"Pick me!"
"No, me!"
"Me!!"
Wham! Their foreheads clashed as the two girls glared at each other, sparks flying in their eyes—until a cool voice interrupted from behind:
"Well, if it isn't Ino and Sakura. What are you two doing here?"
The sudden greeting startled the bickering pair. When they turned and saw the unmistakable white eyes of the speaker, both girls gasped in unison.
"Hinata?! You too… Don't tell me you also like Sasuke-kun?!"
Seeing the two fangirls perfectly in sync as they questioned her, Hinata's mouth twitched—but a strange smile soon crept onto her face.
Perfect. Looks like it's time to expand the cast—and these two might be just right.
"Don't get the wrong idea~! I've got zero interest in that emotionless robot. I'm here to collect a debt."
With her hands stuffed in her pockets, Hinata's tone shed all pretense of sweetness, now cool and businesslike—like a loan shark.
"Sasuke owes me around four hundred thousand ryo. And he's way overdue."
"F-Four hundred thousand?!"
Sakura and Ino blanched at the amount. That was a massive sum even for an adult—let alone for two students with no income. Their minds immediately began filling in worst-case scenarios: forced suicide from debt, kicked out of his home, ending up homeless…
"Hold it! Hinata, how could you possibly have that kind of money to lend him? You're just a student like us!"
Shaken by her mental image of Sasuke hanging from a rope, Sakura tried to regain composure and jabbed a finger at Hinata.
"You must've tricked him somehow, right?!"
"Sakura~ You might want to watch that mouth. Don't forget, I'm the heiress of the Hyuga clan. A commoner like you wouldn't understand."
Hinata casually blew on her fingernails. The Hyuga name really was a convenient shield—perfect for moments like this.
"Hyuga clan my—mmph!"
Sakura's retort was cut short as Ino clamped a hand over her mouth, her own face pale. She quickly forced a smile at Hinata.
"Ahaha~ don't mind her, Hinata. Sakura just really cares about Sasuke and didn't mean to disrespect your clan…"
"No need to apologize. But I doubt Sasuke will be able to repay the debt. I don't know what he used the money for, but if he can't return it… I'll have to report him to the Detention Bureau."
Hinata spoke matter-of-factly, crossing her arms as she watched the girls' reactions. In Konoha, there was a Detention Bureau for disputes like this. If someone failed to repay a massive debt, they'd be jailed and forced to do hard labor.
"W-Wait, Hinata… I mean, Sasuke-kun is still our classmate… Isn't that a little much?"
Ino clearly had more social awareness than Sakura and tried to reason with her carefully. After all, Hinata's clan held real power, and she'd never really interacted with her before. Now that Hinata was showing this cold, debt-collector side, Ino felt completely out of her depth.
"I-I have some savings I can give you… It's not much, just about two thousand ryo, but please don't send Sasuke-kun to jail! I'll figure out a way to help him pay it back…"
Sakura finally caved, her voice trembling as she pleaded. Ino glanced at her, hesitated, then sighed and added:
"I… I have about three thousand saved up too… Hinata, could you give us a little leeway?"
"That's hard to justify… Even with five thousand ryo, you're still a long way from four hundred thousand. And it's not like either of you can earn that much money yourselves, right?"
Twirling a strand of hair around her finger, Hinata's eyes glinted as she added, her voice laced with temptation:
"But~ if you really care about Sasuke, and you're willing to do anything to help him… I do have a way to earn quick money. If you agree to work for me, I'll postpone sending Sasuke to the Detention Bureau. What do you think?"
Her words carried an obvious sense of danger—and both girls felt it. The Hinata they remembered as soft and shy now seemed almost… sinister. And whatever this "job" was, it definitely didn't sound normal.
"…Fine. I-I agree!"
Still trembling, Sakura bit her lip and nodded. Despite the fear in her voice, her determination was clear.
"Sakura!"
Ino was clearly panicked, but when she met Sakura's resolute gaze, she paused—then sighed.
"…I'll do it too."
"Excellent~ With both of you, we'll pay the debt off even faster."
Hinata smiled darkly, feeling smug. At last—some proper actresses for her cast!
"Let's go. We've got work to do."
---
Unexpected Visitors
"First rule: you must disguise yourselves using the Transformation Jutsu. Here are some soldier pills—your forms need to last at least two hours. Second rule: once we're inside, no questions, no complaints, and no unauthorized actions. Got it?"
Without even glancing back, Hinata gave strict orders to Sakura and Ino while flipping through her script. Sure, Fox's Tale might have been a blatant Madame White Snake knockoff, but she'd decided to tweak a few things.
For one: replacing the spineless scholar lead with a wild, spoiled noble. After all, Sasuke had played a flirtatious playboy in one of the movie timelines—styling him that way would definitely save her 15% more trouble.
"Transformation Jutsu? That's fine. We'd rather not be recognized anyway."
Sakura and Ino muttered with some annoyance, but didn't object. Female ninjas generally had finer chakra control than male ones, which translated to better performance in sustained jutsu like this.
"Good. Now study the script. You'll be playing a noble lady and her maid. Ino, you've got the grace, so you'll be the noble. Sakura, you're the maid. Learn your lines."
Hinata tossed the script to Ino and activated her Byakugan to check on Sasuke's house. Perfect—they were both there. At least those two morons were reliable enough to show up on time.
Soon, the three girls arrived at the Uchiha compound. The gate was still open. Sasuke stood leaning against a pillar, eyes closed, arms crossed—classic brooding posture. As Hinata approached, he turned away dramatically with a "Hmph".
Immediately, Hinata felt the heat behind her spike. No doubt Sakura and Ino were bursting into full fangirl mode.
"You're late, Hinata~"
Unfortunately, next to the cool-boy Sasuke was Naruto—squatting like a grumpy toad, face sour. His mere presence poured a metaphorical bucket of cold water over the girls' romantic delusions.
"Cut the crap. Looks like you both made it through, huh?"
Hinata eyed them with a touch of annoyance. Despite their cool and goofy antics, she couldn't ignore the pride glowing off both of them. Sasuke had bandages around his arms and legs, Naruto still had a visible bandage on his cheek—it was clear their training hadn't been easy.
"Hmph. I withstood 500 volts of electricity the day before yesterday. Can't believe you're only showing up now."
Sasuke smirked, radiating smugness.
"Pfft! Brag all you want, jerk! I made it over the waterfall the same day! What's your point?!"
Naruto huffed, clearly not in the mood for Sasuke's superiority complex.
Hinata's eyebrow twitched violently. Damn it. She had just completed her training yesterday, and these two had already finished a day earlier?!
"Eh? Who are these two ladies?"
Naruto finally noticed Sakura and Ino behind Hinata. The girls had transformed into older versions of themselves—probably seventeen or eighteen. No one would recognize them.
"Supporting actresses. They'll be playing Sasuke-kun's fiancée and maid. They're temporary hires working in Konoha, so don't worry."
Hinata's casual explanation was like a thunderclap for the two girls.
Sasuke-kun's fiancée?! Am I dreaming?!
What the hell?! How could Ino get to be his fiancée?! I object!!
"They'll be cooperative. No unscripted behavior. So, Sasuke-kun, make sure you're not too cold, okay?"
Hinata's not-so-subtle reminder snapped Ino and Sakura out of their lovestruck daze. Right—now wasn't the time to fight over titles. Paying off Sasuke's debt was priority.
"Hmph… I'll try…"
Sasuke replied begrudgingly at the mention of acting. He clearly wasn't thrilled about being roped into Hinata's productions, but at this point, there was little he could do.
Not only did she hold the next stages of the Nanto Sacred Fist scrolls, but also—she'd been delivering medicinal herbs to his doorstep every day for the past two weeks.
As much as Sasuke hated to admit it, there was a familiar comfort in that sort of attention… something that reminded him of his old life.
"Well then, transform yourselves. We're out of money. If we don't start earning again, we won't even be able to continue training."
Hinata pulled out her camera, speaking flatly—but she wasn't wrong. Her training methods were the kind that would grind a person into the dirt. Without daily medical aid and body-strengthening herbs, someone would've died already.
"Yeah, yeah… Transformation Jutsu!"
With two puffs of smoke, Sasuke and Naruto vanished—and in their place stood entirely new personas.
"EEEEK—?!!"
Before Hinata could even speak, two synchronized shrieks nearly deafened her. Ino and Sakura were both frozen, jaws dropped.
Sasuke's new form was as stunning as ever: a refined, rakish noble with a suave look and debonair posture—classic heartthrob material.
But Naruto… Naruto had transformed into a fox spirit after a thousand years of cultivation.
His current form was that of a dazzling, seductive kitsune maiden.
Wrapped in a beautiful courtesan kimono, with cloudlike white hair coiled into an elaborate style, and drawing on all his knowledge from practicing the Sexy Jutsu… this Naruto was absolute femme fatale perfection.
"W-W-What the heck is going on?! Why is… he like this?!"
If Ino and Sakura were thrilled moments ago to be sharing scenes with Sasuke, now their instincts were screaming something was very, very wrong.
"What? Didn't you guess already?"
Hinata turned to them with a rare mischievous grin, eyeing their utterly horrified expressions. The two girls looked like they'd just swallowed a toad.
"You said… we were supposed to play… Sasuke-sama's fiancée and maid… so then, the heroine is… this… this person?!"
Ino and Sakura were both trembling. No no no no no! How could the class's dead-last loser be Sasuke's heroine?! There had to be a mistake—surely Hinata wouldn't force Sasuke into this. So… did that mean…
"That's right~ This is all mutual! Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun chose each other willingly~"
Hinata gave them a faux-sweet smile full of "blessing." Both girls immediately turned to stone. It was like a classic tragedy playing out before their eyes.
"Hmph! Sasuke, I swear one day I'll make you play the girl!"
Female-Naruto grumbled, twirling her silken hair in frustration. But with the transformation's full effect, she looked exactly like a sulky noble lady—it was enough to make any straight guy fall head over heels.
Sasuke, on the other hand, flicked his hair back coolly. With his mature transformed look and disdainful tone, he practically oozed aloof charm.
"Hmph. Only someone like you who spends all day practicing that trashy jutsu deserves to play a woman. I'll never play the female role."
"Enough! One more word and the sun will set! Shut it! Everyone get in position—we're filming now!"
Hinata cut them off with a snarl. She'd seen enough of this buddy-banter nonsense in the anime to last a lifetime.
As for the filming location? No need to find a set—the Uchiha compound worked perfectly.
Meanwhile, Ino and Sakura, both still reeling, had to swallow their tears and accept a brutal truth: their prince had no interest in them—he'd picked the dumb blond loser as his leading lady.
Damn it! I'll get her for this someday!
Ino and Sakura bit their lips and steeled themselves as they prepared to shoot.
"Alright, Fox's Tale scene one: Long ago, in the capital of Kyoto, lived a dashing and notorious playboy named Lord Sato Rin. With his charming looks and silver tongue, he was the most infamous flirt in the land."
As she narrated, Hinata gestured for the leads to take the stage.
Inside the spacious Uchiha mansion, Sasuke—now Sato Rin—lounged half-dressed in his kimono atop a silken couch, eyes hazy with intoxication. Ino sat beside him, doting as she laid out food, while Sakura knelt nearby pouring wine.
It was a picture of decadent, indulgent luxury.
Meanwhile, just outside the window, a small white fox peered in. Her blue eyes watched the scene in silence. She was that thousand-year-old fox spirit, the one who had cultivated herself to human form for the sake of the reincarnated shepherd boy from her past.
But the shepherd from a thousand years ago was no more.
Now, he was Sato Rin—the playboy surrounded by beautiful women. Did he even need her anymore?
After a moment's hesitation, the fox spirit chose. No matter what he had become, she still wanted to be with him. She leapt from the window, cast her transformation spell, and turned into a breathtaking woman.
With snow-like hair and skin, and ocean-bright eyes, she now appeared as the most beautiful songstress in the world.
"Stop! Great, yes! Raise your arms above your head, left leg lifted, dreamy expression—perfect! GOOD!"
Hinata clicked the shutter gleefully. Just that stunning transformation shot from female-Naruto would boost this issue's sales by at least thirty percent over the last one.
"Alright, that's enough for today! First meeting between the heroine and hero—gotta leave some suspense."
"Tch~ Hinata's got a real villain streak, huh?"
Naruto cancelled his transformation, pouting.
Still in his transformed state, Sasuke shoved Ino and Sakura aside with visible discomfort and stepped forward.
"I did what you asked. So, when do I get the next stage of the scroll?"
"What's the rush? Until we've made enough money, I'm not handing over the next training scroll. So be good boys and earn your keep. Once we've got enough to buy the next round of rare herbs, I'll let you know."
Hinata adjusted her camera, but before she could continue, a lazy voice rang out behind her.
"Ugh… so this is what you guys were up to?"
"Who?!"
Standing in the doorway of Sasuke's house was none other than Nara Shikamaru, holding a bento basket and looking every bit as unenthusiastic as usual. Next to him stood Akimichi Choji, happily munching from a bag of chips.
"Shikamaru?! Why are you here?"
Hinata's eyes narrowed.
"Not like I wanted to come. Mom said you've been buying a ton of medicine lately and told me to bring some homemade rice balls. But your folks said you were out, so I figured—where else would you be? And this guy?"
Shikamaru jabbed a thumb toward Choji.
"Ran into him on the way. Had nothing better to do, so he tagged along."
Hinata squinted at him. From what she could tell, he wasn't lying. Given her regular visits to the Nara Pharmacy, it made sense for Shikamaru's mom to send a thank-you lunch. They were classmates, after all.
But… how did he know she'd be here? Most people didn't dare go near the Uchiha compound.
Damn it. We've been compromised.
With a deep breath and a blank expression, Hinata uttered:
"Looks like… we've been found out."
Naruto and Sasuke, upon realizing what just happened, wore looks of sheer horror.
"Uuuuugh… Shikamaru and Choji saw everything… and that means… Sakura will find out soon too… urgh…"
Naruto collapsed onto one knee, clutching his head in despair. Sasuke wasn't much better—his pale face had turned bright red, practically glowing like a monkey's butt.
The embarrassment was palpable. It felt exactly like a broke student secretly shooting low-budget films for cash—only to get caught by their classmates.
"Shikamaru, Choji… what did you just see?"
Hinata pushed her bangs back slowly, her voice low and dangerous. Shikamaru stiffened. That tone… it was the same one his mom used right before she flipped out.
"N-nothing at all! We didn't see a single thing…"
---
TL: The chapter was too short so I combined two of them. So that this contains 15 and 16.