Kira, a young operative trained in soft espionage by Takigakure, stepped into the Gin compound under the guise of a household servant. With short hair and a cold, analytical gaze, she had a simple mission: gather intelligence. Thankfully, she wasn't alone. Her partner, Haru, had been positioned as a merchant in the nearby village, quietly gaining the trust of the locals.
Their assignment seemed straightforward. Haru reported that the villagers held Takama in high esteem, despite lingering sorrow over the loss of his son. Strangely, many spoke warmly of his new adopted daughter, Hinata, who despite her blindness, had quickly gained admiration among the samurai.
While investigating Hinata's quarters, Kira discovered two notable things: a collection of toys clearly meant for a large dog—confirming rumors of a guardian ninja hound—and a half-finished letter addressed to three individuals in Konohagakure: Kurenai, Kiba, and Shino. The contents hinted at troubling events in the Leaf Village, including the disappearance or abduction of the last Uchiha, the appointment of a new Hokage named Tsunade, and vague allusions to emotional attachments too cryptic to decode.
Coordinating with Kira, Haru mapped patrol routes and identified a young samurai who seemed like a weak link. However, the attempt to interrogate him resulted in a swift and aggressive response: the very next morning, the entire garrison was mobilized, locating and recovering the missing samurai in record time. The incident underscored the strength and unity of Takama's forces. Kira quietly lamented, "I'm working with amateurs."
Their first real breakthrough came weeks later, when a sealed message arrived at the compound—one Kira managed to intercept and decode. It was from Otogakure, requesting the presence of Hinata in about five months for examination and possible treatment. This was the most concrete lead they'd uncovered so far.
<<<< o >>>>
In a shaded room deep within the heart of Takigakure's intelligence quarters, lit only by the flicker of a green flame burning in a suspended brazier, Jiren sat cross-legged. His eyes, cold and calculating, scanned the latest sealed report laid before him. A scroll freshly unrolled over the low lacquered table detailed the outcomes of his covert agents assigned to the Gin household.
He read in silence.
"Hinata Gin…" he murmured, tracing the name written in elegant, unassuming ink. According to Kira and Haru's findings, the girl was almost certainly of Hyūga lineage—her forehead bore a symbol reminiscent of the Branch Family seal, yet altered. Her blindness, a trait often overlooked, was clearly not a limitation. What troubled him further was her connection to Otogakure. Not long ago, Sound and Sand had launched a coordinated assault on Konoha. That she had any affiliation with Orochimaru's domain made things murky.
But then came the most puzzling report—one that unsettled even him.
One of Takama's young samurai had been captured and interrogated before being rescued too swiftly to extract further data. In those few hours, however, he spoke of a dreamlike realm. One with an ever present moon in the sky. A world guided by a silver-eyed High Priestess. A place where Hinata Gin was not merely a daughter of a well connected samurai house, but a trusted priestess of this moon cult. This alone would have seemed madness, but Goro's immediate retaliatory strike the following morning gave weight to the tale.
Jiren's fingers curled around the edge of the parchment.
"So… she's more than a girl with strange eyes and good training," he muttered.
He stood and paced slowly, cloak dragging softly along the tatami. Thoughts flickered—the parasite Shikashi still lurking within him, whispering without form, without Jiren's knowledge. Could Hinata be tied to that deeper truth he had sensed in his forced reincarnation into this world? The coincidences are too many, he... he, needed to act!
But no—his true nature stopped those thoughts.
He couldn't afford to rush.
"No premature moves," he whispered. "This girl is a key… or a lock."
He burned the scroll in the brazier with a spark of his poisoned chakra, watching it curl and fade into smoke, and turned to prepare his next plan.
"The game continues."
<<<< o >>>>
The return to the Gin compound passed without incident. Yet for those watching from the gates, the absence of familiar faces was a silent wound. Fewer samurai had returned than had left. Goro's face, usually firm with duty, softened with grief as he looked over the reduced formation. It was not only their bodies that were gone, but the shared laughter, the bonds of steel and honor—lost to the invisible blade of fate.
Despite the mourning, time moved forward.
Hinata's days settled into a quiet rhythm: meditating beneath the sakura trees, training with Takama, sharing playful moments with little Kuro, Taro and Rin, exchanging letters with Kurenai, Shino and Kiba, and spending long hours with Maeko and Shiryū.
Meanwhile her spirit clones, emissaries of a higher will, traveled the land under the guise of priestesses, sowing curiosity and serenity in equal measure.
And so the rumors spread.
Across the Land of Iron, tales emerged of ethereal maidens with veils of moonlight who wandered through towns, listening to villagers' woes. People whispered of spirits who glided effortlessly into heavily guarded cities and vanished into the mist. They brought not promises, but dreams—dreams of a white space, a realm where the Silver Lady awaited. In that realm, the fallen smiled again, and the heart remembered things it never knew.
What no one could say was what happened if one accepted the Silver Lady offer. The answer always came cloaked in silence—and perhaps, in the quiet peace that followed, none dared to ask aloud.
The only thing that is certain is that everyone in the land of iron had the choice to accept or refuse the invitation, for those more ambitious like Tenshō and Kaede, this type of invitation was something they had to take advantage of.
Her nights in the Silver World grew even more demanding. With the integration of more souls into its fabric, Hinata's responsibilities multiplied. Not only did her role as priestess expand, but the world itself became more stable—shaped by the thoughts, dreams, and presence of its many new inhabitants.
Amid this influx of life, Hinata finally discovered the key to beginning her training in the Gin family's forbidden Body Forging Method. The Silver World, now teeming with vital energy drawn from the living and the dead alike, gave her the nourishment she lacked before. Takama, overseeing her progress with pride and joy, personally guided her through the early stages, his spirit radiant with satisfaction.
He often watched her from the inner ring of the training grounds—her body glowing faintly under the pressure of the forging technique, her breath syncing with the world around her. For the first time, the technique born of his ancestors felt as if it had found a true heir. Hinata was not only enduring it, she was adapting to it.
The samurai who had perished in the Jashin attack began to settle in as permanent residents of the Silver World. Many had already offered their techniques and knowledge to the expanding library Michel managed. Slowly, the realm grew not just in size, but in complexity—its nature bending and evolving in response to its High Priestess and the thousands who now called it home.
<<<< o >>>>
On a quiet night in the inner gardens of the Gin compound, Hinata and Takama walked in silence under the soft light of the moon. The breeze gently rustled the cherry trees, whose white blossoms seemed to reflect the same silver glow that enveloped the young priestess.
"You seem uneasy, Hinata," Takama said in his familiar paternal tone.
She nodded softly. "I've been thinking about the attack... about everything that happened. There are things I can't ignore."
Takama didn't reply, but stopped beside her near a small pond. Their reflections, trembling in the water, seemed more real than ever.
"I feel like Tenshō had something to do with the Jashin cult's attack," Hinata finally said, her voice shaking. "Maybe not directly... but Takigakure, his connection to them... it all fits too well. And that scares me."
"Are you afraid it's true?" Takama asked gently.
"No," Hinata lowered her gaze. "I'm afraid of what I'd do if it were. Does that make me weak?"
Takama placed a hand on her shoulder. "No. It means you still have compassion, even while carrying the weight of a world. Doubt is not failure, Hinata. It's a thought. And that's what separates a true leader."
"But if I confirm it's true, that he's responsible... What should I do? Fight him? Takigakure? Expose him?" Her words came faster now, desperate.
"I don't know," Takama admitted honestly. "But you won't have to decide alone. Not anymore. Not while I still breathe."
Hinata swallowed hard, the knot in her chest slowly loosening.
"Thank you... father."
Takama smiled, and together they watched the moon. In the distance, a group of priestesses marched northward, and the reflection of a new era trembled gently on the surface of the pond.
<<<< o >>>>
And thus, the final preparations began.
With nearly six months passed since the attack on the Iron Capital, the Gin household had stabilized. Training, reconstruction, and the expansion of Hinata's influence in the spiritual world all progressed steadily.
Then came the letter.
Mifune's writing was as precise as ever. It detailed the current political balance: the rivalry between Tenshō and Renga remained deadlocked. While Renga benefited from his formal designation and support from loyalists to the late Daimyō, Tenshō had strategically gained the favor of outer provinces, many of which had lost sons and brothers during the cultist attack. His promises of reform and action swayed hearts, even without tradition on his side.
Takama read the letter in silence and slowly folded it. The words sat heavily in his hands.
The final passage was underlined:
"Let us not forget that whichever banner prevails, the Land of Iron cannot afford weakness."
His thoughts turned to Hinata.
He would not allow her to face what was coming alone. Orochimaru had sent word—a summons for Hinata to travel to Otogakure for evaluation. It was time. Though reluctant to let her near the man, Takama would go with her.
He would not leave his daughter unprotected.