Hinata's figure, like light smoke blending into the night, quietly departed, flying high in the air toward Konoha.
[Ding! Deep intervention and deflection of a key Karma node in the current world detected.]
[Successfully caused Uzumaki Nagato to recognize the truth, shaking his fundamental beliefs and significantly reducing his intent to destroy Konoha and the possibility of subsequent paranoid actions. This indirectly led to the Six Paths of Pain withdrawing from the battlefield early, preventing further major casualties and core area destruction in Konoha.]
[Comprehensive assessment of impact scope and depth: Reward points: 30,000 points. Current points: 235,250.]
"Thirty thousand points, huh... I wonder what choice he'll make next."
[He might clash with Obito. The Six Paths of Pain besieging Obito... though they definitely won't be able to kill him. Kamui is just too authoritative.]
"Probably. But since Konan and Nagato are both there this time, there might actually be a chance to take Obito down."
...High in the sky, Hinata held her hands behind her back, her palms gripping her hair to prevent it from flying all over the place in the wind.
She flew to the airspace where Pain and Konoha had just fought and hovered there, looking down.
The battle fluctuations had subsided. Pain was nowhere to be seen, leaving only the active movement of Konoha Ninja Chakra as they seemed to be clearing the battlefield and treating the wounded.
Konoha's crisis was resolved.
Hinata didn't linger. Speeding up slightly, she floated leisurely toward the Hyuga Clan Compound.
The night wind brushed against her cheeks, carrying the faint scent of lingering smoke from afar, but mostly the cold fragrance of mountain greenery.
Before long, she returned to the sky above the Hyuga Main House and landed soundlessly in the courtyard where she lived.
The courtyard was still enveloped by a barrier, with starlight-like runes flowing slightly in the night, quiet and stable.
Within the barrier, she could clearly sense Hanabi's steady breathing and heartbeat, as well as her Shadow Clone's calm state of alert.
Hinata raised her hand, fingers spread, and made a grasping motion toward the center of the barrier, softly uttering a single syllable: "Disperse."
In an instant, the light blue film covering the courtyard melted away like snow, rapidly shrinking and fading from the edges toward the center. Within a few breaths, it vanished completely, as if it had never existed.
The courtyard returned to its original appearance. Moonlight spilled down without obstruction, illuminating the floorboards of the porch and the plants in the yard. The Formation Flags vanished into Hinata's sleeves.
Almost the moment the barrier disappeared, the sliding door of the side room was pulled open with a'shua' sound. Hanabi's small figure appeared at the doorway, her face still carrying traces of tension and worry.
When she saw her sister standing safely in the courtyard, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she rushed over like a little bird returning to its nest.
"Sister!" Hanabi hugged Hinata's waist, burying her small face in her sister's embrace. Her voice was muffled, tinged with lingering fear.
"You're back! Outside... the fighting seemed really intense, and the alarm rang for so long... I was so worried..."
Hinata gently hugged her sister back, her palm tenderly stroking Hanabi's hair. She could feel Hanabi's body trembling slightly.
Even with the protection of the barrier and the knowledge that her sister was powerful, experiencing a Village-wide emergency alarm and the sounds of fierce battle from afar was still an extremely terrifying experience for a child.
"Mm, I'm back. It's okay now; the invaders have temporarily retreated." Hinata's voice was very soft, carrying a soothing power. "Were you scared?"
Hanabi shook her head vigorously in her arms, then nodded slightly and looked up.
"A little... but I know Sister is very strong, and it's safe here too... It's just, just hearing those sounds made my heart feel uneasy."
"Mm, it's okay," Hinata said seriously, wiping away a hint of moisture from the corner of her sister's eye.
"Knowing to stay in a safe place when encountering danger and not panicking is a sign of bravery."
Receiving her sister's affirmation, Hanabi's tense little face relaxed a bit, and she leaned dependently against Hinata.
At that moment, the Shadow Clone inside the house walked over and nodded to Hinata's main body. With a 'poof,' it turned into white smoke and disappeared, synchronizing the memories and security status of this period to the main body.
Everything was normal; the barrier hadn't been touched, and Hanabi had been very good.
"Sister, will those bad people... come back?" Hanabi asked in a small voice, lingering unease in her eyes.
Hinata thought for a moment, choosing not to brush her off with empty comforts.
"Probably not in the short term. Everyone in Konoha has driven them away."
She paused. "However, regardless of whether the enemy comes or not, we must have the ability to protect ourselves and those important to us, right?"
"Mm!" Hanabi nodded forcefully, the unease in her eyes gradually replaced by a determined light. "I will Cultivate even harder! I want to be as strong as Sister in the future!"
"Good." Hinata smiled. "But for now, what you need is a good rest. It's very late; go to sleep."
After soothing her sister and watching her wash up and tuck herself into bed, Hinata quietly closed the door.
She walked out to the porch. The moonlight was like water, and the courtyard was silent.
In the distance, other areas of the Hyuga Main House seemed to have some slight commotion—likely the clansmen confirming the situation and exchanging information—but overall, order had been restored.
She returned to her room, changed out of her casual clothes that were damp with night dew and a bit of dust, and put on comfortable loungewear.
On the table lay the results of her Clones' 'overtime': several bottles of newly refined Medicinal Pills and the prototype of a small protective Magical Artifact engraved with fine runes that was nearing completion.
The air still held a faint medicinal fragrance and the pure aura of spiritual power after refinement.
Hinata walked to the table and picked up the protective Magical Artifact prototype. Her fingertips glowed slightly as she carefully checked the flow of the runes and the stability of the energy nodes.
She had quite a few points now and could exchange them in the System mall for more rare Materials and Advanced Cultivation Techniques. Two hundred thousand points was enough to exchange for some Heaven-Defying items.
Perhaps she could further perfect the cultivation path she had planned for herself and those around her and make more sufficient preparations.
But there was no rush. If one had to talk about threats, there were only Madara and Obito, or even further out, the Aliens.
Obito hadn't gathered all the Tailed Beasts yet, and Madara was still lying in his grave. Not to mention Nagato might disrupt things now that he knew the truth. There was still time.
She sat quietly by the window, listening to the estate gradually sink into the peaceful night, feeling the warmth and power brought by the slow rotation of the Golden Core within her body.
Her sister was sleeping soundly, the Village's crisis was temporarily resolved, and the 'Karma' she had sown might have already begun to quietly change the direction of certain 'results'.
Sasuke had originally been determined to overthrow Konoha Village, but after his battle with Itachi, his mind had been changed.
This didn't mean Sasuke would give up on his beliefs and goals; he would still pursue a revolution, just by a different method.
Meanwhile, Nagato was also verifying the truth.
Next would be thinking about how to truly find a correct path toward peace.
------------------------
There are already 70+ chapters available on my Patreon!
The story will continue to update 1 chapter per day on Webnovel,
while early access chapters are posted on Patreon.
Maybe it's not worth it today but it could be later
[email protected]/Kazenova223
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"