Orochimaru led Hinata through several corridors with soft lighting and walls covered in special soundproofing Materials, finally arriving at a wooden door carved with simple auspicious cloud patterns.
This was one of the few places in Orochimaru's base that had a relatively "normal" style; it wasn't as dark or damp.
"Tsunade is inside, looking over the Materials." A smirk of amusement played on the corner of Orochimaru's mouth. "Do you need me to go in with you, or will you go in yourself?"
"I'll go in myself. Some things might be easier to discuss if it's just the two of us."
"Wise." Orochimaru nodded, not insisting otherwise.
"I'll be in the observation room next door. If you need... mediation, I'm available anytime." He smiled and turned toward another more hidden door nearby.
Standing before the door, Hinata took a light breath, organized her thoughts and expression, and then raised her hand to knock three times with moderate force.
"Come in." Tsunade's voice came from inside, sounding slightly weary yet still powerful.
Hinata pushed the door open and entered.
The reception room wasn't large and was simply furnished with a table and a few cushions. Tsunade sat on a cushion with her back to the door. Several scrolls and paper documents were spread across the low table in front of her. Hearing the door open, Tsunade turned around.
Her gaze landed on Hinata.
Time seemed to freeze for a second.
Tsunade's pupils suddenly constricted to their limit. Her expression underwent a violent transformation in an instant—from indifference to confusion, to recognition, and then to extreme shock and disbelief.
Her beautiful face even appeared somewhat stiff due to the overwhelming astonishment.
"You...?!" Tsunade stood up abruptly from her cushion, the suddenness of her movement nearly knocking over the teacup on the table.
She stared fixedly at Hinata as if seeing the most incredible sight in the world. "Hyuga Hinata?! Why is it you?"
Her voice rose in shock. Just two days ago, they had been soaking in a hot spring together at an inn, and she had a good impression of her.
How could it be?! How could it be her?! Standing here, appearing in Orochimaru's secret base as the "mysterious collaborator" that Orochimaru held in such high regard—the one who mastered core Soul technology?!
A massive sense of absurdity and the anger of being fooled instantly rushed to the top of Tsunade's head, temporarily overshadowing even her desire for the resurrection technique.
"Just what is going on?!" Tsunade's voice suddenly became stern and filled with pressure. Her Aura as one of the Sannin and the Princess of the Senju was released without reservation, making the air in the entire reception room feel several degrees heavier.
"Hyuga Hinata! Why are you here?! You and... Orochimaru?!"
She jerked her head around, her gaze sharp as a blade, as if trying to pierce through the wall to the room next door.
"Orochimaru! This is the collaborator you were talking about?! What kind of joke are you playing?!"
Hinata calmly accepted Tsunade's scrutinizing and questioning gaze.
"Long time no see. Good evening," Hinata greeted her.
"As you can see, and just as Orochimaru said, I am his current collaborator."
"Collaborator?!" Tsunade almost laughed from anger. She took a step forward, her entire presence looming over her.
The two pairs of snow-white peaks were just a hair's breadth away from touching.
Hinata felt that if she were any shorter, Tsunade could practically feed them to her.
"Do you even know what you're saying? You are the Young Miss of the Konoha Hyuga Main Family! And here you are, conducting forbidden human experiments with an S-rank Rogue Ninja of Konoha, and you call yourself a collaborator?! This is blatant betrayal! You've betrayed your Family! You've betrayed Konoha!"
Faced with Tsunade's storm-like interrogation and the heavy label of "betrayal," Hinata's expression still didn't fluctuate much.
666, and a public denunciation to boot. Is this the old generation's fighting style? Starting off by slapping labels on people.
"Betrayal?" Hinata repeated the word and smiled.
"I don't quite understand. Have I done anything to harm Konoha or the Hyuga Clan?"
"You..." Tsunade choked up.
"I haven't leaked any confidential information about Konoha, I haven't participated in any attacks or sabotage against Konoha, and I rarely even come here. Most of my time is spent on my own research and studies; I only come here occasionally to discuss academic issues with him."
She looked up, staring directly into Tsunade's eyes which were burning with fury.
"I even drove Orochimaru away, making a huge contribution to Konoha. I am still a hero of Konoha today."
Tsunade was momentarily speechless. She was right, but for a Genius girl from a prestigious Konoha clan to be mixed up with the most dangerous Rogue Ninja as if it were the most natural thing in the world—and to be so articulate about it—was completely beyond her understanding and acceptance.
"Glib-tongued!" Tsunade spat through gritted teeth.
"No matter what you say, the fact is you are here, colluding with Orochimaru! Does your Family know? Does the Hokage know? If they knew..."
"They don't know," Hinata admitted frankly.
"And even if they did, so what? I don't need to report every single thing I do to them. Besides, you've joined as well, haven't you?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Tsunade's Aura involuntarily weakened, and she took a few steps back.
"That's different!" Tsunade retorted, but her confidence was no longer as strong. "I'm... I'm doing this for..."
"For someone important, for a higher ideal," Hinata finished for her.
She took a small step forward, closing the distance between her and Tsunade.
"I know that words alone are not enough. It must be hard for you to believe that a teenage girl could master Soul technology that even Orochimaru admires."
Hinata slowly raised her right hand, her fingertips pointing upward. "So, how about I let you see for yourself? Facts are more effective than words."
Before her voice even faded, an indescribable energy fluctuation quietly spread out with Hinata as the center.
It wasn't like a Chakra burst, and there was no intimidating pressure from her Aura; it was a deeper, more fundamental manifestation of power.
Tsunade watched in horror as the air above Hinata's fingers distorted slightly, and a speck of pure energy, appearing to exist between the physical and the ethereal, emerged out of thin air.
This fluctuation... As a top-tier Medical Ninja, Tsunade had a perception of life energy that far exceeded that of ordinary people.
She clearly felt that this was by no means a common Chakra form transformation or Genjutsu. This was the completely different power system Orochimaru had mentioned—an energy she had never seen before.
She didn't unleash this energy, but Tsunade clearly felt a sense of heart-palpitating dread.
"This is...?" Tsunade's voice was dry, her previous anger and suspicion replaced by immense shock.
"A power different from Chakra, transcending this world. As long as it's used correctly, it is almost omnipotent."
She dispersed the Spiritual Power and lowered her hand. Her Aura returned to being restrained and ordinary, as if that magical scene just now had been a mere hallucination. But Tsunade knew it wasn't.
"Do you believe me now?" Hinata asked calmly, looking into Tsunade's eyes, which were filled with shock, confusion, wavering, and a flicker of hope.
Tsunade stood in place, her chest heaving violently, her eyes complex to the extreme. She looked at Hinata's calm face.
Then she thought of Nawaki and Dan lying in their cold graves, and the crazy yet alluring vision of the future Orochimaru had painted... If it was this unknown power of hers, then she truly had nothing left to say.
After a long time, she exhaled a long breath of turbid air, as if to expel all her struggles, concerns, and old shackles.
She slowly sat back down on the cushion, her movements somewhat heavy. Then, she looked up, the hostility and suspicion in her eyes having mostly faded, replaced by a look that mixed exhaustion with curiosity.
"Sit down, little girl of the Hyuga Family." Tsunade's voice regained its calm, even carrying a hint of anticipation.
"Let's... have a good talk."
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