"I was wrong. I was so wrong. I should never have underestimated romance scenes from the very start. If I'd picked the romance training back then, maybe things wouldn't have turned out like this..."
"Skipping the romance scene training course was my mistake..."
Her bond with Hikari was friendship, and her bond with Hinata was family. But Hanabi still felt that kind of training would have been useful as reference material.
The first time she'd seen the training course listed, she'd dismissed it without a second thought. Now that she'd missed her chance, she was drowning in regret.
That boomerang had come right back to smack her in the face.
At least nothing went wrong in the end.
The scene hadn't followed her script, but the result turned out fine. As long as the final outcome was good, all was well—right?
Thanks to Zhuixia's restorative abilities, neither Hanabi nor Hikari had any physical injuries. But Hanabi had forcibly merged the mara-struck Jingliu Puppet into herself through resonance, and the mental toll was considerable.
Fortunately, this set was Naruto, not Star Rail. There was no Aeon-level power here—all the anomalous forces were essentially chakra simulations. So after weathering the brain-scrambling "mental storm," things settled down considerably.
By the time the two returned to the village inn, dawn hadn't even broken.
"Hanabi!"
What Hanabi hadn't expected was to find her sister waiting at the entrance. The moment Hinata spotted them, she rushed over.
"I saw you were both gone from your rooms—you're not hurt, are you?"
Hinata asked anxiously.
"Mm, we're fine." Hanabi smiled.
"Thank goodness."
Hanabi didn't offer, and Hinata didn't press. That was the understanding between sisters.
And Hanabi really didn't have any visible injuries.
Hikari, on the other hand, had scuffed clothing, smudges of dirt, and fading marks on her skin—but she didn't seem injured either.
What were these two doing out in the wilderness in the middle of the night?
The thought weighed heavily on Hinata, but she didn't dare ask more. She was even starting to second-guess herself.
But then Hanabi walked over, gently took her hand, and leaned against her. "Oh, right—Hikari, I never had the chance before. Let me introduce you. This is my most esteemed sister, Hyuga Hinata."
"H-hello! Please take care of me!"
In terms of raw strength, Hikari could handle a hundred Hinatas without flinching. But standing before Hanabi's sister, she felt inexplicably nervous—like a child leaving home for the very first time.
"Hello, Hikari." Hinata smiled back at her.
She was here first, after all.
But this was nice too.
Hinata could tell that Hikari and Hanabi seemed to share a genuine bond.
"Hanabi!"
Neji came hurrying over as well. Despite being stronger than Hinata, he'd only noticed later.
Neji knew more of the "inside story" than Hinata, which only made him more anxious.
"Oh my." Hanabi walked over and took Neji's hand. "And this is my cousin, Hyuga Neji."
"Pleased to meet you." Hikari's tone was stiff. She seemed to be trying to act natural, but it had the opposite effect—her movements only looked more rigid. The way she bowed from the waist, she looked exactly like a rusty old robot.
Meanwhile, Hanabi turned her back to Neji and used Zhuixia's cords to subtly pull down the collar of her kimono, revealing more of her neck and upper back.
The mark that should have been there had vanished without a trace.
Neji let out a breath of relief. That meant Hanabi had resolved the problem.
But he still said, "Next time you go out, please tell me beforehand."
With Hinata and Hikari present, Neji could only communicate with Hanabi by implication.
"Yes, my dear esteemed brother."
Neji: "..."
After finishing with Hanabi, Neji turned to Hikari. "About before—I'm sorry."
"Oh, that... No, it's fine. If I were in your position, I'd have done the same thing."
Neji had previously suggested that killing Hikari might be the most straightforward way to protect Hanabi.
Hikari must have heard some of that.
But she could understand Neji. If their positions were reversed, she'd have done the same.
No—she already had.
If Hanabi hadn't noticed her going to the seal site alone, who knows what would have happened...
After speaking with Hikari, Neji raised another concern.
Hinata didn't know the full picture of Hikari's identity—only that she might be a member of the Uchiha clan, nothing more. But Neji knew.
"Hanabi, what do you plan to do about Hikari? The Uchiha clan has been wiped out. Bringing her back to the village would cause an uproar."
Everything else was manageable. But if Danzō caught wind of this, he'd come sniffing around in no time.
Danzō might not actually beat Hikari in a fight, but he possessed a Sharingan implanted with the brainwashing dōjutsu Kotoamatsukami—and that was the real problem.
"Getting into the village isn't hard, actually. We just need to keep her Uchiha identity under wraps."
And that really wouldn't be difficult. The Chūnin Exams were coming up soon, and outsiders had already begun trickling into Konohagakure.
That was also why Hanabi had chosen to start filming the OVA before the Chūnin Exams, once she'd secured the shooting opportunity. The exams gave her the perfect cover to bring Hikari into Konoha.
What Hanabi was more curious about was whether her Zhuixia would work against dōjutsu like Kotoamatsukami, or other types of genjutsu.
Unfortunately, there were only two Kotoamatsukami eyes in existence—one in the hands of Konoha's resident pot-stirrer Danzō, and the other with Itachi Uchiha. Both were extremely difficult people to deal with.
So that particular thought experiment had to be shelved.
"The OVA filming is more or less wrapped up. After that comes the Chūnin Exams arc."
Hanabi had set aside two weeks to deal with Hikari's situation. But every member of the Hyuga household had shown more initiative than the last, practically pushing the "plot" forward on their own, leaving Hanabi unable to slow down. The whole thing was resolved in less than a week.
She had no intention of wasting the remaining time. More downtime meant more time for "editing."
And she could also attend some classes. Those dozens of biology class hours were still waiting for her.
"Well, Hikari and I will head back to rest."
The cost could be deferred. Hanabi didn't want to pay any further price here.
Watching Hanabi and Hikari leave, Hinata steeled her gaze. She turned to Neji. "Neji, I want more rigorous training."
"Are you sure?" Neji looked at her.
Hinata clasped her fingers together tightly. "I feel like an outsider. I can't do anything. But I don't want it to stay like this..."
Her voice was soft, her words halting.
But in the end, she found her resolve.
Hinata raised her head. "Neji, I want to become strong. Strong enough to protect Hanabi!"