That day, when her soul returned, she was startled to find her body floating in water.
Whether it was sleepwalking or something else entirely—if it really had something to do with Naruto… there was no way he would just stand by and watch Hinata jump into the water right in front of him.
So that means… maybe that idiot was actually telling the truth?
After mulling it over several times, Hinata still shook her head vigorously, tossing that bizarre possibility out of her mind. Some thoughts just shouldn't be entertained. If there was really another person in her mind, then who was truly controlling her actions—herself, or someone else?
That kind of thinking could deal a terrifying blow to a strong person's confidence. And once you lose confidence, you can no longer call yourself strong.
"Hmph~ consider yourself lucky!"
Spitting with disgust, Hinata turned and walked away from the cliffs of Konoha without looking back. She no longer felt like beating up Naruto anymore. She could only blame herself for foolishly leaving that martial scroll behind, allowing that plot-armored protagonist to stumble upon it by pure luck.
Disgusting mistake—but whatever… And this twist of fate had caused Naruto to encounter Tailed Beast transformation this early. For the Hinata Squad, it was both a blessing and a curse.
The curse was that surveillance in the area had no doubt increased dramatically. But the blessing was that, as an organization capable of handling early-stage Tailed Beast transformations, the upper echelons would have no choice but to acknowledge the Hinata Squad's strength, and their latent authority would also rise.
From her pocket, Hinata pulled out a kernel of corn. With a gentle squeeze of her fingers, the kernel popped with a crisp sound into a perfect piece of popcorn. She inspected it, satisfied, and tossed it into her mouth. Clearly, she had already mastered this chakra control training. Which meant… it was time for the ultimate techniques.
Only powerful secret arts could swiftly determine the outcome of a battle—she wouldn't allow herself to feel so powerless again like she did last time against Tailed Beast Naruto.
Just then, a flash of movement appeared in front of her. It was Sai, dressed in a maid outfit, kneeling on one knee before her. Calmly, he said, "Lady Hinata, Lord Danzo requests your presence."
———
The Root base always had that cold, eerie atmosphere. Standing in the middle of the darkness, Danzo looked more like a wandering ghost than a human. As he heard footsteps behind him, the leader of Root turned around, his gaze icy as it locked onto Hinata behind Sai.
"Truly unexpected… a little girl like you causing such a commotion. Seems I've underestimated you."
Though a gloomy man, Danzo always spoke plainly—after all, his real work was always done in the shadows, so he didn't bother to lie on the surface.
"You flatter me. I just want to earn a little more money for my future."
Shrugging nonchalantly, Hinata crossed her arms.
"So, what do you need this time?"
"Hmph~ As much as I'd like to tell you that the organization providing your figurines is the most dangerous rogue ninja group in the world right now, judging by how busy you are raking in money, I know you won't stop."
Danzo's voice was as sharp and cold as ever, but Hinata was unfazed by such veiled threats. She stayed silent, waiting for him to continue.
Seeing Hinata completely unaffected, Danzo gripped his cane a little tighter. The girl before him truly impressed him. Few in Konoha could remain this calm and rational in the face of his intimidation. Or perhaps… Hinata was simply the type who would never compromise unless there were clear benefits.
"Follow me."
Having made up his mind, Danzo turned and walked toward a side passage. Hinata trailed behind without a hint of fear. From her experience, benefit was one of the greatest trump cards in human interaction. Those who could generate massive benefits were granted privileges wherever they went. The more ambitious someone was, the more respectful they'd be to her.
And Danzo was certainly one of the most ambitious characters in the original story. Naturally, the greater her value, the less she had to fear from him.
After following Danzo down a spiraling staircase, the space suddenly opened up. A massive underground chamber unfolded before her eyes.
But what truly shocked her wasn't the size—it was what lay at the center of the hall: something that looked like a massive tree root.
Yet on the surface of this root, there was a body—eerily human in shape. The face on it looked exactly like the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama!
"What…?"
Instinctively, Hinata activated her Byakugan, and immediately, cold sweat beaded on her forehead. With the Byakugan's vision, she could see that this tree-root-like object had human-like chakra pathways inside it. And the amount of chakra it held far surpassed anything she'd ever seen—even the Third Hokage couldn't compare.
"This is the body of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama. As you can see, he was a powerful user of Wood Release. After his death, his immense chakra began to morph into this form on its own. And through certain research, we've confirmed that his cells can be transplanted into others to dramatically enhance their physical abilities."
Danzo cast a glance at Hinata, a smug smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He knew he had made the right bet.
Indeed, for someone like Hinata, money and status meant little now. Her Hinata Squad already wielded considerable influence. The success of the Fox Tales Chronicle series and the figurine business with the Akatsuki ensured a steady cash flow.
But no matter how much money or power one had, those were still external. They weren't her strength.
Danzo had seen through part of Hinata's motives. He was sure she was someone who craved power for herself. Which meant… these First Hokage cells were an irresistible bait.
"All right, name your price, Lord Danzo."
Sure enough, Hinata didn't ask any further questions. Since he had already exposed her desire for power, there was no point hiding it anymore.
"I just want to know—what's the cost for this kind of power?"
---
"Though we took different paths, the three of us have all completed the third stage of Holy Fist training. That means… it's time for the fourth stage: Ultimate Techniques."
Hinata sat high atop a wooden post in the training field, looking down at Sasuke and Naruto. Though she yearned to gain strength in one leap, she wasn't foolish enough to blindly follow Danzo's plan. Power that came too easily was never reliable.
So, for the sake of the graduation exams and the upcoming Chunin Exams, she decided to continue honing the Southern Dipper Seven Holy Fists until she could at least protect herself.
"Yeah… I swear I'm never eating apples again in this lifetime…"
Still in his girlish disguise, Naruto dejectedly picked up an apple from a fruit basket. His left hand braced his right as he applied a bit of chakra. With the hum of spinning chakra, the apple skin shredded into bits with an invisible blade of wind. The surface was a bit rough, but his chakra control was clearly impressive.
"Hmph, whatever. Just give me the next training secret already."
Sasuke casually pulled out a string of Christmas lights, and with a flick of chakra, the lights lit up in a dazzling display. Obviously, he was showing off his superior chakra control—compared to Naruto, he had the natural advantage in this area.
"No need to rush. Ultimate Techniques aren't like basic taijutsu. They're dangerous—not just for the enemy, but for you too."
Hinata pulled out prepared scrolls and tossed them down to the two boys.
"Take a look. These are the secret techniques we'll be learning."
Chakra control was essential—it enabled precision, but not necessarily power. To turn chakra into destructive force, other methods were needed.
The most classic and representative method, of course, was ninjutsu via hand seals. By weaving hand signs, chakra could be converted into an elemental attack to damage opponents.
However, since the Southern Dipper Seven Holy Fists that Hinata made up had already abandoned traditional seals, their next step had to further develop seal-less ninjutsu. With their chakra control up to standard, they now had to learn how to release chakra explosively—to create maximum destructive force.
Which meant… it was time to train chakra burst power.
Think of it this way: the human body is like a water gun, and chakra is the water. To make the water truly dangerous, it needs to be shot out with explosive force. Chakra control is like the nozzle size—the smaller the nozzle, the higher the pressure from the same burst.
With their chakra control and average damage output now up to par, it was time to work on explosive power—learning how to unleash max damage with minimal chakra. Not an easy task.
But since Hinata had already proven the viability of chakra-based taijutsu through the Seven Holy Fists, the techniques weren't hard to come by.
"Heavenly Amatsu Slash? A finishing move that turns lightning chakra into a physical blade and blasts it skyward?"
Sasuke unrolled his scroll. The technique was similar to Chidori Spear—condensing lightning chakra into a piercing blade—but the scale and power far surpassed it. The technique gathered chakra in both palms, slammed it into the ground, and used the rebound to spread a wide-range attack toward the sky—a full-range offensive and defensive strike. It felt like an evolved version of Chidori Stream, but much bigger and stronger.
"Initial mastery lets you slice through actual lightning in the sky?"
That benchmark made Sasuke frown, then a fanatical light gleamed in his dark eyes. Clearly, he was very satisfied with the cool, over-the-top move.
Lightning is obviously deadly. But by the time it hits from the sky, it's weakened by air, moisture, and other barriers. Its actual threat to a ninja is far less than expected. Plus, slicing lightning wasn't unheard of—just ask a certain white-haired swordsman with a lightning blade.
Not to mention, after his training with Thunder Burial Fist, Sasuke had built up resistance to electricity. Ordinary lightning wouldn't kill him. So this move's difficulty was pretty reasonable.
"Ugh… mine's called Divine Sandstorm? What kind of lame name is that~?"
Naruto pouted as he read his scroll, clearly envious of Sasuke's Heavenly Amatsu Slash. Hinata simply frowned, plucked a corn kernel from her pouch, and flicked it at Naruto's forehead.
"Shut up. The names might be different, but the power levels are theoretically equal. Instead of whining about names, you'd better think about whether you can even learn it."
Compared to Sasuke's lightning-based slash, Naruto's Divine Sandstorm was equally formidable and easier to understand. It involved rotating both arms in opposite directions to generate twin cyclones that shredded everything in their path—essentially small twin tornadoes launched from his arms.
(Flash?)