The rising steam wafted from the kitchen, a seductive aroma of savory meat mingled with a subtle sweetness, making Hinami's already hollow stomach churn even more violently.
However, she was currently in no mood to eat.
Before she could even reunite with the Hyuga, she had been pegged as a foreign spy by the gatekeepers. Now, before the noodles were even served, a report had already landed on the Hokage's desk. To make matters worse, she was sitting right in front of the man himself, chatting away with the village's vital Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Her suspiciousness rating had just reached a new peak.
As the ANBU departed following a meaningful glance from Hiruzen Sarutobi, the shop fell into a heavy silence. Naruto, though unable to read the room, remained quiet under the pressure of an extraordinary sixth sense.
Hinami's mind raced.
To dispel the Third Hokage's suspicion, she simply needed to reveal her Byakugan. But she didn't want to expose it yet. Her mother, Tenki Hyuga, had been away for years; who knew if her grandfather, the Great Elder of the Main House, was even still alive? The Hyuga clan was not a monolith, and with their labyrinthine rules, whether a Hyuga-Kaguya hybrid like herself would be welcomed or cast aside remained an unknown.
Revealing the Byakugan now would thrust her into the eye of the storm. If things went south, the consequences would be unbearable.
What could she do?
Konoha had the Yamanaka clan, experts in memory extraction; her memories would never survive their scrutiny. She wouldn't even need a jutsu to be exposed—a simple X-ray at Konoha Hospital would reveal that beneath her harmless exterior lay a dense periosteum and a skeletal structure that was definitively not human.
After devouring the Three-Tails' flesh and enhancing her chakra reserves, she had subjected her body to even more horrific self-modifications. Currently, she stood at 1.3 meters tall, yet her weight had reached a staggering 100 kilograms, making her every step feel heavy. Her physical traits were beginning to show anomalies that were no longer as easy to mask as they had been in the Mist.
This was the side effect of power. A lion, no matter how it disguises itself, struggles to blend into a flock of sheep.
The Direct Approach
"Lord Hokage."
In the silent, cramped ramen shop, Hinami suddenly turned her head, startling Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been quietly observing her.
"Oh? What is it?"
Hiruzen stroked his beard and responded with a smile. His face was kind and grandfatherly, showing none of the weight of a man who ruled one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
"If you have questions, you can ask them directly. Please don't keep staring at me like that."
Naruto, who had been brazenly staring at Hinami's beautiful profile, immediately lowered his head. Hiruzen's lips twitched in embarrassment.
These young girls nowadays are certainly direct.
Her eyes are covered by a blindfold, yet her senses are sharper than an ordinary person's?
The flicker of doubt passed. Since Hinami had already realized they found her suspicious, Hiruzen decided to stop beating around the bush.
"Hinami, are you from outside the village?"
"Didn't that ANBU just tell you?"
"Good hearing?"
"Something like that."
"What did you come to Konoha for?"
"To find relatives, to become a ninja, and for revenge."
"How did you bypass the chakra sensory barrier?"
"A natural ability."
Hinami controlled her heart rate and pulse, spinning lies with an air of indifference. No matter how intently Hiruzen scrutinized her, he couldn't find a single crack in her composure.
"To become a Konoha ninja, one must enroll in the Ninja Academy. The Academy only accepts residents of Konoha, not wandering ninja from the outside."
As the principal of the Ninja Academy, Hiruzen delivered a straightforward rejection of her potential enrollment.
Hinami smiled. She raised a slender, pale finger and pointed vaguely toward the kettle sitting behind the bar. Both Hiruzen and a secretly attentive Naruto watched.
Sizzle!
The lid of the kettle rattled violently. Scalding water surged from the curved spout and, under their shocked gazes, leaped high into the air. It split into three perfectly even streams, flowing into the teacups before them.
Is this... a hand-seal-less jutsu?
No! It's a Bloodline Limit!
Hiruzen stared at the water in the cups—perfectly still, without a single ripple on the surface, looking almost like solid ice. His heart was in turmoil.
Water Style used without seals, performed with a level of ease and precision that exceeded even his own. At Hinami's age, this was impossible through training alone. Only a mysterious Bloodline Limit (Kekkei Genkai) could possess such power.
"Is this still not enough?" Hinami asked with a smile, meeting Hiruzen's stunned gaze.
Of everything she possessed, this was the only thing she was willing to show. But it was enough. No village would ever waste a precious Bloodline user as a spy, especially a genius who had awakened such power so young. It was too inefficient and far too conspicuous.
Combining the Three-Tails' seal-less water manipulation with the Byakugan's supreme chakra control, she wouldn't lose in a contest of Water Style precision even if Tobirama Senju himself were standing there.
Though her true identity remained a mystery, the label of "spy" was now effectively stripped away. Once she revealed her Byakugan and returned to the Hyuga, any minor background issues could be smoothed over by the clan's influence. Exposing a fraction of her power was a necessary compromise.
The Warmth of Ichiraku
"Hinami, you're amazing! Can you teach me?"
Naruto was starstruck. He peered into his cup, even taking a curious sip only to yelp and stick his tongue out from the heat.
"I'm afraid I can't teach this one. Well? Lord Third?" Hinami looked back at Hiruzen, ignoring a slightly dejected Naruto.
"Truly impressive."
The hostility in Hiruzen's eyes faded. He understood Hinami's point. Bloodline ninja were so rare that even an old fox like Danzo wouldn't dream of sending one on a suicide mission as a spy. That wasn't spying; that was donating talent.
If any village leader were actually that foolish, Hiruzen would welcome them with open arms. He'd hand over whatever intel they wanted, as long as the "spy" stayed and had children.
As the man known as the "Professor of Shinobi," seeing his own Water Style control eclipsed by a little girl made the power of a Bloodline Limit seem all the more enviable. After a moment of thought, he spoke slowly.
"A Bloodline Limit is indeed rare, but Konoha has its rules. The Academy cannot admit outsiders; this was a rule established by the Second Hokage, and it cannot be broken lightly."
"No problem. I respect the rules," Hinami replied with a smile. She had heard the subtext. The Academy couldn't admit outsiders—meaning as soon as she became a member of Konoha, she could get in. The problem had become simple.
"Noodles are up!"
Ayame and Teuchi emerged from the kitchen with three bowls of Tonkotsu ramen, shattering the tense atmosphere.
"No shop talk during mealtime," Hiruzen noted.
"Agreed," Hinami replied.
The old man and the young girl nodded to each other, a strange sense of mutual understanding forming between two people who had just met.
"Wow, it smells so good!" Naruto cheered, a look of pure bliss radiating from his face. "Hinami, you have to try it!"
Hinami picked up a piece of pork and tasted it. It was savory, tender, and perfectly seasoned.
"Mm, it's delicious. Naruto, your recommendation was spot on."
"Hehehe!"
Basking in the praise of his new friend, Naruto laughed proudly, looking exactly like a Squirtle from a meme. Hiruzen's wrinkles deepened with a genuine smile.
"How many bowls are you planning on this time?" Teuchi asked, wiping his wet hands on his apron and grinning at Naruto.
"Five!" Naruto held up five fingers.
"Oh? That's impressive, Naruto!" Teuchi exaggerated.
"And my wallet is going to suffer for it," Hiruzen shook his head in mock heartbreak.
"Then we should eat even more to make it worth it, right Naruto?"
"Yes!"
Ayame covered her mouth and giggled.
Under the cheerful atmosphere, the lightning and daggers of the previous tension vanished completely. Watching Naruto laugh, eat, and act out, Hinami looked up at the "Ichiraku" sign on the wall. She found herself genuinely touched by the warmth and serenity.
In such a harsh environment, the future Naruto managed to maintain an optimistic heart. This place wasn't just a ramen shop; it was more like a home.
At Ichiraku Ramen, it was never really about the noodles.