After Furina finished speaking, she made eye contact with Hinata and Romon, immediately understanding that they had both reincarnated into the Naruto world. Romon had lived as an orphan for ten years, while Hinata had become a genius of the Hyuga clan.
But that wasn't the most important thing.
What truly mattered was what happened when they got close. The moment Romon and Hinata were near each other, Hinata's Byakugan surged in power, her chakra significantly amplified and in turn, Romon gained access to chakra and the Byakugan himself.
Even more crucially, their powers continued to rise the longer they stayed in contact.
This thrilled Furina. She saw hope a real chance to transcend mortality and truly become a god of water. Her excitement and craving for power resonated through the emotional link she shared with Romon and Hinata.
Hinata turned to her. "You want to become stronger? You want to draw chakra from me?"
Furina gave her a pitiful look. "Is that... not allowed?"
"Of course it is. Come here and hug me," Hinata replied. Then she looked to Romon. "You too. Let's all stay together."
"Alright."
Romon nodded.
The three of them came close and embraced each other.
Furina didn't resist. By now, she understood that Romon's appearance wasn't a disguise. It was real. He truly was a reincarnation of a fragment of her original soul.
From the essence of their souls, he was essentially a gender-swapped version of herself.
So hugging him? It was like hugging herself.
The scene was sweet: Furina cradled the five-year-old Hinata like a mother holding her daughter, while Romon embraced Furina from behind.
A warm family-like picture.
But the peace didn't last long. Furina's face suddenly turned red, her ears flushed, and a small ahoge popped up from beneath her hat.
Why?
Hinata had leaned her head against Furina's chest and Furina heard her thoughts through their emotional bond:
> "So flat... all bone."
> "Furina is really small... probably an A cup."
> "She's been Fontaine's Archon for ten years and still hasn't grown... no big ones."
> "But me? I'm not like the original Hinata. I eat well every day. In ten years, I'll definitely be more developed than canon Hinata."
Flushed with embarrassment, Furina couldn't hold it in anymore. "I may have been the Archon of Fontaine for ten years, but I was chosen as a god the moment I was born by the reflection in the mirror, Focalors. I'm only ten years old. I haven't fully grown yet."
"Heh," Hinata smirked. "Dear Furina, my alternate self... don't try to talk your way out of this. Based on our memories from playing Genshin in our past lives, we both know you won't grow at all for the next 490 years. You're stuck like this forever."
Furina opened her mouth but couldn't find any words. Her cheeks turned redder.
At that moment, Romon, still holding her from behind, said, "It's fine. Small is cute too. I like it."
Furina blinked in surprise. She wasn't shocked by his bold words she was more surprised by what she sensed from him afterward.
His breathing deepened.
Furina's body trembled. "You... you're reacting...?"
"Can't help it," Romon replied calmly. "Holding the just and pure Furina, the water god with no trace of impurity, I naturally react. I am a man, after all."
Furina turned crimson, even her neck flushed. She muttered, "Just now you called me human, now you're calling me Furina-sama? You're really fickle."
"Men are always like that," Romon said. Then he leaned forward and blew a gentle breath against her ear.
"You jerk," Furina muttered, flustered and blushing.
She started stomping her foot.
Meanwhile, Hinata, still in Furina's arms, felt something and said, "Furina, I think your body is reacting too.
"But it makes sense. You're the Archon of Fontaine, but you represent only the human side of the water god. Your body is still mortal. In that case, of course you'd feel something."
Furina had no rebuttal. Her face turned an even deeper shade of red.
Noticing that Furina was reaching her emotional limit, Romon gently changed the subject.
"Furina, how do you feel now? Has your body undergone any changes?"
Grateful for the distraction, Furina closed her eyes and focused.
But in doing so, the sensation of being pressed against from behind became even more obvious.
It was too much!
Furina was furious inside. Romon, that jerk! Just because I don't reject him, he thinks he can do whatever he wants?!
She took a deep breath and tried to clear her mind, focusing on the changes in her body.
Soon, she noticed that her physical strength had indeed increased. But aside from that, she hadn't gained chakra.
She opened her eyes and reported what she felt.
"Only physical strength? No chakra?" Romon frowned. "That's exactly how it was for me at first. Try cultivating the chakra refinement method. I only started gaining chakra after practicing that."
Furina gently set down little Hinata, quickly put some distance between herself and Romon, and covered her backside protectively.
"Focus on the chakra training," Romon said seriously. "Everyone knows that when I'm working, I'm a serious person."
"Hmph. I know," Furina replied with a snort.
She sat cross-legged in the Chaotic Hall and began meditating.
Minutes passed.
Still, no chakra.
Romon kept his Byakugan active, observing Furina's internal state. When he saw no signs of chakra forming, he frowned again.
"That shouldn't be. With our synced talents, she should be picking this up quickly."
Hinata chimed in, "Maybe it's because she's not from the Naruto world. Her body doesn't have 130 trillion cells like a native here.
"She's a Fontaine person, created by Focalors from pure water, not a flesh-and-blood being of this world. That could be why her cells can't extract chakra."
Romon's frown deepened. "So Furina came here full of hope, only to leave empty-handed?"
Truthfully, Romon really wanted to see Furina grow stronger. After all, she was still another version of himself.
At that moment, Hinata continued observing Furina's body and shook her head.
"No, she won't go home disappointed. Look carefully at the path her chakra refinement is taking. It's subtly changing.
"It's not refining chakra anymore. It seems to be converting into another type of energy."
Romon's eyes widened. "Are you saying her cultivation technique is adapting on its own to refine elemental energy instead?"
Hinata nodded slightly. "Exactly.
"She might not be able to gather elemental energy now because there's no leyline from Teyvat here. But once she returns to her world, she should be able to absorb elemental energy maybe even gain a Vision."