Return to the Village

Hinata played with the Truth-Seeking Orb for a while, then withdrew the sky-blue energy surging over her body.

However, she did not retract her Tenseigan. Ever since gaining them, she had practically remained in a Byakugan state the entire time. She simply found it uncomfortable to look at anything that way.

She felt much better now. The Tenseigan's pulse was also incredibly strong; they had been stifled for far too long.

"All right, you've only just awakened the Tenseigan. Don't get too excited. You'll have plenty of time to grow accustomed to those eyes."

"Tenseigan?" Hinata feigned ignorance.

"Yes, the Tenseigan... the legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths and his brother."

"You must use those eyes well and bring peace to this world."

"I will."

Afterward, the Great Toad Sage handed Hinata a scroll and allowed her to leave.

On her way to find Jiraiya, Hinata opened the scroll. It contained an introduction to the Tenseigan, as well as instructions for using them.

Of course, it was practically useless to Hinata.

"Still..."

Hinata looked up at the sky. Though it was daytime, the sunlight was not too harsh, and she could still make out the moon's outline from Mount Myōboku.

All this time, the giant Tenseigan on the moon had been resonating with her Tenseigan.

However, she had deliberately restrained herself from establishing a connection with the giant Tenseigan on the moon. Combined with the control of the person on the moon—

the giant Tenseigan on the moon had not made much of a reaction. But this time, when Hinata used Tenseigan Mode—she had no Chakra, so it was simply Tenseigan Mode—the giant Tenseigan on the moon sensed her directly.

Now, the person on the moon should have completely confirmed that someone in the Shinobi World—or, more precisely, a member of the Hyuga clan—had awakened the Tenseigan.

"Come to think of it, there should only be one person left on the moon now, right?"

Should she seize the Tenseigan on the moon?

Hinata thought it over carefully and decided against it.

The giant Tenseigan was not essential to Hinata, and besides, the moon could not be tampered with carelessly.

Only with the giant Tenseigan maintaining it could the seal on the moon be reassuring.

If it had been before, there would have been no need to worry so much. But now, all sorts of demons and monsters were scrambling to emerge, and Hinata worried that the moon might not be peaceful either.

The truth was just as Hinata had guessed. Although the moon looked unchanged from the Shinobi World, if one were actually on the moon, one would discover—

the moon had undergone an enormous transformation!

The entire moon was now wrapped in a barrier, and the one sustaining that barrier was the giant Tenseigan.

It maintained such a vast barrier solely because outside the lunar barrier was a pitch-black, ominous, bizarre energy that constantly corroded it.

In this state, Otsutsuki Toneri, the moon's only living inhabitant, had no spare capacity to observe the Shinobi World at all.

Toneri had noticed the resonance from the giant Tenseigan and guessed that someone had awakened the Tenseigan, but he did not know who it was.

If he had known, he would have captured Hinata and brought her back to the moon to raise her long ago.

"Hinata, your eyes..."

Jiraiya stared at Hinata's eyes in astonishment. How had the color of her pupils changed after only such a short while?

"Oh, this is a power the Great Toad Sage helped me awaken. These eyes are the evolved form of the Byakugan. They're called the Tenseigan."

Jiraiya immediately understood. He was not foolish enough to ask what abilities her Tenseigan possessed.

In the Shinobi World, privately probing into someone's secrets was a grave taboo.

Even so...

"Say, Hinata, could you change your... Tenseigan back into their Byakugan form? Your eyes are a little..." Jiraiya carefully chose his words. "Too conspicuous."

"Senior Disciple Brother Jiraiya..." Hinata's tone was incomparably serious.

Even Jiraiya could not help becoming tense.

"Retracting the Tenseigan into the Byakugan state is like putting an extremely tight collar around my neck. It's very uncomfortable! And besides..."

Hinata looked at Jiraiya with her sapphire-blue eyes. "Looking at my eyes, Senior Disciple Brother Jiraiya, don't you think they're beautiful? Don't you want to see these eyes every day?"

Jiraiya: "..."

"Beautiful... they are quite beautiful, but..."

In the end, Jiraiya still did not say the rest aloud.

Aside from being conspicuous, Hinata's eyes made Jiraiya feel as if he could be seen through whenever she stared at him.

Jiraiya did not try to persuade Hinata to put away her Tenseigan again. From getting to know her over the past few days, he knew that Hinata was a child with her own mind. Besides, no one in Hidden Leaf Village could threaten her!

Jiraiya already felt deeply guilty about placing the heavy burden of saving the world and bringing peace to it upon a child. What he could do now was at least give Hinata a happy childhood.

Since there was nothing more to learn at Mount Myōboku, it was time for them to return to Hidden Leaf Village.

The moment he arrived in Hidden Leaf Village, he had rushed straight to the Hokage Building. Without even taking a break, he had brought Hinata to Mount Myōboku.

Now, all he wanted was to enjoy a nice hot spring in Hidden Leaf Village and gather some material while he was at it.

At that thought, Jiraiya revealed a lecherous grin.

Hinata: "..."

What was going on? Why did Jiraiya's smile look so familiar?

Why did it resemble the expression she used to make while watching her 2D wives come to life?

Only then did Hinata remember that Jiraiya was also an artistic writer.

Judging by that expression, he had probably thought of something again.

"Senior Disciple Brother Jiraiya, shouldn't we be heading back?"

"Huh? Oh, right. Got it."

They had traveled to Mount Myōboku through the Reverse Summoning Jutsu, which directly teleported them there, but leaving meant they could only travel on foot.

However, Hinata said there was no need for such trouble.

Her Tenseigan possessed the ability to control space.

She did not display excessively powerful strength, though, and her spatial teleportation did not cover too great a distance.

Only ten kilometers or so.

With Hinata's spatial ability, the two of them returned to Hidden Leaf Village within a single day.

Looking at the gates of Hidden Leaf Village before them, Jiraiya finally asked the question he had always wanted to ask.

"Hinata, you've kept your Tenseigan active the whole time. Doesn't it put any burden on your body?"

"Senior Disciple Brother Jiraiya, you know that over these years, I've accumulated an enormous amount of Nature Energy within my body. The True Qi consumed to maintain the Tenseigan isn't even restored as quickly as I recover it, so don't worry."

Hinata was somewhat looking forward to walking through Hidden Leaf Village. Honestly, part of why she kept her Tenseigan active was to show them off.

Now that she had the Tenseigan, even if they were exposed, no one could threaten her. Wouldn't it be ridiculous to keep them stifled and hidden away?

Jiraiya sighed and looked at Hinata indulgently.

He could tell that Hinata wanted to show them off a little.

But he did not stop her. That was what children were supposed to do.

On the contrary, the more mature Hinata was, the more worried he became.