Under normal circumstances, a Sannin-level opponent was genuinely difficult to handle.
And if Jiraiya entered Sage Mode—that made things even harder.
Hanabi at her normal level couldn't cope with that.
But it didn't matter.
Hanabi specialized in psychological attacks.
A pity Jiraiya had seen it coming and kept her from deploying them.
A real shame.
"Hey, hey, hey—why do you look so disappointed?" Jiraiya felt a chill run down his spine.
"Ara ara—Jiraiya-sama can tell even though only my mouth is visible?"
Hanabi was wearing her mask, after all.
"The corners of your mouth are practically pointing at the sky!" Jiraiya had a strong feeling that if they kept fighting, he was going to be the one walking away traumatized.
He could win. But his mental state afterward might be a casualty.
—He'd apparently heard that in the Chūnin Exams she'd left an opponent sobbing with a single technique, without laying a finger on them.
And Kakashi had given him a specific warning.
"Well—your abilities really are exceptional. Fire Release, Wind Release—you handle both with ease. That Ice Release Summoning Technique was impressive too. Genjutsu… I'm not really in a position to judge that one."
Jiraiya paused.
Then, seriously: "One more thing—if you don't want your own side to knock you out cold, keep the Genjutsu away from your allies."
[Cause of death for Hanabi: sucker-punched by her own comrades]
[Going to kill Hanabi first, huh, 233]
[My wife is perfect—why would anyone kill her? Tie her up and keep her, 233]
[I suggest sending her to the enemy side]
[Honestly, Hanabi is just constantly walking the edge of everyone's limits. She looked so disappointed a second ago—definitely about to do the same thing again]
[I bet the danmaku above were right—it really is the first-love ex-girlfriend script, isn't it?]
[Or maybe the first-love girlfriend and boyfriend lovey-dovey script]
[Ugh, even more hellish]
[That's not an attack, is it]
[You tell me if there's psychological damage]
[There is. A lot]
[Holy shit—there's a bull in the room! EVERYONE RUN!]
The danmaku was a full-blown chaos carnival—and despite all the griping, their actions said otherwise: Hanabi's follower count had surged past eighty thousand on the back of this whole sequence.
At one hundred thousand, her "professional title" would advance to the next tier.
The higher her Actor Level climbed, the more permissions she could access.
The Stage. The lighting. The director. At that point, they'd all be tilting in her favor.
"All right, all right—let's call it here for today. I need a rest. At this level? Forget Chūnin—you'd have no trouble as a Jōnin. I'd even say you could probably go fifty-fifty against your own teacher, Kakashi."
"I think Kakashi-sensei probably goes fifty-fifty with most people."
"Ha?" Jiraiya wasn't sure how to read that.
Was she saying Kakashi was strong—or that he wasn't?
"Well—you've obviously got your own training plans. There's not much I can add, at this point."
Jiraiya thought it over. In taijutsu, Hanabi had the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist as her foundation; her genjutsu was excellent; and her ninjutsu seemed solid too.
"Hmm… some things like Space–Time Ninjutsu and Barrier Ninjutsu might be genuinely useful to you. Would you like to learn?"
Summoning Technique was itself a form of Space–Time Ninjutsu—scrolls used to seal and retrieve objects fell into that family as well. Some scrolls worked like Fūinjutsu, sealing items away; others functioned as targeted Summoning Techniques, pre-positioning equipment and recalling it on demand.
"Of course—I'd be most grateful, Jiraiya-sama… no, Jiraiya-sensei."
Hanabi took the opening as soon as it appeared.
After saying her goodbyes to Jiraiya, Hanabi headed to the hospital.
Neji and Rock Lee were both admitted here.
Both had taken considerable damage. Hanabi made no special effort to treat either of them.
After all, the use of Zhuixia meant the cost was Hanabi's to bear—and since both would recover on their own, she had nothing else to do.
She visited them briefly, then made her way to Naruto's room.
In the original story, Naruto had slipped into a coma for three full days after overextending himself. But this version of Naruto was already stronger than his canonical counterpart—so by now he was awake, even if he couldn't yet move.
"Naruto—how are you feeling?"
Hanabi set the fruit basket on the bedside table.
"Can't move at all, and my muscles are screaming…"
Naruto had no energy in his voice—but those eyes of his were bright.
"As long as nothing's seriously wrong." While she spoke, Hanabi was already sweeping her Byakugan across Naruto.
Naruto's Chakra Pathway System was noticeably more robust than before.
She'd caught glimpses of this trend in prior observations.
"Since you can't move right now—I'll just get started."
"Wha—Hanabi, what are you doing?!"
[Naruto: this rotten person beat me to my knees and now wants to drag me off as a slave or something?!]
[Hanabi, you're not actually like this, are you?!]
[Ahaha, they got me]
[Hahahaha]
[Road to Ninja is genuinely the funniest long-running fic I've read]
[So much more satisfying than pure battle-shonen]
Hanabi wasn't doing anything, of course—she was simply observing Naruto's muscle condition.
She could use the Byakugan, but the audience couldn't see that.
"Mm… just as I thought."
After a thorough look, Hanabi gave a single nod.
"I—is something wrong?" Naruto asked.
"Recently, Naruto—have you felt your training progress accelerating? And your Chakra control getting noticeably better?"
Hanabi had been tracking this for a while.
She still didn't know the precise mechanics.
Sometimes the unscripted Stage was its own kind of fun.
"Yeah, yeah—I'm going to be Hokage, you know." Naruto, oblivious as ever, hadn't given this much thought.
"That's exactly the issue. Have you noticed your hair growing faster? Skin getting paler? Stronger, faster—even your perception and senses sharper?"
"Yeah, the haircuts have actually gotten more frequent—it's been kind of annoying to deal with," Naruto said, tilting his head since his body wouldn't cooperate with more. "Is something wrong with me?"
"This rate of physical enhancement—it isn't normal."
That was when it clicked for Naruto: "Wait—is it because of that… demon fox? Am I getting assimilated by some terrifying demon fox?!"
Naruto went pale.
"'Assimilation' isn't quite the right word. 'Stacking' is closer."
Hanabi paused, then reached for an example Naruto could actually grasp.
"Say Sasuke's ninjutsu proficiency is five and yours is one. 'Assimilation' would mean your body becomes like Sasuke's—your ninjutsu proficiency becomes five."
"Stop using Sasuke as the example! And my ninjutsu isn't that bad!"
"It's just an example." Hanabi gave Naruto a forehead flick, then continued. "With 'stacking,' your ninjutsu proficiency and Sasuke's are added together. The result becomes six."
That was the nature of the change happening inside Naruto.