"How long do I have to keep wearing this mask?" Kaguya complained, tapping her fox mask with her hand.
"Blame it on your charm," Yugao said, wrapping her arm around Kaguya's shoulders and playfully pinching her cheek. "I wish I had the same problem."
"Give me a break," Kaguya said, swatting away Yugao's mischievous hand. "You see the dog eating meat, but you don't see the dog getting beaten."
"Are you the dog?"
"Of course not."
"When can I go on a mission?" Kaguya half-reclined in her chair, resting her pale, delicate legs on the table. "I'm going to go crazy staying here."
"Soon, I think," Yugao said, tapping her chin with her finger. "You've been here for a few months now, haven't you?"
"Two months and twenty-nine days," Kaguya said wearily.
"It's like being in prison. Poor thing," Yugao chuckled, tapping Kaguya's fox mask with her finger.
"Stop gloating," Kaguya said, annoyed.
"Alright, I'll tell you some news," Yugao leaned in and whispered mysteriously in Kaguya's ear. "In a week, the Chunin Exams will be held. People from many countries will come to Konoha. You might get to go out then."
"Really?" Kaguya stood up excitedly.
"Of course, it's from higher-ups," Yugao said, pointing upwards.
Suddenly, Kaguya seemed to remember something, and her smile froze. The Chunin Exams marked the beginning of the Konoha Crush plan. She remembered that in this battle, led by Orochimaru, the Kazekage and Hokage were killed, and many others were wounded or killed.
This was a major event.
"What's wrong?" Yugao asked, hands on her hips. "What are you thinking about?"
"Ah," Kaguya snapped out of her thoughts and quickly waved her hand. "Nothing, I was just thinking about something."
"What were you thinking about?" Yugao smirked, "Were you thinking about your boyfriend?"
"Boyfriend?" Kaguya's mouth twitched. "I don't have a boyfriend, don't joke about that."
It should be a girlfriend, really.
"You look so distracted," Yugao said regretfully. "Well, you're right, who could match up to a princess like you?"
"Why do I feel like you're mocking me?" Kaguya shot her a look and started changing clothes.
Kaguya had been here for almost three months and felt like she was going crazy. She couldn't even leave the room, let alone go home. This was all arranged by the Third Hokage, and Kaguya understood, but it seemed like an overreaction. After all, Konoha was quite safe.
During this time, Kaguya had been training and made significant progress. Her chakra levels had improved dramatically, now approaching jonin level.
Unfortunately, she still couldn't use many of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's jutsus, as they required an enormous amount of chakra, almost unbelievable. Only someone with the chakra levels of a tailed beast could use them freely.
Since she couldn't use those jutsus, she had been learning common jutsus from the library. Because of her assignment to guard the jutsu library, she had access to many jutsus. She learned a large number of C-rank and B-rank jutsus and could even use several A-rank jutsus effectively. S-rank jutsus were out of reach due to her chakra limitations, and they weren't available in the general library anyway.
Kaguya walked out of the library and made her way to the Hokage's office.
"Halt, who goes there?" the Anbu guarding the Hokage's office door asked. "Please show your identification."
"I'm Kaguya, here to see the Hokage," Kaguya handed over her identification.
"You're Kaguya?" Clearly, he had heard of her. "Please remove your mask. Of course, I mean no offense; I just need to verify your identity."
"Alright." Kaguya removed her mask, revealing her stunningly beautiful face.
The Anbu guard was momentarily stunned, then quickly recovered and returned her identification.
"The Hokage is inside. Please go in."
"Thank you."
Entering the room, she saw the Third Hokage seated at his desk, which was piled with what looked like intelligence reports.
"Kaguya, is that you?" the Third Hokage asked, puffing on his pipe as usual. "Have a seat."
"Yes." Kaguya bowed slightly and sat down in a chair.
"I've thoroughly investigated your condition," the Third Hokage said, taking a puff of his pipe. "Take a look at these documents." He handed a folder to Kaguya.
Kaguya saw that it contained data about her body and abilities, along with some speculative conclusions.
"Hokage-sama, are you saying the problem lies with my eyes?" Kaguya asked in surprise.
"Based on our current understanding, yes," the Third Hokage nodded. "Your Byakugan is different from others. It has abilities that other Byakugan do not possess, which may be related to your unique constitution."
"What abilities?" Kaguya asked urgently, wondering if it was related to her Tenseigan.
Fortunately, the Third Hokage did not seem to recognize her Tenseigan. This wasn't surprising, given that the Tenseigan was an ancient power that few knew about.
"It appears to be similar to a hypnosis technique, a form of genjutsu that is more subtle and can influence people without their awareness," the Third Hokage explained, tapping his fingers on the desk. "This ability is unique but relatively harmless. It has little effect on those who are aware and can guard against it."
"So, can I take off my mask?" Kaguya asked. Because of this strange ability, she had worn a mask for so long that she felt she might become a masked monster.
"No," the Hokage said firmly.
"Why?" Kaguya asked, puzzled. "If it's just the eyes, the mask shouldn't matter."
"It's not that simple. This genjutsu is constantly active. If you take off the mask," the Third Hokage tapped his pipe, "your appearance will naturally draw people's attention, subjecting them to your eyes' influence."
"Ah," Kaguya felt frustrated. Did this mean she had to wear a mask for the rest of her life?
"Don't worry," the Third Hokage continued, "the reason this happens is because you cannot fully control your eyes yet. Once you learn to master them, this problem should be resolved."
"How long will that take?" Kaguya pressed.
"I can't give you a precise timeline," the Third Hokage said, taking another puff of his pipe, "but I don't think it will take too long."