Hinata and Michel remained in the dojo room of the Silver World, seated at opposite ends of the crystal table. Kuro, as always, rested peacefully on Hinata's lap.
Hinata gently stroked the fur along Kuro's neck and whispered, "I liked remembering Naruto… When I see pieces of my past, they feel distant, fragmented. But with Naruto… it was so vivid."
Michel nodded. "Some memories linger more deeply than others. That's the nature of memory."
Without another word, Hinata placed her hand calmly on the crystal table, ready to see more.
The courtyard was silent. Not with peace, but with weight. The kind of silence that came before a storm. Or a judgment.
Hinata stood at the center, her small feet planted on the polished stone. Her arms were raised in the Hyūga stance, trembling slightly. Across from her, Hanabi waited—smaller, sharper, and already ignited with chakra. Her eyes glowed faintly, and the Byakugan awakened.
Around them, their father Hiashi and the elders observed. The trainers watched. And above them all, seated on a high stone bench, the clan's patriarch narrowed his gaze.
"Begin."
Hanabi moved like a spark. Fast. Clean.
Hinata raised her arms to block, just as she had been taught. But the strike slipped past. Another followed. Then a third. She staggered back, barely catching herself.
Hanabi pressed forward, her strikes mechanical, precise—delivered without cruelty, but also without hesitation. She struck again. A chakra pulse forced Hinata's shoulder to twist sideways.
And Hinata… slow, unsure, unbalanced… was the failed exhibit.
"The younger surpasses the elder," One of the elders finally murmured. "There is no place for sentiment in bloodlines."
Hiashi said nothing. But he lowered his gaze. A final strike sent Hinata to the floor. She did not cry. She rose, swaying, her lip split and arms sore, and bowed in the formal Hyūga way.
Even now… she respected the form.
Hanabi bowed back, emotionless.
The trainers nodded. The elders marked their scrolls.
That night, in the Silver World, Michel waited for her.
He did not speak at first. Neither did she. Hinata sat beside the pond in silence, Kuro's head in her lap.
When Hinata finally looked up, her expression was distant. Detached. That was what frightened him most.
So he made a decision. "Today," he said gently, "you're going to learn a different kind of technique."
Hinata blinked.
Michel stepped to the center and bowed. "No chakra. No pressure points. No Hyūga rules. Just… motion."
A path built not on chakra or bloodline, but on form, breath, and the spirit to endure, the seed to something greater. She stepped forward.
Michel began with stances. Steps. Breathing.
Movements built from the martial disciplines of his old world—Aikido, Krav Maga, Systema, Silat. They were foreign to this land, yet rooted in a deeper truth: balance, leverage, flow.
Hinata listened. Watched. Followed. Not perfectly. Not yet. But something inside her… responded. She mimicked. She repeated. She learned.
And when Michel adjusted her arms, her footing, her breath, she did not resist. She adapted.
Kuro watched from the edge, tail wagging. At first, Michel ignored her. Then she barked. Loudly.
Hinata giggled.
Michel sighed and fetched a second practice sword—small, light. "Fine. You too."
Kuro took it in her mouth. Sat. Wagged again. He rolled his eyes. And trained them both.
Hinata withdrew her hand from the crystal table, and it trembled slightly. For the first time, Michel had linked a memory from the Silver World to one from the real world. And in doing so, something changed—the memory resurfaced with startling clarity, as if she had relived that moment in full.
Kuro, sensing her distress, gently licked her hand.
Michel stood from his seat and approached her carefully. "Hinata… are you alright?"
She shook her head softly. "No… I remembered that fight. I remembered what happened in the Silver World, and from there it all came rushing back. It was like I was there again… the judgment from the elders, the unfairness of facing someone with chakra and an activated Byakugan when I had nothing but weak training…"
Michel placed a supportive hand on her shoulder. "I didn't expect the memory to resurface so vividly. I won't connect the Silver World and the real world in that way again. I'm sorry."
Hinata took a deep breath. "I felt like Hiashi wasn't truly in favor of the match. Why did he agree to it?"
"Because of duty," Michel replied solemnly. "You were the heir. Your younger sister was seen as a prodigy. At six, you still hadn't awakened your chakra—and without it, there was no hope of unlocking the Byakugan. The elders pressured him to allow the match. He didn't want it, but he's a man of duty to his clan. So he agreed."
Hinata looked at him. "Why did you show me this?"
Michel met her gaze. "Because that was the moment I decided to start teaching you something in the Silver World. I needed to help you in any way I could. And… it led to results I never expected."
A brief encounter in the training yard. Neji passed near Hinata, glanced at her with disdain.
"You bow too much," he muttered.
She didn't respond.
He moved to leave, then flicked a small stone with his foot, fast and sharp, straight at her face.
Michel felt it. But he wasn't the only one who noticed.
Kuro moved.
She leapt, twisted mid-air, and swatted the stone with her paw, exactly like Michel had taught her to redirect a thrown blade.
Neji froze. So did Hinata. So did Michel. Kuro landed, stood tall, and let out a low growl.
Neji scoffed. "Tch. Still hiding behind a mutt." he walked away.
Michel, thought of the strike. Of the timing. "She remembered," he whispered. "Kuro remembered what I taught her."
And then, as the realization settled: "If she can… then so can Hinata."
He closed his eyes. For the first time in a long while, he felt hope.
What he was teaching wasn't just emotional comfort, it was real. It could transcend sleep. Memory. Maybe even soul. Perhaps… This Silver World surrounded by Grey was not just a sanctuary. It was a conduit. A path between spirit and flesh.
Hinata kept her hand on the crystal table, eyes wide with disbelief. "So… you really think it's possible?"
Michel smiled softly. "I stand by what I said. If Kuro can do it, I have no doubt you can too. Maybe it needs the right kind of stimulus—in the real world—but I believe your dream self and your real self can exist as one."
Hinata's voice grew quieter. "How did I never realize that before?"
Michel replied gently, "You were about to enter the Shinobi Academy. After that, Kuro didn't need to protect you the same way. That's also why I started specialized training for her… I had to be sure she could protect you when I couldn't."
Hinata turned to Kuro with mock reproach. "So you've been hiding this secret from me all along?"
Kuro lowered her head sheepishly, glancing up with her single eye.
Hinata laughed and hugged her tightly. "I can't stay mad at you."
Michel watched the scene with a fond smile, but it faded as Hinata turned to him again.
"I know you still have more to show me," she said. "And I know it's not good. Are you going to show me what happened next?"
Michel's smile disappeared completely. He returned to his place at the table in silence, focusing his silver threads over the surface.
Hinata placed her hand on the crystal once more.