Hinata Hyuga walked along the wooden corridors of the Hyuga compound holding a plate of refreshments, tossing the snacks into her mouth one by one.
She couldn’t care less about some Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
As long as that bastard Naruto Uzumaki stayed far away from her in the future, she would thank her lucky stars.
Let Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura have their love triangle.
Even if she ended up alone in the future, Hinata would rather chase after cute girls than look for a man.
Though doing that might get her labeled as a total weirdo.
But whatever, she had already become Hinata.
How much worse could things get?
In this traditional clan that felt like it was painted in nothing but stark black and white, Hinata harbored zero affection for the rules of the Hyuga clan.
It had been six years since Hinata arrived in this world, and she hadn’t faced any major crises, nor did she have any burning sense of purpose.
After all, if the sky fell, the tall people would hold it up.
As for the future…
Uh?
Hinata’s body suddenly stiffened mid-stride.
In the future, wouldn’t her dear son Boruto be the tallest one around to hold up the sky?
If she wanted absolutely nothing to do with Naruto Uzumaki now, who was going to hold up the sky when it came crashing down later?
Oh, crap!
If she calculated carefully, she would only be in her early thirties by then, not even halfway through her life.
Masaka!
At that moment, Hinata realized the sheer gravity of the situation!
In the future, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha would get hit with epic, historical-grade nerfs, leaving her dear son to pretty much save the world all by himself.
Now that her dear son was erased from the timeline, what was she supposed to do?
Don’t tell me…
she was going to be forced to get plowed just for the sake of the plot?!
Hinata shook her head violently, almost instinctively whipping those damn mental images right out of her brain.
No!
How could she let that happen!
Screw those damn Otsutsuki and God Trees.
If her dear son could fight them, why couldn’t she?
Hinata had no desire to conquer the world, nor did she possess the grand ambition to swallow the sun and the moon.
But right now, the shinobi world on the surface was just as it had been for a millennium—the Five Great Shinobi Nations coexisted alongside a multitude of small countries, riddled with constant friction and endless warfare.
Yet beneath this seemingly chaotic and brutal reality lay a far more merciless truth.
The so-called Five Kage, who currently sat so high and mighty, would be nothing more than a joke twenty years from now.
Faced with the God Trees and the Otsutsuki clan, the strength of the Five Kage would be as agonizingly feeble as an ordinary civilian standing before a ninja.
These were enemies that could not be avoided under any circumstances.
And all of these enemies were originally supposed to be faced by Hinata’s son, Boruto Uzumaki.
Her delicate hand squeezed tightly into a fist.
Hinata didn’t want to marry Naruto Uzumaki, but she didn’t want to wait around for death either.
Therefore, she had only one choice left to make.
The future had already proven that both Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha ended up as losers.
If that was the case, she would just have to face all of this herself.
After all, no matter what, Boruto’s awakening of the Jougan was entirely due to the bloodline from Hinata’s side.
Since her dear son could become the tallest one to hold up the sky, why couldn’t she?
Hinata suddenly felt as though the weight of the entire shinobi world was resting squarely on her shoulders.
She had to get stronger.
Strong enough to leave everyone far behind in the dust, strong enough that no one would dare look her in the eye.
Strong enough to utterly crush the Otsutsuki clan.
Standing in the Hyuga corridor, Hinata swallowed the last pastry from the plate, chewing fiercely as if grinding her teeth.
Farewell, my peaceful, easy life.
“Hinata!”
Having just learned that his daughter had given the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki a sound thrashing, Hiashi Hyuga stormed over with an angry, hurried stride.
“Look at what you’ve done!”
“The identity of the boy you beat up is not simple.
Come with me right now to knock on his door and apologize!”
Hiashi felt completely helpless against his daughter’s lawless behavior.
If she was like this now, what would she be like in the future?
“Okay.”
Hinata turned around to face her father.
She extended a finger to lick off the remaining pastry crumbs, her pure white eyes gleaming with a look that Hiashi had almost never seen before.
“Hinata, you…”
Looking at Hinata, Hiashi’s voice faltered.
He suddenly felt that something was profoundly off with his daughter.
If this had happened in the past, she definitely would have given him a completely indifferent, dismissive attitude.
But Hinata complied because she had naturally and swiftly reassessed her current situation.
Since she had beaten up the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, going to apologize to the Hokage was the logical next step.
Power wasn’t always obtained purely through one’s own grueling training.
If there was a shortcut to easily acquiring power, Hinata wouldn’t mind taking it.
And meeting Hiruzen Sarutobi right now was one of the paths to that shortcut.
Hinata didn’t expect that the moment she showed up, her supreme aura would flare out, causing Hiruzen Sarutobi to bow his head in reverence and hand over the Flying Raijin and a ton of other forbidden jutsu.
But she at least needed to make herself a familiar face in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Let him know: Ah, this child is from the Hyuga, her talent is quite good, she’s worth cultivating.
Even though the Otsutsuki and the God Trees would take the stage one after another in the future, there were still more than twenty years left.
Time was still quite ample for now.
Furthermore, if Hinata could obtain the Flying Raijin Jutsu…
The Flying Raijin Jutsu and the unparalleled sensory capabilities of the Byakugan were an absolutely flawless, match-made-in-heaven fit.
For example, how about taking a hit from her Beyond Visual Range Space-Time Infinite Flying Raijin Spiraling Rotation • Tiger Style?
The Rotation, which was originally used strictly for defense, would instantly become an absolute offensive technique.
The exact moment the Flying Raijin teleported her, the Rotation would already be smashing directly into the enemy’s face.
Thus, making contact with the Third Hokage was absolutely imperative.
“Let’s go, Dad.
What are you standing around for?”
While Hiashi was still dazed, Hinata had already bypassed him and started walking back the way he came, leaving Hiashi increasingly bewildered.
Since when was Hinata so understanding and cooperative?
In Hiashi’s memory, the word “apologize” didn’t even exist in Hinata’s dictionary.
But since things had turned out this way, Hiashi naturally wasn’t going to dwell too much on it.
“Hinata, what exactly are you thinking?”
On the way to the Hokage Residence, Hiashi walked side-by-side with Hinata.
Although he was certain that Hinata intended to apologize, knowing his daughter’s true nature, Hiashi still couldn’t put his heart at ease.
“Does it matter what I’m thinking?”
“I’m merely following your wishes, Dad.”
Hinata rolled her eyes, feeling a bit speechless.
When I don’t listen, you old geezer spend all day and night frowning with worry.
Now that I’m being obedient and going to apologize, why do you look like you’re trembling with fear instead?
“You’ve truly grown up…”
Looking at his daughter, Hiashi couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief in his heart.
“If I beat that guy up a few more times in the future, does that mean we get to come and apologize a few more times too?”
???
Hiashi, who had just been deeply moved by his daughter’s sudden maturity, instantly had three question marks pop up over his forehead.
Do you think that kid is someone you can just mess with whenever you want?
If the Nine-Tails goes on a rampage, you’ll be the very first one it kills!
“That child is the incarnation of misfortune.
Do not approach him unless absolutely necessary.”
Hiashi felt it was necessary to make Hinata understand the reality of Naruto Uzumaki’s situation.
He simply resorted to the Hidden Leaf villagers’ perception of Naruto to warn Hinata to stay away from him in the future.
“Then why are we going to apologize to Lord Hokage?”
“If he really were some incarnation of misfortune, the village wouldn’t tolerate his existence at all.”
“Rather than calling him an incarnation of misfortune, it’s more accurate to say it’s a problem with you adults yourselves.”
“He’s clearly just a kid, exactly like me.”