Inside Hinata's room, she was currently Cultivating, preparing for a Breakthrough into the Golden Core Late Stage. It was a minor seclusion, and she was paying no attention to outside news.
Hinata slowly opened her eyes, feeling someone approaching.
Hiashi knocked on the door and only entered after receiving Hinata's reply, but his expression was one of grimness Hinata had never seen before.
"Hmm? What happened? Did something happen to the Hyuga Clan?"
Hinata asked.
Hiashi nodded.
"Yes, several clansmen have gone missing, and not a single piece of news has been relayed back."
Clansmen missing? Along Konoha's heavily guarded border, Hyuga clansmen possessing the Byakugan had gone missing without a trace or message.
Hinata immediately thought of Danzo; don't ask why, that's just his reputation.
Hinata remained calm on the surface, continuing to listen to Hiashi.
"Do not leave the Hyuga Clan Compound recently. Do not leave until I have uncovered the truth," Hiashi said sternly.
"Yes, I understand." Hinata nodded.
Hiashi looked deeply at her, seemingly trying to discern something from her expression, but ultimately just said in a deep voice.
"To be safe, until the situation becomes clear, let Hanabi stay with you temporarily. Your strength is great, and I will feel more at ease."
After speaking, he turned and left, his retreating figure appearing somewhat heavy under the light.
Not long after, a clansman led the somewhat uneasy Hanabi to Hinata's room.
Little Hanabi clearly sensed the tense atmosphere within the clan, and her small face held a hint of fear.
"Sister..."
Hanabi called out softly, instinctively moving closer to Hinata and hugging her.
"Don't be afraid, Hanabi." Hinata comforted her gently, lightly stroking her sister's head.
Hanabi was very attached to her; whenever Hinata was free, she would come looking for her.
The change in the plot meant Hanabi was not like her counterpart in the original work. She was still innocent and adorable, without much pressure. Although she knew the different fates of the Branch Family and the Main Family, Neji had not shown any malice toward Hinata, preventing Hanabi from seeing so much darkness.
Hinata was still the heir. The Elder had once proposed placing the caged bird seal on Hanabi, but Hinata had stopped them. Now that Hinata's status was very high, they could only look at each other and fall silent.
Some Elders were dissatisfied, arguing that this was the Family system and could not be easily changed, but Hiashi ultimately withstood the pressure and forcefully suppressed the matter. The issue has been shelved until now.
Hinata took Hanabi's hand and had her sit down on the soft tatami mat, while she walked to the center of the room.
With a slight shift of thought, a figure virtually indistinguishable from her main body appeared, nodded at Hinata's main body, and then naturally walked over and sat beside Hanabi.
"Hanabi, big sister has something to take care of. Can you stay here obediently and read a book with me?" Hinata's main body asked softly.
Hanabi looked at the sister beside her, then at the main body standing in front, seemed to understand something, and nodded obediently.
"Okay, big sister, please be careful."
Hinata smiled slightly, saying no more. She closed her eyes, locking onto a distant coordinate—Orochimaru's secret base.
The next moment, ripples appeared around her body, and her figure vanished from the spot instantly, like a drop of ink dissolving into water... Underground Base.
Orochimaru was sitting in front of the experimental bench, his golden snake eyes focused on observing a piece of flesh in the culture dish that was constantly squirming and radiating the violent life force of the First Hokage's Cells.
Suddenly, he snapped his head up, a flicker of extreme astonishment passing through his eyes.
Space warped, and Hinata's figure materialized from illusion to reality, standing firmly in the center of the laboratory, as if she belonged there all along.
"..."
Looking at Hinata, who had suddenly appeared behind him, he finally understood how she had appeared before.
Orochimaru had always thought there was a flaw in his defenses and had been researching improvements, otherwise, how could he explain that Hinata had appeared several times without him knowing where she entered from.
Orochimaru had been greatly troubled by this, only to realize after all this time that it wasn't his technology that was flawed, but that Hinata simply didn't use the front door... After a brief moment of shock, Orochimaru let out his characteristic, hoarse and magnetic laugh, yet the surprise in his voice was undeniable.
"Truly... astonishing. Such exquisite and seamless spatial traversal... It seems your grasp of Space-Time Ninjutsu is very strong. I wonder how it compares to the Fourth Hokage's..."
He put down the instruments in his hand and observed Hinata with great interest, also checking if she had carved a Flying Thunder God marker where she appeared.
"Orochimaru, is Danzo up to something again?" Hinata asked straightforwardly.
Orochimaru was not at all surprised by Hinata's directness.
"Your intuition is as sharp as ever. He is indeed making a move. I even received an encrypted message from Root."
He slowly walked to a nearby chair and sat down, licking his lips.
"Oh? What did he want from you? Cooperation?" Hinata also sat down.
"Hmm... that old fox seems to have been made quite uneasy by you. He wants to study the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan and seeks support for some of my techniques."
Orochimaru continued.
"Although he didn't explicitly mention the Hyuga clansmen, contacting me in this manner at this time, your guess is probably not far from the truth."
"That Danzo fellow, there's nothing he won't do for power and to maintain what he calls Konoha's stability. Collecting Byakugan to supplement his collection, or causing chaos to divert attention, all fit his style."
Saying this, he smiled and looked at Hinata.
"Speaking of which, this is because of you, Hinata. Because your brilliance is too dazzling, he started becoming interested in the Byakugan, and he's willing to act even if it means offending the Hyuga Clan..."
Orochimaru stared intently at Hinata, hoping to see a different expression on her face.
Hinata did not deny this reason; she was indeed primarily responsible for this matter.
"So, did you agree to his cooperation?"
"Hmph hmph..." Orochimaru chuckled softly.
"Don't underestimate me. How could I betray my ally? I neither agreed nor refused. Perhaps... I can even use this opportunity to retaliate against that old fox."
His attitude was very clear: he was aligning with Hinata. As for what he was retaliating for, it was naturally Danzo stealing his things.
What? You say Hinata was likely the one who did it? Nonsense! That's his dear ally; Danzo was the one who did it! If he says so, it is so!
"So, what do you plan to do?"
Orochimaru asked.
"Just kill him."
Hinata's tone was calm. Since Danzo was practically challenging her, she saw no need to keep him alive anymore.
"Oh? I heard he has the ability to change other people's wills. Aren't you afraid?"
Orochimaru asked curiously. He still hadn't found a good way to solve this problem and wanted to know what method Hinata had.
Hinata looked up at him.
"Are you talking about Shisui's eye? He won't have a chance to use it."
Hinata paused, then spoke again with a smile.
"Aren't you interested in the Mangekyo? A Mangekyo with the power to change others' wills—do you want to study it?"
Orochimaru froze, not expecting Hinata to say that. He felt completely seen through by Hinata; she knew exactly what interested him.
Orochimaru's tongue involuntarily licked his lips.
He did want it; he wanted it very badly. This was even more appealing to him than Sasuke's eyes.
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