That azure starlight belonging to the Ōtsutsuki Source flashed through Hinata's pure white eyes, then vanished.
It was brief, yet it carried a cold Intimidation that stood above every living thing on this land. Within three meters, the fallen leaves that had been blown away by Repulsion were crushed into fine dust by an invisible aura, drifting down onto the moss.
Xiao's pupils contracted slightly. Looking at the girl before him, wrapped in an oversized black trench coat, an undisguised curve of satisfaction rose at his lips.
The Pact Stone's chakra had not only reshaped her chakra pathways, but had even transcended the Hyuga Clan's bloodline shackles of a thousand years, directly awakening the most ancient resonance hidden deep within the Byakugan. The blade he had forged with his own hands had finally been sharpened.
"You adapted to the power faster than I expected." Xiao's voice broke the silence of the woods. He took half a step forward, his boots making a faint crunch against the fallen leaves.
He raised a hand, his rough fingertips brushing across Hinata's collarbone, which had turned slightly pale from the cold. He pulled the black trench coat that had slipped down half an inch back into place, wrapping her small body tightly inside it.
Hinata did not dodge. The night wind carried the spray from the waterfall, cutting harshly through the treetops. The exposed skin of her body was chilled to the bone, yet the mass of Stellar Chakra Xiao had personally sealed into the vital point at her lower back continuously radiated scorching heat. The warm current flowed through her newly formed chakra pathways like a volcano ready to erupt at any moment, giving her confidence unlike anything she had ever known.
"Get dressed." Xiao bent down and picked up the soaked white