After eating and drinking their fill, Hinata and Roman did not train or refine Chakra. For the two of them, simply cultivating to increase their Chakra was far too inefficient now.
On the contrary, merely holding hands and staying together, pressing their bodies as close together as possible, and relying on Soul Resonance to make the essence of their souls resonate with one another—
That was the fastest way to increase their Chakra, physical strength, and even eye power.
Thus, Hinata Hyuga said she would show Roman around the Hyuga Estate and familiarize him with his new home. She proactively took his hand and wandered around the estate with him.
Time flew by, and night soon fell. Only then had the two of them toured the entire Hyuga Estate, including every area of the Hyuga grounds except the restricted zones.
Roman also learned that the Hyuga Clan was a large family, with more than a thousand people living within it.
There were ordinary hired tenant farmers and servants living in the family, and they resided on the very outskirts of the clan grounds.
Further inside stood the residences of the Branch Family. They looked quite refined, though they could not be called luxurious.
The homes in the core area of the Hyuga Clan, where the Hyuga Main Family lived, were the truly grand and luxurious ones.
All of this showed that the Hyuga Clan was a family that valued rules. Servants, the Branch Family, and the Main Family were clearly separated.
Yet in such a strictly regulated clan, Hinata Hyuga had arranged the best clothes, food, and lodging for him.
This was simply amazing!
As expected of another me!
Thinking this, Roman could not resist planting a kiss on Hinata Hyuga's cheek.
Although Hinata was somewhat surprised, she did not resist. She even had Roman squat down, then returned the kiss by planting one on his forehead.
That scene happened to be witnessed by the Hyuga Main Family's patriarch, Hyuga Hiashi, who was approaching from a distance. It felt as though the sky had fallen, and he inwardly collapsed as he thought:
Just as I thought!
My daughter Hinata has taken a liking to Roman!
Damn it! What a beast!
My daughter is still so young!!
Tap, tap.
Hyuga Hiashi quickly walked over. His Byakugan stared coldly at Roman as he said, "It's already late. I've arranged a place for you to stay, so I'll take you there now."
Roman raised a brow at those words.
Old Man Hiashi wants to take me away from Hinata. Could he be trying to lure me away from her, then attack me directly? Or sell me to Danzo, the Scapegoat of This World?
No, I can't go with that old man Hyuga Hiashi. What if he brings the Hyuga Clan's elites to attack and ambush me?
With only 1.5 Kakashi worth of Jonin Chakra right now, I might actually get taken down.
Roman's thoughts raced.
At that moment, Hinata sensed Roman's thoughts. She immediately stepped forward, shielding Roman behind her as she said, "Father, let me take Roman there instead."
Seeing his daughter protect that pretty boy Roman behind her, Hyuga Hiashi's face twitched.
Several seconds later, he finally gritted his teeth and said:
"Fine!
"The place is in the Branch Family district, next door to your cousin Neji Hyuga!
"You'll see it once you get there."
"Okay."
Hinata Hyuga nodded, then led Roman away.
Hyuga Hiashi stood where he was, watching the scene as his heart ached more and more. He could not understand what had gone wrong with his usual upbringing to make Hinata become such a looks-obsessed love-struck girl who always sided with outsiders.
Elsewhere, Roman and Hinata Hyuga soon arrived at the Hyuga Branch Family residence and found the house Hyuga Hiashi had mentioned.
Hinata went inside first. Only after confirming that the quilt, incense, and pillow were all new—and all of the same standard as her own—did she nod in satisfaction.
"Looks like Father did take my conditions seriously."
"Then that's it for today. I'm going to sleep first."
Roman yawned and prepared to go to bed.
"Wait."
Hinata raised a hand and placed it on Roman's shoulder.
???
Roman turned his head and looked at Hinata in confusion. Then he sensed her thoughts, and his eyes widened. "You want to..."
"Shh. Don't say it out loud."
Hinata held a finger before her lips. After activating her Byakugan and looking around to make sure no one was nearby, she used the Clone Technique to create a clone in Roman's appearance and had it lie down on the bed.
After finishing all that, Hinata whispered to Roman, "Come on, go back with me!"
"Wouldn't it be bad to hide this from Old Man Hiashi?"
"What's bad about it? For the two of us, staying together and using Soul Resonance to grow stronger is what matters. There's no need to care about anything else."
"What if Hyuga Hiashi finds out?"
"Even if he really finds out, leave it to me. I'm Father's only daughter, after all. He can't possibly kill me..."
At this point, Hinata Hyuga revealed a trace of impatience. "And are you even a man, Roman? Why are you being so wishy-washy?"
Roman gritted his teeth. "You said it. Don't blame me if this gets exposed!"
The two hurried through the night toward Hinata's residence. Without anyone noticing, they successfully arrived at Hinata's room and slipped beneath the same blanket, sleeping with their feet touching.
Nothing happened between them that night. Of course, that was mainly because neither of them had fully developed yet.
The moon set, and the sun rose.
Roman and Hinata awoke from their sleep and immediately discovered that after sleeping at such close range, both their physical strength and Chakra had surged dramatically, rising by an entire level.
For example, after one night of sleep, Roman discovered that the amount of Chakra in his body had successfully doubled, reaching three Kakashi—equivalent to the level of three Jonin Kakashi.
That amount of Chakra was also a standout among Konoha's ninja.
Aside from Chakra, Roman's Byakugan eye power and physical strength had also greatly increased, reaching a new level. Though he had not yet entered the Tenseigan Awakening stage, Roman instinctively felt that he was not far from Tenseigan Awakening.
A week? A month?
In any case, before Naruto grew up, became a Genin, and the main story of Naruto began, he would possess Six Paths Level combat power!
Meanwhile, Hinata was also sensing the Chakra within her body. After checking, she found that her Chakra had indeed increased considerably, but it had not reached the level of an ordinary Jonin. It was not even comparable to Kakashi's.
Her eye power and physical strength had both increased as well, but the improvement was nowhere close to Roman's. This left Hinata feeling utterly puzzled as she said:
"Strange. I'm clearly the legitimate eldest daughter of the Hyuga Main Family, the one who truly possesses Chakra talent, so why did my Byakugan eye power and Chakra improve less than yours after one night of Soul Resonance?"
Roman lowered his head and pondered for a moment before voicing his guess. "Perhaps it's because the soul fragment I carried during reincarnation was a little larger... That's why I reincarnated in my original appearance, and why my abilities improve by a greater margin during Soul Resonance."
"That's possible." Hinata nodded thoughtfully, then seemed to think of something. Looking straight into Roman's eyes, she said, "But doesn't that mean the one we rely on in the future will change from me to you?"
"We're truly on the same side. Does it matter who gets to be the one we rely on?" Roman smiled freely.
"Maybe seven days from now—no... six days from now—when we enter the Hall of Chaos again, a new reincarnated Roman soul fragment will arrive. That new reincarnated Roman might become the new one we rely on!
"When that happens, we'll cling tightly to our new support and refine it in an instant!"
After saying that, Roman seemed to remember something else and spoke again. "Right, aside from the improvements to my Chakra, Byakugan eye power, and physical strength after waking up this time, there was another gain!"
Hinata stared with her Byakugan, her face full of curiosity.
"What?"
Roman raised both hands and looked at the fingerprint patterns on his palms. "It seems I now have the Hyuga Clan's bloodline, and its purity is extremely high.
"I can instinctively gather the Chakra in my body into my palms, then strike it out in a unique manner.
"Forming Vacuum Attack."
Before you continue