantly, the trees began to fall, crushing the remaining enemies.
When Hiashi looked at Yamato, he realized that the man in front of him had been born with a talent for killing.
'The First Hokage's jutsu... It can be terrifying.'
—On the Roof of the Wooden House—
Toru looked at the sky without saying a word. The conversation he had with Hinata had gone nowhere.
A Few Minutes Earlier...
"It's strange..."
"Huh?"
Toru thought Hinata's words were strange. That day, when Team 11 was formed, Hinata had said that she wanted to become strong with a determined expression on her face, but now, although he wasn't completely sure, Toru felt that Hinata was comparing herself to Hanabi.
"I didn't say anything... I'm going outside for a while, so you can stay here."
That was how their conversation ended, and Hinata fell asleep on Toru's futon.
'Yamato-sensei knows how to use his ninjutsu like a true expert...'