"Welcome back, Hanabi!"
When Hanabi returned to the guesthouse, Hikari immediately came running out.
She'd been cramming basic subjects for days now, and every evening when she met up with Hanabi, she looked utterly pitiful.
"Welcome back, Lady Hanabi. Hikari, you're not allowed to take a break yet." Natsu Hyuga walked over.
"Urgh..." Hikari froze the moment she heard Natsu's voice.
It wasn't that Hikari hated studying, but trying to absorb several years' worth of knowledge in an extremely short period was genuinely tough.
She'd steeled her resolve to help Hanabi, but sheer willpower couldn't make up for how mind-numbingly dull it felt.
After being freed from her sealed state, the last thing she wanted was to endure that kind of monotony again.
"Let Hikari take a break for today, Natsu." Hanabi was in no rush.
Hikari's on-screen persona needed some reshaping anyway—she was supposed to be "paired" with Hanabi, after all.
The audience was quite fond of that dynamic.
"Understood." Natsu nodded.
"Oh, Hikari—there's something I need your help with later. Is that okay?" Hanabi asked.
"Of course! Leave it to me!" Hikari perked up instantly.
Hanabi's business was her business. Being cooped up here all day was no good—if she could help, she'd give her life for it without a second thought...
After dinner, the two headed to Hanabi's room.
Hanabi locked the doors and windows with practiced ease, then opened the suitcase.
"Are those... puppet limbs?" Hikari looked at the prosthetics inside.
"More or less. I can use Zhuixia to simulate puppet strings and operate them."
Because the worlds were different, these artificial limbs had no "power source."
Touko was already gone. The rest was up to Hanabi alone. While the primary purpose was for Curse Bind, these prosthetics could also be put to creative use.
Dual praying-mantis blades popping out of both hands? That'd look incredibly cool, thank you very much.
"Hanabi, you're a puppet master too?" Hikari genuinely hadn't known.
"I know a bit of the technique." Hanabi had studied Puppet Technique before.
But after learning that the absurdly overpowered Mecha-Naruto from the anime didn't actually exist, her interest had cooled considerably.
And Konoha's puppet techniques were, frankly, a step behind Hidden Sand's.
"But these prosthetics aren't for a puppet—they're for me," Hanabi said.
"Oh my god, is Hanabi going to replace her own body with—ow!"
Before Hikari could finish, Hanabi flicked her on the forehead.
"What are you thinking? I can bind my own limbs. Why would I cut them off?" Hanabi said.
"Oh—it's because of Curse Bind?"
It clicked for Hikari.
To maximize Curse Bind's power, completely restraining her own body so she couldn't move at all was naturally the ideal method.
The question was how she'd move around after that.
In theory, she could cut off her limbs if she really wanted to. Zhuixia could heal her rapidly.
But that lacked elegance, and regrowing limbs took time—they couldn't be deployed instantly. On top of that, various sealing techniques existed as alternatives—temporarily sealing parts of her body wasn't out of the question either.
For now, though, these were all prototypes. The equipment itself hadn't even been finalized.
"So... what do I need to do?" Hikari asked.
"Help me secure my hands and feet. It's a bit hard to manage on my own..."
"Mm!" Hikari nodded earnestly.
But...
Why was her heart suddenly racing?
If all four limbs were immobilized, that would mean Hanabi would be completely helpless in front of her, wouldn't it?
Hikari glanced down at her collar. Beneath her clothes, the red rope was still there.
She'd originally put it on to share in Hanabi's pain, but the sensation of the ropes against her skin was... actually rather nice.
So, was Hanabi really enjoying this?
But Hikari also felt a certain sweetness about it.
Because this was a secret between her and Hanabi.
Friends. Friends who kept each other's secrets. Friends who could share secrets with each other.
Her friend... she only needed Hanabi as a friend.
Though at that moment, another image flickered unbidden through Hikari's mind.
Hanabi's twin sister.
Hinata.
Hinata's pained expression surfaced in Hikari's thoughts for no apparent reason...
"Hikari?"
Hanabi's voice pulled her back to reality.
"Hai!"
Hikari shook her head, quickly banishing the tangled thoughts.
Her own thoughts... were a bit ugly, weren't they?
"All right, this should work."
Touko had prepared several types of prosthetics.
Hanabi placed her hands behind her back, and the full-arm prosthetics attached directly to her shoulders.
Her legs couldn't be fully folded, so only the lower-leg sections were tucked behind, replaced by lower-leg prosthetics.
Using Zhuixia to simulate puppet strings for control, the results were solid.
The folded limbs underneath created some bulk. But beneath the layers of Hanabi's kimono, her real arms and legs were perfectly hidden.
As for the blood-flow issues from compressed limbs—no concern at all, since Zhuixia constantly repaired her body.
The prosthetic control relied more on "physical manipulation."
Hanabi's real fingers, tucked behind her back, controlled the prosthetic hands, while her toes controlled the prosthetic legs.
The sensation was much like real Puppet Technique.
"Mm... just as I thought."
After restraining all four limbs together, Hanabi could feel Curse Bind growing noticeably stronger.
The greater the price paid, the greater the return from Curse Bind.
And the most tangible result was that Hanabi's "passive cultivation" speed had straight-up doubled.
At this rate, given another ten or twenty years, she might rival the First Hokage himself.
Unfortunately, what Hanabi lacked most right now was time.
The Shippūden era was only a few years away. In ten or twenty years, that'd already be the Boruto era.
Was she supposed to come out of seclusion just to fight Momoshiki? Fight Isshiki?
This wasn't some hide-and-bide story. This was the dazzling set of the Dimensional Popularity Stage!
"Can you move around, Hanabi?" Hikari asked from beside her.
"Mm. No problem."
Hanabi took a couple of steps. Unhurried. Same as always.
"The mobility's quite good." Hanabi raised a hand.
They were puppet limbs, yet the ten fingers moved with remarkable dexterity.
"Hanabi really is amazing. She can do anything." Hikari felt that burning, surging feeling in her chest grow even fiercer.
"This should do for now," Hanabi said. "Next up—installing some ninja tools."
Since these were prototypes, she didn't use a Procurement Card. She'd save those for when she had finished products.
For now, she needed to refine the technique.
For example, filling the compartments with weapons.
She didn't have much time. The Second Exam was tomorrow...