The scent of Otogakure struck Hinata the moment they crossed its threshold.
Dampness clung to her skin like a whisper. The wind tasted of iron, salt, and something older—like the breath of serpents. Wrapped in a thick cloak with her eyes as always closed to the world, she followed the gentle pressure of Kuro's guidance. Beneath her steps, the stone pathways of Otogakure pulsed with an unnatural rhythm, as if the ground breathed.
Takama walked at her side, silent as ever, though his aura was sharper here, his presence more alert. There were no welcoming crowds, only the occasional masked attendant gliding through the edges of their vision, watching.
The silence of the village was not emptiness.
It was listening.
<<<< o >>>>
Hinata sat on a cold stone table within a domed chamber lit by low green flames. Every wall was etched with sigils in languages she could not read. Orochimaru paced slowly around her, his gaze clinical and amused.
Takama stood behind her, a hand resting on the hilt of his sword. He said nothing, but his presence was a shield she could lean on.
Hinata could see them—not with her blind eyes, but with her soul. The room was saturated with screaming spirits. Not loud, not wailing—but pulling. Their movements were twitching and hollow, like discarded limbs trying to crawl back to a body they no longer remembered.
She saw how they clung to Orochimaru's chakra like algae to a corpse. How they moved not because he willed it, but because they had no choice. Their pain echoed through the threads of his fragmented soul.
And Hinata trembled.
Orochimaru turned to her, smiling. "Fascinating, isn't it? Even blind you see things the others don't, I can tell."
Takama stepped forward, but Hinata raised a hand to stop him. Her breath was unsteady, but her voice came clear.
"You carry more than power, Orochimaru-sama... You carry pieces of what you've broken."
For a moment, something in his eyes twitched.
"Very poetic," he replied. "Let's begin."
The examination was invasive, but not painful. Orochimaru traced lines of chakra along her arms, testing her flow, evaluating her damaged channels with methodical precision. As his fingers neared her forehead and abdomen, he paused briefly, eyes narrowing. He murmured something inaudible, fingers hovering just above the seal that marked her soul.
Hinata, sensing his shift in attention, remained composed, though her heart raced. She could feel how the seal on her brow resonated faintly with the one on her lower abdomen—a tension between two ancient mechanisms that neither fully dominated. Orochimaru's chakra, laced with curiosity and control, probed delicately at the borders of the seal, analyzing its effects on her chakra coils.
"Curious," he said softly, almost to himself.
Hinata remained quiet, enduring his touch with silent focus, even as the weight of his insight pressed upon her like a scalpel poised over open skin.
<<<< o >>>>
Later, Kabuto arrived, bowing respectfully before asking Takama for a moment with Hinata. The swordsman narrowed his eyes, but eventually nodded. Hinata stood, steadied by Kuro, and followed Kabuto down a long corridor illuminated by flickering torches.
"There are... old friends waiting," Kabuto said cryptically.
She said nothing.
At the end of the hall, a large door opened.
Inside, it was simple: stone benches, a low table, and standing by the far wall, his posture rigid as a drawn blade...
Sasuke Uchiha.
His chakra was unmistakable, sharp and cold like a mountain in winter.
Kabuto left them alone, the door closing with finality.
Hinata stood still for a moment, then bowed.
"Sasuke-kun... It's been a long time."
He regarded her with quiet intensity, eyes like embers.
At that moment, just as Sasuke was about to respond, Hinata's thoughts raced. Seeing him in person, she couldn't help but wonder—could she change his path? But she knew better. The only one who ever reached Sasuke, even slightly, was Naruto—and only after two battles that could have ended in death.
"Hinata Hyūga?" Sasuke asked, incredulity briefly flickering in his expression.
Hinata offered a formal bow, as was custom in the Land of Iron. "Hinata Gin. I was adopted by Lord Takama Gin."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed, not out of aggression but out of calculation. Emotions flickered in his soul—confusion, caution, and an unfamiliar tension. "Why are you here?"
"Don't worry. I'm no longer a kunoichi of Konoha," she said gently. "I'm here because my father made an agreement with Orochimaru—to seek treatment for the remnants of my old clan curse."
That answer caught Sasuke off guard. His eyes, always sharp, studied her anew. "I almost didn't recognize you. You've… changed."
Hinata nodded once, calm. "Many things have changed. Some good, some not. And you? Why are you here, Sasuke-kun?"
He paused. A beat passed. "That's none of your concern."
His voice was cold, but not hostile. It carried the weight of a man walking a razor's edge, unwilling to share more than he must. But Hinata didn't need his words—his chakra told her everything. Distrust. Weariness. And somewhere deep inside, a wound that hadn't healed.
She inclined her head respectfully once more. "Very well. Then let us simply share this silence."
And for a long while, they did.
<<<< o >>>>
Meanwhile, back in Orochimaru's chamber, Takama and the Snake Sannin spoke alone.
"The seal your daughter carries," Orochimaru began, "is unlike anything I've seen. After examining what fragments I could recover, I attempted to replicate the conditions. Captured several members of the Hyuga's Branch House. Most died. One survived the full activation and sealing. Barely."
Takama's expression darkened.
"But your daughter is different. The seal remains, yet does not fully consume her. It's as if something within her resists it."
"Something?"
"Not knowing the exact reason upsets me.However, I am here to find the solution and because of that." Orochimaru smiled. "We have two paths. One, continue studying the seal. Slow, painful, and dangerous... but perhaps it could be dismantled completely."
"And the other?"
"Activate and repair the damage using chakra transfusion through a summoned intermediary. Serpents. Their chakra is invasive and adaptable. Combining targeted healing and Hinata's own regenerative properties. It may restore flow to her damaged chakra network. With that resolved, it is possible that her own body will acquire the strength to reject the seal on its own."
Takama exhaled slowly. "Would she survive it?"
"She may be the only one who could. The strange accelerated minor regeneration that she has... is something unique that makes the very idea of this procedure possible."
As Orochimaru explained the logistics, Takama's gaze drifted toward the closed door. His thoughts swirled.
Hours passed, discussing every detail, every aspect of Orochimaru's two proposals.
So this was the price.
A treatment born from cruelty.
A choice between dissecting a curse or embracing poison.
He wondered if Hinata could bear either. Or if he could. Yet even in this moment, a part of him trusted her to choose wisely.
Because if there was anyone in this world who could reshape fate—not with hatred, but with resolve—it was the girl he now called daughter.