At Orochimaru's base, the man himself was speaking quietly with Sasuke when he suddenly froze. A strange sensation brushed against his senses.
"!!"
He turned slightly, his golden eyes widening as he noticed a presence behind Sasuke.
Sasuke, catching the shift in his expression, instinctively spun around. His pupils constricted.
An ANBU operative stood there—a tall, slim figure in a dark cloak and an animal mask. But behind the mask, through the hollow eyeholes, glowed the unmistakable white light of the Byakugan.
Hinata tilted her head slightly. "Long time no see."
She pushed the mask up, revealing her familiar face.
Orochimaru chuckled softly. "Byakugan Princess… to walk into my domain of your own accord—doesn't that count as stepping into a trap?"
Hinata didn't reply.
Her left hand rose sharply. At once, gravity rippled outward. The wall to her left buckled and collapsed, dragging out the figure hidden behind it—a man holding a gas trap, yanked violently toward her.
With her right hand, Hinata shaped a dense sphere of chakra. A lion's head formed within it, its fanged maw twisting with raw power.
From over twenty meters away, Kabuto barely had time to react.
A dark rift opened in front of Hinata—and another right beside Kabuto.
Her lion-shaped chakra blast plunged into the void—then erupted from the second rift, striking Kabuto squarely in the abdomen.
The explosion of force hurled him backward, blood spraying from his mouth as he smashed through tables and equipment.
"..."
Hinata's Byakugan flickered. She saw the damage, analyzed Kabuto's chakra flow, and adjusted her stance. Gravity shifted again, dragging Kabuto helplessly toward her.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!" Orochimaru snapped.
Dozens of serpents burst from his sleeves, fangs bared.
Hinata's eyes sharpened. Too predictable.
Another Underworld Slope Hill opened, and Orochimaru's snakes plunged straight through it—only to emerge behind him, sinking their fangs into Kabuto instead.
Kabuto collapsed, his chakra sealed, his body riddled with poison and wounds.
Hinata's voice was cold. "I won't give you another chance to use the Impure World Reincarnation."
She spread her arms wide. Chakra surged.
Twenty Gods' Vacuum Attacks—a storm of invisible force far stronger than her previous Ten Gods' Vacuum Attacks—unleashed a barrage that filled the entire base.
Orochimaru dodged frantically, twisting like a serpent, but the voids closed around him, tracking his every move.
Finally, Underworld Slope Hill opened beneath him, and Hinata's chakra-empowered strikes landed in perfect succession.
Each blow cracked the air like thunder.
"..!"
Knowing his regenerative Substitution Jutsu could still save him, Hinata's eyes hardened.
"Not this time."
From her arms, thousands of razor-fine threads—Rabbit Hair Needles—burst forth. Each strand glistened like polished steel.
They pierced through Orochimaru's body, impaling him from every direction and nailing him in place.
The sound of flesh tearing filled the lab, followed by Orochimaru's chilling, drawn-out laugh.
Even in agony, the snake refused to die easily.
…
But deep down, Orochimaru's heart sank. He knew he couldn't afford even a moment of hesitation when facing Hinata—someone who was no longer the same girl he once knew.
Just before his chakra points were about to be completely sealed by her rabbit-hair needles, he activated one of his most forbidden techniques—the Eight-Headed Serpent Technique. His body twisted and expanded, transforming into a monstrous eight-headed serpent. The creature's roar shook the heavens, and its enormous mass caused parts of the underground base to collapse.
"..."
Hinata felt a brief pang of regret. She had come to find Orochimaru for three reasons: first, to seal him away; second, to reunite Sasuke and Sakura; and third, to acquire the latest Sound Ninja Techniques. But now that everything was being destroyed, how could she possibly obtain them?
Then, she took a deep breath and smiled faintly. It's fine. As long as I defeat Orochimaru, everything else will fall into place.
She retreated to create distance, and as the massive serpent closed in, Hinata quickly unfurled a scroll filled with explosive tags. She didn't bother to count them—there must have been several hundred.
Opening Underworld Slope Hill, she hurled all the tags through the dimensional portal. Where did the other side of Underworld Slope Hill lead? The answer came soon enough.
A deafening explosion followed. The Eight-Headed Serpent's colossal body swelled, then burst apart amidst a blinding flash. One of its remaining heads opened its jaws and bellowed,
"Byakugan Princess! Is that all you've got? You're far from it—BOOM!"
Despite being blasted by hundreds of explosive tags, the serpent still showed no signs of dying. Its vitality was nothing short of monstrous.
As the serpent charged again, Hinata's expression hardened. She entered Ten-Tails Chakra Mode, raised her hands, and unleashed a barrage of Twenty God Vacuum Attacks. This time, she didn't even bother to aim—every strike was devastating.
Amid the thunderous explosions, Kabuto staggered to his feet, coughing blood. He rummaged through the debris, found his medicines, and quickly used them to recover.
Then, dragging his half-healed body, he rushed to the prison deep within the base, selecting several captives as sacrifices for Impure World Reincarnation.
If we had more time, I'd choose better vessels, he thought bitterly. But this will have to do.
However, before Kabuto could finish the hand seals and name the targets, the jutsu was disrupted by a puppet-controlling technique that interfered with his chakra flow.
Hinata's Byakugan wasn't even aimed directly at him, yet within her field of vision, nothing could be hidden.
"!!"
A powerful gravitational force suddenly seized Kabuto, dragging him upward. Gritting his teeth, he absorbed his chakra into the ground, resisting the pull with sheer willpower as he continued to form the seals for Impure World Reincarnation.
Seeing his stubbornness, Hinata calmly increased her chakra output. The gravity intensified, uprooting both Kabuto and the earth beneath his feet.
Meanwhile, within her Homeland Space, the second construction cycle had already begun. Having completed the first four tiers from the initial phase, Hinata had earned numerous rewards—including nine Truth-Seeking Balls.
She finally understood the mysterious black orbs that floated behind her. Ever since becoming the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki, she could command them, though her control had once been limited. Only after completing the third construction tier and receiving the nine-orb reward did she fully master their use.
Now, with Kabuto trapped by gravity, Hinata extended her right hand. One of the black orbs morphed into a staff, and she brought it down toward him.
"Stop! I surrender! Do whatever you want!" Orochimaru shouted desperately.
"...?"
Everything froze. The dark staff halted less than ten centimeters from the back of Kabuto's head. Hinata's eyes flicked toward the mutilated serpent—now missing several heads—and widened slightly. She hadn't expected Orochimaru to intervene like that. Was it… because of Kabuto?
Orochimaru dispelled the Eight-Headed Serpent Technique, his pale face even more lifeless than usual. Slowly, he approached her and spoke hoarsely, "Seal my chakra."
Seeing that he was serious, Hinata hesitated briefly before lowering her weapon. She sealed both Orochimaru's and Kabuto's chakra without another word.
A short while later, inside the hastily repaired base, Hinata examined the latest Sound Ninja Technique scrolls that Kabuto had provided. Orochimaru stood beside her, explaining the contents like a patient instructor.
Sasuke sat silently off to the side, his face blank. He had recently met a prodigious samurai girl named Takahashi Kei, but now even she seemed overshadowed by the overwhelming power of Hinata Hyuga.
Every year, new geniuses appear… but this year, there are too many. I'm only thirteen—how am I supposed to keep up!? he thought bitterly.
Hinata noticed Sasuke's gloom and wanted to say something comforting, but then she thought better of it. Wouldn't it be better to let Sakura handle that? She decided to stay silent.
Just then, Orochimaru's explanation caught her attention again. Hinata focused fully, listening intently and soon forgetting about everything else.