Time flew by; Konoha's leaves withered and bloomed twice, and two years passed.
The courtyard of the Hyuga Main Family's Young Miss was still that quiet place shrouded by a simple Spiritual Energy barrier.
Yet within the barrier, Spiritual Energy grew ever richer. Occasional pulses of invisible Spiritual Pressure leaked out, making the grass and trees greener than elsewhere, even faintly exuding an extraordinary spirituality.
Hinata slowly finished her cultivation.
She remained seated cross-legged on the meditation cushion, but her figure had changed dramatically.
Long hair cascaded like a waterfall to her waist, drifting without wind as the Spiritual Energy inside her cycled on its own.
Over these two years, Hinata's body had developed rapidly; she'd shot up in height, shed the frailness of childhood, and become strong and athletic. Naturally, she'd gained weight—mostly up front. It felt like every feast she devoured had its nutrition rerouted to her chest.
"These two lumps of troublesome flesh… I can't even see my toes when I look down."
Cupping her breasts in thought, Hinata considered binding them; otherwise, every big movement sent them bouncing like startled rabbits. Meanwhile, in her Dantian, her Golden Core had grown a full size, its surface swirling with deep gold-violet light.
The Spiritual Energy within her was no longer a stream but a surging river—turbulent yet perfectly controlled, incomparably refined.
Her Divine Sense could blanket all of Konoha Village, capturing every detail; any abnormal Chakra fluctuation couldn't escape her perception.
"Forget it… let me check how the Clones are doing."
Hinata murmured.
The next instant, her consciousness entered the System space.
Inside, well over a hundred Shadow Clones were scattered about, each busy yet perfectly orderly.
Near the center, thirty-odd Clones drilled in taijutsu.
Their movements had long broken free of the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist; every punch carried blazing, explosive fire-type Spiritual Energy, warping the air.
Others channeled violent lightning-type Spiritual Energy, moving like crackling bolts.
On another side, twenty-plus Clones hovered in mid-air, fingertips flickering as they practiced Spell control. Some coaxed hair-thin purple lightning arcs to strike distant targets with pinpoint accuracy.
Others cradled leaping white flames that shifted form at will—now a lotus, now a sparrow—temperature restrained yet holding the terrifying potential to incinerate everything.
Some Clones tried briefly fusing fire and lightning Spiritual Energy for a more destructive compound effect. Failures were common, but every tiny successful flash meant a deeper grasp of the essence of power.
A dozen more Clones surrounded a pile of scrolls and several cell samples giving off faint life fluctuations—items "borrowed" from Orochimaru's base: First and Second Hokage cells plus a copied Forbidden Jutsu scroll detailing Edo Tensei.
They discussed in low voices, Spiritual Energy occasionally seeping from their fingertips to probe the vast vitality within those cells.
Research on Edo Tensei hadn't formally begun; lacking suitable "sacrifices" and cautious of the Soul Law involved in summoning the dead, they confined themselves to preparatory analysis.
Far off, one Clone guided a streak of light—the big dipper seven stars sword.
Sword-light arced through a simulated starfield, its trajectory profound and sharp enough to cleave anything.
After two years of daily tempering in her Dantian with her core flame, the artifact sword's bond with Hinata had tightened; its might was on another level entirely.
Every Clone's insights, experiences—even failures—would, upon dispersal, pour like rivers into the Sea of Consciousness of her main body.
This training was supremely efficient; still, her powerful mind needed breaks, so she often indulged her inner "rice bucket," wolfing down huge meals.
Occasionally she stepped outside the barrier to move about Konoha Village, once even taking Ichiraku Ramen home, re-cooking it in her pot for double deliciousness.
She still took missions with Team 8 now and then.
In teamwork she mostly played support, only acting when absolutely necessary, giving her teammates room to grow.
Kiba and Shino tacitly said nothing about it.
Jonin instructor Kurenai sparred with her once, discovered she was perhaps a tiny bit outclassed, and never asked for a rematch.
All of this naturally fell under the eye of someone else—Jiraiya.
Following the Great Toad Sage's prophecy, he had fixed the focus of "the variable" on Hyuga Hinata.
For two years, while training Naruto, he had also observed her openly and in secret.
He sensed her strange energy field—definitely not of the Chakra System—and once glimpsed, under the night sky, a vague figure silently hovering above the Hyuga Clan Compound before vanishing.
"Flight… but definitely not Wind Release or some Summoned Beast effect."
Crouched on Hokage Rock, Jiraiya stared toward the Hyuga Clan Compound, brows locked, his gourd of sake feeling unusually heavy.
"And that energy—pure, powerful, similar to natural energy yet fundamentally different…"
He sighed.
"The Third trusts her… I hope my worries are needless."
That day, Hinata's main body was in her courtyard, simmering spiritual porridge in the heaven and earth primordial qi pot.
The grains were plump, Spiritual Energy thick; a few mild Spiritual Plants added a heart-warming fragrance.
The pot's effect seemed tied to her Spiritual Energy—the purer her Qi, the tastier and more potent the result.
She ladled a bowl, blew away steam (unnecessary given her current physique) and sipped.
The porridge turned into pure energy inside her, nourishing her body with blissful comfort.
She lifted her gaze to the azure sky.
Two years of quiet cultivation—Middle Stage Golden Core achieved, every Spell and skill brought to the Transcendent level. It was time to deal with some long-idle resources—say, those cells from the God of Shinobi and the forbidden art said to summon the dead.
"Orochimaru's 'gift' shouldn't go to waste."
She smiled; a year ago this business had provoked another covert attack on Konoha by Orochimaru, though the village itself had been unaffected.
Who, then, had been the lucky recipient?
None other than our beloved, flower-blooming-when-seen 5.5th Hokage, the First Pot-Shadow—Lord Danzo Shimura.
One moonless, windy night, Orochimaru burst from the shadows shouting "Give back my stuff!" and drove a Hidden Shadow Snake Hand straight at him.
Danzo, dumbfounded, tried to explain he hadn't stolen anything.
Orochimaru naturally disbelieved him—after all, the old man lying was standard.
In the end, Orochimaru failed to kill Danzo; despite all his underhanded tricks and Seals, he only forced Danzo to use Izanagi, costing him several eyes.
Seeing he couldn't finish Danzo quickly, Orochimaru left—his vengeance for his "treasures" satisfied.
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