When Naruto and Sasuke returned to the Hokage's office and reported to Tsunade that they had eliminated every remaining member of the Root faction, she did not look surprised.
She simply let out a quiet sigh.
During her long struggle for political control against Danzo, she had already won over every Root ninja who could still be reasoned with. The ones Naruto and Sasuke eliminated were the loyalists who clung to Danzo with blind devotion. Since they never acknowledged her as Hokage, Tsunade felt it was just as well to let them follow their leader to the end.
It saved her the trouble of dealing with them later.
"By the way, Grandma Tsunade, Hinata's eyes seem to have a problem. During Sage training, she kept saying they felt itchy. I used medical ninjutsu but couldn't find anything wrong. Could you use the hospital's equipment to check her?" Naruto asked.
He should have asked earlier, back when they first returned from Mount Myoboku. But they immediately rushed to rescue Gaara, and Hinata insisted on going with them, so the examination had been delayed.
Now that Gaara was safe, Naruto brought it up again.
Tsunade paused for a moment, then stood up. "Come on. Bring Hinata to the Konoha Hospital."
Konoha Hospital. Diagnosis Room.
Tsunade held a stack of examination reports, her brow furrowed as she flipped through them.
Hinata lay on the medical bed while Naruto stood beside her, tense and restless.
"How is she, Grandma? Hinata's eyes aren't in danger, right?"
"Mmm…" Tsunade hummed without answering.
"Calm down, Naruto. Let Tsunade finish checking first," Jiraiya said, patting Naruto's shoulder.
Guy, Kakashi, and Sasuke stood to the side, waiting for Tsunade's explanation.
Hinata, however, felt no tension at all. She truly didn't think anything was wrong. She ate well, slept well, her body felt fine, and if anything, her Byakugan actually felt sharper than before. Its vision was deeper and more focused.
After flipping through the reports twice, Tsunade finally closed the stack and looked at Naruto.
"Hinata is completely healthy. Every indicator is normal. There is nothing wrong with her body."
Everyone let out a long breath of relief.
Hinata watched their reactions, baffled. She unconsciously touched her stomach. She wasn't pregnant or anything.
As she was thinking this, her eyes suddenly itched again.
"Then why are her eyes doing that?" Naruto asked, pointing at Hinata who was rubbing her eyes quietly.
Tsunade crossed her arms. "This itching started only after she began absorbing natural energy during Sage training, correct?"
Hinata nodded. "Yes, that's right."
"Then it is probably due to a mutation in the Byakugan caused by exposure to natural energy."
"A mutation?" the group repeated.
Tsunade continued, "Has anyone in the Hyuga clan ever practiced Sage techniques or absorbed natural energy?"
"I'm not sure," Hinata said. "Maybe Father would know."
"This is outside my field. Orochimaru may understand this better than I do," Tsunade admitted.
"Orochimaru, huh…" Naruto murmured. He was already thinking of how to ask for the man's help.
Hinata immediately told her father, Hiashi Hyuga, about her situation.
"Your eyes changed after absorbing natural energy?" Hiashi frowned deeply. Even he had never heard of the Byakugan reacting this way.
Suddenly, his expression shifted.
A thought crossed his mind.
Could Hinata's eyes be reacting to something related to the old clan on the moon?
"Hinata, come with me. To the sealed chamber," Hiashi said solemnly.
"The sealed chamber?" Hinata blinked in surprise but followed her father through the heavily guarded corridors and down into the family vault, a secret room that could only be opened by Hyuga blood.
Inside were countless scrolls of various sizes, stacked and stored with great care.
Some held secret techniques.
Some held ancient history.
Hiashi moved quickly among the towering shelves, searching through old, dust-covered scrolls. Finally, his gaze locked onto a massive scroll bound with hardened sealing tags and an unusually tough hide.
His expression grew serious.
Even reverent.
"Father? What is that?" Hinata asked, confused by his rare tension.
Hiashi raised a finger to his lips, signaling her to be silent. He infused chakra into his fingertips and slowly peeled away the ancient seal.
The scroll loosened and unrolled with a heavy thud.
Under the dim light of the chamber, father and daughter leaned in to read.
The first part was not written in the Hyuga script at all. Instead, it was composed of an ancient system of symbols, almost like proto-writing. Next to each archaic line were explanatory notes added by later Hyuga ancestors.
Hinata read carefully.
And her heart trembled.
The scroll recorded the true origin of the Hyuga clan.
They were not simply descendants of a terrestrial lineage.
Their blood did not originate on the earth.
It came from the sky.
From the moon.
Their ancestors were the descendants of Hamura Otsutsuki, the younger brother of the Sage of Six Paths.
Hamura's direct line inherited the purest form of the Byakugan. They lived on the moon, guarding sacred ruins and maintaining the seal over a dangerous ancient power. Over generations, a small branch of his descendants came down to the earth.
That branch became the Hyuga clan.
And the scroll made something else clear.
The Byakugan was not the final stage of their power.
There existed a far more exalted, almost mythical form of ocular strength.
A power awakened by Hamura Otsutsuki himself.
A power called the Tenseigan.
The scroll explained little about its activation. It only stated that awakening it required two things:
First, extremely pure Otsutsuki blood.
Second, contact with a kind of "primordial life energy" or "external force that triggers bloodline resonance."
There was a note beside that line: the energy was extremely difficult to absorb on earth and was marked with an ambiguous ancient symbol.
Another ancestor had written a cautious commentary:
"Our clan survives far from the original land. Our blood weakens with generations. The land of the Sage lies beyond mortal reach. Perhaps there may yet be a faint resonance. But these are only theories. Let future descendants judge carefully."
Hinata lowered the scroll slowly.
Her voice trembled just a bit.
"Father, this scroll says our clan came from the Otsutsuki… why did I never hear of this before?"
"The history of the world is ancient beyond measure," Hiashi replied. "Most truths are already lost. Based on our family archives, Hamura's descendants moved to the moon long ago. Whether they still live there, no one knows."
Hinata whispered, almost to herself, "People can live on the moon?"
"More importantly," Hiashi said, shifting closer, "this concerns the Tenseigan."