Several Konoha Anbu covered in wounds were carefully laid on hospital beds and given emergency treatment. Their injuries were all flesh wounds, but several blood vessels had been severed, causing heavy blood loss, so they were not yet out of danger.
"You're saying that a lone enemy not only slipped through Konoha's defensive barrier, but also defeated all of you with ease?"
The Third Hokage looked gravely at the Anbu before him. The reason this incident had reached his attention was that it was genuinely the worst attack on Anbu in recent memory. Usually, at worst, they encountered hostile shinobi trying to gather intelligence, lost track of them, or watched them escape.
This time, however, the intruder had directly crushed an Anbu patrol team and then walked away without a care. To put it in more familiar terms, if Konohagakure were the Pentagon, ordinary hacking attempts and espionage would still fall within the expected range. This was more like a supercriminal openly killing a patrol team beside the Pentagon and strolling away completely unharmed.
The Third Hokage had long known that the Chunin Exams would attract large numbers of spies hoping to gather information about Konoha, which was why he had deliberately increased Anbu patrols and sentry posts. Even so, he had never expected something like this to happen so suddenly.
"Yes. It was my incompetence. I wasn't able to stop her at all."
Shame filled the masked Anbu captain's voice. The Third Hokage merely shook his head. "This isn't your fault. I'm not senile yet. If you hadn't been leading them, the rest of your squad and these injured men probably wouldn't have survived."
A rare gathering of Jonin had assembled here as well. This was entirely different from the minor cat-and-mouse games involved in counterintelligence. It had been years since an entire Anbu squad had been wounded in a single incident. That meant this "visitor" was at least Kage-level. The appearance of a powerful person bearing ill will toward Konoha gave the Third Hokage every reason to be tense.
"This is the weapon, correct?"
Kakashi frowned slightly at the Ice Feather sealed inside a Glass Box. "Looks like she was quite a flashy woman. If she used something like this as a weapon, she may still have had considerable strength in reserve."
"Yes. And she was definitely wearing a Kirigakure Hunter-nin Mask. She also used the Hiding in Mist Technique."
The Anbu captain carefully described what he had seen. Asuma merely shook his head. "That doesn't mean much. If she really is a Kage-level shinobi, then using a simple Water Release technique like that would be effortless. The Mask could just as easily be a disguise meant to conceal her true identity."
The surrounding shinobi frowned. An enemy capable of overwhelming an Anbu squad in an instant, apparently connected to Kirigakure and proficient in Water Release (Suiton)... taken together, the clues did not match any famous powerhouse they knew of in the world.
"No... it's possible that I've encountered this person before..."
Kakashi frowned at the Glass Box in his hand. The Ice Feather inside was crystal clear, every tiny barb visible. It was difficult to imagine something so delicate and beautiful possessing enough force to injure a human body, but the frozen smear of red along its edge made it obvious that the Feather had been removed from an Anbu's wound.
"Oh? You have a lead?"
The Third Hokage turned to Kakashi with a serious expression. Kakashi nodded respectfully. "Yes. When we arrived in the Land of Waves last time, we encountered Momochi Zabuza of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. At his side was a boy capable of using Ice Release (Hyōton), which was unquestionably a special Kekkei Genkai. Looking at these Ice Feathers, rapidly forming ice into such a precise shape and giving it enough killing power is not something ordinary ninjutsu should be able to achieve. It's most likely some kind of specialized Ice Release Kekkei Genkai."
"Hmm? You mean that Ice Release boy might have followed you back to Konoha to take revenge?"
Kurenai frowned slightly. In the shinobi world, grudges formed easily, and revenge was an obvious motive. Momochi Zabuza had indeed died at Kakashi's hands. If his companion had come to the outskirts of Konoha to cause destruction in revenge, the logic would be easy to understand.
"No... I'm only speculating. The two may use the same kind of Ice Release, but that boy didn't possess anything close to this level of strength. It's only been about a month since we left the Land of Waves. He couldn't possibly have grown this powerful in such a short time."
Kakashi hesitated, then shook his head. If the boy named Haku had possessed Kage-level strength back then, the outcome of their battle would have been completely different. And while the shinobi world was full of strange secret techniques, there was no method that could raise someone to Kage-level in a single month.
"Then at least this much is clear. There is a strong possibility that the intruder came to Konoha with a specific objective and likely possesses a Kekkei Genkai capable of Ice Release. We don't know what she wants, but Konoha's security cannot be compromised!"
The Third Hokage's gaze hardened as he issued the order in a stern tone.
"Raise the alert level again. Pay especially close attention when screening foreign shinobi with Water Release affinities."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
•••
"Mister, give me a large order of Takoyaki. The assorted kind, with extra sauce."
Standing in front of a Takoyaki stall, Naruto placed his order. The owner nodded heartily. "Sure! Coming right up!"
Watching Naruto buy the Takoyaki, Kiba looked confused. "Huh? What's up, Naruto? You're heading back already?"
"Yeah. The sun's nowhere near setting yet. Didn't you say you still wanted to see if you could run into that princess?"
Choji, chewing on french fries, also looked at Naruto in confusion. Naruto's behavior clearly did not match the way he had been acting earlier.
"Uh... if I wait too long, the Takoyaki will get cold..."
Naruto held the box he had just bought and said it rather foolishly, making Shikamaru blink in surprise. Then he nodded in understanding. "Ah... right. Yeah, I guess so. Then you go on ahead."
The boys remaining behind watched Naruto's back as he left and shook their heads.
"Seriously, why not just buy the Takoyaki after we finish having fun and head back?"
Kiba still had not figured it out. Scratching his cheek in puzzlement, he added, "And if he bought the wrong order, couldn't he just eat it so it doesn't go to waste?"
Shikamaru and Shino merely shook their heads at the question. There was obviously no point discussing the matter with him. Besides... sometimes a misunderstanding could actually help things move in the right direction.
As for Naruto, he had not thought deeply about it at all. He simply felt that it was time to bring the Takoyaki back, so that was what he did. He had already completely forgotten the fact that he had just seen a princess who perfectly matched his tastes.
"Seriously. If Hinata isn't at the Uchiha Compound, then she must be at the Hyuga Compound. Damn, I don't really like going to places like that. Ah! At this rate, all the Takoyaki will get cold."
After running for a while with the box in his hands, Naruto quickly realized that keeping the Takoyaki warm was harder than expected. The blond boy, whose brain was never his strongest point, thought for a moment, then decisively stuffed the box inside his clothes. "Right! If I use my body heat, the Takoyaki won't get cold! Hahaha! I'm a genius! Yow! Hot, hot, hot!"
The Takoyaki burned painfully against his skin, but Naruto endured it and kept running through the streets. Following the roads inside Konohagakure, he soon reached the broad, old-fashioned gates of the Hyuga Compound.
"Stop. Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
As one of Konoha's great clans, the Hyuga Clan naturally maintained its own guards. Two Hyuga clansmen at the gate watched the approaching Naruto warily. Judging by their tension, they clearly knew the rumors about the demon fox associated with the boy.
"I'm here to bring Hinata Takoyaki. She told me to bring it to her."
Ignoring the burning pain from the hot food inside his clothes, Naruto patiently explained himself to the two Hyuga guards. But a reason like that was obviously nowhere near enough to earn him entry.
"Ridiculous! Why would the Young Lady need someone like you to deliver food for her? Leave at once!"
The Hyuga guard on the left rebuked him harshly. He clearly had no intention of allowing the detested "demon fox" in front of him to pass.
"Mister! Why are you being so unreasonable? If Hinata gets angry, she'll definitely make you cry!"
Naruto was shoved hard enough to nearly fall. Furious, he raised a fist and started arguing with the Hyuga guard, but at that moment, a crisp young voice suddenly rang out from inside the gate. "Who is making such a disturbance in front of the Hyuga Clan?"
Hanabi truly had only happened to pass by, but that did not mean she knew nothing. After hearing that Hinata had built up a faction of her own, the competitive younger sister had secretly investigated the people who spent time around her sister. She recognized this blond boy as one of them: Uzumaki Naruto.
"Ah, Second Young Lady. This fellow is causing trouble at the gate. We'll drive him away immediately."
The two Hyuga guards hurriedly bowed. At that moment, Naruto let out a strange cry, slipped between the guards in an instant, and leaned right up in front of Hanabi.
"Huh? What are you trying to do?!"
Startled, Hanabi instinctively took a step back and assumed a Gentle Fist (Jūken) stance. Naruto, however, only stared at her in dumbfounded silence. A moment later, deep sorrow spread across the blond boy's face.
"I'm sorry, Hinata... it's only been half a day..."
"How did you get so hungry that you shrank by an entire size?!"