Hinata looked at Li, sensing that something seemed off in his expression. Li merely shook his head gently. "It's nothing. I'm just happy that I can finally fight alongside my companions."
Hinata froze for a moment, then nodded softly.
"Oh, right. Earlier, while I was in that illusion realm, I had a dream." Li smiled. He had wanted to make things official with Hinata now. No matter what happened afterward, even if he made some mistake while pretending to be Naruto, it would not matter. As long as Hinata firmly supported him, the others would surely doubt their own judgment, right?
"Huh?" The confusion on Hinata's face as she looked at Naruto deepened.
"F-Forget it. We'll talk about it later." With that, Li jumped down.
Hinata looked in confusion at the spot where Li had jumped. Just as she was about to follow him down, a voice came from behind her. "Hinata."
Hinata spun around sharply. Standing there was the white-haired man who had appeared earlier. He stood atop another sphere, seemingly completely unaffected by the illusions.
The instant Hinata saw him, anger flashed across her face. "Hand Hanabi over. Now."
"Don't worry." The man lightly stepped off the sphere and leapt to Hinata's side. "She's safe, sleeping in my castle. Of course, what happens to her afterward depends entirely on your attitude, Byakugan Princess. Your answer will decide what becomes of your little sister."
"Byakugan Princess?" Hinata's face was full of confusion, as if she was unsure whether he was addressing her.
The white-haired man slowly opened his eyes. To Hinata's surprise, he possessed a pair of Byakugan as well. They were indeed Byakugan, and ones of exceptionally pure bloodline at that.
"Hinata, marry me!" the white-haired man said, his expression brimming with incomparable tenderness.
Meanwhile, Li sensed that