Hinata silently polished her spiritual power amidst the waiting and daily routine.
"Cultivation is like sailing against the current..." she muttered to herself, standing up to stretch her limbs.
The supplies she had ordered to be allocated probably wouldn't arrive that quickly.
The clan needed time to review the list and allocate resources.
Hinata wasn't worried that they would refuse her; she was the Young Miss, and with her reputation, things were easier to get done.
No matter which world it was, this was always the case; the strong always possessed privileges.
Taking advantage of this gap, she decided to go for a walk and, incidentally, sense the situation in the Village.
Changing her clothes, dismissing her Clone, she then walked out of the courtyard. Passing through the serene bamboo forests and paths inside the Hyuga Clan Compound, Hinata strolled seemingly at random, but in reality, her powerful perception spread quietly like invisible ripples.
Everything inside the compound was as usual: clan members training early in the morning, maids preparing breakfast, clan members whispering... nothing was out of the ordinary.
Her range of perception continued to expand, crossing the boundaries of the compound and extending toward the wider areas of Konoha Village.
The streets began to wake up, shops opened one after another, and the sounds of morning training slogans drifted from the direction of the Ninja Academy.
Suddenly, her perception paused slightly at a certain spot.
It was a detached residence near Konoha Hospital, a quiet environment, and one of the houses allocated to Medical Ninja.
At this moment, it was shrouded in several hidden but sharp Chakra auras, forming a loose surveillance net.
Inside the residence, there was a familiar Chakra source—Shizune.
Her Chakra fluctuations were stable, but her mood seemed somewhat low and anxious; Tonton's Chakra was also nearby, appearing somewhat uneasy.
"As expected, she has been 'protected'." Hinata understood in her heart.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's reaction was within her expectations. Shizune was Tsunade's closest Disciple and assistant, and she knew too much. In the situation where Tsunade was "missing," controlling her was both protection and precaution, and even more so, a potential channel for obtaining information.
Judging by the intensity of the surveillance, it was at the level of "house arrest." She wasn't being mistreated, but her freedom was definitely restricted.
She continued to sense, focusing her sweep toward the Hokage Building and its surroundings.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's Chakra was as steady as ever, but she could feel that he was very exhausted and grave.
He did not appear in the office as usual, but was in his own residence, seemingly observing something through the Crystal Ball technique.
Interestingly, in the daily communications and mission assignments of Konoha Leadership, the name "Tsunade" was still mentioned frequently and naturally.
"Regarding the rehabilitation plan for the wounded, Advisor Tsunade's opinion is..."
"The reconnaissance team at the northern border has requested medical reinforcements; according to the contingency plan previously formulated by Lady Tsunade, the Medical Team has been dispatched..."
The Third was using this method to maintain the illusion that "Tsunade is still within the Konoha system, just temporarily not appearing," temporarily stabilizing the situation to avoid panic.
"Being Hokage is truly exhausting." Hinata withdrew her perception and shook her head slightly.
This method of deceiving the world could last for a while, but not forever. Once time dragged on, or someone with enough weight demanded to see Tsunade, such as other high-ranking officials or the Daimyo, this lie would collapse on its own.
The Third was gambling; gambling that he could find a way to solve the problem before the situation spiraled out of control, or gambling that Tsunade herself could return.
However, this didn't concern her for the time being. Her attention shifted to another direction, the edge of the Village.
There, there was a powerful Chakra aura.
It was Naruto.
Hinata could perceive that inside the training ground, Naruto was covered in a layer of golden cloak, his whole person wrapped in very warm Chakra.
At this moment, he was trying to control this power, practicing high-speed movement and attacks; the Flash Dog was beginning to take shape.
"The progress is quite fast."
Hinata said silently, then turned around, no longer paying attention.
The situation she needed to understand was basically understood: Shizune was under house arrest but safe, the Third was trying hard to maintain the situation, Naruto was growing rapidly, and the Jonin were all performing their duties, distributed around Konoha.
Just as she walked back to the entrance of her courtyard, she saw many Hyuga Clan Members walking over, pulling several large boxes; some were already successively transporting things inside.
The person leading them was the clan member she had called earlier.
"Young Miss, the first batch of supplies you requested has arrived." He bowed and said.
"The Elders have reviewed the list and agreed to the allocation, but the quantity of some controlled Medicinal Pill is limited, so we can only provide some first. Additionally, the other items have been prepared, and the missing items will be delivered in a few days."
The efficiency was quite high; having a high status was truly good—everything was convenient to do.
"Thank you for your hard work, move them in." Hinata nodded and stepped aside from the entrance.
The boxes were moved into the workshop.
Hinata opened the boxes to check. The quality of the Medicinal Pill was not bad; they were basically the years she requested. The purity of the Ore also met the standards, and the Materials of that batch of ninja tools were acceptable, though some were a bit old, which was just right for melting down and refining again.
"Materials are ready, let's start!" Hinata was in a good mood and summoned her Clone again.
"Poof, poof, poof!" Five Clones appeared again.
"main body, the Materials are here?" Clone No. 1's eyes lit up. "Quick, let's see what good stuff there is!"
"Get to work, get to work!" Hinata pointed at the boxes. "Process them by category; refine what needs refining, melt what needs melting. The task is heavy today; strive to forge the embryos for the first batch of basic Magical Artifacts, and we must also refine a sufficient quantity of Medicinal Pill—at least 1000 pills!"
"...What?? One thousand pills?! Are you eating them like rice?"
Looking at the mountain of Materials, the Clones instantly lost their previous playful smiles.
"main body, you are trying to work us like donkeys on a production team..."
"Protest! We demand an eight-hour workday!"
"Seconded! We demand afternoon tea time!"
Hinata crossed her arms. "Protest invalid. Complete the goal, and there will be extra food tonight. I will use the heaven and earth primordial qi pot to make you something delicious."
The Clones instantly changed their attitudes. "For the delicious food! Charge!"
Hinata shook her head; it was really easy to be a capitalist—just two sentences could make others work for you.
The workshop became lively again. Hinata's main body didn't stay idle either, participating here and there.
She picked up a piece of cold iron Ore, pale golden Dan fire surging from her palm, and began to try using the methods from the book, using the Artifact Refining techniques of the Immortal Realm to directly purify and shape the Materials of this world.
The flames licked the Ore, the Impurities turned into blue smoke and dissipated, and the molten iron flowed and condensed slowly under her precise control...
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