Standing amidst the ruins, Hinata looked around blankly.
The battle wasn't particularly fierce, and was even somewhat easy, but this battlefield... is it really a battlefield for Konoha Genin?
Hinata walked over to Shikamaru and the others, smiled gently at Nine-Tails, and said with her eyes crinkling, "Thank you, Little Fox!"
Nine-Tails- Tailed Fox snorted and said disdainfully, "Little girl, I'm older than your grandfather!"
"Yes, yes, yes..."
Hinata raised her hands in surrender and said with a smile, "Little Fox, take your Chakra back first!"
Chakra Nine-Tails withdrew its chakra, its fierce gaze fixed on Hinata, and said in a stern tone, "Little girl, since you say you are... then this old man will give you a gift!"
Chakra doesn't lie.
Nine-Tails sensed Hinata's feelings for it through Hinata's Chakra.
That was a deep and heartfelt affection!
So Nine-Tails now completely believes Hinata's lies!
After all, under normal circumstances, Konoha ninjas all hate the Nine-Tails. There would never be a single Konoha Ninja who genuinely likes the Nine-Tails.
Unless this person actually met the Sage of Six Paths, or was the Sage of Sage of Six Paths' brother...
I learned some of the truths about ancient times.
Nine-Tails gave Hinata a deep look, without specifying what the gift was. The red Chakra on Naruto's body quickly faded, Naruto collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Hinata was taken aback at first, but then quickly realized what was going on.
"Hehehe... hehehehe..."
Shikamaru covered his face, saying with a hint of helplessness, "Hinata, what are you grinning about?"
Hinata rolled her eyes at Shikamaru and snorted, "What do you know? Nine-Tails gave me a very valuable gift. Maybe I'll become very powerful in the future."
Kiba asked curiously, "What did Nine-Tails give you?"
Hinata snorted lightly, too lazy to bother with her teeth.
Can I tell you?
Although Hinata did not feel anything unusual in her body at the moment, Nine-Tails clearly bestowed a portion of its power upon Hinata.
It was just a tiny bit, a very insignificant little bit.
But this is part of the Ten-Tails!
Hinata suddenly had an idea: if she could fool the Nine-Tails, then she could fool the One-Tail, the Two-Tails, the Three-Tails... and even all the way up to the Eight-Tails.
I am the Child of Prophecy, the boy who played with the Tailed Beasts in the words of the Sage of Six Paths.
If we could gather the power of Nine Tailed Beasts, we would possess the God Tree Chakra!
Hinata immediately adjusted her mindset.
That's right, I am the Child of Prophecy, the hero entrusted by the Sage of Sage of Six Paths' younger brother to save the Shinobi World!
Only by convincing yourself that you truly believe it can you convince others to do the same.
Hinata silently repeated it to herself dozens of times, finally convincing herself that she did indeed have a mission!
Yes! I believe it without a doubt!
I am destined to be the hero who saves the Shinobi World! I am the legendary Child of Prophecy!
Shikamaru looked at the ruins of Otogakure and said with some difficulty, "Although we've always said we'd gather information on Orochimaru, with Otogakure in this state, it'll be difficult to gather any useful information now, won't it?"
Hinata's attention was finally drawn to Shikamaru's words.
It's like I got exactly what I wanted!
Hinata, do you remember that in the Original Story, the Eight-Tails had one of its horns cut off by the Third Raikage their battle?
Orochimaru took the opportunity to collect cell samples from the Eight-Tails and spent several years cloning a new Eight-Tails' Horn...
And there's more...
Samehada was once a small fish that stayed by the side of the Three-Tails. Is it possible to obtain the power of the Three-Tails by using Samehada?
"Am I really blessed by Goddess Luck?"
Hinata was incredibly excited at that moment.
Having just been granted power by the Nine-Tails, he can now find the Eight-Tails' Horn in the blink of an eye. He also obtained items related to the Three-Tails, allowing him to gather the power of all three Tailed Beasts in one go.
Running dungeons definitely yields rewards!
Choji stared blankly at Hinata was secretly grinning to herself, and asked in confusion, "Boss, did something happy happen to you?"
Hinata hurriedly said, "Choji, hurry up and grow bigger, then move those stones away. I need to get... I need to start gathering information!"
Hinata walked to Naruto's side, nudged Naruto, and softly called, "Naruto... Naruto..."
"Kindness?"
Naruto opened one eye, looking somewhat bewildered, and said, "Hinata?"
"By the way! Where's Sasuke? Did you Sasuke rescue him?"
Naruto's eyes were fixed on Hinata, as if he really wanted to hear a positive answer from Hinata.
Hinata's eyes dimmed slightly, and she shook her head gently.
Shikamaru explained, "Naruto, I'm sorry! We couldn't rescue Sasuke."
Naruto's mood immediately plummeted.
"I see..."
Touching his stomach, Naruto secretly resolved that he must get along well with Nine-Tails.
Next time I encounter Orochimaru, I can't be a burden and a hindrance again.
Hinata patted Naruto on the shoulder, comforting him, "Naruto, don't be too disappointed. We defeated Orochimaru this time, and if we encounter him again, we'll definitely be able to Sasuke!"
"What we need to do now is to gather as much information as possible about Orochimaru!"
"Naruto, do you see those ruins over there?"
"We must clear the rubble..."
"As long as we can get information about Orochimaru, we will definitely be able to defeat him and Sasuke Orochimaru."
Naruto instantly regained his full strength and roared with boundless energy, "Alright, leave it to me!"
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Naruto, Choji, Kiba, and Rock Lee all went to move stones. Shikamaru walked up to Hinata and said in a serious tone, "Hinata, you... you could actually have stopped Sasuke, right?"
Hinata feigned ignorance and asked, "What did you say?"
Shikamaru looked at Naruto and the other three who were busy at work, and slowly said, "I know... Although the Lord Hokage has not declared Sasuke a missing-nin, what will happen to him once Sasuke is brought back to the village?"
"Although my relationship with Sasuke isn't very good, and he's not very sociable, we are still fellow villagers after all."
Hinata glanced at Shikamaru but said nothing.
Shikamaru gave a wry smile and said softly, "Actually, you don't need to be so wary of me. When we get back to the village, I can promise not to say anything."
Hinata continued to watch Shikamaru, Shikamaru put his hands behind his head and pouted, "This is so troublesome! Sometimes it might be easier if we didn't know anything!"
Hinata said with a smile, "Then you should learn from me! Even if you know, you can pretend you don't know anything!"
Shikamaru didn't say anything more and went up to help Naruto and the others clear the rubble.
Shikamaru... is actually a very responsible and dependable person!
Hinata her Byakugan and searched everywhere for the Eight-Tails' Horn.
That thing... it seems Orochimaru put it in a container.
Although the Otogakure had been reduced to ruins, Hinata's Byakugan could still see what was happening beneath the ruins.
Hinata searched back and forth several times, but she just couldn't find the Eight-Tails' Horn.
"Could it be that he's not here?"
Hinata scratched her head in frustration.
It seems that this is all the loot from the Otogakure dungeon. I'll have to find another opportunity to run the dungeon called 'Orochimaru's Secret Base' later.