Hinata

"Well... it's nothing."

Fine, delicate footsteps trod on the soft, fluffy snow, leaving behind delicate and orderly footprints.

The size, depth, and spacing of each print were perfectly consistent, without the slightest deviation.

Hinata took light, graceful steps Earth Flow slowly, answering simply.

"I think the Land of Snow is truly a paradise far removed from the conflicts of the Shinobi World."

She smiled.

Sakura Haruno followed behind, a faint smile playing on her lips, but nothing more.

She subtly gathered her Chakra and walked through the snowflakes, her delicate steps leaving no trace. The snow behind her was perfectly smooth, as if no one had ever walked there.

"However, how long can this tranquility last?"

Hinata sighed and said softly.

Joining the Anbu greatly broadened Hinata's horizons. She is no longer a naive and innocent newbie, and can now see the turbulent undercurrents hidden beneath the calm surface of the current Shinobi World.

As Taijutsu skills and sufficient self-defense capabilities, Hinata has carried out many difficult and dangerous missions, including patrolling the border and monitoring enemy countries.

The most dangerous missions were all related to Xiao.

In fact, with the successive disappearances of the Tailed Beasts and Jinchūriki, the attitudes of the major nations that had previously disregarded Akatsuki's existence have begun to change rapidly, and the atmosphere in the Shinobi World has become increasingly tense.

Whatever Akatsuki's purpose in collecting the Tailed Beasts, they certainly weren't doing it for charity; sooner or later, Akatsuki, having accumulated enough power, will emerge from the shadows and wreak havoc on the Shinobi World.

"Don't worry so much." Sakura stepped forward, stood beside Hinata, and patted her on the shoulder. "If it collapses, there are tall people to hold it up."

"Ha ha..."

Hinata smiled wryly and glanced at the unconscious girl beside her.

"The tall one... isn't that you?"

"Huh...?!"

Sakura Haruno was taken aback, and Hinata adorable expression amusing.

She thought about what Sakura and she had talked about while lying in bed before she came to the Land of Snow.

"Before you, you and Sasuke traveled to another world..." Hinata said slowly, her breath steaming in the white mist, "After Akatsuki collected most of the Tailed Beasts, they launched a war against the entire Shinobi World."

Unlike Tsunade, Hinata trusts her friends more and accepted the situation quickly.

"I suppose Akatsuki in our world is planning the same thing? So if we don't take strict precautions, a great war that affects the whole world might really break out..." She gave a bitter smile and shook her head. "But I think that if Akatsuki's leader is really as powerful as you, then it's probably too late for anything we do now."

The rising steam, carried by the words, blurred the view and made the world seem hazy.

Before anyone knew it, a light snow began to fall. Hinata stretched out her hand and watched the snowflakes fall one by one onto the girl's warm palm and melt away.

Hinata was somewhat pessimistic about the future.

To put it bluntly, with Pain's power to raze an entire village to the ground in a single blow, which of the Five Great Shinobi Villages could stand against him?

Unless a five-village allied Allied Shinobi Forces is formed, who can stop a single ninja village—perhaps with the current Konoha —from forcibly abducting Tailed Beast?

However, to date, the coalition remains only a concept on paper.

Faced with a formidable enemy, nations are still scheming against each other and distrusting one another.

Shinobi World Pill.

The girl with the Byakugan walked a little further, climbed a hill, and looked at the endless white wasteland before her, her heart heavy.

Sakura Haruno followed closely behind her.

The Shinobi World is doomed... but it's not over yet.

She knew more, even that Pain might not be the final BSS...

The situation on the other side of the world is even more dire than here; however, that's the world of the original manga, and given the typical nature of shonen manga, passion and victory are the themes, so the final ending will definitely be a comedy.

Since even worse situations can be turned around, we can certainly have confidence in the situation here.

"Don't overthink it."

She walked up behind the black-haired girl, brushed the snowflakes off her, and comforted her.

"It's not all good anymore. Even if the situation gets worse, there's always a tall guy... well, that's me. Can we hold them off? I'll protect everyone."

"Although I'm not Hinata," the pink-haired girl gestured, making a lame joke.

Hinata glanced back at her helplessly.

"I'm the eldest sister of the Hyuga Clan Main Family, not some hothouse flower. I should be the one protecting others." She laughed, then became serious, her somber expression vanishing. "I'm not like Hinata from that world!"

When Hinata heard Sakura Haruno recount her experiences in that world, she was surprised that her Hinata in that other world had such a gentle and timid personality.

Through comparison, she became even more aware of what kind of person she should be—she was different from Hinata of that world.

"Don't look at your counterpart from that other world," Sakura Haruno retorted, "She also had the courage to fight Pain head-on for Naruto!"

She chuckled as she spoke.

"Hehe, so Hinata, you're really that deeply in love with Naruto!"

Hinata blushed.

He quickly retorted, "What nonsense! That's Hinata from that world, not me here... My personality is completely different from that Hinata's, how can you compare us?"

"Hmph," Sakura Haruno pouted, "Who knows?"

Hinata turned her head and gave her a disgruntled look.

"Stop focusing on me, what about you? Who do you like?"

"Me?" Sakura was taken aback, her innocent eyes widening. "How could I have a crush on anyone?"

"Hehe." Hinata chuckled to herself, "You said it yourself, Sakura from that world confessed to Naruto."

"That's quite a bold move!"

Sakura Haruno's expression froze instantly.

"What does Sakura from that world have to do with me? Let her like whoever she wants." Sakura blushed, her left hand unconsciously touching her cheek, and murmured, "I can't control her anyway, she's not me."

Oh~~

Hinata drawled out the last syllable, gazing at Sakura with a thoughtful expression.

"So you didn't like Naruto before... then you like Sasuke!" she concluded with a smile. "Everyone can see that!"

"Don't try to play matchmaker!" Sakura Haruno exclaimed anxiously, waving her hands repeatedly in denial, "I'm innocent with him!"

As if afraid Hinata wouldn't believe him, he added, "I don't like him, don't spread gossip!"

Hinata chuckled.

They clearly didn't believe it.

"Really!" Sakura Haruno said, both amused and exasperated, gazing into the distance, "In this Shinobi World... it's in such a turbulent time, how could I possibly be in the mood for romantic moments with someone? To be honest, I have absolutely no interest in dating boys."

"So, Sasuke... is just a friend!"

"Friend!"

She emphasized her words fiercely, stressing out the sentence.

As Sakura Haruno turned her head slightly, she saw Hinata staring at her with a strange look that made her feel uneasy.

"What... are you doing?" Sakura Haruno felt extremely uncomfortable. "Is there a problem?"

"There's only one question."

Hinata put on a serious expression.

"You're not interested in boys, which means... you like girls?" Hinata suppressed a laugh and said, "Come on! Who do you like, Ino or Haku?"

"Or... choose me?"

Hinata playfully winked and gave Sakura Haruno a flirtatious look.

Sakura Haruno's blood rushed to her face.

"Hina--Tian--!"

"Aiya!" she lunged forward, baring her teeth and claws, "I'll take you down with me!"

They played around for a while.

As a result, Sakura Haruno was exhausted but still couldn't do anything to Hinata.

After all, as a split version of herself, she was only a few decades old in reality, and her body had only undergone simple training. Naturally, her Taijutsu could not compare to Hinata had studied Gentle Fist for ten years.

"Hehe, save your energy." Hinata stood leisurely to the side, arms crossed, and calmly said, "Your fancy moves are no match for me."

"Cough cough." The split-body, panting, supported himself on his knees and glared at her.

"Hmph... I'll deal with you when I get here!"

"Then don't try to be brave with just a clone!" The girl with the Byakugan walked over, gently patting her back to help her catch her breath, and said with a smile, "Alright, I won't mess around with you anymore."

"Seriously, Sakura, come with me for some training in Hokuto Shinken these next few days!" Hinata said seriously.

"Um?"

"Even if you want to be tall, I can't hold you back, can I?" Hinata said calmly, gazing into the distance.

With her continuous hard work, the help of Sakura Haruno, and her mastery of the Hokuto Shinken, her strength is already outstanding among her peers.

If it weren't for the fact that there were a few exceptional individuals among her peers, Hinata could be considered a truly talented young woman.

Whether out of pride or to support her friends, she would never allow herself to become a burden to be protected. Even if it was just a small act of support, Hinata hoped to share some of the pressure with her friends.

"I can't just watch you all walk away while I stand still!"

She turned her head and looked intently at Sakura Haruno.

"Huh?" Sakura Haruno was taken aback for a moment, then laughed.

"Then, I will grant your request on my behalf!"

Three days later, Sakura Haruno herself arrived in the Land of Snow.

When the clone was retrieved, Hinata felt something was off—the clone's personality was subtly different from the original's, and Hinata felt like another friend had suddenly disappeared.

However, this is nothing special.

Like Kazahana Koyuki, she didn't even notice that the pink-haired girl who routinely came to chat and joke with her had changed.

In the Land of Snow of the icy land, nothing else bothers the two young ninjas except for their daily training.

After just half a month of focused training, Hinata completed the practice of the fourth punch of Hokuto Shinken and broke through to the fifth punch.

As a sister series to the Eight Gates Released Formation, Hokuto Shinken has a very imposing name, but its actual effects are much gentler than the Eight Gates Released Formation. Even when the fifth punch is used, it will not cause too much physical burden to the user.

--As a trade-off, its amplification effect is not as significant as that of the Eight Gates Released Formation.

Hinata, who was already at the level of Jonin at this time—only slightly weaker than Neji was when he died in the original story—could even hold her own against some Elite Jonin after mastering the Hokuto Shinken technique to its fullest extent.

Nothing major happened after that.

The days passed quietly in the Land of Snow training and preparations for the Star God Mode.

Looking at the time, it's almost late September, and it's about time to go back.

Sakura Haruno then bid farewell to Yuki and returned to Konoha with Hinata.

[First Update]

[The Hinata in this book isn't someone whose mind is only filled with romance...]