The Blackened Isekai Anime Heroine – Chapter 46
Author: Gemini no Ling
Of course, if they made the wrong choice—like defecting with Mizuki—then it wouldn't matter what jutsu they learned. It would all be meaningless.
"One more thing… tell Hinata about this tonight. Since they act as a unit, she should face this trial too."
Setting down his pipe, the Third Hokage locked eyes with Kakashi. The solemn intensity in the old man's gaze made the silver-haired jonin instinctively straighten.
He understood the implication.
If Hinata was truly the leader among them, then she too needed to be tested.
"Yes, sir. I understand, Lord Third."
---
To be honest, things had only gone as expected.
Sasuke gripped a kunai tightly, eyes darting to scan the surroundings of the shack said to house the Scroll of Seals.
What threw him off, though, was how… empty it was.
Not a single guard.
That was not what he'd expect from a supposedly secure location.
"Sweet! No one's here! Let's grab the scroll!"
Naruto, of course, had no such concerns. The blonde idiot glanced around once and immediately ran toward the small shrine-like vault.
"Wait! Naruto!"
Sasuke lunged and grabbed the back of his collar. A wave of exhaustion swept over him.
Well… this was his fault. He'd wanted to see the scroll himself.
"What's your problem, Sasuke? We need to grab it quick before someone shows up!"
Naruto grumbled.
Sasuke pinched his brow in frustration and lowered his voice.
"Doesn't it seem suspicious that no one is guarding this place?"
"…Oh. Yeah, huh…"
Naruto blinked in realization.
Sasuke let out a breath. Good.
He wasn't entirely hopeless.
Jutsu traps weren't hard to set up—pitfalls, snare wires, explosive tags, genjutsu, even summoning beasts. Especially for an area that was supposed to be important…
There had to be something off here.
"Maybe the guards went to get a late-night snack or take a dump! Lucky us! AHAHAHAHA!!"
But reality was cruel.
Before Sasuke could finish planning how to bypass potential traps, Naruto had already sprinted over and flung open the shrine's doors.
"…I…"
Sasuke's hand froze mid-air, blood running cold.
He braced for flying kunai.
A trap net.
Sudden genjutsu.
Maybe even a summoned creature's jaws.
But nothing happened.
Nothing at all.
After rummaging inside, Naruto excitedly held up a scroll half as tall as himself.
"Look, Sasuke! This is it!"
"…."
The shame was overwhelming.
His intelligence—his entire concept of being a shinobi—just got slapped in the face.
How the hell was there not even a single trap?!
Snorting furiously, Sasuke turned on his heel and started walking away.
Behind him, Naruto called out indignantly.
"Hey! What's with that attitude?! We just got the Scroll of Seals!"
"Shut up, you absolute moron!!"
---
Watching through his crystal ball, the Third Hokage couldn't help but sigh.
Removing the guards and traps had been to accommodate Naruto's below-average intelligence.
Unfortunately, it came at the cost of Sasuke's pride.
Potentially traumatizing him a bit.
Hopefully he wouldn't need therapy after this.
He shook his head and changed the scrying view.
This time, it showed the gates of the Hyuga compound.
---
"Lady Hinata, my apologies for disturbing you at this hour, but I believe something is… off."
Still in his disguise as the film crew's cameraman, Kakashi looked a little uneasy and explained.
Hinata gave him a cool glance.
"You're saying someone named Mizuki is trying to convince them to steal the Scroll of Seals?"
Her voice was calm, but there was a flicker of surprise in her eyes.
According to the original plot, this main event shouldn't have happened until two months later—right before graduation.
Was this the butterfly effect?
"Yes. I don't believe this bodes well…"
Trying to play the part of a regular cameraman, Kakashi kept a close eye on Hinata's expression.
The Hokage might've seen this as a test for them, but Kakashi wasn't so sure.
"Very well. You may go. And don't tell anyone else about this."
Her voice was cold and clipped.
"I'll handle those two idiots myself."
She clearly sensed something deeper.
Even back when she'd first read the manga, this part of the story had always seemed strange to her.
The Scroll of Seals was like the Naruto world's Pandora's box—a forbidden trove of jutsu so powerful and dangerous that even glimpsing its contents could spell disaster.
How could a nobody like Naruto steal it so easily?
Given the advanced sealing techniques of this world, it should've been impossible for a genin dropout to even open it.
But now that Kakashi had deliberately told her about it… she understood.
This was a setup.
A test orchestrated by the Third Hokage.
In the original timeline, Naruto only made it through this ordeal because Iruka had shown him genuine care.
But what if… it had been someone like Yashamaru talking to Gaara instead?
What if Iruka had said something cruel?
Naruto might've ended up worse than Gaara.
And if that had happened?
The Third wouldn't have hesitated to order the hidden ambush squads to take him out if Naruto had shown even the slightest intent to use what he learned from the Scroll of Seals against the village.
So when the Hokage had called in every shinobi after the scroll was stolen, it wasn't Mizuki he feared.
It was Naruto.
That old fox… just like Hashirama.
Willing to kill anyone, so long as it was for the village.
And what about her?
The Hokage probably already suspected the shift in Hinata's personality.
But with no proof and her current position as a Hyuga noble, he couldn't act.
Not unless…
Unless she slipped up.
Unless she stirred rebellion in Naruto or Sasuke.
Then…
She'd become another sacrifice for the greater good of the Leaf.
Just like Hizashi.
Hinata's lips curled into a small smirk.
Now that she'd seen through the entire setup, this wasn't a trap—it was an opportunity.
She activated her Byakugan and sprang into the trees, heading toward the scroll's location.
Naruto and Sasuke wouldn't have gone far.
They weren't here to escape.
They just wanted to learn jutsu.
And that meant…
There might be something in there worth her learning too.
---
"AAAAARGH! Why does the first jutsu have to be the one I suck at the most?!"
True to Hinata's guess, Naruto was groaning and clutching his head in a forest clearing.
Sasuke, annoyed, glanced over and said,
"You idiot. This is Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu. Not a basic clone jutsu. Are you learning it or not?"
"Fine! We'll each take a side of the scroll! I'll read this one!"
Grumbling, Naruto unrolled the scroll and shoved one end at Sasuke, then focused on the section for the technique that would become his signature: the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Sasuke, meanwhile, examined his half carefully.
Soon enough, he found one that caught his eye.
"Lightning-style A-rank technique… Chidori?"
He knew his limits. As much as the S-rank ones tempted him, he needed something practical—something that could give him the edge in close combat against Hinata.
Combining a high-speed lightning-style jutsu with his own hand-to-hand skills…
Yes. This was the one.