Konoha Prison — Interrogation Room
Only after being strapped into the ice-cold interrogation chair did Hyūga Hinata finally realize she had ended up somewhere extremely dangerous.
A living Third Hokage.
A young Hyūga Hiashi.
And a girl sitting across from her—who looked exactly like her mother.
Hinata swallowed, her throat dry. She stared at the girl opposite her and asked in a barely believable, tentative voice:
"C-can I ask… what your name is?"
Hyūga Shiori looked at this clan member who finally seemed to grasp how serious her situation was and replied coldly:
"I am Hyūga Shiori."
So it's true.
It really is true.
This is my mother—
the mother who died when I was still very young.
That meant only one thing.
She wasn't in her original time anymore.
She was in the past.
The realization sent Hinata's thoughts into chaos. The arrogance and bluster she'd shown earlier vanished completely.
Nao knocked lightly on the table, her voice icy.
"Stop playing dead. What exactly is your relationship with Hyūga Hiashi and Lady Tsunade?"
Hiashi, sitting beside them, shot Nao a helpless look.
He was the most wronged one here.
He'd been minding his own business at home when Nao stormed in, grabbed him without explanation, and dragged him straight here. For a moment, he'd even thought she'd finally accepted his feelings—
Only to find out someone had broken into the Nine-Tails jinchūriki's residence and somehow dragged him into the mess.
Innocent. Completely innocent.
He didn't recognize this girl at all!
If anything, the only "connection" was between her and Nao.
Just look at them—how could two people look that alike?
—
In the adjacent observation room, Tsunade stared through the reinforced glass at the Hyūga girl with open annoyance.
"So this is why that old man dragged me out of bed in the middle of the night?"
"It's just a Hyūga brat. Couldn't they have handled this internally?"
The ANBU beside her stood stiffly, offering a careful explanation.
—
Hinata cast a slow, uneasy glance at Hiashi, making him inexplicably uncomfortable.
"I'm… a shinobi from Konoha, year sixty-five," she said quietly.
"My name is Hyūga Hinata."
"I'm your daughter—with Hyūga Hiashi."
"And Lady Tsunade… is the Fifth Hokage."
"...?"
Nao, Hiashi, and Tsunade all wore the exact same expression.
Is this kid messing with us?
"…You're joking, right?"
Nao's forehead twitched violently.
"I'm telling the truth," Hinata said calmly, meeting their eyes.
"I'm the next head of the Hyūga clan."
"I know everything about the Hyūga."
She stared directly at her young mother.
The next sentence froze both Nao and Hiashi in place.
"Including the casting method of the Caged Bird Seal."
As she spoke, Hinata forced what little chakra she could still muster to circulate—and formed a single hand seal in front of them.
The room fell completely silent.
The method was correct.
"…Interesting."
Tsunade leaned forward, eyes sharp with interest.
Judging by Nao and Hiashi's reactions, Hinata's execution was flawless.
Could this girl really be a shinobi from Konoha's future?
The Caged Bird Seal was one of the most impenetrable sealing techniques in the entire shinobi world. For centuries, not a single Byakugan had ever been lost.
Was it because people didn't want the Byakugan?
Quite the opposite.
The Byakugan was a strategic asset coveted by every major power.
But the Caged Bird Seal had brutally protected it.
Only a handful of main-family Hyūga knew its secrets—and they would rather die than let it leak.
Hiashi glanced at the silent Nao, cleared his throat, and said:
"That can wait. Tell us why you broke into the Nine-Tails jinchūriki's residence."
"The Nine-Tails jinchūriki…?"
Hinata blinked, confused.
"Who is that?"
"I don't even know how I got here. How could I have attacked a jinchūriki?"
"The child you saw first," Nao replied, frowning.
"...Huh?!"
Hinata's eyes widened in disbelief.
"That's impossible."
"The Nine-Tails jinchūriki is Menma, isn't it?"
"No—wait. Before that, shouldn't it have been Lady Uzumaki Mito?"
Nao was about to answer—
When the interrogation room door suddenly opened.
The moment Hinata saw who walked in, her eyes went completely round.
She stared straight at Tsunade's chest, shock written all over her face.
"How is this possible?!"
"Why are you so… big?!"
"Lady Tsunade—aren't you supposed to be flat-chested?!"
The previously amused Tsunade's expression instantly darkened.
"Brat," she said coldly,
"are you asking to die?"
Looking at the utterly shaken Hinata, Tsunade snorted.
"Hiashi, you're done here. Leave."
Kyūsei's identity was a top-level village secret.
Even the Hyūga clan head didn't have the clearance.
"Yes, Lady Tsunade."
Hiashi knew better than to pry and withdrew immediately.
Tsunade dropped unceremoniously into his seat, her gaze sharp as a blade as it locked onto Hinata.
"Uzumaki Mito was my grandmother—and the first Nine-Tails jinchūriki."
"The current one is the second."
"Uzumaki Kyūsei."
"The child you met."
"Uzumaki… Kyūsei?"
Hinata frowned.
"Who's that?"
Wait.
Kyūsei… Kushina?
Uzumaki Kushina—Menma's mother—did have the Uzumaki surname before marrying Namikaze Minato…
Seeing Hinata lost in thought, Tsunade's eyes turned cold.
"Say everything you're thinking. Now."
"Nao was right about one thing."
"Even if you don't talk, I will get the answers."
"It'll just take a bit more effort."
The Second Shinobi World War was nearing its end, and Tsunade—who had walked the battlefield herself—was anything but gentle.
Behind her carefree, blunt demeanor was a heart of iron.
Enemies of Konoha were crushed without mercy beneath her fists.
Faced with Tsunade's overwhelming killing intent, Hinata froze.
Is this really the Lady Fifth I know—
the gentle one who needed three days in bed after tripping?
"I… I don't know any Uzumaki Kyūsei," Hinata said shakily.
"I only know Uzumaki Kushina."
"And she wasn't the Nine-Tails jinchūriki."
"The Nine-Tails jinchūriki was her and Namikaze Minato's son."
"…Namikaze Menma."
Hinata stared at Tsunade in fear.