"Welcome back, Naruto-kun."
Hinata's voice trembled slightly as it escaped her lips, carried by the gentle wind atop the Fourth Hokage's head. She stood there, the setting sun casting a golden halo around her silhouette as her lavender eyes stared at the man who had once been a ghost to her—someone who had left her world cold, colorless, and empty.
Even now, even after seeing him just recently, her heart had trembled with dread. A nightmare had taken root in her chest ever since he had first died… and for the first time in years, hope had dared to grow again.
And that hope terrified her.
Because hope meant vulnerability.
Because hope could be taken away.
When Naruto reappeared, it was like the first rainfall in a decade-long drought. Her breath caught in her throat as his golden form shimmered into being—no explosion of light, no roaring fanfare. Just him. Standing there as if he had never left.
But she had changed. And so had he.
Her eyes moved across his features. The sun-kissed hair tousled by the breeze, the deep blue eyes that still held the warmth of their youth—but now veiled with something else. Pain. Experience. The unshakable resolve of someone who had walked through hell and come out the other side, with ash and blood clinging to his soul.
He was still her Naruto—but this version had long since crossed the threshold of innocence.
He carried a weight far heavier than before, and she could feel it from just a glance.
Yet to her, he was still everything. The boy she'd admired from the shadows. The boy who bore the hatred of the world but still smiled, still tried. The boy who once stood up for her on a snowy day when even the wind was cruel.
Her heart clenched as she remembered the path she hadn't taken.
There was a time—so many years ago—when she had nearly reached out to him. Nearly stepped into his world. Her love, so gentle and quiet, had burned bright enough to consume her. But she had stepped back. Not because she didn't love him.
Because she loved someone else too—her sister.
Hanabi… her sweet little sister. Bright-eyed, full of questions, innocent to the cruelty of their world. Hinata had promised their mother to protect her. And to keep that promise, she had sacrificed everything: her training, her potential, her pride.
And eventually… her bond with Naruto.
She became the 'useless' one, the clan's disappointment. Her own father called her weak. Hanabi, influenced by the clan's poison, began to believe it too.
Hinata never explained herself. Never defended her choice. Because protecting Hanabi meant hiding the truth even from her.
But in the quiet nights, when no one watched, she would stare at the moon and ask herself:
Why? Why must I suffer? Why must I bow my head for a family that never once gave me warmth? Why must I be the sacrifice?
And in her darkest moments, a whisper had come.
Take Naruto. Reach out. Show the world your power. Make them kneel. Make Hanabi understand what she lost. Make them all regret their scorn.
But she hadn't. She had buried that whisper deep inside her heart and stepped back—leaving Naruto to walk his path alone, while she kept her promise to a world that never once showed her mercy.
In the years since his death, Hinata had changed. No longer the shy, uncertain girl who could barely speak in his presence, she had become something else—something forged through heartbreak, silence, and the bitter taste of regret. She had lived in a world devoid of color, a grayscale existence where everything felt like an echo of what once was. A world where Naruto Uzumaki no longer walked.
But now… he was back. Even if for a moment, he was real again.
She could still recall vividly that day so long ago, a snowy afternoon when fate had tied them together for the first time. Naruto, a small boy full of fire and foolish courage, had intervened in a bullying attempt when no one else had. She had been so small, so frail, and so unwanted even among her own clan. But Naruto… he had stepped in, fists swinging, heart blazing. It was reckless.
It was beautiful.
And it came with a price.
The children who had dared lay hands on the Hyuga heiress—regardless of their age or innocence—had paid dearly for that mistake. Their families were disgraced, some exiled, others ruined. The Hyuga did not tolerate affronts to their bloodline, and Hinata, even as a child, learned a cruel truth that day: being close to her meant dragging others down with her.
If she had taken even a step closer to Naruto back then… if she had allowed her feelings to grow more visible, to bloom into something more—then both of them would have suffered even greater consequences.
Naruto might have been punished more than he already was by the world.
And so, with the meekness ingrained into her by her station and her trauma, she kept her distance.
She watched him from afar.
Loved him from afar.
And never once reached out her hand.
Back then, she thought she had no choice. That her power, her influence, her position were all illusions held in place by duty. But now, with years of experience and painful reflection, she knew better. If she had chosen differently, if she had embraced her lineage and fought for her place, no one could have stopped her. No one could have denied her.
She could have stood beside Naruto—not as a burden, but as an asset. As someone who had the knowledge, the resolve, and the insight to help him rise faster, rise stronger. She could have warned him of the elders. She could have helped him survive Danzo's traps. She could have helped shoulder the pain.
And perhaps… just perhaps, he would not have died.
This knowledge ate at her.
Every moment of his absence was filled with the weight of "what if."
In the wake of his death, it had been Danzo—ironically, the man she despised—who snapped her out of the daze. His words had cut like a knife, accusing her of wasting her potential, of letting Naruto die alone because she had hesitated.
And he was right.
Hinata rose from the ashes of that moment. She reclaimed her rightful position as the heiress, took back her authority, and began the long, bitter process of reforming the Hyuga clan from within. No more shackles. No more silence. And always—always—with one eye on Naruto's dream.
She had watched over his dream like a gardener tending to a flower that would never bloom again. Because tending to it… was the only thing keeping her heart from falling apart.
Naruto wasn't just the man she loved. He was her entire world—her desire, her ideal, her reason for defying fate. He represented a better world. A freer world. A world where people like her could live with their heads held high and hearts unburdened.
When he returned, that long-lost world began to shine again.
But with the light came shadow.
The fear of losing him again was unbearable. When he left her sight, when his presence faded like mist in the wind… the crushing despair returned with a vengeance. He was like a ghost—impossible to sense, impossible to follow. He had become something beyond her grasp, and that terrified her.
When the battle ended, Hinata didn't stay. She let the others clean up the remnants of the chaos. Her place wasn't there anymore.
Her place… was in Konoha.
Waiting for him.
Even if it took days. Even if it took years.
And when he finally appeared atop the Hokage Monument, in a silent shimmer of golden light, her breath caught in her throat.
The dark clouds in her heart dissipated in an instant.
Her lavender eyes lit up with a brightness that had long been extinguished. A smile—soft and radiant—formed on her lips, filled with everything she had never been able to say.
Her Naruto was back.
And this time… she would not step back.
Naruto's voice was soft, barely more than a whisper, as he held Hinata close against his chest. The sky behind them glowed with the warm colors of dusk, painting a backdrop as gentle as his touch. His arms, strong and firm, wrapped around her with a tenderness that belied the storm of emotion inside him.
"I'm back," he whispered into her hair, pressing a kiss on the crown of her head, "and I'm sorry… for making you endure this pain."
Hinata didn't speak. She didn't cry out or collapse into him like others might have. Her silence wasn't distance—it was grace. That quiet dignity of hers had never changed. She was still the noble heiress, still the reserved woman of strength and steel will. But her body had changed. Years of battle and hardship had molded her into a warrior in her own right. She stood tall—taller than he remembered—and her form carried a quiet power.
But the biggest change was in her eyes.
No longer the muted, pupil-less orbs of the Hyuga, her gaze now shimmered with the luminous, intricate patterns of the Tenseigan—floral pupils that made her look almost divine. They gave her an ethereal beauty, something he hadn't remembered, not because she lacked it before, but because his constant use of clones had dulled the vibrancy of memory.
Now that he was truly here, with her in his arms, he remembered.
He remembered how beautiful she truly was—not just in body, but in soul.
He could feel it all now. Her emotions poured into him like a stream of unspoken words. Her love for him was powerful—on par with Kara's passionate devotion and Raven's quiet, eternal care. But Hinata's love was different. It was woven with fear, with guilt, with endless regret. It was wrapped in the darkness she had fought against every day since his death.
He could hear her heart. The soft cries of apology, of loss, of longing.
And he could feel the crushing weight she had carried all these years.
Naruto closed his eyes and let his aura expand, golden and warm like sunlight breaking through winter's frost. It enveloped her entirely, brushing against her skin and sinking deeper, until their souls touched.
"Believe in me… one more time," he said, voice steady. "Let those worries disappear. I'll answer your sacrifice on that day with my actions."
His words weren't a promise—they were a vow.
Light surged from his being into hers, washing away the darkness that had clung to her like a parasite. The lingering shadows of regret, the fear of being too late, the sorrow of what could have been—they all dissolved under the warmth of his soul.
And in that moment, Hinata felt free.
Her breath hitched as tears filled her eyes, falling silently down her cheeks. She looked up at him, her voice cracking as she spoke the only words she needed.
"I will always believe in you."
For the first time in years, she felt whole. The weight she had carried vanished. The endless nights of wondering, the doubt, the guilt—it was all gone. She felt healed, inside and out. And in that moment, she wanted nothing more than for time to freeze.
Naruto gently brushed her cheek. "Thank you," he murmured. "For all the time you gave me support. I planned to say this after the battle… but life happened."
Hinata smiled through her tears. "You're welcome. But… it was nothing special. It was my duty to stand by your side. You fought for us. For everyone. It would have been cowardly to stand back and watch you suffer alone."
He shook his head gently, eyes shining. "Not everyone can say that, Hinata. Not everyone did what you did."
He remembered that day clearly.
The pain.
The betrayal.
The rage that erupted inside him when he realized just how alone he was in that moment. When the people he had protected stood back and watched him bleed. When the darkness inside him whispered terrible truths.
Look at them. They won't help you. Why are you here? Why did you come back?
You're dying for them. And they would never do the same for you.
The voice had been cruel, but not entirely wrong. The world had always demanded more from him than it ever gave.
Even she… the one you love… is just watching.
But then Hinata had moved.
Through fear.
Through blood.
Through certainty of death.
She had stepped forward.
She had stood beside him.
That one act, more than anything else, had silenced the voice in his heart. It had stilled the darkness.
That one act had saved him.
She had touched something deep inside him that day—something no one else had ever reached. She didn't just support him in words. She gave him her strength when he had none left. She believed in him when the whole world seemed ready to turn away.
And she loved him—truly loved him—even when his very existence had been seen as a curse.
That love had elevated her in his heart. Beyond Kakashi. Beyond Sakura. Even beyond Iruka.
She now stood at the same level as Jiraiya, Teuchi, Tsunade, Sasuke—those who had risked everything for him.
She was no longer just the shy girl who had loved him from the shadows.
She was Hinata—his light in the darkest of times.
His best friend.
The question slipped from Hinata's lips with a quiet intensity, her voice edged with the weight of a woman who no longer clung to false ideals.
"How did it happen?"
There was no trembling in her tone, no attempt to deflect blame or soften the truth, as she might have done in the past. Gone was the girl who would've made excuses on behalf of others—friends, comrades, even clan elders. The woman standing before Naruto now had shed that skin. She had grown, evolved, and knew the price of silence all too well.
They were wrong.
And this time, Hinata wasn't going to pretend otherwise.
Naruto looked at her, a softness flickering in his gaze. He could feel the turmoil in her heart—how even forming the words about his death had taken tremendous resolve. She was ready to listen now, to truly understand, but her heart still bled quietly beneath the surface.
Reaching out, he brushed a hand through her hair, smoothing away the tension that had crept into her expression. His voice was low, laced with steel beneath the gentle tone.
"Danzo. Bring him to me."
Those words echoed like a divine edict across the landscape, and Hinata felt her breath catch. Her eyes widened in realization—not from fear, but clarity.
So that was it.
Danzo.
The puppet master who had always operated in the shadows, manipulating the village's fate with bloody hands and a cold heart. Hinata's instincts had always whispered something was wrong, but the truth had always remained shrouded in silence and lies. Now, the veil had been torn away—and she saw clearly.
All this time… he had been beside her. Advising the council. Pretending to uphold the village's best interests. Pretending to support Naruto.
And she had never known.
Her hands trembled slightly as fury threatened to rise, but Naruto's presence—his aura, his soul—wrapped around her like a protective blanket. It grounded her. Centered her. The storm could rage later.
Now was the time for justice.
And something else struck her.
Naruto hadn't asked.
He had commanded.
It wasn't arrogance—it was authority. Divine, earned authority. Gone was the uncertain boy who had once begged for recognition. The man before her now knew who he was. He didn't doubt. He didn't hesitate.
He was the storm that followed betrayal. The light after judgment.
Hinata didn't speak.
She simply nodded, and in the next heartbeat, the Tensaigan cloak shimmered into being around her form, bathing her in glowing azure light. Ethereal and regal, her transformation was graceful, powerful—like a immortaldess ascending.
Wings of energy sprouted from her back as she lifted into the air, silent as the moon. Her eyes glowed like polished sapphires, her pupils spinning as the Tensaigan activated its full power.
She reached out with her mind—and the world bent before her sight.
The Tensaigan granted her perception far beyond that of normal ninja, even beyond the Byakugan. Like the Rinnegan, its power touched the fabric of chakra itself. She spread her senses far and wide, scanning not just the continent, but beyond—through veils of space and dimension.
There.
Danzo.
He was near the command center of the Shinobi Alliance, newly freed from the Infinite Tsukuyomi like the rest. Still lurking, still watching, still believing himself untouchable.
But not anymore.
Not today.
With a surge of energy, Hinata vanished from the air, cutting through the sky like a shooting star. She was no longer just a Hyuga heiress.
She was the avenger of truth.
And Danzo... was out of time.