All things considered, the current situation was truly dramatic.
Overlooking Konoha village from above, Hinata flapped her ice wings, maintaining a floating posture. For her, there should undoubtedly be two allies now: one was Danzō, the root of Konoha, and the other was the entire Akatsuki organization.
Moreover, both sides needed to be curbed.
Although Danzō was a Konoha ninja, the old man had lost his original intention in years of darkness. His selfish desire to become Hokage, and his extreme belief that only his methods could strengthen Konoha, had led the Second Hokage's former disciple astray. If such a sharp and severe person truly became Hokage, Hinata would have no room to maneuver.
As a cold and selfish fellow, Danzō would certainly need Hinata's help for his interests before becoming Hokage. But if he did become Hokage, Hinata's utility would drastically decrease. At that point, as the descendant of a prominent family and a traitor connected to Akatsuki, Danzō would definitely deal with this former ally first. Yes, it's as simple as abandoning someone after crossing the river.
While this idiom sounds comical, if there's only one path forward, and what's behind you is a competitor rather than a companion, then abandoning someone after crossing the river isn't a foolish move at all, but a wise one that ensures one's victory.
Coincidentally, Danzō's thick skin would undoubtedly allow him to do this with zero pressure.
Therefore, Hinata not only couldn't help Danzō become Hokage, but on the contrary, she needed to find ways to curb this old man who always went to extremes, to prevent him from turning hostile the moment he achieved his goal.
And Akatsuki was even more self-evident. Although Pain and the Akatsuki members were generally friendly towards their internal companions, at least not to the extent of abandoning allies like Danzō, this didn't mean supporting them would lead to a good outcome.
The current Akatsuki was undoubtedly under the control of Uchiha Madara, single-mindedly hoping to achieve the Infinite Tsukuyomi. And the ending of the original story had clearly shown that the Infinite Tsukuyomi was just a conspiracy.
Those struck by the Infinite Tsukuyomi, although they could achieve everything in their dreams, would have their bodies hung on the Divine Tree's branches and turned into dried White Zetsu.
This was not the kind of death Hinata wanted.
So, the conclusion was...
"Both sides are fools who cannot be indulged. That is to say, the protagonists of the original story indeed still have their uses."
Confirming this, Hinata lazily performed Makyō Hyō Shō (Demonic Mirror Technique), instantly teleporting herself to the basement of her room in the Hyuga main residence.
She pleasantly stretched her limbs, then instinctively activated her Byakugan to observe her surroundings. Good, her original body was still lying undisturbed in the center of the room. It truly looked like it hadn't moved.
This was correct, after all, she was a soul transmigration, inheriting the original soul's memories of this body. However, no one could truly explain what a soul was, and 'transmigration' was something she was experiencing for the first time, so she had no experience with it.
However, if there were indeed some residual consciousness within the body, it should have dissipated by now, right?
It was like the usage marks on an item; old marks would eventually be covered and replaced by new marks, eventually disappearing completely.
Hinata's idea was not without basis, because according to her experience, there had only been two strange incidents so far. The first was when she groggily got up in the middle of the night and went to the training ground to peek at Naruto.
The second was when she returned from an outing and found her body immersed in a pond.
From the first incident, there should have been a remnant of residual consciousness in this body, such as the desire to see the beloved Naruto. In the second incident, the residual consciousness of the body seemed to have lost even a clear purpose, leading it to fall aimlessly into the pond.
Later, when she installed a camera, she didn't find any signs of her body moving, and this time, her original body remained still after she went out. This should confirm that the soul imprint left by the original Hinata in this body has indeed completely vanished; the first two instances were merely her last struggles.
Moreover, in her consultation with Ino, the answer given was also quite clear: this was merely Hinata's own hysteria due to excessive fatigue.
Satisfied with this confirmation, Hinata dispelled the Soul Transference Jutsu. Her perspective changed again, returning to Hyuga Hinata's body.
"Whew~~~ This feeling, my original body's training is still far from enough. Perhaps, I should strengthen the original body."
Sitting up and stretching her shoulders, Hinata was about to get up when she heard footsteps from the corridor. The Byakugan girl frowned slightly, then activated her Byakugan. The person she saw made her instinctively raise an eyebrow.
"Sister, it's Hanabi. This Uzumaki Naruto-nii said he brought you takoyaki. Can he bring it in now?"
Hanabi's sweet voice was very natural, which made Hinata frown slightly. Although she didn't know why Hanabi and Naruto met, she did remember asking Naruto to bring her takoyaki, so this was perfect; she was indeed a bit hungry.
"Come in, I'm a bit hungry."
Sitting up from the futon, Hinata didn't plan to leave her futon.
Anyway, all her tasks for the day were done, so it was fine to completely relax for a day.
"Uh~!"
A surprised gasp sounded outside the door, then turned into a series of coughs. As the sliding door opened, Hanabi and Naruto appeared before Hinata.
Naruto, clutching his mouth, seemed to have choked on his own saliva, awkwardly scratching his neck and patting his chest.
"Hanabi, what are you doing here?"
Hinata spoke directly, clearly not intending to continue conversing with her younger sister. She had completely grasped the Hyuga clan's utility, and Hanabi personally was a complete background character in the original story, so her utility was virtually zero. Such a person would at most only add an extra emotional burden to herself.
"I just happened to meet Naruto-nii, so I brought him in. Sister, he accidentally scalded his stomach skin trying to bring the takoyaki safely. Sister, can you apply medicine for him?"
The Byakugan loli's demeanor was very calm, and her tone carried a very rigid sense of seriousness, which made Hinata tilt her head slightly. But this didn't affect her judgment; rather, she was happy to accept this sense of mutual non-indebtedness in their conversation.
Naruto, meanwhile, stood there sweating, looking like he didn't know where to put his hands. Raising an eyebrow, Hinata's tone was direct: "Lift your shirt, let me see."
"Uh~ There's no need... for that, is there?"
Naruto, holding the takoyaki box, seemed to want to refuse, but Hinata slightly raised her hand and then blew on her right fingernails. Seeing the Byakugan girl's gesture, the golden-haired boy's face paled, and he quickly and decisively put down the takoyaki box, then grabbed the hem of his shirt with both hands and lifted it up. The action was smooth and instinctive.
"Hmm? Didn't you already apply medicine?"
At a glance, Hinata couldn't help but frown. There was indeed a large area of blistered burns on the golden-haired boy's stomach, but from its appearance, ointment had already been applied.
"...I dealt with it for him first, so... Sister, don't you think you should deal with it again?"
Hanabi's expression was quite serious, even aggressive, but this only made Hinata smile noncommittally. Reaching out, she opened the takoyaki box Naruto had pushed towards her. The Byakugan girl took out a skewer and bit into it with a crunch, her chewing posture inexplicably bringing to mind a predatory beast.
"With such shoddy handling skills, are you really the second young lady of the Hyuga clan?"
Swallowing the takoyaki in her mouth, Hinata lazily spoke. This instantly changed Hanabi's expression, and the Byakugan loli's tone showed a strange fluctuation: "Sister... what do you mean by that?"
"My meaning? It's simple! Hanabi, if you truly want to help him with his injury, then your method shouldn't be so childish!"
Her tone suddenly turned chilling. Hinata clearly wouldn't misinterpret the meaning in Hanabi's tone. It was as if she wanted to subtly mock Hinata as a cold and ruthless person by how Hinata treated Naruto's injury.
Hinata was long immune to such low-level mockery. After all, as someone at the top, along with praise, one should naturally accept slander and insults.
However, Hanabi's (actively) attacking her piqued her interest slightly.
"If you truly want to help him with his injury, then, this is what you should do..."
Staring coldly at Hanabi, Hinata suddenly spoke: "Servant!!"
There was no one serving in Hinata's courtyard for a simple reason. Previously, it was because Hinata had been abandoned by the Hyuga clan, so naturally, she wouldn't have better resources.
Now, it was simply because Hinata disliked people invading her private space.
Accompanied by a series of faint footsteps, a neatly dressed Hyuga branch family maid quickly came from the corridor to Hinata's door. As if she hadn't seen Naruto and Hanabi, she knelt respectfully before Hinata and spoke: "Please give your orders, Young Lady."
"Go call a medical ninja to treat the burns on this idiot's stomach."
Hinata gave her order with an indifferent expression, not at all surprised by how quickly the maid appeared. Undoubtedly, even if the Hyuga clan outwardly didn't associate closely with Hinata, because of the high profits she brought, the treatment she deserved had undoubtedly been quietly restored in secret.
Now, although there were seemingly no servants inside Hinata's room, there were at least three well-trained branch family maids nearby, specifically to listen for the Young Lady's commands at any time.
"Hai~ Young Lady."
The maid who received the order immediately withdrew without question. Watching her leave, Hanabi subconsciously gritted her teeth. Clearly, she also understood what Hinata meant.
"Hanabi, although in my eyes you are just a mold cultivated by father and the elders. However, if you truly want to become the head of the Hyuga clan, then learning to use your power and status, and mastering 'domination' to its fullest, is the knowledge you must cultivate. Do you understand?"
Hinata looked coldly at Hanabi in front of her, clearly intending to teach this ambitious but very naive younger sister a lesson. Looking up at Hinata unwillingly, Hanabi eventually lowered her head, then squeezed out her answer.
"Yes... I understand..."
"...Sister..."
---
Author Notes:
(PS1: Hmm~ o(￣▽￣)o~ Even if she's not your sister, she's still your sister~~ No problem with that statement~)
(PS2: What? You're saying Naruto and Hanabi found out Hinata's secret?? What a joke... One of them has an IQ of 9, and the other has an appearance rate of 0.000009~~ Are they any threat??)