On the moon.
The magnificent Moon Palace, standing firm for over a thousand years thanks to the colossal power of the Tenseigan, had remained aloof from the mortal world.
But today, what Uchiha Obito brought with him was something that would drag these "Moon People," who looked down upon the shinobi world, directly into the war!
"This is the Byakugan Princess you wanted."
After taking out the sealing cage that was holding Hinata from the Kamui dimension, Toneri Ōtsutsuki couldn't hold back his emotions. He quickly trotted to the cage before Obito could even speak.
He stared intently at Hinata in the cage with his pure white eyes. This person from the moon was so excited that he even wanted to directly open the cage and let Hinata out.
"I should warn you, Toneri," Obito interjected firmly. "Her ability is extremely unusual. If you want to take something from her, you'll first need to suppress it with your own power. Otherwise, you'll find yourself facing a very troublesome situation."
"I know, I know." Toneri's gaze never once wavered from Hinata. As if recalling something, he finally lifted his head toward Obito. "You can leave now."
"Hm?"
"Rest assured. Now that you've brought me the Byakugan Princess, our cooperation officially begins from this day forward. I will help you seize the Tailed Beasts… and stand against Yuki Yoru!"
Hearing this, a smile finally crept across Obito's face. "Excellent."
He didn't care in the slightest why Toneri wanted Hinata—whether it was some bizarre obsession or a desire to take something from her. What mattered to him was whether Toneri's power could serve his cause!
Now that Hyūga Hinata—Yuki Yoru's one and only disciple—was in Toneri's hands, no matter what Toneri chose to do, the enmity between him and Yoru would only deepen.
Combined with their clashing ideals and Toneri's hatred over his father's death, everything would converge into a raging storm, pushing Ōtsutsuki Toneri irreversibly onto Obito's side!
Content with this outcome, Obito withdrew.
Toneri, meanwhile, wasted no time in undoing the cage's seals, drinking in the sight of the long-awaited Byakugan Princess.
"Gentle Fist… eh?"
Freed from her restraints, Hinata instinctively raised her hands into the opening stance of the Gentle Fist. But the pure white eyes and youth that met her gaze made her pause, her hands stopping mid-movement.
Toneri smiled softly, his tone gentle:
"Our first meeting… Byakugan Princess."
"Byakugan Princess?"
The peculiar title startled Hinata, but almost instantly her expression hardened. Her stance lifted again with full determination.
"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms!"
Without a shred of hesitation, Hinata unleashed the pinnacle technique of her clan. Her strikes came like a raging storm, surging toward Toneri.
Toneri, caught off guard, blinked in surprise. Only when the gale-force strikes were nearly upon him did he belatedly lift his hand, gathering a radiant green light in his palm.
The light swept outward, absorbing every wisp of spiritual power spilling from Hinata's body.
Toneri blinked in mild confusion.
Was it because of the title "Byakugan Princess"?
In the center of his palm, a sphere of radiant spiritual energy coalesced. With a slight motion of his hand, he lifted it gently—then pressed it toward Hinata.
Her eyes widened in shock as the glowing orb merged into her body.
In that instant, countless images and thoughts surged into Ōtsutsuki Toneri's awareness.
Since childhood, she had been confined by her father's harsh education, bound by rigid rules and dogma, to the point where she didn't even dare eat her fill—malnourished, frail.
Everything changed only when Yuki Yoru appeared and took her in as his disciple.
"My dream is to protect the ones I cherish—Father, Hanabi, and Sensei!"
"I love Sensei the most. He's strong and handsome… Hinata loves Sensei with all her heart."
"This power was given to me by Sensei. I must work even harder!"
"In Sensei's eyes, I saw a trace of hidden weariness. I want to grow up quickly, so I can help ease his burdens…"
One after another, memories and thoughts surged into Ōtsutsuki Toneri's mind. The joy on this being from the moon's face slowly stiffened. Meanwhile, across from him, a look of stunned realization appeared on Hinata's delicate face.
Their gazes met. In Hinata's pure white eyes flickered a trace of pity.
"What is that look?!"
Toneri's heart, already flooded with Yuki Yoru's memories, boiled with rage and agitation. And Hinata's pitiful gaze pushed him past his limit.
"…I'm sorry," Hinata whispered. But the pity in her eyes did not fade in the slightest.
When Toneri had seen her past, Hinata had also glimpsed his.
That pitch-black life of solitude. That childhood where only lifeless puppets kept him company, in a hollow and empty palace.
Hinata had never seen someone so lonely. Compared to the boy before her, the strict and rigid upbringing she endured under the Hyūga clan seemed like nothing at all. She still had her father, her little sister, and—above all—the teacher who cherished her most.
But Toneri…
That pitying gaze stabbed into Toneri's soul like a sharp spear, accompanied by some inexplicable psychic resonance. It pierced him so deeply that he instinctively entered Tenseigan Chakra Mode!
"Take that look off your face, damn it!"
A violent repulsive force blasted Hinata away in an instant—but then, in the next breath, that same force rebounded onto Toneri himself, slamming him hard against the wall.
The wall cracked. Pain flared across his back, snapping Toneri back to his senses.
He shook his head violently, forcing away the chaos clouding his mind.
Originally, he had planned to unite with the Byakugan Princess, to use her pure bloodline to extend the moon Ōtsutsuki lineage to its fullest. But Hinata's pity-filled eyes, combined with the overwhelming imprint of Yuki Yoru within her heart and soul, made it impossible for him to remain calm.
Most crucial of all—his spiritual orb couldn't control Hinata. On the contrary, it even backfired onto him!
His plan was ruined. He had no choice but to settle for the next best option.
Seize the Byakugan!
The Byakugan he now possessed were ones his father had stolen from Kirigakure before his battle with Yuki Yoru.
They were strong compared to ordinary Byakugan, yes. But they were far from enough. Not for his ambitions. Not to unleash the full potential of the Giant Tenseigan.
He needed stronger eyes.
The Byakugan Princess had always been his true target. Not only was she the ideal vessel to carry on the Ōtsutsuki bloodline of the moon, but the pair of eyes in her sockets were the very treasure Toneri desired most.
Having failed in his first plan, he shifted immediately to the second.
Seize her eyes!
Deep green Tenseigan chakra surged across his body. The eyes that moments ago had been brimming with excitement—even affection—now grew cold and sharp.
Toneri swept his arm forward, unleashing a suction force that yanked Hinata toward him. With his other hand, he struck mercilessly—aiming directly for Hinata's eyes.
"Hadō #63 — Raikōhō!"
Though her body was restrained and out of her control, Hinata did not panic. Instead, she twisted her arm and unleashed a roaring Raikōhō directly at Ōtsutsuki Toneri.
She pitied the tragic childhood he had endured—but right now, they were enemies. To show mercy or hesitation to an enemy was nothing less than cruelty to herself.
The thunderous explosion swept forward—but to Ōtsutsuki Toneri, this level of attack was meaningless. He didn't even need to act; the blazing chakra flames cloaking his body alone were enough to block it.
"These eyes… they are mine!"
Toneri's hand clamped around Hinata's throat, while his other hand struck mercilessly toward her eyes.
BANG!
The expected eye-gouging never happened. At some point, a pale blue, patterned barrier had appeared over Hinata's body, blocking Toneri's strike.
At the same instant the Blut Vene (Calm Blood Dress) manifested, the killing move that had been brewing in Hinata's palm finally condensed in full.
"Sacred Destruction Arrows!"
A dazzling spiritual arrow shot swiftly from Hinata's palm, striking straight toward Ōtsutsuki Toneri's heart. But the instant it made contact, a repulsive force suddenly erupted from Toneri's body, shattering the spiritual arrow Hinata had condensed.
"As expected of Yuki Yoru's sole disciple… Though still young, you cannot be treated like an ordinary opponent."
"But these eyes can only belong to me!"
Black Truth-Seeking Orbs condensed into Toneri's palm, shaping into a golden blade.
Buzz!!
Behind Hinata, an overwhelming radiance burst forth. Spirit particles erupted like wings spreading from her back.
The sight made Toneri falter for a moment—but only for a moment. Then the golden blade in his hand, sharp enough to rend planets, pierced brutally through her Blut Vene (Calm Blood Dress) and drove into her chest.
Splurt!
"What?!"
Toneri's pupils shrank in shock. Agonizing pain surged through him. Looking down, he saw—it was his own chest that had been pierced open, not Hinata's.
The Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion that should have pierced Hinata's heart had instead torn through his body!
"Toneri, you need to be cautious when dealing with her. Her ability is very unusual."
Uchiha Obito's earlier warning echoed in his mind. Toneri spat out a mouthful of blood, flecked with pieces of organ.
"Sacred Destruction Arrows!"
Damage reflected. Hinata raised her hand expressionlessly, drawing and nocking a bow. Another spiritual arrow shot forth, aiming for Ōtsutsuki Toneri's throat.
"You… wretched girl…"
Ōtsutsuki Toneri gritted his teeth. The Byakugan in his eyes trembled. Countless chakra surged from the Moon Palace, landing upon him.
The vast chakra blocked this arrow while also allowing the nearly fatal wound to heal rapidly. In the blink of an eye, Ōtsutsuki Toneri was already healed.
"Used chakra to heal the injury?"
Hinata's veins bulged as her Byakugan revealed the peculiar chakra saturating the entire palace. To her, it felt especially unique—almost innately familiar.
She pushed her Byakugan harder, following the flow of chakra in an attempt to trace it back to its source.
She remembered Yuki Yoru's teachings: when facing powerful foes, she must always maximize the potential of her Schrift (Sacred Letter) to seize victory.
As Yuki Yoru's direct disciple, as the Byakugan Princess, Hinata possessed the Schrift of the highest tier granted by the Master of Soul himself—second only to Yuki Yoru, the "Emperor."
Schrift [A] — Complete Reversal!
This ability allowed her to completely invert and exchange "events that have already occurred between two points" (for example, damage received by Hinata) and redirect them onto the designated target.
It could be said that with this ability, Hinata could stand against any opponent. No matter who she faced, she would always have the power to fight—and by nature, she was almost invincible. Only certain specialized techniques or sealing arts could restrain her.
Of course, if she encountered someone like the Ōtsutsuki Toneri before her—one who could draw on a massive external energy source to make up for his own limits—the first priority was clear: cut off that energy supply.
Hinata had always kept Yuki Yoru's teachings firmly in mind.
"Found it!"
The Byakugan's penetrating sight, amplified by the strengthening of spiritual particles, had been greatly enhanced. But more importantly, the chakra saturating this palace resonated in a unique way with her Byakugan, allowing Hinata to see far more than usual.
She saw the barren palace… the lifeless puppets…
Row upon row of corpses lying within their coffins…
And then—
A massive orb radiating a gentle white glow came into view. Hinata's mouth fell open in shock. But before she could get a better look, a violent gale surged forth and hurled her body away.
"Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"
Like a storm, the Silver Wheel tore through the air, flinging Hinata high into the sky. In an instant, Toneri's figure appeared directly in front of her.
A Truth-Seeking Orb expanded in his palm, liquefying and merging into his hand. Then, with a sudden clench toward Hinata, he barked:
"Seal!"
The jet-black Truth-Seeking Orb spread across her body like ink, making her shudder violently.
But in the very next moment, an incomparably dazzling radiance burst from her body. Toneri's eyes widened in alarm as the Truth-Seeking Orb's sealing force, which had been clinging to Hinata, suddenly transferred onto himself!
"This… this is impossible!"
He frantically drew on his Tenseigan chakra to break the Truth-Seeking Orb's seal, but this time, he didn't dare recklessly strike again. Instead, his gaze hardened—serious, even murderous—as he fixed on the seemingly fragile girl before him.
The Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion, powerful enough to shatter stars, had been turned back on him.
The Yin-Yang Truth-Seeking Orb seal, designed to bind anything, had proven utterly ineffective against her.
Everything that had just happened had completely shattered Toneri's understanding. For the first time, this moon being who wielded the strength to crush stars felt a trace of helplessness.
"Your ability… your power… just what are you?!"