With a creak, the study door opened, and a petite figure slowly stepped into the dimly lit room.
Moonlight streamed in from outside, casting a long shadow of the small figure.
"Honestly, what a hassle. I thought you wouldn't follow me." Menma emerged from the shadows, scratching his head in confusion.
Obviously, the Limited Tsukuyomi World is fake, but he wondered why did the Black Nine-Tails follow him, and why did his girlfriend follow him too?
In the study of the Hyuga Clan's head, two figures, one tall, one small, stood facing each other, less than two meters apart.
Menma removed his white three-eyed fox mask and looked down at the small figure standing in the doorway, bathed in the moonlight.
Hyuga Hinata.
Compared to the gentle and timid Hinata, the Hinata before Menma now had her Byakugan activated, veins bulging around her temples as she glared fiercely at Menma, who had taken off his mask.
Her pure white eyes were filled with resentment and an indescribable mix of emotions.
Hinata raised a hand, gathering Gentle Fist Chakra, and charged straight at Menma.
"You…!" Hinata jumped up and shouted, but her tears fell faster than her fist.
"You damn scumbag!" The strike landed squarely on Menma's chest, dispelling his Transformation Technique.
Poof!
As the smoke dissipated, Menma returned to his original child form.
"I'm sorry, Hinata."
His soft apology shattered whatever restraint Hinata had left.
She threw herself at him, sobbing uncontrollably.
"You clearly know it! You clearly know it! You knew I'd forgive you no matter what!" Tears streamed down her face as she opened her mouth and bit down hard on Menma's shoulder, venting years of pent-up frustration.
"Ow…! You really bit me?!" Menma winced but let her have her way.
The gentle Hinata from the original [Naruto] would never do something like this.
But if it is the fiery, bold [Big Sister Hinata] in the Limited Tsukuyomi World, everything makes sense.
After a while, Hinata, who is now exhausted from crying, sat on Hiashi's desk, tear stains still on her cheeks. She propped her round face in her hands, watching as Menma used the Transformation Technique to revert to his adult form and began rummaging through her father's collection of books.
After waking up earlier, Hinata had been escorted back to the main family's residence. From the guards, she learned about the night's attack… how a mysterious man in a white three-eyed fox mask had attacked the Hyuga Clan.
So Hinata had kept her Byakugan active. She vaguely remembered Menma's interest in Hyuga Clan's history and guessed he'd return tonight.
That's how she caught him red-handed in the study.
"If our world was fake… then why do I exist?" Hinata asked.
"I don't get it either. It's not just you… The Black Nine-Tails also revived inside me." Menma replied, flipping through the books. Anything useful or historically significant went straight into a storage scroll.
After all, there were too many books to read through all at once.
"But I could clearly feel that world rejecting me, how unreal it was. There were no legends of the Sage of Six Paths either. And yet… the emotions you all gave me felt so real. Sometimes, I can't tell what's real anymore." The more Menma dwelled on it, the more his head throbbed, veins bulging at his temples.
"Hmm… how do I put this…" Hinata, who is dressed in a white kimono, swung her bare feet idly in the air.
"Actually, there's another personality, or soul, inside this body of mine, and her character is the complete opposite of mine." Hinata pointed at her chest.
"Hmm?" Hearing this, Menma turned to look at her.
'I thought that when she appeared, the other Hinata disappeared. So it turns out that they are two souls sharing one body?'
"Little Hinata, let me introduce you. This is the cheating scumbag I've told you about, my boyfriend, Menma." Hinata lifted her chin proudly, then suddenly lowered her head.
The next moment, her face flushed bright red, her expression shifting to one of flustered shyness: "S-Sis… don't say things like that..."
This blushing, steam-almost-coming-out-of-her-ears Hinata was unmistakably the original one from the [Naruto].
Menma looked at Little Hinata with amusement, then reached out and patted her head, ruffling her short hair: "Nice to meet you, my name is Menma."
"Y-You... hello... I'm also called Hinata..." Little Hinata's voice was as soft as a mosquito's hum.
Feeling the gentle hand on her head, her face turned even redder. She lowered her head, her small hands fidgeting in front of her chest, her delicate toes curling shyly.
"So, what should I call you two?" Menma leaned in closer.
"Um... usually... I'm the one outside... Big Sis is mostly asleep..." Hinata whispered shyly, her eyes darting away as his face drew near.
'It seemed Hinata's soul also needed Chakra to sustain itself.'
Menma fell into deep thought.
'I remember that in the setting of the Ninja World, the relationship between Chakra and the soul is profoundly intricate.'
"Mhm, then I'll call you Little Hinata." Menma said with a fond smile. He had taken quite a liking to this version of her.
"You can call me Menma… or just 'brother-in-law' if you prefer." Menma grinned and pointed a thumb at himself.
Little Hinata's round face flushed even deeper, her pearly white eyes shimmering as she looked up at him.
For as long as she could remember, she had known there was another, fiercer personality inside her… her 'Big-Sis'.
As the heiress of the Hyuga Clan's main family, Hinata had undergone rigorous training since childhood. But her gentle, timid nature had disappointed both her father and the clan's elders.
At critical moments, Big Sis Hinata would always take over… not only demonstrating extraordinary talent but also ruthlessly tearing into Hiashi and the elders with her sharp tongue.
She called the clan's elders and Hiashi things like 'old fossil', 'wrinkly geezers' and 'senile bastards'.
It can be said that among the Ninjas of the Hyuga Clan, no matter whether they are the elders of the main family or the guards of the branch family, there is no Ninja who has been spared from Big Sis Hinata's verbal lashings.
Hiashi had mixed feelings about this second personality. On one hand, he admired her prodigious skill and decisive leadership, believing her to be the perfect heir.
On the other, her attitude was... problematic.
What's frustrating is that her complete lack of decorum, constantly calling him 'old man' without a shred of noble bearing.
Little Hinata had often heard her Big Sis talk about her 'scumbag ex-boyfriend', and she couldn't help but feel curious about the man her Big Sis still couldn't forget.
Slap!
Suddenly, Hinata's small hand shot up and smacked Menma's arm away.
"You cheating scumbag! Keep your hands off my little sister!" Big Sis Hinata had retaken control, glaring daggers at Menma.
"Back then, you were all sweet talk and promises! Saying all kinds of disgusting, lovey-dovey crap! Even swore we'd have a son and a daughter together!" Big Sis Hinata's teeth ground together as she remembered how this man had taken advantage of her in that other world, her tiny fists trembling with fury.
"Th-This... is this really something I should be hearing?" Inside their shared mental space, Little Hinata's face had turned as red as a steam engine, her hands clapped over her eyes.
"Ah, well... you know how it was back then." Menma chuckled awkwardly, rubbing his arm.
"Go to hell, you filthy scumbag!" What came next was a Gentle Fist straight to his face!