Chapter 8

Chapter 8 — Hinata’s Second Personality

The study door creaked open.

A small figure slowly stepped into the dimly lit room.

Moonlight streamed in from outside, stretching the child’s shadow long across the floor.

“What a hassle… I thought you wouldn’t follow me,” Menma said as he stepped out from the shadows, scratching his head in confusion.

The Inifinite Tsukuyomi World was supposed to be fake.
So why had the Dark Nine-Tails followed him here? And why had his girlfriend come as well?

Inside the Hyūga clan head’s study, two figures—one tall, one small—stood facing each other less than two meters apart.

Uzumaki Menma removed the white three-eyed fox mask and lowered his gaze toward the small figure standing at the doorway under the bright moonlight.

Hyūga Hinata.

Unlike the gentle, timid Hinata he knew, the Hinata now standing before him had her Byakugan activated. Veins bulged around her temples as she stared fixedly at the unmasked Menma.

Within those pure white eyes surged resentment and emotions too complex to describe.

Hinata raised one palm, gathering Gentle Fist chakra, and charged straight at him.

“You—!” she shouted as she leapt forward, tears falling faster than her strike.

“You damn jerk!”

Her Gentle Fist landed solidly against Menma’s chest, instantly shattering his Transformation Technique.

Bang!

Smoke dispersed, revealing Menma’s true childlike form.

“…I’m sorry, Hinata.”

That quiet apology broke her composure completely.

She threw herself onto him and burst into loud sobs.

“You knew! You knew! No matter what you did, I would forgive you!” Crying uncontrollably, Hinata opened her mouth and bit fiercely into Menma’s shoulder, venting years of grievance.

“Hiss— You actually bit me!” Menma gasped, yet allowed her to vent without resistance.

The gentle Hinata from the original manga and anime would never have done something like this.

But if it was the hot-tempered “Big Sister Hinata” from the Inifinite Tsukuyomi World movie, everything made perfect sense.

After a while, Hinata—exhausted from crying—sat on Hiashi’s desk, tear marks still visible in her eyes. Resting her round face in both hands, she watched as Menma transformed back into an adult form and began rummaging through her father’s collection of ancient texts.

After regaining consciousness earlier, Hinata had been escorted back to the main residence. From the guards, she learned about the nighttime attack—a mysterious figure wearing a white three-eyed fox mask had assaulted the Hyūga clan.

So she had kept her Byakugan activated ever since returning. She remembered Menma’s strong interest in Hyūga history. He would definitely come back tonight.

And that was how she caught him red-handed in the study.

“If our world was fake… then why do I exist?” Hinata asked.

“I find it strange too. Not just you—the Dark Nine-Tails revived inside me as well,” Menma replied while flipping through the books. Any text he considered valuable or historically important went straight into a storage scroll.

There were far too many to read in one sitting.

“But I can clearly feel rejection from that world… a sense that everything there was unreal. There were no legends of the Sage of Six Paths either. And yet, the emotions you all gave me felt completely real. Sometimes I honestly can’t tell what’s true anymore.”

As he sank into thought, a dull ache spread through his head and his temples throbbed.

“Well… how should I explain…” Little Hinata, dressed in a white kimono, swung her bare feet gently in the air.

“There’s actually another personality—or maybe another soul—inside this body. Her personality is completely opposite to mine.” She pointed at her chest.

“Hm?” Menma turned toward her.

He had assumed that once “Big Sister Hinata” appeared, the other Hinata had vanished. So it was two souls sharing one body?

“Little Hinata, let me introduce you. This is the scumbag boyfriend I always tell you about—Menma.” Hinata lifted her chin as if speaking to herself, then suddenly lowered her head.

The next moment, her head snapped up again—her face now filled with flustered embarrassment.

“S-Sis… please don’t do that…”

The shy, blushing Hinata before him—almost steaming with embarrassment—was clearly the original Hinata from the manga and anime.

Uzumaki Menma watched her with interest. He reached out and placed a hand on her head, gently ruffling her short hair.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Menma.”

“H-Hello… I’m also Hinata…” Her voice was barely louder than a whisper.

Feeling the warmth of his hand, her face turned even redder. Head lowered, she twisted her fingers together nervously in front of her chest, her delicate feet curling shyly.

“So… how should I address the two of you?” Menma leaned closer.

“Um… usually… I’m the one outside… Big Sister sleeps most of the time…” Little Hinata murmured, flustered by his closeness.

So Big Sister Hinata’s soul required chakra to remain active.

Menma fell into thought.

In ninja world theory, the relationship between chakra and the soul had always been extremely subtle.

“Alright then. I’ll call you Little Hinata.” Menma found himself quite fond of this version of her.

“You can call me Menma—or just brother-in-law works too.” He pointed a thumb toward himself.

Little Hinata’s round face flushed deeply. Light seemed to shine within her Byakugan as she looked at him.

Ever since gaining memories, she had known another sister with a fiery personality lived inside her body.

As the heir of the Hyūga main family, Hinata had undergone strict training since childhood. Yet her gentle and somewhat timid nature disappointed both her father and the clan elders.

At critical moments, Big Sister Hinata would emerge—displaying exceptional learning ability and fiercely arguing down both her father and the elders.

She called Hiashi and the elders things like “old geezer,” “fossil,” and “old man” without hesitation.

There wasn’t a single Hyūga ninja—elder or branch family guard—who hadn’t been verbally destroyed by Big Sister Hinata.

Hyūga Hiashi felt both admiration and helplessness toward this second personality. He admired her decisiveness and talent, believing she was perfectly suited as heir to the main family.

But her constant insults made any sense of noble upbringing impossible to see.

Little Hinata had often heard her sister talk about her “scumbag boyfriend,” and she had grown deeply curious about the man her sister could never forget.

Smack—

Hinata suddenly slapped Menma’s arm away.

“You scumbag! Don’t you dare set your sights on my little sister!” Big Sister Hinata seized control again, loudly accusing him.

“Back then we were totally in love! You said all those cheesy sweet things! You even said you wanted a son and a daughter with me!” Remembering how she had been seduced by him in that world, Big Sister Hinata clenched her teeth, fists tightening.

Is… is this something I’m allowed to hear?
Inside their shared mental space, Little Hinata turned completely red, covering her face like a steaming kettle.

“Hey, you know that was back then…” Menma withdrew his hand with an awkward laugh.

“Go die, you jerk!”

A Gentle Fist strike came straight at his face.