The antique wooden corridor creaked dully beneath Hinata's footsteps. Under the night sky, the Hyuga estate lived up to its name—steeped in an austere, weighty atmosphere. That was its unique pride and its legacy.
A great clan. An existence built on rigid doctrine and sacrifice. And yet, such a heritage was ultimately just a microcosm of human culture: when the foundation crumbled, the whole edifice would prove to be nothing more than a slightly larger bubble in the river of time.
But so long as the clan endured, its members were obligated to sacrifice for it. In that sense, Hinata was fairly satisfied with her current status of being ignored. If the original Hinata hadn't been abandoned by the Hyuga for her lack of talent, she would have been drowning in grueling training every single day—a situation that would have been even harder for the current Hinata to bear.
A small figure stood outside Hinata's bedroom door, bringing her to an involuntary halt. Her brow furrowed at a subtle prick of revulsion.
"Sister?"
The figure seemed uneasy, and the way she addressed Hinata left no doubt about her identity. This was the second daughter of the Hyuga main house—the Gentle Fist prodigy now receiving the full attention and training of Hiashi and the other elders, ever since Hinata had been cast aside: Hyuga Hanabi.
In other words—a little sister. Her biological little sister.
The thought made Hinata tilt her head. It was hard to articulate, but this sister with whom she felt no real connection felt, quite frankly, like nothing but a nuisance.
"You should go back to bed. Tomorrow's training will be tough."
Without any intention of saying more, Hinata walked straight past Hanabi and slid open her bedroom door. She still wasn't fully accustomed to the relatively spartan Japanese-style room, but it would have to do. Once she grew strong enough, she'd leave this clan that meant nothing to her.
"Sister, you've been coming home so late these past few days... so I..."
Hanabi's voice carried the characteristic softness of a six-year-old girl, but the implication behind her words made Hinata's brow crease. A flash of anger sparked and vanished in an instant.
"I have things of my own to take care of. It'll probably stay like this for a while."
Tossing her bag into the room, Hinata turned around and walked up to Hanabi, looking down at the little girl who was, in theory, her biological sister.
By age, Hanabi hadn't yet turned seven. Though she bore a strong facial resemblance to Hinata, her personality was nothing alike—headstrong and competitive in a way the original Hinata had never been, and genuinely talented in the Gentle Fist.
But none of that mattered to the current Hinata. The only thing she found incomprehensible was the fact that this person was her "sister."
What kind of joke was this? She'd never had a sister in her previous life, yet here in this world after transmigrating, she suddenly had one?
"...Little sister?"
As though examining something she couldn't quite grasp, Hinata's pupils contracted. Fierce veins bulged at her temples as her Byakugan activated unbidden, responding to her emotions—as if her body wanted to look this so-called "sister" over from the inside out.
Hanabi felt a stab of fear. The person before her was unmistakably her sister Hinata, but those eyes and that expression were nothing like what she remembered. Gone was the soft, warm shyness. Gone was the gentle, meek affection. In their place was only an alien coldness and distance.
Only now did she realize that the face she'd always known as gentle could wear such an indifferent expression, and that those white eyes—identical to her own—could hold nothing but frigid scrutiny and detachment.
"Sorry~"
Hinata suddenly broke into a smile and reached out to pat Hanabi's head. Her tone shifted to something warm and apologetic: "Big sister has been working hard to get stronger lately, so the tough training is a must~ But don't worry. To make it up to you for worrying about me~ I'll secretly bring you back a cotton candy tomorrow, so don't be mad at me, okay?"
"Huh? Really?"
Hanabi was still only a child shy of seven. Even if she sensed something off about Hinata's demeanor, she had no way to see through the disguise of a transmigrator. And the moment she heard the promise of cotton candy, the fear from moments ago was instantly buried under eager delight.
"Of course~ Big sister would never lie to little Hanabi. So tell me~ Do you want banana flavor or strawberry?"
Curving her eyes into crescent moons, Hinata wore a gentle smile. The promise sent Hanabi struggling to contain her excitement as she piped up: "Then~ I want banana flavor~ You absolutely can't lie to me, okay~!"
"Of course, of course~ Now go on to bed. If Father catches you still up past bedtime, you'll get scolded~"
Hinata smiled and patted Hanabi's head once more. The little girl flashed a shy smile before obediently trotting off. Once Hinata confirmed she'd disappeared around the corridor's corner, she stood, slid her door shut, and began organizing her preparations with a cold expression. The sweet smile from moments ago vanished like a reflection on water.
"...Disgusting."
She muttered the word under her breath. Hinata knew perfectly well how prudent that little performance had been.
Even though she'd transmigrated into Hinata's body, that was precisely why she needed to watch her every word and action inside this clan. The Hyuga had given up on her in terms of daily attention and expectations, but any behavior that deviated too sharply from the old Hinata would still invite endless trouble.
Especially where her "sister" Hanabi was concerned.
Hanabi was being groomed as the heir. If the dead-last older sister's behavior sent Hanabi into low spirits or caused her training to slip, the Hyuga elders would absolutely intervene. Punishment, surveillance—none of it was something Hinata wanted.
So maintaining a good rapport with that annoying little brat was a necessary part of the disguise.
At least until she had the strength to leave this clan—and leave this village—she had to preserve her identity as "Hyuga Hinata."
"Well~ Consider it a side quest: babysitting brats. That's pretty much my daily routine now anyway~"
Opening a blank scroll, Hinata picked up a brush from the side. Naruto and Sasuke—the two male protagonists of this anime. They were supposedly brimming with willpower and talent. If so, she'd prepare a so-called "Holy Fist Secret Technique" for them. Since she'd already run her mouth, she had no choice but to bullshit three martial arts manuals on the spot.
After all, the real challenge of martial arts wasn't the moves or the talent—it was perseverance and effort. Any martial art, even something as absurd as "Strip Rock-Paper-Scissors," would produce results with enough dedicated practice. If those two idiots failed to get stronger, she could just pin it on their lack of effort.
Gazing at what she'd written on the scroll, a vicious grin crept across Hinata's lips. Of course~ If they didn't even dare attempt the basic exercises, then the blame definitely couldn't land on her, right~?
As night gradually receded and the sun rose once more from the eastern sky, another day dawned. Shouldering her school bag, Hinata shuffled out of the Hyuga compound with heavy dark circles under her eyes, swaying with every step, bound for another round of Ninja Academy classes.
The Ninja Academy was essentially a beefed-up combination of elementary and middle school. On top of standard academics, students learned shuriken throwing, basic combat, and the three fundamental techniques that formed the bare minimum for any ninja.
Days off fell only on Saturdays and Sundays, meaning Hinata still had to attend on time. But class hours weren't long, and with the Japanese-school tradition of bringing your own lunch, she had plenty of spare time to work with.
Sasuke and Naruto were visibly restless. Sasuke managed better—at least maintaining his usual composed front during the day—but he kept sneaking glances at Hinata, clearly eager for the Thunder Burial Fist manual.
Naruto was far more obvious. He fidgeted nonstop in class, his gaze drifting toward Hinata every few minutes. Fortunately, the two had no obvious connection, so there was little risk of anyone noticing.
And so the daily schedule—three hours in the morning, two and a half in the afternoon—finally came to an end. By the time Hinata finished packing her bag and strolled leisurely to yesterday's designated meeting spot, Naruto and Sasuke were already there, practically vibrating with impatience.
"So slow~! Hinata~~"
Naruto, who'd been stewing the whole time, launched into his usual loud complaints. Sasuke, for his part, let out a quiet "hmph" to express his opinion.
"What's the rush? I was up all night copying scrolls. Still a bit drowsy, honestly."
Yawning, Hinata unhurriedly produced two scrolls from her backpack and tossed one to each of them. "Catch~ Since I can't copy too much at once, these are the beginning exercises for the Holy Fist."
"Yeah yeah~! Here it comes! I'll definitely master this in no time!"
Naruto snatched the scroll with fumbling hands. But the moment he read the text inside, that idiotic grin froze solid on his face. He read it once, twice, three times. Then came a hard, painful swallow.
Sasuke was no different. After confirming the scroll's contents, the handsome boy's face went faintly green—a clear reaction to the brutal training regimen laid out before him.
"I understand you're scared. After all, this is a martial art so extreme that even the Hyuga clan's geniuses wouldn't touch it. That's why it was sealed away as a forbidden technique."
Hinata said this with perfect understanding. Internally, she was laughing herself sick. Of course they were scared. These two idiots were just eleven-year-old brats. If she couldn't outmaneuver them after living two lifetimes, she might as well have never been born.
"...Wind Martyrdom Fist Training Method: Stage One requires successfully leaping across a twenty-meter cliff... This is..."
Cold sweat beaded on Naruto's forehead. As Ninja Academy students, they could already channel chakra to perform basic techniques, and their chakra-enhanced bodies far exceeded those of ordinary civilians.
But clearing a twenty-meter gap in a single leap was flatly impossible for students at their level. Worse still, the instructions specified it had to be done over an actual cliff—meaning failure equaled death by falling.
"Thunder Burial Fist Training Method: Endure five hundred volts of electric shock with your body..."
Sasuke murmured the words aloud. For the human body, 220 volts was already lethal—and that was for adults. Five hundred volts was essentially enough to kill a grown man outright.
Surviving five hundred volts of electrical shock through sheer physical endurance was, by any other name, suicide.
"I know how you feel, because I'm in the same boat. The Nanto Holy Fist is a secret art that channels elemental power directly through the body, so the first requirement for any practitioner is learning to use the matching elemental chakra within themselves. For example, using wind-natured chakra to boost your speed and airtime, or using lightning-natured chakra to neutralize external electrical currents. Only after clearing that hurdle can you officially begin the next stage of training."
As the deceiver, Hinata naturally hadn't forgotten her own Flame Slaughter Fist manual. She opened it candidly and spoke in a level tone: "My Flame Slaughter Fist training method requires walking across burning coals on my hands without getting burned. No matter how you look at it, it's not a technique you can master easily. So if you want to quit, I won't mock you."
Sasuke and Naruto both fell silent. Their faces bore rare expressions of struggle and fear—just as Hinata had warned them, the so-called Nanto Holy Fist truly was a training method that could cost them their lives.
After roughly half a minute of silence with no reply, Hinata allowed herself a small smile. She rolled up her own bullshitted Flame Slaughter Fist scroll and spoke with satisfaction: "Alright~ Let's reconvene here in three days. Even if we can't power up quickly, earning extra money is still worthwhile. See you then."
At the end of the day, they were just two idiot kids. Being paralyzed by a training method tantamount to suicide was only natural. Besides, they'd get stronger eventually on their own—she didn't need to worry about that. Better to focus on making money and improving her Explosive Point technique.
Still, as expected...
Whether it was that so-called sister Hanabi, or Naruto with his never-ending "I'll be Hokage" refrain, or Sasuke with his constant talk of revenge—
"They're all the exact type of brats I hate the most!"