Seeing that Sasori and Deidara were on the verge of taking their artistic rivalry to the physical stage, Hinata simply smiled and offered calmly, "There's no need for you two to argue. Ultimately, it's up to the author herself to approve of these figures."
"So, how about this—I'll take both of your pieces back and have her evaluate them. We'll let her decide whose art wins. Sound fair?"
"Hm~ I'm on board."
"Yeah! It only matters if the author approves! Hm!"
Fully hooked by Hinata's trap, Sasori and Deidara agreed without hesitation. Deidara even eagerly molded a small clay bird and handed it to her.
"Here, take this. We'll be operating in the Land of Fire for a while. If you need to find us, just activate it with chakra."
Accepting the clay bird with a satisfied grin, Hinata's eyes narrowed in quiet delight.
"Excellent~~ Then, for now, let's part ways. I believe our art… will echo across the world."
---
"HAHAHAHA~ Yahahahahaha~!"
Hinata burst into hysterical laughter, the sharpness of her joy echoing off the trees. She didn't bother to restrain herself—it was only when her plans exceeded expectations that she let herself laugh like this.
Sai stood nearby with a neutral face. While he respected Hinata's cunning, he genuinely didn't know what sort of expression to wear at this moment.
"It went so perfectly! Puhahahaha~ Don't look at me like that. I know I'm being unseemly, but victory deserves a bit of indulgence!"
Hinata was beaming at the two figure boxes in front of her, thoroughly pleased.
No question about it—even across the entire ninja world, there probably weren't any figure-makers better than Sasori and Deidara.
One focused on aesthetics and visual appeal; the other on articulation and durability. They practically embodied the two core branches of figure craftsmanship.
And even more ridiculous—both of them turned out to be hardcore fans of The Fox Tales. Their enthusiasm for creating merchandise for the series was unmatched.
Sure, Hinata didn't expect to achieve world peace through this. But now that she'd established a connection with Akatsuki, her underground endeavors—whether assassination, smuggling, or sabotage—would be vastly easier. Akatsuki was second to none in the underworld when it came to getting things done.
Ever since Sai accidentally hired Kakuzu, Hinata had been strategizing on how to harness this dangerous organization's power for herself. She didn't need their loyalty—just their efficiency. As long as they took her contracts without question, she'd already won.
According to the original story, Akatsuki had only recently gathered its full roster and was still building its reputation in the underground. That's why they were madly taking on all kinds of jobs—not just to raise funds, but to build clout.
In other words, if someone offered a long-term job that didn't drain their manpower but brought in steady income, the leader—Pain—would absolutely be interested.
Of course, this meant more work on Hinata's end.
For instance, she needed to legally bring the Fox's Whispered Tales publishing rights under Konoha's jurisdiction and find land outside the village for manufacturing figures and merchandise.
Both tasks would require a good bit of force. But once complete, she could finally approach that steel-pierced punk leader of Akatsuki for formal collaboration.
And since some of their members were already fans, maybe she could take advantage of that enthusiasm.
With that thought, Hinata closed her eyes and calmly asked:
"...How long have we been out?"
"Three hours, my lady," Sai answered.
Hinata frowned. She had a good reason to ask—about ten minutes ago, she'd started feeling a sharp, persistent pain. Not physical, but something deeper—like a spiritual ache—and it was growing steadily worse.
There was no doubt about it: this was the backlash from the Soul Projection Technique. As stated in the description, this jutsu only allowed temporary possession of another body—it didn't sever the tether to her original one.
Which meant… her soul was starting to be rejected by the borrowed body, slowly breaking down.
To use a metaphor, if the soul was a phone battery, then Hinata had yanked her battery out and forced it into an incompatible phone. And now, the battery was draining fast.
If she didn't return her soul to her original body soon, she might risk annihilation.
This technique was a clear downgrade from Orochimaru's Reanimation Transfer Jutsu. Only someone desperate to create a perfect double like Hinata would dare use such a forbidden spell.
Confirming this, Hinata stood up. She was already noticing increasing lag between her thoughts and body movements—any further delay, and she might not make it back in time.
"Looks like the limit's about this much. Alright, time to return to the village."
---
Meanwhile, back in Konoha—within the Uchiha estate's guestroom.
Roughly ten minutes after Hinata's soul had departed, the body left on the bed in a mock sleeping pose suddenly opened its eyes—and slowly sat up.
There was no doubt now: this was the true Hinata—the one from this world. Though her appearance and styling had changed dramatically, the softness and sorrow in her gaze didn't lie.
She got up and hurried over to the trash bin nearby. Earlier, Hinata had tossed a spark into it, burning most of the contents to ash. The bin hadn't been emptied yet because her 'delivery' had arrived early.
The white-eyed girl sifted through the soot with desperation. Somehow, she managed to salvage a half-burned sheet of paper. It was one of the scrolls Hinata had destroyed—but by sheer luck, one small piece had survived. It showed part of a technique's pose and a blurry kanji for 'sound'—likely the remains of the "Sonic Blade" technique.
---
"Strange... Hinata said she felt unwell today. Is she sick?"
"Not sure. Let's go check on her."
At that moment, Sakura and Ino's voices echoed from the hallway. Panicking, the real Hinata hid the scrap in her sleeve.
Fortunately, because of the fear she inspired, neither girl dared barge in. They simply knocked on the door.
"Hinata? Are you in there? We came to see how you're feeling."
The girl paused. But she didn't have much time to act. After a short hesitation, she clenched her jaw, walked to the door, and opened it.
"Whoa—Hinata, you're up?"
Seeing the pale-eyed girl at the door, both Sakura and Ino looked surprised.
Trying to act calm and collected, the girl said, "Please tell me… where is Naruto-kun right now?"
"Naruto? He's probably at the training ground. But... your voice..."
Sakura started answering automatically—but immediately sensed something was off.
Wait a second. When did Hinata ever say "please"?
"Uh, never mind~ I'll excuse myself now."
Realizing she had let something slip, the white-eyed girl abruptly turned and leapt onto the rooftop, heading toward the training field—leaving behind two stunned girls.
"What was that...? Her tone, her attitude... totally off."
Sakura hugged herself with a shiver. To her, it felt like seeing a tiger suddenly start eating fruit instead of meat—just wrong.
"Don't tell me..."
Ino's expression darkened. She recalled Hinata recently mentioning sleepwalking. As someone from a clan specializing in mental jutsu, Ino quickly pieced things together.
"Wait, what? Don't tell you what? Ino, do you know something?"
Sakura looked bewildered. But Ino immediately clamped a hand over her mouth. Glancing nervously around, she lowered her voice and whispered, "Listen to me, Sakura. We didn't see Hinata today. We didn't check on her. Got it?!"
"Huh? What does that even mean—?"
But the look on Ino's face said it all. Sakura paled and stammered, "You're not saying... Hinata's possessed or something… are you...?"