Chapter 21: The Muscle-Headed Shinobi of the Hidden Cloud
"Hey! Why the hell do I have to wear this?!"
Neji stood frozen, holding a maid outfit in his hands, the veins at his temples bulging with fury—he looked like he was on the verge of activating his Byakugan out of sheer rage.
"Because you're on welcoming duty, of course! You have to look good so guests will like you more," Sakura explained nonchalantly, pointing to Sasuke standing beside her. "Look at Sasuke—he's already wearing his. If he can do it, what's stopping you?"
"A Hyūga would never wear something like this!" Neji protested, his tone righteous. Sure, Sakura had saved his father and helped free them from the Caged Bird Seal, but this level of humiliation? No way was he going along with it.
"Sasuke's the son of the Uchiha clan head, and even he's wearing it," Sakura said, smirking. "The Uchiha are Konoha's top clan. You Hyūga only rank second. If the number one can do it, what's a number two so scared of?"
"…Such pointless pride," Sasuke muttered with a cold face. Honestly, he wanted to rip the maid outfit off, throw it to the ground, and stomp on it repeatedly—but he didn't dare. Sakura had already warned him: if he didn't behave, she'd print and distribute all the pictures of him in catgirl maid outfits across the entire Hidden Leaf. Just imagining everyone in the village seeing that was enough to crush his soul.
He had only himself to blame. He was too naïve back then and fell into Sakura's trap. But maybe—just maybe—if he could drag someone else down with him, he wouldn't be the only one drowning in shame. If Neji got roped in too, that would be a small victory.
"Come on, just wear it."
A mischievous glint flashed through Sakura's eyes as she subtly activated the power of the Mind Stone, nudging Neji's will.
When Neji came to, he found Sakura standing in front of him, camera in hand, snapping pictures. He looked down—and to his horror, he was already wearing the maid outfit.
"…" For the first time in days, Sasuke's cold, expressionless face cracked into a smile. After discovering the truth of his own humiliation, he had been stuck in a blank, depressed state—but now that someone else had joined him in disgrace, he finally felt at peace.
"Be a good boy, okay?" Sakura waggled the camera threateningly. "Otherwise, I won't hesitate to show the entire ninja world what Hyūga Neji looks like in drag."
"I… I'll behave," Neji muttered, eyes brimming with unshed tears.
"Aww, don't be so down. Like they say: when it comes to crossdressing, it's either zero times or infinite times. Once you get used to it, you might even start to enjoy it!"
Sakura offered him a comforting pat on the shoulder—though she was a little worried his brain might burst a vessel if she pushed any harder.
"Never. Never happening," Neji growled, his Byakugan boring holes into her. "Mark my words, Sakura. One day, I will defeat you… and restore the dignity of the Hyūga clan!"
Did I just corrupt another innocent soul? Sakura quietly scolded herself for once again damaging someone's pure heart. But then she looked up and saw two "trap idols" standing before her in full maid attire, and a warm, smug satisfaction welled up inside her.
Art, she thought. This is all for the sake of art.
Customers at Ichiraku Ramen today were surprised to see a new, beautiful young girl working at the shop. With her refined features and unmistakable white eyes, many quickly realized she was from the prestigious Hyūga clan. In no time, diners and even passersby couldn't help but steal a few glances at "her."
After all, it was rare to see a member of such a noble family working a part-time job.
Neji's smile was stretched so tight it was about to twist off his face. Inside, he was drowning in despair. Centuries of Hyūga dignity and honor were about to go up in flames… all because of him.
"Don't think too much about it. You'll get used to it. We mortals can't resist the rule of demons," Sasuke said, patting his fellow victim on the shoulder like a war buddy. He had already given up. That sweet-looking girl with sparkling green eyes? A demon in disguise. The best a mortal could do was obey and survive.
"I'll never accept this. One day, I'll make her feel this same humiliation!" Neji growled, clenching his teeth.
"You idiot. She's already a girl—her wearing a dress is completely normal!" Sasuke snorted. Sure, for them, it was public shame. But for her, it was just casual attire.
"Then make her wear men's clothing!" Neji hissed through gritted teeth. If he couldn't avenge this humiliation, he'd never rest in peace.
"Oh, come on. Even if she did wear men's clothes, people would just call her 'cool' or 'handsome.' It'd backfire. Besides…" Sasuke's face turned dark. "You think we can even beat her?"
He wasn't speaking from inexperience—he had tried. Every time he resisted, he'd black out… and wake up dressed up, posing for photos with Sakura like some fashion model. After days of this, he had surrendered to fate.
"Is this what destiny feels like…?" Neji clenched his fists, eyes full of pain and indignation.
The two continued their tragic discussion, completely unaware that Sakura, the root of all their suffering, was currently inside the Hokage's office—looking shocked.
"Has the Hidden Cloud gone insane? Where are they getting the confidence to actually consider going to war with us?"
"Their shinobi have already started gathering at the border," the Third Hokage said as he took a drag of his pipe, clearly troubled. "Those muscle-heads at the Cloud always charge forward without thinking."
"Seems like the Fourth Raikage thinks that now the Fourth Hokage is gone, there's no one left in the Leaf who can stop him," Sakura mused.
She was well aware of the brothers—A and Killer Bee. They had once charged into battle against Minato with full confidence… only to be utterly humiliated. But now, with Minato dead, the Raikage probably assumed there was no longer a match for him in Konoha—and let that overconfidence swell.
"The Hidden Cloud is famous for their taijutsu-enhanced combat," the Third explained. "Every generation of Raikage specializes in that style. Their secret Lightning Release Chakra Mode greatly boosts their physical stats, especially speed. Right now, aside from the late Second Hokage and Minato, no one in the village can keep up."
He frowned deeply as he spoke. The Cloud's combat style was overwhelming. Take the Third Raikage, for example—he singlehandedly held off thousands of Iwa-nin until his chakra ran out and he died. That battle had cost Iwagakure dearly.
"Not necessarily," Sakura said, shaking her head. "The Fourth Raikage may be fast, but the Uchiha with Mangekyō Sharingan can already keep up. Their only weakness is physical endurance."
From what Sakura knew, while no Uchiha publicly claimed to have awakened the Mangekyō, Fugaku had already secretly obtained it. Even Itachi, a prodigy with the same eyes, admitted he had no confidence in defeating his father. If Fugaku hadn't voluntarily accepted death for the sake of Itachi and Sasuke, Danzo's massacre plan would never have succeeded so smoothly.