Once Hinata confirmed through her Byakugan that Orochimaru wasn't pursuing, she signaled Kiba and Shino to stop towing the boat.
The battle had been rushed, carried out without sufficient preparation. Worse yet, Orochimaru had damaged her only complete sealing technique scroll during the confrontation.
Without those sealing techniques, facing an opponent like Orochimaru—whose immortality bordered on the divine—and the reanimated Third Raikage, who possessed both infinite chakra and undying endurance, the odds of victory had been vanishingly small.
Another clear disadvantage lay in Hinata's lack of large-scale attack capabilities. Orochimaru's Yamata no Orochi form was enormous—its sheer size made it impossible for her to inflict a decisive blow. She had always trained to fight human-sized opponents, not creatures of that scale. Against such a monster, her usual precision-based combat methods faltered.
The Ten Gods Vacuum Strike—one of her most powerful techniques—was still incomplete. Its perfected form, the Eighty Gods Vacuum Strike, remained far beyond her reach. Hinata had attempted to deduce its latter stages through observation and simulation, but the effort had proven futile.
This was a divine mystery, a technique that transcended human understanding. Such power could not be reasoned or replicated—either one possessed it, or one did not. Between humanity and divinity, there existed a chasm that no amount of effort could bridge.
Even the incomplete Ten Gods Vacuum Strike, devastating as it was, could only destroy everything within a ten-meter radius. Yet the Yamata no Orochi's body easily exceeded that size many times over.
After standing on the deck for several minutes, her long hair dancing in the sea breeze, Hinata exhaled softly, letting her thoughts settle. Her pale eyes shifted toward Isaribi, who sat curled up in the corner of the deck, visibly tense.
"Can you cook?" Hinata asked suddenly.
Isaribi blinked, startled, then nodded hesitantly.
Hinata gestured, and one of her puppets dove into the sea with a splash. Moments later, it returned with several fresh sardines wriggling in its metallic grip. She handed the fish to Isaribi.
"Prepare them," she said simply.
Isaribi hurriedly asked where the kitchen was and ran off, afraid to delay even a second.
Hinata dismissed the matter from her mind and returned to the cabin. There, she sat down, opened her notebook, and began to summarize the mission—listing her shortcomings, analyzing each step of the battle, and noting what needed improvement.
Half an hour later, there was a soft knock at the door.
Isaribi entered, carrying several dishes carefully arranged on a tray—fish soup, braised sardines, and steamed fish.
Hinata took her chopsticks and tasted a bite. The flavor was decent—not unpleasant, though not particularly remarkable either. She ate a few more bites, then began eating properly with rice.
"From now on," she said between bites, "you'll cook for me."
Isaribi froze in disbelief.
Hinata offered no further explanation. "Clean up when you're done, then rest," she added before turning back to her notes.
Given Isaribi's half-human, half-fish condition, living among ordinary people was impossible. She had no family, no place to return to, no one who would accept her. Letting her wander freely would only lead to misery.
Keeping her close, on the other hand, would be mutually beneficial. Isaribi could handle the cooking, cleaning, and maintenance—while Hinata provided safety and shelter. It was, in Hinata's mind, a fair arrangement.
With a heavy heart, Isaribi quietly collected the dishes and left. After washing them, she sat alone at the stern of the ship, lost in thought.
She wanted to run—but where could she go? No village would take in a creature like her. No home would ever welcome her back.
No matter where she went, she would be an outcast.
Days passed. Hinata soon found Isaribi still staring blankly at the sea and approached her. She questioned her calmly, mostly about her ability to survive underwater, then assigned her to help a puppet with fishing duties.
To Isaribi's surprise, the results were astounding. Together, she and the puppet caught enough fish to feed several villages for an entire day—and still had leftovers.
But Hinata consumed them all effortlessly. Isaribi's perception of what constituted "human" appetite shattered completely that day.
For two days straight, Isaribi fished and cooked six times daily. From shock, to exhaustion, to numb acceptance—she eventually adapted to the routine. Once she had mastered the process, Hinata no longer involved herself in cooking matters, leaving the responsibility entirely to Isaribi.
Isaribi's days settled into a steady rhythm—fishing, cooking, washing, cleaning—endless, repetitive tasks that left her little time to dwell on her circumstances.
Until one day…
Five days after the battle with Orochimaru, the ship finally docked.
Kiba and Shino remained on board to guard the vessel, while Hinata disembarked, taking Isaribi with her.
The port was bustling, filled with merchants and fishermen shouting over one another. As they walked through the crowd, Isaribi unconsciously reached for her neck—once wrapped in bandages to conceal her fish-like scales. Now, under Hinata's orders, she wore none.
People whispered as they passed. Yet, to Isaribi's surprise, the stares were not directed solely at her.
Hinata, too, drew attention.
Ordinary people and shinobi lived in entirely separate worlds. To the villagers, the Byakugan—those pale, pupil-less eyes—looked eerie, unnatural. Without a Konoha headband to identify her as a ninja, Hinata appeared strange to them.
"Hey, look at her eyes!" one man whispered. "They're so white—it's creepy!"
"Something's off about her! Wait, is she—she's looking at me! She's glaring at me!"
Compared to Isaribi, who kept her head low and tried to blend in, Hinata walked calmly through the crowd, head held high, exuding quiet dignity. It only made her stand out more.
There were two purposes for this trip ashore.
First, Hinata needed to send a letter home—to request information from her father regarding a sealing question she could not resolve herself.
Second, Kiba and Shino had practically begged her to resupply the ship with fresh vegetables. They'd been living off fish and preserved rations for far too long.
So Hinata obliged.
At the marketplace, she went from stall to stall, examining each item meticulously.
"I don't need those two," she said, pointing at some wilted greens. "But I'll take everything else."
"This dish is good," she remarked at another stand. "Do you have more? I'll buy everything you have."
"Pick out the rotten apples," she instructed another vendor. "I'll take the rest."
Within minutes, chaos erupted.
The once-calm marketplace turned lively as word spread—a wealthy young woman was buying goods in bulk. Vendors flocked to her from every direction, eager to sell their produce.
At first, Hinata simply browsed, calmly selecting items she needed. But soon, it was the merchants themselves who surrounded her—each trying to catch her attention, each offering their wares with hopeful smiles.
Isaribi noticed that one of the villagers who had been staring at them strangely now wore a completely different expression. She couldn't quite describe it—curiosity, awe, or something else entirely—for it was the first time she had ever seen such a look.
"Miss! Please buy some fish! They're fresh—caught this morning! I'll even give you a discount if you buy a lot!" the vendor called out eagerly.
Caught off guard, Isaribi froze, unsure how to respond. Her gaze drifted instinctively toward Hinata, who had her back turned, calmly inspecting the goods being offered. Hinata moved with quiet precision, rejecting anything unfit for use and refusing to purchase anything unnecessary.
After a moment's hesitation, Isaribi shook her head politely and declined. There was no need for more fish—they already had plenty from the sea.
When the shopping was finally done, their supplies were enough to last an entire month. Hinata then bought several blocks of ice, broke them into small pieces, and mixed them with vegetables, fruits, pork, beef, and mutton before sealing everything into storage scrolls.
The onlookers gasped in astonishment. To the villagers, such an act looked like sorcery. Only a few who had traveled outside the region recognized it as a ninja's storage technique.
After leaving the market, Hinata stopped by a small post office. She purchased the most expensive express delivery available and handed over a letter she had written in advance.
The letter was sealed with a chakra lock that could only be opened by her father, Hiashi Hyuga. Anyone else who attempted to tamper with it would trigger the hidden explosive tags within, ensuring the message's secrecy.
As they made their way back to the dock, Isaribi glanced uneasily at the people still whispering around them. "Don't you mind the way everyone looks at you?" she asked quietly.
Hinata smiled softly. "That depends on you," she replied. "Asking me won't change anything."
Isaribi fell silent. For a moment, she thought Hinata had said something deeply profound—but when she tried to unpack the meaning, she found nothing to grasp.