Hinata, Stop Pretending

Then she took another light bite, as delicate as a dragonfly touching the water. Yet less than two minutes later, she called, "Waiter, bring me another thirty skewers of dumplings."

The plate was already clean, with only toothpicks left. Across from her, Anko Mitarashi watched the scene, and the aura she had been putting on suddenly froze.

Her eyes went blank, long devoid of that venomous-snake-like feeling. There was even a hint of adorably morbid curiosity in her seemingly incredulous gaze.

Anko Mitarashi felt as though she had met her match today. That move had nearly thrown her Chakra into disarray and killed her. She roared inwardly, You only take tiny bites, yet finish everything within two minutes. Are you eating with Space-Time Ninjutsu or something?

After finishing the thirty dumpling skewers, Hinata somehow pulled out a handkerchief and gently wiped her mouth with impeccable manners.

Then, seeing Anko Mitarashi looking as deflated as a popped balloon, she smiled smugly to herself. Serves you right for scaring me.

But she put on a nervous expression and asked, "Ninja auntie, are you okay?"

Anko Mitarashi felt the little composure she had just regained get utterly shattered by that one word—"auntie." The ninja world really was terrifying. This baby wanted to go home.

Anko Mitarashi struggled to her feet, feeling her entire body sway. She raised a hand to stop Hinata, who seemed to have stood up to help her.

That girl would absolutely grow up to become a queen. If not, she would eat shit. Come to think of it, should she warn that old man, the Third Hokage? Forget it. That old man was annoying. Anko Mitarashi pondered.

Not long after Anko Mitarashi left, the shop seemed to become even livelier than before. Many people focused their gazes on Hinata.

Their eyes held complicated emotions all at once—gratitude, freedom, and more. Even the waiter bringing her dumplings smiled far more warmly at her, though everyone wore the same unspoken smile.

Hinata Hyuga wondered inwardly, Just what outrageously evil things did that delinquent young woman Anko Mitarashi do?

But when she saw the thirty dumpling skewers placed back on the table, she decided to forget it. Thinking was nowhere near as satisfying as eating dumplings.

So, two minutes later, she called, "Waiter, bring me another thirty skewers of dumplings."

At that, many people turned their eyes toward Hinata again. For some reason, they vaguely felt that something bad was about to happen.

Chapter 12: The Remarkable Uzumaki Naruto

Not long after Hinata left the dumpling shop, thoroughly satisfied, a terrifying tale and legend began spreading through the shop once more.

If Hinata found out, she would definitely curse them for being shameless. This was clearly blatant commercial marketing, wasn't it?

Though such things had been commonplace in her previous life, there were definitely very few people in the Naruto world skilled in this sort of thing.

Besides, the person they were slandering was Hinata, the eldest daughter of the main family of the Hyuga Clan, Konoha's strongest clan—perhaps even the strongest clan in the ninja world. Did they no longer want to run their shop properly in Konoha? Were they planning to learn from Shimura Danzō?

As Hinata walked out of the dumpling shop, she recalled that the food really had tasted good. Next time she wanted dumplings, she would come here again.

"But speaking of which, when I watched anime in my previous life, the legendary Ichiraku Ramen was quite famous. I vaguely remember that at this point, Ichiraku Ramen was just a street stall."

Hinata murmured, "This dumpling shop is already so delicious. I really want a steaming-hot bowl of Ichiraku Ramen."

"But after walking around, I still haven't found Ichiraku Ramen. Is it not on this street? Forget it. I'll ask Naruto when I get back to school."

"Naruto definitely knows. And according to all those forum posts, Old Man Ichiraku seemed to have practically been deified. Considering everything, it would be better to invest early."

Hinata also knew that Old Man Ichiraku probably was not some hidden big shot. Although all those forum posts and comments were absurd, with nothing but a scrap of information and theories built entirely on hot air—

She still had to prepare for the unexpected. Sometimes reality could be even more absurd than imagination.

"Ah!" Hinata came back to her senses and decided to stop thinking nonsense. Perhaps it really was a side effect of transmigration, but her imagination had already broken through the heavens. Hinata decided it was better to be practical.

She already had her plan: in the early stages, proceed steadily and build a solid foundation. In the later stages, once she unlocked reincarnation, as long as she did not get herself killed, she would go all out. That was the best way to play the pig to eat the tiger.