The Villainous Rebirth of an Anime Heroine | naruto

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At that moment, inside the Hokage's office...

The Third Hokage looked at the crystal ball in front of him, his expression complicated. Standing beside him, Iruka had a guilty look on his face. Even though he wasn't directly responsible for what happened, the fact that he hadn't noticed Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata's injuries made him feel incredibly ashamed. As a teacher, he took his responsibilities seriously.

"Iruka, you don't need to blame yourself. This is the path those kids chose for themselves."

Inside the crystal ball, the image of Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata was clearly visible. The Third let out a quiet sigh. Those three had a very unique position in the village. When he first heard they had collapsed and been taken to the hospital, even he was startled. Thankfully, the diagnosis was just extreme chakra depletion and exhaustion.

"But, Hokage-sama, what they did was way too reckless..."

Iruka started to speak, but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to say that they should stop training. He understood—getting injuries like that only proved how determined they were to become stronger.

"You know as well as I do—if you want strength, you have to pay the price."

The Third shook his head before closing the crystal ball. Then, he turned his sharp gaze toward Iruka. "Besides, you seem hesitant about something. Is there something else on your mind?"

"Oh... uh... actually..."

Caught off guard, Iruka hesitated, his face turning red. After a moment, he reached behind him and pulled a book from his pouch, handing it to the Third. "Well... the truth is, I noticed something strange about those three..."

"Hm?"

The Third took the book with a questioning look. The moment he saw the cover, his expression froze. Then—slam!—he smacked his hand against the desk and shot to his feet.

"So it was them!!"

"Huh? What do you mean, Hokage-sama? Who is 'them'?!"

Iruka nearly jumped from the sudden outburst. The book he had given the Third was none other than the first volume of Fox Tales, which Hinata had 'gifted' him. His original intention was to get the Third to look after Naruto and Sasuke—after all, they were still kids. There was a chance they had been tricked by some shady publisher.

"Hmmm~! This cover! This description! There's no mistake! This is that best-selling book I saw in the newspaper the other day!"

The Third studied the book intensely before lifting his head, his gaze piercing. "Iruka, where did you get this book? According to the papers, this series is only sold in limited quantities across the entire Fire Country!"

"Ah... uh... Hinata gave it to me... But, Hokage-sama, that's not what I wanted to talk about! I mean, look closely—the main characters... don't they look just like Naruto and Sasuke?!"

Iruka, still confused, shook his head and tried to steer the conversation back on track. But before he could continue, the Third held up a hand, speaking in a firm, unquestionable tone.

"Don't worry! I've already ordered an investigation into this matter. I just didn't expect to get a copy of the book from you as evidence."

"Wait, Hokage-sama! Naruto and Sasuke are just kids! Someone must have taken advantage of them! Please, you have to look into this fairly!"

Iruka's heart dropped. His first thought was that the Third might try to ban the book. After all, making Naruto and Sasuke the main characters of some illustrated story was kind of outrageous. That's why he instinctively tried to defend them.

"Relax. They're just kids—I won't blame them for this. But as for the rest... well, I have things to do."

Without looking up, the Third's eyes remained fixed on Fox Tales. His formal tone made Iruka feel uneasy, but he nodded and left the office.

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"Hinata, Sasuke, Naruto—you three have a three-day medical leave. During this time, you are absolutely forbidden from doing any extreme training. Understood?"

Iruka sighed. He already knew, though, that no matter what he said, the stubborn look in their eyes meant none of them would actually listen.

Their hands had been healed by medical jutsu, but the fact that they even needed it proved something—if they truly wanted to improve, they had to endure and let their bodies adapt naturally. That was the only way to grow stronger.

Still, ending up in the hospital wasn't part of the plan. But the upside? They got three whole days off. At the very least, that meant they wouldn't have to worry about Iruka chasing them down for skipping class.

Hinata flexed her fingers, carefully stretching her hand. Her skin had become rougher from all the training, but her fingers were still slender and delicate. It was the kind of hand most girls would be jealous of. Not that she cared—what mattered was gaining strength, not how her hands looked.

"Tch~ Iruka-sensei worries too much. I'm already an adult! And besides, no matter what, I'm finishing this training!"

Naruto followed behind Hinata with his hands on his head, grumbling in frustration. On the other side, Sasuke walked with his usual cold expression. But even someone as proud as the Uchiha heir couldn't deny the truth—he had been defeated by that high-voltage iron pot.

And to make things worse, he ended up in the hospital along with this dead-last idiot. What a disgrace.

"Sasuke-kun! Wait up~!"

A slightly anxious voice called out from behind them. It was Sakura and Ino, each carrying a bento box in their hands. Their target was obvious—the completely unfazed Sasuke.

"U-um, Sasuke-kun, I made some lunch for you. You just got out of the hospital, so... please take it..."

Rushing up to him in perfect sync, both girls bowed slightly and stretched out their hands, offering their bentos with absolute determination. It was clear that they had been extremely worried while Sasuke was unconscious. The way their lunchboxes were so carefully prepared showed just how much effort and care they had put into making them.

But as Sasuke looked at them, there wasn't even a hint of joy in his dark eyes. Instead, for a brief moment, there was a flicker of something else—anger, like a wound to his pride.

"I'm not interested in you or your bentos. If you have time for this, go train your ninjutsu instead."

Keeping his usual cold demeanor, Sasuke turned around and walked away without another word.

Naruto scratched his head in frustration. He wanted to say something, but in the end, he couldn't find the right words.

"...Alright, Naruto, you should leave too. I'll catch up later."

Hinata grabbed Naruto by the collar and casually threw him backward. With a sharp glare, she sent him a clear message—Get lost.

Naruto shivered, instantly understanding her intent. He quickly covered his mouth and bolted out of there.

Ino slowly straightened up. The golden-haired girl's beautiful face showed a hint of sadness. For a young girl with a crush, having her heartfelt effort coldly rejected was a painful experience.

Sakura, on the other hand, was still frozen in place, hands still stretched out. Her body trembled slightly, and a few warm tears dripped from beneath her bangs, falling onto the ground. But no matter how much those tears soaked the hard pavement, they could never reach the heart of the boy she cared about.

"...Sakura..."

Seeing her like this, Ino's feelings were complicated. As rivals, they were supposed to be competing. But in this moment, she could only sympathize with her.

"...It really hurt... seeing Sasuke unconscious in the hospital... and I... couldn't do anything to help..."

Sakura slowly stood up, her delicate face marked with clear tear stains. But the pain she felt wasn't just from rejection—it was from helplessness.

"Hmph~ That's right. If things had been a little worse, Sasuke might have died."

Hinata's pale eyes held nothing but cold amusement as she looked at Sakura. "But even though he got lucky this time, who knows if he'll survive the next?"

"You—!"

Sakura's emerald eyes flared with anger.

With a sharp clatter, the bento box slipped from her hands and hit the ground. In the next moment, she lunged forward, grabbing Hinata's collar with so much force that she nearly lifted the smaller girl off the ground.

"Why are you doing this to Sasuke-kun?! If it's just about money, you don't have to push him this far!!"

Tears still streaked Sakura's face, but her fury was undeniable. She could feel it—Hinata's words weren't just indifferent; they were cruel.

"You're asking the wrong question, Sakura."

Hinata's grip tightened around Sakura's wrist. Her pale eyes flashed dangerously, and with a sudden snap, she twisted it.

A sickening crack echoed through the air.

Sakura screamed as pain shot through her arm. She collapsed onto the ground, clutching her broken wrist, while Ino instinctively stepped forward, arms spread out to shield her friend.

"Wait! Hinata! That's enough!"

"Relax. It's nothing personal," Hinata said casually, shaking her fingers. "I just don't let people put their hands on me without consequences. We're shinobi—I'm not some kindhearted fool."

She reached into her pouch and pulled out two scrolls. "These are medical ninjutsu scrolls from Konoha—one teaches basic healing techniques, and the other is the Mystical Palm Technique, an A-rank jutsu. The first one costs a thousand ryo, but the second one? That cost me thirty thousand."

She tossed the scrolls onto the ground in front of Sakura. "You said you want to help Sasuke, right? Fine. If you can learn the healing techniques from these scrolls, you won't just be able to treat his injuries—you'll also help him train faster."

Hinata took a step back, her gaze shifting between Sakura and Ino. A smirk played on her lips as her voice turned even more mocking.

"Whoever learns it first gets to stay by Sasuke's side first. Let's see how determined you really are. Well then—see you around."

As Hinata walked away, Ino and Sakura remained frozen.

Their eyes slowly drifted to the scrolls on the ground.

After a brief silence, they each picked up one.

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From a distance, using her Byakugan to confirm, Hinata's lips curled into a cold smirk.

That's right. Just like how she had to work hard, the characters from the original story should also struggle a little. That's how things should be.

"Heh... Now I feel a little better~"

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Sigh... In the end, why did he have to do this kind of thing?

Shikamaru let out a huge yawn, rubbing his eyes as he stared blankly at the messy pile of charts and numbers in front of him.

No doubt about it—this was the sales report for Tale of the Fox's Words in the Land of Fire. It tracked how many copies were sold and pre-ordered in each region, helping determine the best distribution strategy.

The numbers were a complete headache. Even with Shikamaru's IQ, he had to stay up late just to barely finish it. The exhaustion was no different from an office worker pulling an all-nighter to meet a deadline.

"Oh? Shikamaru? Still awake this late?"

Nara Shikaku opened the door, surprised to see the lights still on in his son's room. He had only noticed it while getting up in the middle of the night. In his memory, his lazy son never stayed up late.

"No choice... I got paid, so I have to finish the job."

Shikamaru flipped through the data, filling in the last number in the chart. At least this annoying task was finally done... But knowing that woman's personality and motives, this probably wouldn't be the last time.

Oh well. The best move would be to delay the next deadline for a few extra days.

"Oh? That's rare. Someone actually managed to hire you? Let me guess, how much did they pay? A hundred ryo? Two hundred?"

Shikaku almost laughed. After all, his son was only an eleven-year-old kid. Hearing him talk like an adult—'I got paid, so I have to do the job'—was pretty funny.

"Not much... Two hundred thousand ryo."

"Hahaha! Only two hundred thou—cough!!"

Shikaku nearly choked on his own saliva, staring in shock at his son, who now had dark circles under his eyes. He carefully picked his words. He knew Shikamaru's personality well—his son would never bother to lie about something like this. Two hundred thousand ryo... That was about as much as their family's pharmacy made in two months. Even for him, making that much in one go wasn't easy.

"Wait... Shikamaru? Are you joking?"

"Nope... I don't get it either. Why would she pay so much just to hire me? I'm just a kid who hasn't even graduated yet."

Propping his chin up weakly, Shikamaru pouted at his father, who had unconsciously assumed a seiza position.

"Hey, Dad... This kinda feels like I'm doing work meant for a thirty-year-old..."

"No... This is the kind of thing you do at thirty."

Glancing at the pile of data on Shikamaru's desk, Shikaku wisely chose not to ask about the details of his son's job. Instead, he patted Shikamaru's head with sympathy.

"Get some rest when you can. I'll have your mom prepare some herbal medicine for you tomorrow."

"Yeah... Night, Dad~"

Shikamaru wearily threw off his clothes and collapsed into bed, falling into a deep sleep.

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Sizzle~!!

A sharp burning sound filled the air as white smoke rose from the iron sand pot in front of Hinata.

The sound wasn't from the pot itself—it was from her left fist striking the iron sand, tightly clenched.

Even though Hinata had used all her strength, her fist only sank about three centimeters into the dense iron. The heat searing through it was nearly unbearable.

She was still far from where she wanted to be.

Retracting her hand, she gritted her teeth, staring at her reddened skin. Today, she had tried her best to strengthen the chakra coating on her hands, just enough to prevent burns. But after a full day of training, her chakra was nearly depleted, and her hands had taken damage just short of severe burns.

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"Cough, cough..."

Sasuke's rough coughing echoed from the side. Holding his left arm, the second son of the Uchiha clan was completely exhausted. Like Hinata, he had tried his best to strengthen the chakra coating on his hands, but he still couldn't punch through the iron sand.

As for Naruto, he wasn't doing much better. Compared to Hinata and Sasuke, the blonde-haired boy's fists were already covered in blood, staining even the iron sand in front of him with a faint red hue.

Still, overall, this attempt was much better than the first. At least they had started adapting to this brutal training.

And today marked the fifth day.

"...Training's over for today. Clean up—we're going for yakiniku."

Walking over to the medicine pot, Hinata unwrapped the bandages from her hands and submerged them into the herbal liquid. The strong herbs stung her fresh burns, and the sharp pain immediately brought cold sweat to her pale forehead.

But the medicine worked fast. Despite the burning sensation, a cooling relief spread over her hands. These precious herbs were much more effective than real-world medicine, accelerating cell regeneration and strengthening the body. Of course, that only applied if the injuries weren't too severe. If it was as bad as her first day, when she had to be sent to the hospital, then no herbal bath could help.

Sasuke and Naruto also stepped away from the iron sand pot, dipping their hands into their own medicine pots. Both of them were sweating from the pain, doing their best to endure it. But it was obvious they were competing, trying not to make a single sound—probably because Hinata had endured the pain silently yesterday, and they didn't want to lose to her.

After about ten minutes, once she confirmed that her hands were mostly healed, Hinata let out a slow breath and was the first to leave the training cave. Training drained a huge amount of energy, so today, she decided to treat herself to some yakiniku.

And while she was at it, she should probably check on how the others were doing too.

"Yakiniku, yakiniku~! I'm starving!"

Naruto stretched lazily, rubbing his empty stomach with excitement.

Hinata, walking at the front, glanced to the side. The yakiniku restaurant was on a lively street, and by now, it was right around dinnertime. As they passed by a glass storefront, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Because of the bright lights, their reflections were clearly visible in the glass.

Their outfits hadn't changed at all from the original story. Hinata was still wearing her plain gray-white jacket and those unfashionable black pants. Sasuke and Naruto, as always, stuck to their same old short-sleeved tops and shorts—Naruto still rocking that bright orange tracksuit.

To be honest... they looked terrible.

Hinata's pale eyes narrowed slightly. She wasn't someone who cared much about appearances, but looking at this, even she felt like something needed to change.

"What's wrong?"

Sasuke frowned slightly. After spending the past few days training together, he had somewhat gotten used to interacting with these two. He still didn't talk much, but compared to his usual silent, aloof attitude at school, this was a huge improvement.

"...You two have awful taste in clothing."

Staring at their reflections, Hinata spoke coldly.

Naruto immediately bristled. "Hey, hey, hey! That's too harsh, Hinata! I put a lot of thought into this outfit!"

"Yeah—like a noisy little orange. Definitely suits an idiot like you."

Sasuke took the perfect chance to throw in a jab, clearly annoyed by Naruto's orange tracksuit as well.

"Shut up, both of you. I refuse to walk around with you two looking like this. You have two options: One—follow me inside and change into something decent. Two—stick to your dumb fashion choices and leave. Right now."

Both Sasuke and Naruto let out reluctant grumbles but didn't argue further.

Hinata turned and pushed open the door to the shop.

Inside, the store was clean and well-organized, with various clothes and accessories on display. From everyday outfits to more unique fashion items, it seemed like they had a wide selection.

A middle-aged woman with brightly dyed hair straightened up from behind the counter, her voice dripping with sweetness.

"Oh~ what a lovely young lady, and two handsome young men! Welcome! I'm Koizumi Mika, a professional stylist. How can I help you today?"

"...Ah, looks like you've got a big job ahead of you."