Although the birth of Hinata Hyuga didn't shake the entire Hyuga Clan the way Satoru's arrival had years ago, it was still greeted with enthusiastic congratulations from every Branch Family.
For a clan like the Hyugas, the prosperity of the Main Family was always considered a good omen.
As for Hiashi Hyuga himself, he had long hoped to have both a son and a daughter—so that years later, he could enjoy a peaceful old age surrounded by children and grandchildren.
Hinata's birth, in a way, made his life feel complete.
Even though Satoru was busy with his training, he still made time every day after Hinata's birth to help his mother, Hanako, take care of his baby sister.
There were Branch Family maids assigned to assist Hanako, but servants were, after all, outsiders—no matter how diligent and responsible they might be. Hanako still felt most at ease when her own son helped out.
A few weeks passed quietly. The once wrinkled little face of newborn Hinata gradually softened, her skin turning fair and tender—an image that instantly captured the hearts of Hiashi and Hanako alike.
Naturally, Satoru was no exception.
Even in his previous life, he had never experienced caring for a newborn himself. Holding the soft, boneless-feeling Hinata in his arms, Hyuga Satoru gradually began to grasp the true weight of the "responsibility" that now rested upon his shoulders.
An elder brother…
Becoming a good older brother was not an easy task.
While Hyuga Satoru enjoyed this warm and peaceful family life, the situation in the ninja world was quietly changing.
The root cause of the Third Shinobi World War lay in the struggle among the great nations for resources.
The Land of Fire, with its immense national strength, occupied the most fertile lands in the world.
The disappearance of the Third Kazekage merely served as the spark that ignited the war. To placate the unrest spreading among the common ninja and citizens, Sunagakure's leadership chose to divert domestic tensions outward through war.
Naturally, the resource-rich Land of Fire became their prime target.
Once Sunagakure went to war with Konohagakure, the other major nations began to stir as well. Soon after, the Lands of Earth, Lightning, and Water each joined the fray, seeking to carve up the Land of Fire for themselves.
Thus, the Great Ninja War engulfed the world.
To defend against enemies on all fronts, Konoha mobilized all its elite forces. In the early stages of the war, Konoha's White Fang slew the son and daughter-in-law of Elder Chiyo from Sunagakure, crushing their morale in a single battle.
As the war dragged on, though Konoha paid a heavy price in casualties, they managed to stabilize the frontlines.
Namikaze Minato distinguished himself brilliantly—his team not only secured victory at the Kannabi Bridge, but also escaped from a deadly ambush by two Iwagakure jinchuriki alongside his mentor Jiraiya.
On another front, Minato's actions intimidated A and B—the Raikage and his brother of Kumogakure—forcing a mutual understanding that eased the pressure on that front.
Escaping the Iwa ambush and deterring the Ai-B duo sowed the seeds for future enmity between Iwa and Kumo.
While Minato's fame spread across the ninja world, Might Duy, a mere genin of Konoha, opened all Eight Gates to protect his son, utterly crippling the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
After several decisive victories, Konoha's terrifying battle record shattered the ambitions of the other great nations.
By now, Sunagakure had been forced into submission. The Land of Wind, chronically short on resources, no longer had the capacity to continue fighting.
A peace treaty was signed between Konoha and Sunagakure, making them allies.
Meanwhile, the fronts between the Lands of Earth and Lightning collapsed into chaos after the Third Raikage perished, surrounded and exhausted by a ten-thousand-man Iwa army—creating bitter hatred between the two villages.
Though minor skirmishes with Konoha continued, both nations had shifted their strategic focus toward each other.
With several battlefronts easing, Konoha finally gained some breathing room.
At this point, Konoha's greatest remaining threat came from the Land of Water.
However, compared to Kirigakure, Konoha held overwhelming superiority. To Minato and the rest of the village leadership, the Mist's menace was little more than an itch.
It was in this context of wartime recovery that Hyuga Satoru's squad received their very first mission.
"Bandit suppression?"
Inside the Hokage's office, Aburame Shibi glanced through the mission document with a hint of surprise in his voice.
The Third Ninja War had lasted for years, and in many regions the social order had collapsed as a result.
During wartime, every major village had produced its share of deserters and rogue ninja. Over time, many of these outlaws banded together, forming gangs of bandits who survived by plundering civilians.
Now that the Land of Fire's domestic situation had begun to stabilize, such bandit groups—disrupting local peace—had naturally become thorns in the government's side.
Inside the office, all members of Shibi's squad were present. Unexpectedly, Hiashi Hyuga himself was also in attendance.
This mission, carefully chosen by Minato, had received Hiashi's personal approval before being officially assigned.
Their target was a bandit group numbering around twenty.
The leaders were three rogue ninja from Konoha; the rest were nothing more than thugs gathered around them—non-ninja, essentially.
Those three defectors had each held the rank of chunin before deserting. Their strength and discipline were… mediocre, at best.
For a team like Shibi's, this mission could almost be considered overkill.
But Minato still classified it as a B-rank mission—involving missing-nin of chunin caliber meant even a jonin-led team needed to act with caution.
It was, in truth, an excellent training opportunity.
And since the operation would take place entirely within the Land of Fire, there was little concern that foreign enemies might threaten Satoru, the Hyuga heir.
"Shibi, the true purpose of this mission is to help your team build coordination," Minato explained calmly from behind his desk.
"The difficulty isn't particularly high, but don't let your guard down. Underestimating the enemy will only lead to disaster."
"All intelligence regarding the missing-nin is included in the mission scroll. Choose your departure date, and complete the task swiftly."
They all understood what Minato meant, even without further explanation.
Their team was… somewhat unbalanced. Two of the members were still quite young. The real goal here was to give Satoru and Shisui a taste of blood.
Even though Shisui had already become a chunin, most of his prior missions had been logistical in nature—pure combat assignments like this were rare.
As for Satoru, this was his very first.
"Satoru, perform well. Don't let me down."
Hiashi's voice was stern as he looked at his son.
The first mission of a Main Family heir might not be especially dangerous, but Satoru's performance would still reflect upon the Hyuga Clan's prestige.
He had faith in his son's abilities—but sending such a young boy out on a long-distance mission inevitably filled a father with worry.
"Don't worry, Father. I'll do my best."
Bandit suppression… killing, huh…
In truth, Satoru felt no excitement for this sort of thing.
After all, who could ever look forward to taking a life?
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