I am Hinata Hyuga.
For some reason I don’t yet know, a simp who isn’t supposed to debut until I’m nineteen—and whose explosive strength is practically Six Paths level—has appeared right in front of me thirteen years early.
But I’m not panicking at all, because right now, he’s just a little kid with no eyes.
I could totally flatten him with a single punch.
“Hinata, come meet him.
This is Toneri.”
“Toneri Hyuga.”
Two hours had passed since Hiashi Hyuga’s meeting with Guanming Otsutsuki.
Just as Hinata was about to go to sleep, Hiashi knocked on her door.
Standing outside were Hiashi and that Guanming Otsutsuki from earlier, leading the six-year-old Toneri and introducing him to her.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Hinata.”
Toneri politely extended his hand toward Hinata.
“Oh, hi.”
Hinata scratched her head, reached out to shake his hand, and let her gaze linger on his eyes for a moment.
Toneri, who had been eyeless when they first met, now had a pair of eyes in his sockets.
A pair of cool, clear Byakugan.
And they looked incredibly pure, possessing an exceptionally high level of purity.
Hinata shifted her gaze to Guanming Otsutsuki standing beside him.
His eyes were now wrapped in a layer of white cloth.
Clearly, this father had given his own eyes to his son.
“Toneri will be staying with our family temporarily from now on.
Hinata, make sure you get along well with him.”
Hiashi’s tone betrayed absolutely no emotion as he broke the news directly to Hinata.
Evidently, he and Guanming Otsutsuki had struck some kind of deal, and the price was letting Toneri reside with the Hyuga clan.
“Oh, got it.”
Hinata let out a yawn, spared Toneri a brief glance, and slammed the door shut without a second thought, leaving the three of them standing outside to freeze in the cold wind.
Even though Toneri hadn’t had any eyes when he first saw Hinata, he had still fallen in love with her at first sight.
That was why, even though this Otsutsuki…
rather, Toneri Hyuga, was currently just a six-year-old brat, Hinata gave him no face whatsoever.
“My daughter is willful.
“It’s fine.
It’s only natural for children to be mischievous,” Guanming Otsutsuki replied, showing no annoyance at Hinata’s attitude either.
“I only hope the Hyuga Patriarch can strictly discipline my son.”
“Naturally.
Our Hyuga clan has always been true to our word and faithful to our promises.
We never go back on what we have agreed to,” Hiashi stated in a deep voice.
Just moments ago, he and Guanming Otsutsuki had finalized their deal.
Toneri Otsutsuki would lodge with the Hyuga family until he reached adulthood at twenty.
At that point, whether he stayed or left would be entirely up to Toneri himself; the Hyuga clan could not interfere with his choice.
Furthermore, Hiashi had to take responsibility for Toneri just as he would for Hinata.
In exchange, Guanming Otsutsuki had to hand over the secret puppet techniques unique to the Otsutsuki clan on the Moon.
Looking at the outcome, both sides were clearly very satisfied with the transaction.
To Hiashi, it was merely adding one more mouth to feed in exchange for a powerful secret puppet technique.
For the clan to gain an entirely new discipline was obviously an incredibly lucrative deal.
As for Guanming Otsutsuki, knowing his son would have the protection of distant relatives after his own passing—and only needing to part with a basic puppet technique—left him equally content.
If Hinata ever found out about their deal, she would probably be angry enough to mount Hiashi’s shoulders and beat him over the head.
What a garbage puppet technique!
Putting aside the Giant Tenseigan on the Moon, just the space-time teleportation portal between Earth and the Moon is infinitely more valuable than this trash!
But the deal was done, and there was no room for modification.
Besides, given Hiashi’s personality, he wouldn’t go back on his word even if he learned the truth.
Moreover, the Hyuga clan had stood tall in the shinobi world for a millennium and valued rules above all else.
Credibility was the most crucial part of those rules, and exceptions were absolutely never made.
They weren’t like Kumogakure—untrustworthy hypocrites who used the guise of a peace delegation just to steal the Byakugan.
Though, under Hinata’s maneuvering, that incident never even had the chance to happen.
Now, Toneri Otsutsuki had transformed into Toneri Hyuga and was lodging with the Hyuga family.
It was an unexpected turn of events, yet somewhat anticipated.
Hinata had her suspicions, but she was prepared.
It didn’t matter, though.
Just as Hiashi had calculated earlier, it was merely one more mouth to feed.
“Please rest assured.
I, Hiashi Hyuga, guarantee on my life that I will treat Toneri as my own son.
I will not hold back anything I can give,” Hiashi said in a deep, solemn voice as he looked at Guanming Otsutsuki.
“You flatter me, Hiashi.
Since that is the case…”
Seeing Hiashi speak with such gravity, Guanming Otsutsuki’s expression shifted slightly.
Even his form of address changed from “Hyuga Patriarch” to the more intimate “Hiashi.” He reached out and stroked his son’s head.
“Uncle,” Toneri spoke respectfully to Hiashi at his father’s prompting.
“Good boy.” Hiashi accepted Toneri’s bow, signaling that the pact was officially sealed.
“In that case, Hiashi, I shall take my leave,” Guanming Otsutsuki said with a slight nod.
“Won’t you stay for a few days?” Hiashi offered.
“No, my late wife is still waiting for me.
If I stay away for too long, she might get lonely.” Guanming Otsutsuki smiled, declining Hiashi’s kindness.
Hiashi didn’t insist.
Guanming Otsutsuki spoke a few words to Toneri, telling him to treat Hiashi like a father in the future, and then took his leave.
The Next Morning
“Good morning, Hinata.”
As soon as she finished washing up and entered the dining room, Hinata saw Toneri sitting next to Hiashi.
Toneri had already changed out of his conspicuous, retro white robes, replacing them with the standard black-and-white attire of the Hyuga clan.
“Oh, morning,” Hinata replied with a slight nod.
“Hinata, Toneri will be your older brother from now on,” Hiashi said, projecting his usual imposing authority, though it held absolutely no intimidation factor for Hinata.
“The two of you must treat each other as siblings.”
“Okay Toneri-niisan~”
Seeing Hiashi put it that way, Hinata’s eyes curved into crescent moons.
A bright smile spread across her face, and her tone softened considerably as she spoke.
Seeing Hinata like this, Toneri was utterly at a loss for words, freezing awkwardly in place.
Pfft, damn lolicon!
Hinata grumbled internally.
She had to head to the Hokage Residence later to see Hiruzen Sarutobi about the Flying Raijin Jutsu and the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, so she had no time to waste here.
She devoured her breakfast like a whirlwind sweeping through clouds and left under Toneri’s watchful gaze.
Seeing Hinata leave without a single shred of hesitation the second she finished eating, Toneri couldn’t help but look at Hiashi in confusion.
“Don’t mind her, that’s just how Hinata is,” Hiashi remarked, having long since grown accustomed to his daughter’s independent streak.
“You’ll get used to it.”