*AN~Long chapter, around 3500 words, so enjoy.
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"Byakugan," Neji yelled in excitement as he activated his Byakugan. He had a smug grin on his face when he looked at me.
"Look, sis, I also have the Byakugan," he said, showing me his white eyes. Neji turned 4 some months ago, and I was about to turn three in a few days. He was the youngest person to awaken the Byakugan after me.
"How many times are you going to show me?" I asked, lifting my face from a book.
"Until you praise me," he said.
"Huh..." I was perplexed by his bluntness. Well, over the months, our bond grew stronger and stronger; he rarely went to his home, always spending his time in our house.
"My brother is a genius. He is very good to me and always does as I say. He is a very good boy," I praised him, and he was smiling like he had achieved something great.
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He laughed, but then he looked at the book in my hand. "Why are you reading this boring book? I don't even understand a word," he grumbled.
"I am smarter than you," I said to him.
"Yeah, yeah... Read that boring book. I'm going..." he said and walked away. Currently, we were in the clan library, and there were thousands of books collected through the centuries.
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The library was divided into two sections, one for branch members and one for the main family. It's not like the branch house members couldn't get into this section; they just needed permission from the clan head or elders, but this rarely happened.
To tell the truth, the branch members also grew lazy and low-spirited; they rarely showed any motivation to improve themselves. In a nutshell, they were living a comfortable life.
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There was even dust between the pages of the book that I was currently reading. If I'm right, I was the only person who had read this book in many decades.
The condition of the main family was also not too different from the branch family. After establishing the business throughout the Land of Fire, they also grew comfortable. After reaching the rank of a jonin, they stopped training or practicing. At the age of 16, Neji was the strongest Hyuga.
They are just lazy, the evidence of my statement was in front of me, and the library was like a haunted house.
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I was currently reading a book on human anatomy related to medical ninjutsu to improve my fighting style. Time passed, and I was about to complete the book.
In reality, I was also practicing my Byakugan. I pierced through the pages one by one without flipping them. For every other page, I had to convert the mirrored text into the correct order. This was to increase my focus and precision; every page was only as thick as a nail, so it required intense concentration. If I messed up, I would jump from page 10 to 121.
After two more hours, I completed the book. With my IQ, I didn't have to read this book again. Ren and Ritsu were standing quietly without disturbing me.
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"Here you are, my little princess..." I heard my father's cheerful laugh.
"Are you looking for me, Father?" I asked him with a smile.
He lifted me and held me in his arms. "No, I just want to play with my girl," he said.
"So you were bored," I bluntly stated.
"Haha..." he laughed, "you don't have to say it like that..." he said, acting like he was hurt by my words.
"When will you teach me how to fight?" I asked him.
"After your birthday... now that Neji has also awakened his Byakugan, you can both train together," he said.
"Okay, Father," I said happily.
"Why don't you play with the other clan children? I've seen them playing in the park," he asked curiously.
'I don't have time to play with a bunch of kids,'
"I don't like playing with them," I truthfully replied.
"Haha... you are an odd kid," he said.
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"What do you mean by that?" I glared at him.
Raising his hand in defeat, he said, "Nothing, nothing. You are my little princess," with a smile.
"Huh... that's it," I said, turning my head away from him.
"Are you angry with your Daddy?" he asked.
"Hmph," I hummed.
'Did I just use Uchiha's secret language?' I inwardly mused. Teasing my father is always fun.
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"Let's see what you were reading," he lifted the book, flipped through some pages, and then quietly put the book back in its place.
"About human anatomy... huh... do you want to become a medic ninja?" he asked, furrowing his brows.
"I want to learn it," I said.
"You can't," he bluntly stated.
"But why?" I asked.
"You are the next clan leader; you can't go and work in hospitals," he said.
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'So that's the reason,' well, to be fair, I wholeheartedly agree with him. Why should I work for someone else and treat random people who aren't related to me? I was no saint obliged to save random cats and dogs on the street.
'But it's different when it comes to my family.'
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"Who said I would work for someone? What if I somehow got injured on a mission, and what if Father or Mother fell sick?" I said. "I just want to make you proud," I added in a low voice, lowering my head.
'And the other reason was my Mother.'
"Oh... now that I think about it, you're right. I can't let anything happen to you," he said.
'I am your weak spot father, you can't resist me,'
"I want you to collect all the books related to medicines and medical ninjutsu," I said, pointing my finger toward him.
"But we have almost everything in the library," he said.
"But I want more."
"Fine, you win. Anything else, my princess?" he said.
"I'll tell you in due time," I said.
He nodded, "Are you happy now?" he asked.
"Happy. You're the best, Father," I said, clinging to his neck.
'You're too easy to please, my father' I thought to myself.
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After playing and talking some more, he went away, and now I was alone in the library. After reading some more, I exited the library. Everyone greeted me with respect, and I nodded in return.
It was already night, around 9, and today was the full moon. I stood in one of the training grounds.
"You two, come out," I said, and instantly Ren and Ritsu were standing behind me.
"Tell me the information," I ordered Ritsu. A month ago, I had instructed him to observe a certain orphanage, the routine of ANBU ninjas, and root ninjas.
"Sometimes there are two ANBU ninjas, or sometimes only one. To be honest, they are disappointing. Some of them didn't even show up for one or two days. They are all around the chunin level. As for your suspicion, there are white-masked ninjas different from ANBU. They rarely show up in a group of two, to be exact, once a week, only to grab some children and disappear," Ritsu completed his information.
'So Danzo is still collecting kids from the orphanage,' I thought.
"So it's very easy to sneak inside the orphanage?"
"Yes, Lady Hinata," he respectfully said.
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"Are we going to donate some money to the orphanage?" Ren asked.
I and Ritsu looked at him, and feeling our gaze, he just laughed. "I was just joking," he said.
"That was not funny," Ritsu said.
"So, we are sneaking out today," Ritsu asked.
"Yes," I replied.
"What if the clan head finds out?" Ren asked.
"You know Ren, you are a mood killer," I said.
"We will be back in half an hour."
"Let's go," Ritsu said.
---
From a high vantage point, I looked at the orphanage. With my Byakugan, I could see that there was no ANBU or ROOT nearby. I didn't want to draw their attention to the Hyuga clan, at least not so soon.
"So, that's the boy," Ren asked while squinting his eyes.
"That's the jinchuriki of the Nine Tails," Ritsu said. It was not a secret among the clans; they already knew about the jinchuriki.
"Why are you looking at him?" Ren asked.
"Tell me, Ren, what would you do if someone hurt the person you loved the most?" I asked him.
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He thought for a while, "I would hurt him back," he said.
"That's the right answer, Ren," I said with a chuckle.
"What does it have to do with the current situation?" he asked.
"You'll find out very soon..." I chuckled.
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Finally, I looked at my Pikachu, the child of prophecy - blonde hair, blue eyes, three whiskers, messy and torn clothes, sitting alone on a stone while other children happily ate together and laughed.
I observed his chakra, which paled in comparison to mine; after all, my body was at the pinnacle of how much it could hold.
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"But the thing inside him is another story," I thought.
"How lonely and depressed," I commented while looking at him.
"May I ask, Lady Hinata, why we are here?" Ren asked.
"You are curious as always," I said.
"How much would our clan's power rise if we had the jinchuriki in our hands?" I asked.
Both of their mouths opened wide, but they quickly recovered.
"But the Hokage and other clans would never allow something like that. It could threaten their positions," Ren said.
"Hehe... What if he walked towards us of his own will?" I asked with a chuckle.
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"But how?" Ren asked.
"Tell me, what does he need the most," I said, looking at my Naruto.
Ren thought for a moment, but Ritsu, who had observed the situation for a month, replied, "He needs food, friends, a proper place to sleep, someone to talk to; basically, he needs everything."
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"And tell me, what would happen if he had a friend who doesn't hate him, shows concern, plays with him, and gives him food to eat?"
"He would become attached to that person," Ritsu replied.
"Lady Hinata, you are so smart for your age," Ren bowed slightly.
"I thought you stopped being surprised by me," I asked.
"Haha... you never fail to amaze me: your intelligence, your talent, your cunning skills. I've never seen someone like you," he said.
"You're flattering me too much," I laughed.
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"Are you going to meet him?" Ritsu asked.
"Give me the food," I said to him and pulled out a tiffin from his pocket. I had told him to pack the food before coming.
As if feeling our gaze, Naruto looked at us, but he couldn't see us; we were in the shadows.
Ren was surprised when he looked in our direction, "How can he find us? Is he a sensor?" he asked.
"No, they are his survival instincts or some ability he got from the beast," I said, not too surprised.
'To him, I will be the Hinata Hyuga that came from heaven.'
---
When Naruto didn't find anything, he tilted his head, and the next sight mesmerized him: a figure of a beautiful girl who seemed to descend from the moon itself. Her dark purple neck-length hair swayed in the air, and he could see a streak of lightning in her white eyes.
She gracefully landed on the ground like a butterfly and smiled sweetly at him; he had never seen anything like this.
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'I think this is enough for visuals...' I chuckled and looked at the mesmerized boy in front of me.
'First impressions are important, after all.'
"Beautiful," he murmured.
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But when he came out of the trance, he jumped back. "Who are you?" he asked warily.
"I was passing by and saw you sitting alone in this place. Why are you not with them?" I averted his question and asked a salty one leading one of my own. I needed to make him open up to me, which was very easy.
His eyes filled with sadness, but he quickly hid it and smiled. "I had eaten my food, so I came out in the open for fresh air," he lied with a smile.
'Fresh air? What are you, an old man? If you want to lie, lie convincingly.'
'I was sure he hadn't eaten anything.'
"Oh... do you want to play... call some of your friends so we could play..." I said. But how could he call his friends? He had no friends.
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His smile crumbled for a moment, but then he smiled brightly again. "After eating, they all had gone to sleep, but if you want to play, I could play," he said, not expecting a yes in response.
'How pure and innocent,'
His treatment had been very bad; some older kids beat him up on a regular basis, and he often went without food for days. Everyone called him a demon fox, a monster.
But he was still so pure and kind-hearted.
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Then his stomach grumbled with hunger. His cheeks turned red with embarrassment as he had been exposed. He looked at the ground, not meeting my eyes.
'How cute,
"So you're hungry," I asked and pulled out the tiffin box, releasing a delicious scent of food that entered his nose. He looked at the tiffin box and gulped down a mouthful of saliva.
"Want to eat?" I asked. But he hesitated. No one had ever asked him, and certainly not with such kindness.
Seeing his hesitation, I pushed the food into his hands. "Don't be shy," I said with a smile.
His hands slightly trembled, and he turned away to start eating the food. He didn't want to show me his tears, but with my Byakugan, I could see his watery eyes and a slight smile on his face.
'There won't be any Ichiraku ramen, Naruto-kun.'
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He wiped away his tears with his sleeves and turned towards me with the brightest smile.
"Do you like it?" I asked.
"That was amazing! Believe it," he said in happiness.
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"Now, why don't you tell me your name?" I asked.
He scratched his head with a laugh and said, "Ahhh... sorry, I forgot about that... My name is Naruto Uzumaki. What's yours?"
"Hinata Hyuga," I said.
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His smile was a mask, and I knew if he continued like this, the mask would become his reality. I had to break it. So, I looked directly into his eyes. He just smiled at me and asked, "Why are you looking at me like this, Hinata-chan?"
I didn't say anything; I just looked at him, and his smile started to waver. "Your smile, it's fake," I said.
"What are you talking about?" he said, still maintaining the smile.
"Why is your smile so fake?" I asked him again. This time, everything crumbled. When he realized he had been caught, his eyes dimmed down, and only a sad smile remained.
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"Why are you not afraid of me? Why did you give me food? Nobody does that."
"Afraid? What are you talking about?" I asked him, even though I knew.
"Nobody plays with me; everybody calls me a monster, demon fox. Everybody avoids me," he said.
'He was really easy to break,
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"I don't think so; you are not a monster," I said.
"Do you really believe that? But everybody said that I am a demon fox," he asked, and I could see a slight hope in his eyes.
I raised my hand and touched his whiskers. "Hehe... you're cute," I smiled at him, and he became embarrassed.
'What the fuck I am doing?'
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"Do you want to become my friend?" I said, extending my hand.
He hesitated for a moment before grabbing my hand tightly, as if he didn't want to let me go.
'So desperate,'
"Hey, why are you crying?" I said.
"I'm not crying; I'm just happy," he said, smiling between tears.
'I hadn't thought he was this broken.'
"So we are friends," I asked.
"Yes, friends," he said.
"Let's play."
And so we started to play, making sand houses and other things. After playing with him for 15 minutes, I suddenly heard a voice.
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"Look at what we have here. The demon fox has a friend," one of the boys, six years older, said with a grin.
"Hey, what did you say? He's not a demon fox," I yelled at him.
"Little girl, get out of here before I teach you a lesson," the other boy said.
"You will not touch my friend," Naruto yelled and stood in front of me.
"Ahh..."
The boy punched Naruto in the gut, and he coughed up some saliva before hitting the ground.
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"Look, they were making sand castles; let's destroy it," the other boy said.
I quickly appeared in front of the sandcastle. "You will not destroy it," I said.
"Haha, let's see," he said, and I saw his punch as it hit me in the shoulder.
"Ahh..." I grunted in pain.
"Now, get out," he said while grabbing my collar.
"No, I won't," I said. Naruto looked at the punch that hit me, and he was angry, but he was powerless. "Don't you touch her," he said while trying to stand up.
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"Get out of the way, girl," the boy said.
"I won't, and stop hitting him," I yelled.
"Ahh..." I felt a punch to my stomach, and I was beside Naruto.
"Haha..." the boys laughed while destroying our sandcastle.
"Please, no..." Naruto yelled. This was precious to him.
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One of the boys was about to kick Naruto again, but I appeared in front of him, shielding him from the kick.
"Ahhh... it hurts," I said in a low voice. Naruto's eyes welled up with tears; this was the first time someone stood up for him.
"You bastards, don't hurt her," he yelled, trying to stand up, but he couldn't.
The other boy punched him in the face, and he was on the ground again.
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"Ahhh..." A punch hit my face, and blood trickled down from my lips.
"I won't let you hurt him," I said while crying.
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"Tch... this is no longer fun... let's go..." the boy said while hitting me in the stomach a couple more times, and then they just left.
I turned away and looked at Naruto. He could see blood coming out from my mouth.
"Are you okay, Naruto-kun?" I asked while touching his cheeks, and he just started crying more and more.
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"Why? Why did you protect me?" he asked between sobs.
"We are friends, aren't we?" I said with a smile, though I was also crying.
He nodded to me. "But you're hurt because of me," he said in a low voice.
"Don't worry about me. If you don't want to get me hurt, you have to become powerful," I said with a smile.
He nodded to me. "Yes, I will become powerful so that nobody could hurt you," he said, also smiling.
"Promise me," I said.
"Yes, I promise... Believe it," he said.
"Okay, I believe you," I said.
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"It's time for me to go, or my mother will scold me," I suddenly said, and his smile dropped. I could feel the sadness in his eyes.
I touched his whisker, and he giggled. 'I think they are sensitive.'
"I will visit you again. Will you wait for me?" I asked, caressing his cheeks.
"Yes, I will wait for you," he said, leaning closer to me.
"Then I will be going. Be safe, Naruto-kun," I whispered. He nodded with a smile.
"Bye-bye, Naruto-kun," I said and disappeared from there.
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Naruto looked at my fading figure. Unconsciously, his hands touched his cheeks where I had previously touched him, and a smile formed on his face. "I have a friend; her hands were so soft, and she was beautiful. I wonder when she will come back," he said in a low voice, but I heard him.
---
"Man... this tomato sauce is really good. I will ask Mother to add it for breakfast," I said as I licked the blood trail from my lips while sitting on Ren's shoulder. I could see his surprised face.
"You are amazing, Lady Hinata," he said.
"You pulled that stunt flawlessly. Even I am surprised," Ritsu said.
"You two weren't that bad," I laughed.
"So when will you be going to visit him again?" Ren asked.
"Let's see, maybe next week," I said.
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"So when will he stand up from that place?" I asked.
"In ten minutes. I only blocked some of his tenketsu, so he will be fine," Ritsu replied. Well, they didn't hurt him or me, at least physically.
"Good, very good," I murmured.
"What happened, Lady Hinata?" Ren asked.
"Are you seeing some Kumo ninja in the village?" I asked.
"I think the Kage meeting is about to happen in two or three days," Ritsu said.
"Good, very good."
.
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End of the chapter, how do you like it? tell me your thoughts in the comments...
and add the book to your library...