Hyūga Hiashi's expression softened as he watched his daughter apologize to Hyūga Hizashi. He spoke with concern, "Hinata, you've been missing for an entire day. You probably haven't eaten yet."
"We've kept your meals prepared in the clan kitchen, and they're still being kept warm. Would you like me to have someone deliver them to your room?"
Hinata nodded, then shook her head. "Father, I am hungry—but it's not right to only prepare food for me. You need to prepare the same amount for Lint as well."
"It must be of the same quality."
Hiashi's eye twitched when he heard this and looked at the grinning, carefree Lint standing beside Hinata. A surge of anger welled up in his heart.
But then he remembered the three conditions he had already agreed to with Hinata, and he gritted his teeth. "Fine. I'll have it prepared and sent to your room shortly."
"Great. We'll head back now," Hinata said, then took Lint's hand and turned to leave. Just as they were about to go, she suddenly turned around and added, "Oh right, let Hyūga Fuyu take some time to rest properly. After all, even she couldn't beat me."
"..."
Hiashi was silent, nodding stiffly. He then stood quietly, watching his daughter bounce off happily with Lint, his eyelid twitching uncontrollably.
Still, Hiashi quickly regained composure and addressed those around him, "Until my daughter Hinata comes of age, no one is to reveal any information about her being able to defeat a jōnin."
"I agree," Hizashi immediately echoed, stepping forward.
After all, he didn't want word spreading that he'd been defeated by his own underage niece. If that got out to the rest of Konoha, his dignity would be in ruins.
Nearby, other Hyūga clan elders nodded in agreement. In their eyes, Hinata was the future of the Hyūga clan—a new Heavenly Ninja of this era.
There was even a faint hope that she might one day reach the same heights as legends like Senju Hashirama or Uchiha Madara.
Of course, that was just wishful thinking for the future. For now, Hinata's strength was only at the level of defeating a jōnin. She had yet to reach Kage level.
Which meant she was still vulnerable to being killed by outside forces—hence, all information about her true abilities needed to remain strictly confidential.
Thus, the Hyūga clan's leadership quickly reached a consensus and issued an internal order:
No Hyūga clan member is allowed to leak information about Hinata's true combat strength.
After that, Hiashi, Hizashi, and the elders of the Hyūga main house gathered once more for a meeting. The topic was straightforward: gather more detailed intel on the clan's prodigy—Hinata.
When had she mastered the Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms? What about the Eight Trigrams Rotation?
Even the Water Release: Wild Water Wave?
And more shockingly—the Rasengan, the Fourth Hokage's signature jutsu?
Faced with the elders' skeptical stares—and that of his own brother—Hiashi shared everything he knew, sending shockwaves through the room.
She had no teacher. By age three, Hinata had already learned tree-walking and water-walking—core chakra control techniques.
Most crucially, her Rasengan wasn't learned from the Scroll of Seals. She recreated it herself at the age of four.
As for the One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms, Rotation, and even Wild Water Wave, Hinata had mastered these jutsu completely on her own, without even Hiashi—the clan head—knowing about it.
After a long moment of stunned silence, the elders could only sigh in amazement:
"A genius. A true genius!"
"Hinata has the potential to become the next Heavenly Ninja of the Hyūga!"
"When she matures, she may lead the Hyūga clan to rise again. She might even reach the position of Hokage!"
Following their astonishment, Hizashi spoke again, "During our battle, I kept my Byakugan focused on her chakra flow. Her chakra levels were initially that of a typical chūnin—but at a certain moment, they suddenly surged to jōnin level."
"If not for that, there's no way she could've used so many jutsu."
An elder nodded, "I noticed that sudden spike too."
Hiashi added, "Same here. I used the Byakugan and saw the same phenomenon."
These statements led to a new hypothesis among the gathered elders:
Could Hinata have already developed a new jutsu—one that stores up chakra and unleashes it in times of need?
It was very possible.
After all, this was Hinata—the genius who recreated the Rasengan. If she could develop that, then creating a chakra storage technique wasn't out of the question.
Hiashi frowned slightly as a thought struck him. "But the effects of this technique seem very similar to Lady Tsunade's Yin Seal…"
Everyone paused at the mention. Then, thinking back to the moment Hinata's chakra spiked during the fight, they all found the comparison to the Yin Seal remarkably apt.
Hizashi chimed in again, "Also—at the most critical moment in our battle, Hinata simultaneously unleashed two jutsu!"
"One was the reverse Eight Trigrams Rotation."
"And the other—was the Rasengan!"
"She can divide her focus and cast two high-level jutsu at once. There's no doubt—she's a battle genius!"
Everyone was now more convinced than ever: if Hinata continued on this path, she could indeed become the Heavenly Ninja of a new era—bringing glory back to the Hyūga clan.
With that in mind, they all began urging Hiashi to treat Hinata better moving forward and support her requests as much as possible to help her develop.
Hiashi was taken aback but then remembered one of Hinata's most recent requests:
She wanted to live together with Lint.
Was he supposed to agree to that too?
Like hell he would!
No matter what, Lint was just a regular person. He couldn't even mold chakra. He wasn't worthy of his daughter!
Meanwhile, in Hinata's girly bedroom—filled with the soft scent of incense—Hinata and Lint had already returned and were awaiting their meals.
While they waited, they exchanged thoughts and emotions through silent eye contact and spiritual resonance.
Hinata:
"See? A fist really is the best logic.
After I taught those stubborn old men a lesson, Father agreed to let you stay in the clan—and even raised your status to the same level as mine."
"Of course, I owe it all to you. Without your help during the fight—transmitting your chakra, which reached Kakashi-level jōnin tier, into my body from afar—And then linking your consciousness with mine so we could fight together, letting me perform the Rotation and Rasengan at the same time…"
"I really wouldn't have stood a chance against Uncle Hizashi."
Lint waved a hand. "No big deal."
Then he paused. "Still, we disappeared for a whole day together. The Hyūga clan must've turned the village upside down. I bet the rumors about us eloping are already flying around Konoha."
Hinata:
"Let them talk. Honestly—they're not wrong. We did sneak off to the Chaos Temple and spent a day cuddled up together. That's pretty much an elopement, isn't it?"
"Besides—so long as we stay together, our power will keep increasing. Like left foot stepping on right foot—we'll rise at an unbelievable pace! Once we go through a few rounds of fetal awakening, we'll unlock the Tenseigan! Then we'll enter Tenseigan Chakra Mode!"
"By then, if anyone in Konoha dares gossip again, I'll show them what happens when I stop being polite!"
Lint:
"Fair point."
At that, the two of them burst into laughter.
Just then, a voice came from outside the room:
"Lady Hinata, Lord Lint—your lunch is ready!"