Wait, wait, wait? No way?
When this thought crossed his mind, Yūki was so startled he almost jumped up. His action immediately alarmed the maid, who hadn't left yet.
"Young Master Yūki? What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing. Where is Father now? I need to find him."
After taking a deep breath, Yūki quickly spoke to the young maid tasked with caring for him. After all, if he wasn't mistaken, trouble was about to descend upon the Hyūga family.
In the original story, when Hinata was about three years old, the Land of Lightning sent envoys to the Land of Fire for negotiations while carrying out a kidnapping plan. And today, the envoys from Kumogakure had indeed arrived. In other words, the timeline Yūki found himself in was exactly the day that incident occurred, and he himself was the main target!
Although in the original timeline, Hiashi quickly discovered this and immediately rescued Hinata, it still led to the envoy's death. The next day, the Land of Lightning used the excuse that their envoy had been killed to demand Hyūga Hiashi's body from Konoha as compensation, threatening otherwise to break the peace agreement.
However, Hiashi was the clan head and couldn't be allowed to die, so Hizashi voluntarily died in Hiashi's place, which later filled Neji with resentment.
No, if this continues, it will be a huge mess. If I'm not mistaken, one of the envoys from Kumogakure will come tonight to kidnap me, the young master of the Hyūga clan, and then things will follow the old path.
Therefore, Yūki wanted to seek his father's help in advance because, at present, the easiest way to resolve this situation was to stick close to Hiashi's side.
Judging from the fact that Hiashi single-handedly killed the envoy in the original story, the guy sent by Kumogakure for this underhanded mission wasn't too strong. So, with Hiashi as a shield, Yūki should be safe tonight.
But what the maid said next made him frown.
"Well, because tonight is a major event, the clan head is probably socializing very late. If you go to him now, you'll definitely be scolded, so let's just forget it."
Major event? Right, today is the day of the Hyūga clan's traditional ceremony. Since morning, there have been many activities, and as the clan head, Hiashi is very busy.
No way, did Kumogakure plan this knowing this? But they just arrived in Konoha today; logically, it's impossible for them to figure out the Hyūga clan's situation so quickly. Based on this, there's a high chance there's a mole within the Hyūga family?
After careful consideration, Yūki smelled a rat.
According to the original story, Kumogakure only sent an envoy to infiltrate the Hyūga residence and then kidnapped Hinata. Though simply put, when you think about it carefully, it feels a bit off.
First, the envoy's own strength wasn't exceptional—evidenced by the fact that Hiashi alone could kill him even with Hinata as a hostage. His strength was at most at the level of an ordinary jōnin, not even elite.
But such a mediocre guy could easily break into the residence of the Hyūga, one of Konoha's two great clans, and take away the eldest daughter? Could the Hyūga headquarters really be that flimsy? This is somewhat intriguing.
"I have something important to discuss with Father, so I must go no matter what!"
Thinking this, Yūki quickly stood up, put on his coat, and said to the exclusive maid serving him.
"Huh? You can't! Young Master Yūki!"
Before the maid could fully grasp what the young master was saying, the small figure quickly ran to the room's door and abruptly slid open the side door.
Since Yūki's residence was in a relatively quiet side courtyard, the corridor outside was empty, looking a bit deserted under the bright moonlight.
But tonight happened to be a "full moon night," so even at night, the visibility outside was quite good. Ignoring the surprised gaze of the chasing maid, Yūki immediately ran toward the other end of the corridor.
If I'm not mistaken, Hiashi should still be drinking with the senior members in the hall right now. If I just run over there...
Thud! But just as Yūki shook off the maid and ran toward the other end, as he turned a corner, his small body collided with a thick object and involuntarily fell to the ground.
"Ah? Young Master Yūki? Why are you here?"
When Yūki opened his eyes and looked over, he saw a young man in a white kimono extending his right hand toward him, as if intending to help him up.
This young man had the famous cataract-like eyes of the Hyūga clan, his kimono was spotless, and his hair flowed neatly behind him.
However, the moment Yūki saw this young man, he felt his scalp tingling.
This guy isn't from the Hyūga clan. Within a few seconds, Yūki reached this conclusion.
That's right. Although this guy's appearance and clothing were completely standard for the Hyūga clan, his presence at this moment was a huge violation—his body was too clean.
You see, today the Hyūga clan was in the midst of a multi-year ritual celebration. Both the higher-ups and the servants were partying all night, especially the men, almost all of whom had drunk a lot of sake.
But at this moment, the guy who appeared before Yūki had no smell of alcohol, and his clothes were so neat it seemed he hadn't participated in the carnival at all.
In other words, this guy hadn't appeared in the hall tonight. Based on Yūki's understanding, only the family's secret guards didn't need to participate in this event, and if he were a secret guard, it would be impossible for him to appear before Yūki like this.
Therefore, the guy who appeared before Yūki at this time was most likely not normal. Considering that people from Kumogakure were supposed to come tonight to carry out the kidnapping plan, the answer was obvious.
"Ahem, it's nothing. I just came out to get some air."
Even so, Yūki reached out and took the man's hand, pretending to be innocent as he stood up.
"Really? Then have a good rest."
Before Yūki could steady himself, the young man showed a "planned" expression and then pressed his palm against the forehead of the Hyūga young master!
Instantly, Yūki felt as if the world before him was spinning rapidly like a vortex, and then his consciousness slowly sank into a deep slumber.
Hah, that was easier than expected. Seeing the mission target successfully captured, this Kumogakure ninja named Darui couldn't help but sigh in relief. He slung Yūki over his shoulder and quickly ran toward the depths of the corridor on the other side before the maid could catch up!
Yes, it was exactly as Yūki had thought earlier. This guy named Darui was indeed not a member of the Hyūga clan but a spy sent to Konoha by Kumogakure earlier. He had just quietly left Konoha today and sneaked back in with the envoy group from Kumogakure, assuming the identity of an envoy.
Since he had already figured out the daily routines and geographical layout of the Hyūga family, and as a jōnin specializing in intelligence gathering, it wasn't difficult for Darui to sneak in during the Hyūga clan's festival activities today.
Moreover, since Kumogakure, Konoha's main enemy, happened to be here today to negotiate and sign a peace agreement, almost no one would have expected them to attack the Hyūga family at such a juncture.
But then again, this was just "almost." In fact, as Darui was carrying Yūki and about to leave from the corner of this building complex, the little head on his shoulder was rapidly thinking of countermeasures.
Trouble. If I don't do something, history will repeat itself. But what can I do?
At this moment, Yūki, being carried over the shoulder like a dead dog, thought this.
Although Darui firmly believed the three-year-old child was under a genjutsu and in an unnatural sleep state, Yūki's consciousness was actually still normal.
Yes, Darui's genjutsu hadn't affected him, or rather, this simple little genjutsu was dispelled immediately after taking effect.
The method Yūki used to dispel the genjutsu was also very simple: it was through the phantom creature floating behind him at this moment—the "Stand, Kaguya," which no one else could see.