In the underground cavern, as Senju Tobirama vanished with a face still dazed by existential doubt, the System's voice rang out.
[Ding! host has successfully summoned the Second Hokage with the improved Spiritual Energy version of Edo Tensei, delivering a 'cognition-shattering impact' to a key canon character.]
[Evaluation: Young and mighty, your terrifying growth speed has astonished even legendary Ninja. points awarded: 8,000.]
[host has successfully summoned Senju Hashirama with the improved Spiritual Energy version of Edo Tensei, refreshing important characters' understanding of the power System.]
[Evaluation: You tried to smash the God of Shinobi's skull with a Flying Thunder God brick as a 'physical wake-up call'—truly a master of the word 'friendly'! Bonus points: 8,500.]
[host has indirectly altered the latent difficulty of the Akatsuki Organization's Tailed Beast capture operation (loss of First and Second Hokage cells impedes Orochimaru's research).]
[Evaluation: How far can a little butterfly's wings carry the storm? Bonus points: 4,000.]
[Current points: 54,550!]
Seeing her point tally leap past fifty-three thousand, even Hinata's normally placid face showed a rare trace of satisfaction.
As expected, messing with the big shots pays well.
"Open the points shop."
Dazzling goods shimmered with seductive light.
Her gaze swept swiftly across them.
[Nine Revolutions Chaos Art: a method that leads straight to the Nascent Soul Great Way, containing a wisp of primal Chaos intent and an unmatched Foundation. Cost: 30,000 points.] (Note: perfect compatibility—strongly recommended!)
[Stellar Array of the Myriad Heavens: channels Star Power for offense and defense, while also gathering spirit energy, hiding presence, and trapping foes. Cost: 15,000 points.]
[Innate Five-Element Essence (Fire/Lightning): upgrades Spiritual Root quality and Spiritual Energy purity. Single element: 5,000 points.]
[barrier breaking pill (Golden Core Stage): slightly raises chance of breaking through to Late Golden Core. Cost: 4,000 points.]
After a brief hesitation Hinata maxed out her points, sweeping everything into her bag.
"Exchange for Nine Revolutions Chaos Art, Stellar Array of the Myriad Heavens, Fire and Lightning Innate Essences, and a barrier breaking pill."
[Ding! Exchange successful! 54,000 points deducted.]
[Current points: 550.]
Vast, abstruse cultivation knowledge flooded her Sea of Consciousness, far deeper than the previous Golden Core chapter.
Two supremely pure orbs—one scarlet-purple, one blinding-white—appeared in the System's temporary space, along with a pill the size of a longan pill whose halos of medicinal qi spiraled gently.
The array diagram also materialized there.
Without hesitation Hinata drew the Fire and Lightning essences into her Dantian. Her Golden Core spun wildly, greedily devouring the pure Origin power; purple-white radiance on its surface blazed ever brighter, and her Spiritual Energy visibly grew purer and livelier. She could feel the barrier to Late Stage thin just a fraction.
"I'll save the barrier breaking pill for closed-door training. First I must master the new art—and keep farming points."
Sensing the surging strength within, Hinata looked beyond the cavern.
"Naruto should be back from training soon, and the Akatsuki's Ichibi capture is almost upon us."
Having exchanged almost every point for rich rewards, she didn't rush to stir up trouble. She returned to her courtyard; there was no hurry—plenty remained to study.
The newly obtained Nine Revolutions Chaos Art, for instance, was so profound it demanded deep contemplation.
The Stellar Array of the Myriad Heavens, with its countless transformations, also needed time to master, while the barrier breaking pill would be kept for the Bottleneck at Late Golden Core.
Thus the compound of the Hyuga Main Family's eldest young lady regained its usual tranquility, though the spiritual energy inside the barrier grew ever denser under the twin influence of Hinata's rising power and the array diagram.
Seated in meditation, Hinata slowly circulated Nine Revolutions Chaos Art. No longer did it merely absorb outside spirit energy; it now drew upon the faint wisp of primal Chaos within her Golden Core, refining each thread of Spiritual Energy, making it purer, heavier.
Her Divine Sense looked inward, "seeing" her Golden Core like the center of the Universe, breathing out violet mist that faintly resonated with the phantom of the Stellar Array floating in her Sea of Consciousness.
Between sessions she came to the courtyard to rehearse the array.
She did not unleash its full power, lest she alarm the outside world.
She simply used her own Spiritual Energy to mimic stellar motion, laying down a miniature Star Domain within arm's reach.
Dots of star-light flickered at her fingertips as if she commanded constellations—now forming a cage, now a shield, now focusing star-beams for precision strikes. Day by day her control progressed from clumsy to adept.
Afternoons were devoted to polishing Spells and Magical Artifacts.
No longer content with long-range teleportation, she practiced instant, high-frequency shifts over tiny distances, her figure flickering like a ghost within the compound, striving to make "blink-step" instinctive.
With the big dipper seven stars sword, sword-light split into seven condensed blades that danced like dragons within the confined space, every slash of Sword Qi held perfectly inside the barrier.
Her Clones now yielded huge returns: learn a technique once, set a few dozen Clones to train, and total mastery followed in no time.
Occasionally she dropped the barrier and walked the clan grounds as the Hyuga eldest daughter, or took slightly higher-ranked missions at the mission desk, meeting up with Team 8's Kiba, Shino, and their Jonin leader Kurenai Yuhi.
"Hinata, you've changed so much these two years…"
Kiba scratched his head while Akamaru barked in agreement.
"Indeed, your aura's calmer; I can no longer read you."
Shino adjusted his sunglasses and analyzed coolly.
Kurenai sighed inwardly, though she only smiled and said,
"Hinata keeps improving—so you two had better catch up."
…Cultivate, let Clones hone skills, take the odd mission, and when nothing urgent loomed haul her beloved "rice-bucket" around to gather ingredients and feast heartily.
Days passed in this full, orderly rhythm.
Hinata could feel the Bottleneck to Late Golden Core drawing nearer, her mastery of every ability turning ever subtler.
Now and then she lifted her gaze to the horizon.
"Soon…" she murmured, her pale eyes calm.
She waited for the dead last to return—the signal that the whirlwind saga was about to begin—training while biding for the moment she would truly stir the storm.
For now she needed only to keep tempering herself, pushing her state toward perfect Peak. points would come—provided she possessed the absolute strength to earn them.
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