Early the next morning.
Hinami and Might Guy arrived at the Hokage Building.
The first floor was a spacious, brightly lit hall, bustling with crowds and a constant hum of voices. In Konoha, this was the hub for everything: posting missions, registering businesses, and handling housing permits.
"Hello, Shinobi-sama. I am Sawada Fuuka, the clerk in charge. Please come this way to process the adoption papers."
A tall, blonde beauty with porcelain skin smiled and guided them toward the counter. As she moved, her rounded thighs shifted elegantly beneath her black pencil skirt, trailing an alluring scent of roses in her wake.
Guy and Hinami followed behind her, instantly drawing envious gazes from the men in the hall. Naturally, the attention was divided: some looked at Fuuka with longing, while others looked at Guy with pure jealousy.
...And perhaps a few looked at Guy with a different kind of longing entirely.
Disgustedly avoiding the scorching gazes of a few muscular thugs, Hinami remained "invisible" in her own way, tapping her small cane behind Guy. She was just waiting to finish the paperwork so she could head to the Academy.
She was in a magnificent mood. A period of stable development was finally within reach. With rigorous training and the natural passage of time, her strength would reach new heights.
In ten years, Kaguya Otsutsuki would break her seal and be resurrected through Uchiha Madara. To face the coming cataclysm, Hinami knew she had to attain Six Paths-level power before then.
Strictly speaking, the power levels of the shinobi world mirrored the progression of a cultivation novel quite well. Academy Student, Genin, Chunin, Tokubetsu Jonin, Jonin, Elite Jonin, Kage, Super-Kage, and Six Paths—and somewhere in there, the legendary "Konoha Genin." Ten distinct rungs on the ladder.
She estimated her current combat strength to be around Jonin level, though highly specialized and unbalanced. Further up were the village's pillars: Elite Jonin. These were the household names, the "faces" of their respective nations. Since only five Kage could exist at once, many top-tier Elite Jonin actually possessed Kage-level strength.
Then came the legendary figures: Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha—the Super-Kage. And finally, Naruto and Sasuke in the endgame... the Six Paths.
Hinami did a quick mental calculation. Between her current self and Kaguya, there was a gap of at least a hundred thousand Kakashis.
I need to hurry up.
She set a small goal for herself: by the time she graduated from the Academy at age twelve, she would possess the strength of an all-around Elite Jonin.
As Hinami was silently mapping out her future, Guy, who was busy filling out forms, suddenly turned around.
"Hey, Hinami, what's your last name?"
The sudden question caught her off guard. Her mind raced.
Kaguya? Hyuga?
Neither would work. Both names carried far too much weight in the shinobi world.
Seeing her hesitate, Guy suggested, "How about you just take mine? Might Hinami sounds pretty good, doesn't it?"
Absolutely not.
After a moment of reflection, Hinami spoke with absolute certainty:
"No. My surname is Zhuri—Chasing the Sun."
Zhuri Hinami.
It was a nod to her past and present, a fusion of her origins and her ultimate desire in this life. Kaguya Otsutsuki was the Progenitor of Chakra, the Goddess of the Rabbit Moon.
Hinami intended to surpass that goddess and become the most brilliant sun the world had ever seen. Like the giant Kua Fu chasing the sun in the old legends, she would never look back.
In the language of this world: this was her Nindo, her Ninja Way.
"Zhuri... Hinami."
Guy respected her wish. As he wrote the name on the form and blew the ink dry, he felt a powerful resolve radiating from those characters.
A girl born blind, living in a world of darkness, yet vowing to chase the supreme sun in the sky?
"Now THAT is youth!"
Moved to tears, Guy suddenly leaped into the air, his voice booming so loudly that the clerk froze in place, her professional smile faltering. The entire hall turned to stare at the commotion.
"Hinami, you are overflowing with youth!"
Oblivious to the stares, Guy continued to hop around, shouting passionate slogans.
Don't say my name out loud, you idiot!
The gazes of the onlookers made Hinami feel like she was sitting on a bed of needles. She almost regretted not being actually blind so she wouldn't have to see them. She lowered her head and yanked her hood down tightly over her face.
Sawada Fuuka couldn't help but giggle at Hinami's reaction. Looking at the frantic adoptive father and the composed daughter, her smile became a bit more genuine.
"Seriously, Hinami, I'm so moved!"
"Guy," the mortified Hinami muttered darkly from beneath her hood, "if you love the name so much, why don't you take mine instead?"
"How could a father take his daughter's name?!" Guy's voice went an octave higher, like a frog stepping into boiling water.
"What does it matter?"
"How can it NOT matter?!"
"Keep shouting and I'm cutting off your allowance."
"I'm sorry."
"All finished."
Amidst their bickering, the adoption process was completed.
"From now on, you are officially family," Fuuka said, flashing a perfect smile.
Guy took the document, staring at Hinami's information and their confirmed relationship with a whirlwind of emotions. Yesterday, he didn't even have a girlfriend. Today, he suddenly had a daughter this old.
It felt as though his life had entered a high-speed lane; he hadn't even had a chance to look at the scenery before arriving at the finish line.
Father... I've become a father, too.
"Keep it safe. Let's go to the Academy and get my enrollment sorted."
Hinami was on a mission. She didn't waste a second, tapping her cane as she marched out of the building. She was desperate to enter the Academy.
Despite her raw power, she was still a half-baked shinobi who only knew the basic Three Academy Jutsu. It was a waste of her talent. Without a proper foundation, she wouldn't even be able to learn advanced techniques if they were placed right in front of her.
When she was being hunted by the Mist, she had no choice but to focus entirely on survival. But now, she didn't have to fear for her life.
She needed to think about the future. Chakra shape transformation, nature transformation, hand signs, sealing jutsu, genjutsu, medical ninjutsu—this advanced knowledge was vast and complex.
For a normal ninja, mastering one was enough to survive. But for Hinami, whose goal was the Six Paths, every skill mastered was another step toward that summit.
She had to build a solid foundation before she could raise a skyscraper. There were too many gaps in her knowledge to fill, and even catching her theoretical knowledge up to her combat prowess would be a long journey.
The road ahead is long and arduous, but I will seek the truth above and below.
For her difficult path of "Chasing the Sun," Hinami was fully prepared.