33 Dying in your arms...
I laid Neji down on the bed in my room and walked toward the library. It was still 2 in the morning, so I had plenty of time left for reading. Wrapping my fingers in bandages, I pushed the door, and it opened with a haunted creak sound.
I picked up the last book on the shelf; it was the final volume on medical ninjutsu that I had only read halfway through.
In the Land of Water, my progress in finishing the books was outstanding. I had nothing to do there other than reading.
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Flipping through the pages, I picked up where I left off yesterday. This book covered diseases and how to treat them.
"Lady Hinata, you should rest," Ren said in concern.
To be honest, after training in taijutsu with Neji from 1 in the afternoon to 7 in the evening, and then training with arrows from 9 at night to 1 in the morning, it really took a toll on the body. I barely managed to sleep 5 to 6 hours a day, but that was enough.
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"Ren, I don't want to make any excuses, and people who make excuses even after having all the resources are destined to fail,"
"And I am not made for losses; I am destined to win," I calmly replied to him.
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"I see, I was just worried about your health," he said.
I let out a chuckle after hearing him worrying about me. "Tell me, Ren, how do people remember Madara Uchiha?" I asked him.
He thought for a moment before speaking, "He is seen as a legend in the shinobi world. He was the only person who could rival the First Hokage."
I nodded to him; he was right. "But people never know how hard he worked, how many sacrifices he made to reach that level, his countless hours of training. They only see that he was born in the Uchiha clan, that's it. If he had made excuses, he would have died like some random shinobi we wouldn't be remembering today."
"Power without training and sacrifices is like theft."
"If you don't earn it with your own hands, it is destined to be lost one day," I said while flipping to the next page.
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Ren went into silence, and I didn't say anything further.
*clap*
With a clapping sound, I closed the last book. From the age of 3 to the age of 4 years and 9 months, which means 639 days and 5 to 6 hours daily, amounts to 2874 hours of reading, and I finally completed all the medical knowledge.
'Now it's time to pick up a lab rat and start doing the real thing… hehe… I wonder whose poor soul is going to be my victim. Danzo, be prepared to lose one of your men.'
Tapping my finger on the table, I started to make a plan to acquire my subject.
I had asked my father to make a small room for my medical experiments. After nagging and whispering sweet things in his ears, he agreed with me, and a room was built underground beneath the house where Haku and Kimimaro were currently living.
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Making a room in the village filled with ninjas was nothing hard; it was hardly ready in one or two days. However, I hadn't gotten time to visit my next home because I was going to spend hours there.
"What is the condition of the graveyard?" I asked, and no, I am not going to plunder it.
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"As you expected, Lady Hinata, that Uchiha comes daily to pay respect to the living Ranmaru," Ren said with a chuckle.
I nodded to him. It was time to slowly lure him into my palm so that later on, he would willingly give his precious three tomoe or Mangekyo Sharingan to me.
"Lady Hinata, why don't you just kill him and take his eyes? Why go so far?" this time, Ritsu asked.
"Remember, Ritsu, we are professionals. We don't do unorthodox things," I chuckled, not believing myself in what I just said.
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"I understand," Ritsu said.
"That's good, and don't look at what I am about to write," I told them, to which they both nodded and disappeared into the shadows.
I pulled out a small scroll from my pocket and opened it. A mysterious-type book with a metal cover and engravings appeared on the table. I had bought this empty book from Kiri.
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A malicious smile started to appear on my face as I opened it and read the title…
"Dying in Your Arms."
"What a beautiful and touching title," I chuckled.
I was writing this book just for my Naruto. In this, I will be teaching him everything I want him to learn, like how to smooth-talk your lover, 'of course, I want him to tell me sweet things' , kissing, and how babies are made. I don't want him to remain clueless about these things, and with a deep psychological story underneath it.
At first, he will read it like a romantic book with explicit scenes, but the more he reads, the more he becomes what I wanted him to become.
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'This book will be like a thousand-year-old wine; every time he reads it, the sweeter it will become, teaching him new things every time.'
With a chuckle, I started to write it. I write one page daily; this book will be a masterpiece.
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'Of course, I won't give it to him anytime soon. At the age of around 10, he will find it accidentally… hehe,' with a giggle, I continued to write.
After writing the whole page, I closed the book and stored it in my scroll. The sun was about to rise, and winter was still going on. With a cold splash of water, I washed my face and looked at the cracked mirror. At least tens of eyes were staring at me.
With a laugh, I spoke, "It's time to pay respects for living Ranmaru."
---
At the dining table, I looked at my mother with a cute smile, "Mommy, what will we name the baby?"
"Haha… why are you getting so impatient? It is not going anywhere," my mother asked.
"If you want, you can name it 'Princess,'" my father said.
My eyes lit up in excitement, and with stars in my eyes, I asked, "Can I really name it?"
"Of course, sweetie, you can," my mother said.
But suddenly, I looked at her, "Hmph… I won't let you touch it when it comes out," I said with a pout.
Both of them started to laugh at my childish behavior, "Okay, baby, you can have it and take care of it. I won't say anything to you," my mother happily gave Little Hanabi to me.
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"Okay," I said.
After eating dinner, my father went away, and Neji was still sleeping, so my mother and I were alone in the house.
"Let me help you," I said and started to wash the plates with her.
I helped her from time to time, so she didn't deny me. I talked about a lot of random things with her as we washed the dishes, mainly things about the baby.
"You're more excited than me," she said, handing me a plate to dry.
"Hehe... I will dress it like a doll and play with it," I said cutely.
'Why did it sound so wrong?'
My mother just laughed at me, overwhelmed by my cuteness. When the last plate was done, I slightly curved my palm and put it in the water with a smirk.
"Mom, look what I have," I said excitedly, and my mom looked at me.
*splash*
The cold water hit her face, and while running away, I showed her my tongue with a giggle.
"You little punk, come here!" she angrily shouted.
"Catch me if you can... haha," I disappeared from there; only my mocking laughter lingered in the air.
---
Raising both of my hands, small, fine, silk-like chakra threads weaved themselves into two different types of masks.
"Put them on."
Soon, Ren and Ritsu were transformed into some random Hyūga members. They were still unknown to the world; outside the clan compound, they didn't exist.
"Let's go," I said, and the three of us disappeared from there. I had told my father that I was going to play in the park. Soon, we reached the part of the graveyard where Hyūga members were buried.
I stood in front of Ranmaru's grave with a grave expression. With my Byakugan, I could soon see Isomu Uchiha approaching the grave with some flowers in his hands.
'Here it comes.'
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When the Uchiha saw three people standing in front of his best friend's grave, he slowly approached us. This was the first time he was seeing someone other than himself paying respect to his dead friend.
With steady steps, he approached us, and after seeing us standing gravely with somber expressions, he also joined us.
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"He was a good friend to me," Ren somberly said, and I felt cringe in my blood.
"Hmph," the Uchiha nodded in his language.
"I heard from the clan head that he didn't get a proper burial," Ren continued with his bullshit, although he was the one who got burnt.
"He died in front of my eyes, and I couldn't do anything," after a long silence, the Uchiha spoke with self-loathing.
"I heard you tried to protect him with your life," this time I jumped in the fun.
'
He looked at me for a moment and asked, "Who are you, child?"
"She is the clan head's daughter," Ritsu spoke; this time, he was acting as my personal bodyguard.
"I see," he said.
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"Every clan member is a family to us, and I heard you fought bravely to protect a member of my family," I started to spat out with my silver tongue.
He just stood there, and I continued.
"You know how hard it is to lose a member of your family, and as a member of his family, I, Hinata Hyuga, owe you a favor for trying to protect my family. If you find yourself in some dire situation, don't hesitate to ask me. I won't let you, a friend of my family, down," I planted a seed in his mind.
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He didn't say anything, just subtly nodded his head.
After paying respects to living Ranmaru, I walked away with my two minions.
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