The night was quiet, the sky lit only by a thin, rising crescent moon.
At the Hyūga residence, Hiashi Hyūga had already asked his wife to take their youngest daughter back to rest.
Now, alone in his study, he sat beneath the lamplight, brush in hand, carefully writing something in silence.
In the main house, the patriarch's room was unusually still. Tonight, Lady Hyūga felt an overwhelming fatigue and had gone to bed early, her breathing faint but steady.
Then, with a ripple in the air, space itself twisted.
Two figures...one tall, one small, stepped out of the distortion and into the room.
"Mother…"
Hinata's soft voice trembled as she walked to the bedside. Seeing the beautiful woman sleeping peacefully, her eyes grew wet.
"She's in a deep sleep and won't wake up for a while," Obito said calmly, his gaze sweeping the room.
A moment later, he entered Sage Mode, his senses spreading outward to monitor for any disturbance.
"But be careful not to make too much noise."
The Hyūga clan rarely used their Byakugan inside the compound unless necessary.
After all, even among family, privacy was a fragile thing. If one looked carelessly, misunderstandings could happen.
"…I understand."
Hinata nodded quietly. She lingered at her mother's side for a moment, taking in her peaceful face, before her eyes drifted to the crib not far away.
Inside, a tiny baby less than a year old slept soundly, her little chest rising and falling with each breath.
"This is… my sister…"
Hinata whispered as she stepped closer, her expression softening with a tenderness rarely seen.
"Her name is Hanabi," Obito supplied casually.
"Hanabi…" Hinata repeated, a little dazed. A faint smile touched her lips. With my sister here… maybe Mother won't feel so lonely anymore.
Obito, however, was still watching the sleeping woman. His eyes narrowed slightly. Approaching the bed, he reached out and gently took her hand.
"W-what's wrong?" Hinata asked nervously, startled by his sudden movement.
"Your mother's health isn't good," Obito said flatly.
The diagnosis was clear to him: severe mental exhaustion, her life force thinning. At most, she had two years left to live.
"What… what did you say?"
Hinata's eyes went wide with shock. She rushed to the bedside, clutching her mother's other hand, her face pale with panic.
Behind the mask, Obito's brows furrowed slightly.
So it's mental exhaustion… grief and trauma after Hinata's disappearance. But even so, why is her life force this diminished?
He thought for a moment. In the original timeline, Hinata's mother did die young.
Hiashi had carried that loneliness for years, from Hinata's childhood all the way into the Boruto era.
When Hinata leaned close, her pure white eyes shimmering with emotion, Obito's thoughts shifted. The Byakugan…
He recalled how, in his memory, Hinata's eyes were praised as exceptionally pure.
The Ōtsutsuki on the moon had even called her the "Byakugan Princess," obsessed with her lineage.
Her younger sister, Hanabi, also carried that purity...enough, when combined with the right physique, to awaken the Tenseigan.
Could it be… because this woman gave birth to two daughters of such rare bloodline purity, her body's vitality was drained?
"Madara-sama… Mother, she…" Hinata's voice trembled, tears welling in her pale eyes as she looked up at him with desperation.
"Don't worry. I have a way to save her."
Obito's tone was steady. He gently opened the woman's eyes and cast an illusion, lulling her deeper into slumber.
Then he took out two items that glimmered faintly in the light...one of them a life force-restoring item and slipped them into her mouth.
They dissolved instantly. Moments later, her face regained color, her breathing evened, and the fragile aura of death receded. Still asleep, she now looked healthier than before.
"…Thank you."
Hinata exhaled, her tense shoulders relaxing at last. Her gaze turned to Obito, her voice soft but sincere.
"Oh?"
Obito's single visible eye curved, amused. He reached out and gently ruffled her hair.
"This is the first time you've thanked me."
"I-I…" Hinata's cheeks flushed scarlet as she lowered her head, unable to meet his eyes.
"There's no need for thanks." His tone turned faintly commanding, almost teasing. "Just stay by my side from now on… and be of use to me."
"…Yes."
The quiet affirmation left her lips almost inaudibly.
After a few more moments, Obito straightened. His senses had already caught the approach of another presence.
"It's time to go. Your father is on his way here."
Hinata turned one last time, gazing at her mother's sleeping face and at baby Hanabi in the crib. Reluctance filled her expression.
"…Mmm."
With a final hum of acknowledgement, she took Obito's hand. Space distorted once more, and in the blink of an eye, the two vanished from the room.
Soon after, Hiashi Hyūga gently slid open the door, stepping inside with careful, almost soundless movements.
"…Hm?"
Almost immediately, he sensed something strange.
His wife's complexion, which had been pale and weak before, now looked far healthier. Her breathing was steady, her skin touched with warmth.
"Byakugan!"
Activating his eyes, Hiashi studied her closely. What he saw made him stiffen...her chakra, which had been nearly stagnant, now pulsed strongly, flowing smoothly through her body. Not only stable, but even recovering.
Impossible… someone was here.
A frown deepened on his face. But who? Who could enter the Hyūga compound without being noticed and even heal her quietly?
Suspicion churned in his mind, but no answers came.
--
The next day, at dusk.
The setting sun painted the sky crimson, shadows stretching long as the land sank into evening.
Outside a forest near the Root base, Uchiha Shisui staggered back, his right eye socket bleeding, his hand pressed against it.
His gaze locked onto Danzō...more specifically, onto the man's right eye.
"Sharingan…!"
In Danzō's right eye, a scarlet tomoe swirled for the last time before dimming, the color draining to silver-white. Slowly, the eyelid closed over it.
"Izanagi…"
Shisui's eyes widened in horror.
Danzō smirked coldly. "I'll take your right eye as a replacement. Now… give me the other one."
His gaze burned with greed as it fixed on Shisui's remaining Sharingan.
Shisui's heart pounded, but he refused to falter. His fingers flew through seals, determination hardening his expression.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A roaring inferno burst from his mouth, surging toward Danzō.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Several Root operatives leapt forward, spewing torrents of water that crashed into the fireball. Steam exploded outward, shrouding the battlefield in thick mist.
When the vapor finally cleared, Shisui's figure was gone.
"After him!"
Danzō's said hurriedly, he didn't want this evil Uchiha to escape alive any longer.
"Yes!"
All the Root operatives around Danzō immediately turned and chased after Shisui, vanishing into the mist.
Once they were gone, Danzō slowly lifted his left hand, his eyes gleaming as he stared at the scarlet Sharingan embedded in his palm.
"Kotoamatsukami… such a precious power. I should make full use of it."
A thin smile spread across his lips. But just as he began to savor his triumph
Shing!
A sudden flash of sword light cut across his vision.
"Poof—!"
"Surprise, motherfucker!"
Blood sprayed into the air. Danzō's left arm, severed cleanly at the shoulder, spun away before crashing to the ground.
"Ahhh!!"
He howled in pain, clutching his bleeding shoulder. His head snapped up, rage flooding his features.
"Who?!"
Before him stood a cloaked figure, hood drawn low, hiding his face in shadow. In his grasp was not only the severed left arm but Danzō's stolen right eye as well.
"Danzō… an eye this valuable… you don't deserve it."
The voice was low, mocking. And before Danzō could react, the man vanished, slipping into space like a ghost.
Obito left without hesitation. He could have ended Danzō here and now—but the man was still useful for the Uchiha clan's future plans.
"Damn it! Damn it!!"
Danzō roared, his fury echoing through the forest. Blood dripped freely from his shoulder, but he could do nothing.
High up in the branches of a massive tree, Obito's form flickered into existence.
"Hah~" He exhaled lightly, a faint grin tugging at his lips. "This is called stealing the future."
His Sharingan gleamed as he pocketed the freshly stolen right eye.
"Old bastard Danzō was about to cum in his robe when he thought he had the Mangekyō Sharingan… really careless of him."
He held up the severed left arm, grimacing. "Ugh. Disgusting."
Still, after a moment's thought, he tucked the arm into his Kamui space.
"When I get back, I'll toss this into the Devouring Coffin. Maybe I can even recycle it later as Edo Tensei material. Can't let Danzō's old ass skip the party."
With that, he lifted his gaze toward the distance, his smile fading slightly.
"…No surprises, hopefully. Shisui… you'd better hold on."
His figure blurred, and in the next instant, he was gone again.
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