Unlike the target-practice shuriken skills taught at the ninja academy, this throwing technique was the kind designed to kill.
And even that wasn't Sasuke's full attack. After launching the shuriken, he didn't rush in to follow up—instead, he leapt back slightly, and his hands began forming seals in rapid succession.
Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu
This was the highest-level jutsu Sasuke had mastered so far.
Classified as a C-rank fire-style technique, it normally required the chakra capacity of a chunin to use effectively.
But Sasuke, widely recognized as a genius within the village, had already perfected it even before graduating from the academy.
Unlike basic jutsu like Clone, Substitution, or Transformation, Fireball Jutsu was a genuine combat technique meant for killing.
Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger!
The familiar hand sign sequence raced through Sasuke's mind. The minimum requirement to perform the jutsu was to finish all seals within three seconds—but Sasuke, who had trained in this fire-style jutsu for years, could do it in under two.
If Hinata dodged the shuriken, he would catch her just as she slipped past with a searing blast of fire and—
Before he could even finish that thought, his vision blurred—then pain exploded in his left side! A searing, stabbing burn tore through his ribs, and the chakra he had just gathered instantly scattered, leaving behind only raw, terrifying pain spreading out through his limbs like a wound tearing open from the inside.
Hinata, whose delicate face once looked serene and gentle, now wore a savage grin.
Her right index finger extended like a gun, the other fingers pressed together, and that "handgun" had been thrust precisely into Sasuke's left rib.
The fury on Sasuke's face slowly melted into confusion and agony.
The pain in his side felt like a red-hot iron nail driven into his flesh—sharp, unrelenting, and so intense it left his mind spinning in a haze.
"Oh~? So Sasuke-kun was actually trying to kill me just now? You were gathering enough chakra to make it fatal, weren't you?"
Hinata slowly pulled her finger out of his side, and Sasuke crumpled to the ground in agony, feeling like his left lung had been punctured. Each breath he took only brought more sharp pain laced through his ribs.
Struggling to lift his head, Sasuke looked up—and saw those eyes staring down at him.
On either side of the girl's pale, porcelain-like eyes, a web of bulging, menacing veins had risen.
Her once-gentle, pupil-less white eyes had turned into a terrifying shade of pale blue, filled with a hostility so sharp it pierced like a blade—an illusion of being cut open just from being seen.
The Byakugan—Hyūga clan's unique kekkei genkai, one of the two great dōjutsu of the Hidden Leaf.
This ability granted the user a near-perfect 360-degree field of vision, along with telescopic and x-ray-like sight. Within a kilometer radius, it allowed the user to see through solid matter and observe internal structures.
Whether it was the chakra pathways inside muscle and bone or the chakra itself flowing through those paths—it was all visible to the Byakugan. And because it could directly see chakra, Hyūga clan members were virtually immune to most genjutsu that relied on visual manipulation.
To a ninja, the flow of chakra inside the body was as important as the movement before a technique. Even with just physical attacks, chakra was needed to reinforce muscles and tendons.
If someone could see that process happening—it was no different than reading your next move in advance.
Sasuke's tactics had no technical flaw: use shuriken to delay and distract, gain time for hand seals, and then finish the opponent with Fireball Jutsu.
Against most enemies, this was a flawless sequence.
But Hinata's Byakugan had already spotted the chakra concentrating in Sasuke's chest and abdomen—an unmistakable sign that he was preparing to release a technique through his mouth.
So instead of dodging the shuriken, she had simply ducked low and charged forward, landing a clean, devastating blow to his unprotected flank.
"D-Dammit…!"
Gasping for breath, Sasuke lowered his head, his face—twisted with shame, rage, and frustration—pressed against the dirt.
It was that Hyūga bloodline limit. That's why he lost! If—if his own bloodline limit had awakened too, then he definitely wouldn't have...
Clinging to that bitter rage and unwillingness to accept defeat, Sasuke's consciousness finally gave way under the strain of pain and emotion, and he slipped into unconsciousness.
"Oh well. At least he finally quieted down."
Hinata tilted her head slightly, then deactivated her Byakugan. The bulging veins on either side of her eyes gradually receded.
"Eh? Eh?! Hinata, did you just... kill Sasuke?!"
Still suspended by chakra threads in the background, the female Naruto swallowed hard. Sure, she'd pulled a lot of pranks around the village, but actual killing? That was a whole different level.
"No. I avoided his vital organs. But he'll definitely be coughing up blood for a few days."
Hinata's expression returned to its usual blend of cold indifference and annoyance.
She strolled back toward Naruto, casually slicing through the silk thread holding her up. As the girl dropped to the ground with a few instinctive coughs, smoke from the canceled Transformation Jutsu puffed up around her—and she reverted back to her original form.
"Coughing blood? Isn't that kinda bad?!"
Peeling off the shrine maiden outfit, Naruto's voice rang out with a typically exaggerated sense of alarm. "I mean, that's a little much, isn't it...?"
"Naruto, are you blind? Sasuke's jutsu just now—he was trying to kill me. Did you see those hand signs? That was Fireball Jutsu. If I hadn't dodged, I'd be a pile of ashes by now. So tell me—"
Hinata grabbed Naruto's chin, bringing her face close, locking eyes with his squirming blue gaze. "When someone tries to kill you... what are you supposed to do?"
"B-But still... why are you and Sasuke both so... so cruel?"
Being grabbed by a girl about the same height as him made Naruto sweat bullets. If Hinata was telling the truth, that meant...
"You two were actually using..."
Swallowing hard again, Naruto made a loud gulp. He might've been carefree, but that didn't mean he didn't feel fear—and right now, it was flooding back like a shadow wrapping around his spine.
"That's right. Real ninjutsu."
Letting go of Naruto's chin, Hinata smirked as she watched the blond boy instinctively step back. "Don't tell me... you think ninjutsu is just those silly three academy techniques, right? Real ninjutsu—its true purpose, the reason it was created—was to destroy your enemies. That means—"
Black malice and a twisted grin spilled from her still-pure white eyes, painting her words in darkness.
"Every ninjutsu is designed to kill."
---
Naruto's face sagged with dread, and the blond boy followed behind Hinata with a reluctant, dragging gait. As for the unconscious Sasuke, he was now being carried on Naruto's back.
The reason was simple: they couldn't just leave the 'landlord' of this area lying there, and Hinata sure as hell wasn't going to do the heavy lifting. That left muscle-for-brains Naruto.
Meanwhile, Hinata was carefully reviewing the footage on her camcorder. As a vital part of their deal, these precious photos had to be top quality. If not, they'd need a full reshoot.
"Seriously~! Where the hell is this guy's house? I'm starving here!"
After turning down another desolate street, Naruto's voice was full of protest. He'd been dragged out by Hinata early in the morning for filming. Now the sun was high overhead, and he'd done almost all the heavy lifting.
He had to use chakra to maintain his Transformation Jutsu, pose however Hinata wanted, and now he was carrying Sasuke across half the district.
His stomach was growling louder than ever.
"Technically, every house here belongs to Sasuke. He's the only Uchiha left. But we're looking for the one he's actually living in."
Hinata answered without even turning her head. Ignoring her avoidance of his main complaint, Naruto huffed and muttered, half grumbling, half gritting his teeth.
"Tch! Must be nice to have such a huge house. Where's his family anyway?!"
"Dead."
Her tone remained flat, but Naruto's blue eyes narrowed sharply. After a beat of silence, he blurted out, "Wait—dead?"
"You're not an idiot, are you? You've probably heard bits and pieces. A few years ago, the Uchiha clan was a huge family. All these streets and houses used to be their territory."
"But then, one night, every last Uchiha was killed—Sasuke's parents included. He's just like you now—living off orphan support."
There was no emotion in Hinata's tone, just simple narration. Then she tilted her head slightly, her voice suddenly teasing. "Oh, and correction—these aren't his 'homes.' They're just his 'houses.' You know why?"
That made Naruto go quiet. The irritation he'd felt earlier from being forced to carry Sasuke faded without him even realizing it.
"So he's... like me..."
It was almost a whisper. Naruto glanced back at the unconscious boy on his shoulders. At that moment, Hinata came to a stop and looked toward a house on the left.
Unlike the others, its yard wasn't covered in fallen leaves, and faint footprints lined the path to the door. It was probably where Sasuke was living now.
The door wasn't locked, which didn't surprise Hinata. Naruto followed her in with curiosity and a bit of hesitation—this was probably his first time entering someone else's home.
"Toss him on the tatami in the living room. Weren't you just whining about being hungry? Go grab some takeout from Ichiraku Ramen. I'm pretty sure you've got money to spare now, right?"
Sitting lazily by the hallway pillar, Hinata's instructions made Naruto grumble, but he still obeyed and headed out of the yard.
After all, he'd just received a hundred thousand ryo from Hinata—he wasn't exactly broke right now.
Only after Naruto's footsteps had completely faded did Hinata turn her head and speak coldly to the boy lying in the middle of the room.
"You should be waking up by now, right, Young Master of Uchiha?"
That mocking title made Sasuke's eyes snap open in fury. He glared at the girl casually lounging in his house, jaw clenched in silence, pride burning like fire.