Sitting on a wooden stump, Hinata didn't even lift her head as she read through the plot summary in her hand. Even she had to admit she was getting a little carried away: Mm~ fantastic.
Sure, it was basically just a copy of [The Legend of White Snake], but swapping out the white snake for a fox spirit? Seamless. No weird vibes at all.
And when she imagined the fox spirit and the shepherd as Naruto and Sasuke respectively... well, somehow it felt even less out of place.
"Ugggghhh—"
Hinata hadn't even finished basking in her own brilliance before both Naruto and Sasuke started retching in perfect unison. Kneeling on opposite sides with their backs turned, they dry-heaved in sync, and then made the fatal mistake of glancing at each other mid-gag.
One shared look later, their vomiting rate practically doubled. From the horror in their eyes, it was obvious they'd finally realized who the "main characters" in Hinata's story were supposed to be.
"What the hell?! Is it really that hard to accept?! Are you both just trying to spite me?!"
Hinata's tone turned irritated, but when she saw the color of their faces—somewhere between ash gray and deathly pale—she hesitated. Sure, she had a sadistic streak, but she wasn't the kind to force people into things they truly couldn't handle.
That would just lower morale—and efficiency.
"Ugh... stop... you promised me there wouldn't be any... romance stuff..."
Sasuke groaned, bracing himself against the ground. He felt dizzy from how much he'd already thrown up. Even though he'd mentally prepared himself for the filming, even admitted the story sounded compelling in a tragic, dramatic way…
But the moment he imagined himself and that blond idiot as the protagonists… a primal urge to retch just took over his whole being.
"Just kill me already, Hinata…"
Naruto whimpered, tears in his eyes and bile on his lips, facedown on the dirt like he'd given up on life entirely.
"But... you can't just change a script."
Hinata frowned at the outline she'd spent several days crafting. Sure, the concept was borrowed from [The Legend of White Snake], but she'd changed all the names and roles to fit the current setting. She'd even given it a perfectly fitting title [The Fox's Tale].
Scrapping it now would be such a waste. And more importantly, the taijutsu she was planning to learn next required loads of expensive medicine and equipment. If she couldn't keep making money, her training would come to a grinding halt.
"No... we just can't do something like that…"
Finally done emptying his guts, Sasuke wobbled to his feet, bracing himself against a tree trunk. The once-cool Uchiha prince looked a mess—face pale, hair stuck to his forehead with sweat, a bit of vomit clinging to the edge of his mouth. It was clear the psychological damage had been massive.
"Yeah! I'd rather die than film that garbage!!"
Naruto flopped dramatically onto the ground in a full-body starfish sprawl, basically declaring that he was officially on strike and wouldn't be getting up any time soon.
Hmm~!
Hinata's brow twitched. Her gaze sharpened. She glanced between the two boys, her tone suddenly dangerous. "Huh. 'You guys,' 'we can't'... when did you two become so... buddy-buddy?"
"Ugh."
Both of them froze. Their expressions stiffened. Yeah… the way they were acting did seem suspiciously coordinated—like this protest had been planned in advance.
"I did say you should try communicating better. But I didn't say you could launch a full-on strike."
Her pale eyes flashed, and her left hand clenched tightly on the stump beneath her. With a sharp crack, her fingers sank into the wood, leaving a set of clean indentations.
"Tch. I don't care what that dead-last thinks. You promised there'd be no romance stuff, but now you want me to film some sappy love story with him? Forget it."
Sasuke huffed and looked away with a pouty scowl. Classic tsundere move.
Naruto, still sprawled on the ground, suddenly leapt up. "Hey! Stuck-up Sasuke! We agreed to push back so Hinata would finally spill how she's been training—wait, crap—"
Oops.
And there it was. The legendary "pig teammate" moment. Naruto's mouth had once again sabotaged the entire operation. He slapped a hand over his face, cold sweat dripping down his temples. Even after yesterday's scolding, he still hadn't learned.
"You idiot," Hinata deadpanned. "You almost made me cry with how dumb you are. Let's be real—do you really think someone with your brain is capable of blackmail?"
Her tone was cold, but oddly enough, she didn't seem mad anymore. As long as they weren't seriously quitting, she could work with this.
Besides, these two were still just kids. No matter how powerful they became later, right now they were just a couple of eleven-year-old brats.
And as for her training method?
Oh-ho-ho-ho… she practically wanted to laugh.
"You're right. I don't train with the Hyūga clan's Gentle Fist. I have no talent for it. What I practice… is something else entirely."
Hinata nodded, confirming it without hesitation. That made both boys instantly tense up.
After seeing her shotgun-like attack yesterday, they both understood—painfully—that she was on a whole different level.
Trying to steal her training method clearly hadn't been Sasuke's idea. He wasn't the scheming type. That kind of nonsense was definitely all Naruto. But Sasuke… when it came to getting stronger, he had zero self-control.
"Uh, Hinata... so I was thinking..."
Naruto fiddled with his fingers, too awkward to spit it out. For once, the dynamic looked like the reverse of the usual.
"You want to learn the style I'm practicing?"
Hinata stood up, cutting him off. She stared at the two of them.
Naruto scratched his head and laughed like an idiot. "Ahaha~ If Hinata could show us how she trains, that'd be awesome~!"
"Ahem... I heard Gentle Fist requires the Byakugan to use... But if what you're learning isn't Gentle Fist, then..."
Sasuke trailed off, face already red to the ears. Still, he got the point across.
"No problem. If you really want to learn, I'll tell you. But you'd better be ready—this style isn't hard to understand, but it's brutal to endure."
Her eyes gleamed.
And then, with a completely straight face, she dropped the name.
"It's called— Seven Sacred Fist of Southern Star."
(TL: Read the note at the End.)
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[The Naruto World's Version of Nanto Seiken]
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"There are seven chakra natures in this world—fire, water, wind, lightning, earth, yin, and yang. The Seven Sacred Fists of Southern Star is the ultimate taijutsu corresponding to these seven chakra types. Despite the name, there are actually seven completely different fist styles—each one tied to a specific chakra nature."
Hinata explained calmly. Sasuke and Naruto sat cross-legged in front of her, wide-eyed. They were only eleven years old—naturally, anything that sounded super powerful was irresistible.
"You mean... to learn one of these, you have to have the right chakra nature?"
Sasuke was clearly way sharper than Naruto, already catching the implications. Naruto, meanwhile, still looked like a confused duck.
"Exactly. If you have fire chakra, you can only train the Fire Saint Fist. Trying to use one of the others won't just fail—it'll backfire."
Hinata nodded, dead serious as she spun her tale. This "Holy Fist" wasn't some over-the-top muscle-man martial art, but rather her own chakra-world-fusion adaptation.
"Whoa~ So how strong is this Seven Saints Fist? Like, is it as strong as a Hokage's jutsu?"
Naruto asked eagerly.
"I wouldn't know. It's an ancient secret of the Hyūga clan. I only discovered part of it by chance—from a damaged scroll hidden away."
Total BS, of course. But since her [Hyūga heiress] title was already locked in, pinning the legend on her clan made it sound way more legit.
"It's taijutsu, right? I've heard Hyūga only train in hand-to-hand combat. With the Byakugan, ninjutsu and genjutsu aren't as efficient."
Sasuke was trying to sound analytical, piecing together her lies. Hinata just smiled. With a smart Uchiha like him filling in the blanks, she barely had to say anything.
---
(TL: Aren't they supposed to be in Academy? I guess Sasuke would know.)
(PS1:
Here's a breakdownof the technique:
南斗七圣拳 (Nanto Seisei Ken)
南斗 (Nanto) = "South Dipper" (a reference to the Southern Dipper stars in Chinese astrology, often used in contrast to 北斗 / Hokuto / North Star)
七圣 (Seven Saints) = "Seven Saints"
拳 (Ken) = "Fist" or "Fist Style" (refers to martial arts)
So altogether:
"Its name is—Nanto Seisei Ken!"
Meaning: The Fist of the Seven Saints of the Southern Dipper!
But that's way too long so turned it into The Seven Sacred Fists of Southern Star Which is also long.)
(PS2: There might be some inconsistency with name like there will 'Holy Fist' or 'Seven Saints Fist' or 'Northern Fist' all of these are correct and are intentional. I was also confused at first about that but the author uses different wording so those are correct relevant meaning. So I didn't correct them.)