Chapter 277: Stop!

Chapter 277: Chapter 277: Stop!

Just as Hyuga Kagami had expected, after only a single night, the entirety of Konoha had transformed into a world of pure white.

Large, feathery snowflakes drifted down from the sky, swirling through the air in endless flurries. The entire world seemed to sink into an unreal, breathtaking beauty, as though everything before his eyes were nothing more than a dream.

After waking early, Hyuga Kagami changed into his clothes and stood by the window, gazing outside.

Looking upon the pure, pristine world before him, he immediately felt his mind grow considerably more refreshed.

With several leaps, Hyuga Kagami arrived atop a large tree outside Naruto’s home.

Today, it was once again Team 11’s turn to be on duty, secretly protecting Naruto, the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki.

By the time Hyuga Kagami arrived, the other three members of Team 11 were already there.

Seeing him arrive, his teammates each greeted him.

Originally, Hyuga Kagami had intended to use his female Fire Release clone to carry out today’s mission.

After all, synchronization was a long-term process. The longer his soul remained within the clone, the better the results would naturally be. Because of that, even ordinary day-to-day life could be considered part of the synchronization process—in fact, it could even be said to be one of its more important aspects.

However, if he used the female Fire Release clone to carry out missions, he would inevitably have to rely on the Transformation Technique.

And whether it was the Transformation Technique or the Clone Technique, neither could truly achieve absolute perfection.

The more experienced and perceptive a ninja was, the more proficient they would naturally be at seeing through techniques like the Transformation Technique and Clone Technique.

Thus, even though Hyuga Kagami’s chakra control had already reached an extremely high level, making his Transformation Technique nearly indistinguishable from the real thing, it still couldn’t escape the scrutiny of Shisui and Kakashi, both of whom possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan.

And Team 11 was currently carrying out a covert protection mission. If his teammates noticed traces of the Transformation Technique on him, Hyuga Kagami would have a difficult time explaining himself.

After exchanging greetings, Hyuga Kagami looked toward Naruto’s home and casually remarked, "With snow this heavy today, that little guy should stay put at home, right?"

Kakashi replied helplessly, "Not necessarily!"

Although they hadn’t been carrying out this protection mission for very long, the members of Team 11 had already gotten a thorough taste of Naruto’s hyperactive personality.

The little guy could barely stay still for even a moment. He spent entire days wandering all over the village, and by the end of a single day, the distance he’d covered was enough to circle Konoha several times over. The ANBU responsible for secretly protecting him had been run ragged because of it.

Shisui also knew just how troublesome Naruto could be, so he suggested, "Captain, why don’t you and Guy-senpai go sit at a nearby izakaya for a while? Kagami-senpai and I can take the first shift, and we’ll switch with you later."

Kakashi thought for a moment before nodding.

With snow this heavy, there really was no need for all of Team 11 to remain stationed here.

They could simply divide the team into two groups—one group would handle protection while the other rested nearby. That way, they could quickly reinforce each other if anything happened while still taking turns getting some rest.

After Kakashi and Guy left, Shisui immediately turned to Hyuga Kagami and asked, "Senpai, where have you been these past few days?"

During the days Hyuga Kagami had been away observing Hiruko’s Kekkei Genkai fusion ritual, Shisui had used Shadow Clones to cover his missions for him.

And before leaving, Hyuga Kagami had specifically asked Shisui for several ninja crows as well, so Shisui had naturally grown extremely curious about what he’d been doing all this time.

Hyuga Kagami replied, "I went to investigate Uchiha Hiiragi’s whereabouts."

Shisui immediately perked up. "You found Hiiragi?"

"He’s already dead!" After a brief pause, Hyuga Kagami continued, "He died at the hands of the Akatsuki, and his Sharingan was taken by Hiruko. No... more accurately, his entire Sharingan Kekkei Genkai was taken."

Hyuga Kagami then briefly explained Hiruko’s Kekkei Genkai fusion ritual to Shisui.

Although Hiruko hadn’t been particularly famous in the village, he was still a rogue ninja listed in the Bingo Book. As an ANBU directly under the Hokage, Shisui naturally knew something about him.

But when Hyuga Kagami explained that Hiruko had used a forbidden technique to devour five Kekkei Genkai ninja in succession—including Uchiha Hiiragi—Shisui still couldn’t suppress the shock on his face.

Staring dumbfounded, Shisui murmured, "H-How is that even possible...?"

Hyuga Kagami warned him, "If you ever encounter Hiruko in the future, don’t make the mistake of judging him by what he used to be. His strength has become terrifying. Even I could fall at his hands if I let my guard down for even a moment."

Shisui didn’t question Hyuga Kagami’s judgment and immediately said, "Then we need to inform the village as soon as possible!"

"I’ve already sent the information to the Hokage Building through an anonymous letter." After a slight pause, Hyuga Kagami added, "As for whether the village’s higher-ups will take the information seriously, that’s beyond my control."

"Whoa! There’s so much snow!"

Just then, the door of the house across from them suddenly flew open.

With a piece of bread clenched between his teeth, Naruto came charging outside, shouting excitedly at the top of his lungs.

Hyuga Kagami and Shisui exchanged a glance before letting out a sigh.

They knew—

another exhausting day had begun.

This was the first snowfall of the year, and it was an exceptionally heavy one. As a result, many children throughout the village were outside building snowmen and having snowball fights, each of them playing to their heart’s content.

Naruto desperately wanted to join them—to build snowmen and have snowball fights together—but all he received in return were rejection and cold stares.

Some parents and villagers even drove Naruto away as though they were chasing off a wild beast, terrified that their children might become involved with the "Fox Demon." They ruthlessly excluded him.

After suffering rejection and cold looks, Naruto wandered through the snow all by himself.

His tiny figure looked especially lonely and pitiful against the vast, snow-white world.

Although Shisui had already witnessed scenes like this many times, he still couldn’t help saying, "They’re going too far. Naruto is only a child. How can they blame him for everything that happened on the night of the Nine-Tails’ attack? Senpai, shouldn’t we think of some way to help him?"

Hyuga Kagami sighed but said nothing.

The reasoning behind it was actually quite simple.

So many people had died during the Nine-Tails’ attack that someone had to be held responsible, someone the villagers could vent their resentment on.

But the Fourth Hokage and his wife had already died in battle, and no one else was willing to step forward and shoulder that responsibility.

Naruto, being only a child and unable to defend himself, naturally ended up taking the blame.

He became the villagers’ outlet for all their anger and resentment.

Suddenly, a commotion came from the distance.

"Look at her eyes! They’re really completely white!"

"That’s so gross! She looks just like a monster!"

"White-eyed monster! White-eyed monster!"

Several children had gathered around a little girl, jeering at her.

The little girl kept her head lowered as tears streamed down her cheeks, falling helplessly to the ground one drop at a time.

Shisui looked over. "Huh? Senpai, isn’t that the eldest daughter of the Hyuga Main Family?"

Hyuga Kagami nodded. "Yeah."

Shisui hurriedly said, "Senpai, I’ll go chase those kids away."

Hyuga Kagami grabbed Shisui and stopped him, smiling as he shook his head.

At the same time, Naruto had also noticed what was happening.

He immediately rushed over, shouting as he ran—

"STOP!"