I alone am the source of light.

*Swish*

A senbon needle passed by my neck, narrowly missing me by an inch.

Haku appeared in front of me with a kunai in his hand. He stabbed the kunai towards my heart. I raised my left hand and hit his wrist, causing him to let go of the kunai before it could hit me. With his right hand, he grabbed the kunai in mid-air and thrust it towards my stomach.

Raising my left leg, my knee hit his hand, loosening the grip on the kunai. With a quick motion, I snatched the kunai from his hand.

But before I could throw the kunai towards his neck, he quickly jumped away, shooting three senbon needles towards my vital spots: one towards my eye, one towards my throat, and the last one towards my neck.

.

"Are you trying to kill me, Haku-chan?" I asked him, gracefully cutting through all of the needles with an arc.

Coating the kunai in wind chakra, I threw it towards Haku with extreme precision. He was surprised by the speed of the kunai, but before he could react, it pierced through his training dress, and with some strings, he was pinned to the tree behind him.

.

Appearing in front of him, I placed my two fingers on his heart. "You lost again, Haku-chan," I declared, claiming my victory.

Although I could stop his heart at any moment, I couldn't bring myself to harm this delicate little soul.

The rabbit glared at me, and I returned its gaze with amusement. My eyes conveyed a question to the little bunny, 'Should I end your caretaker?' and slightly pressed my fingers, It visibly shrank in response, and I couldn't help but laugh at its reaction.

.

"Why can't I win, after trying so hard," Haku grumbled in frustration.

"Hehe… Haku-chan, you're too young to compete with me," I chuckled, pulling him down to the tree.

"But we're the same age," he protested.

"Are you sure about that?" A mysterious air surrounded me as I asked.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked with a confused expression. 

.

"Nothing... nothing. You have grown significantly in the last 20 days," I began.

"But remember, Haku-chan, the real strength comes from the desire to protect," I started to feed him one of the most cringe-worthy things I had ever said to someone, but it would only work in my favor.

.

"Desire for protection? What is that?" he asked, carefully listening to what I had to say.

"You see, Haku-chan, a person only grows stronger when they have something to protect, someone to prove themselves to. So tell me, Haku-chan, what is the most precious thing to you? What is the thing you want to protect even over your own life? Who do you want to prove that your existence matters?" I asked him in my divine voice, as if a goddess herself were addressing a mere mortal.

Without any hesitation, he spoke, "I want to protect you. Because of you, I am here. You are the one who saved me, and I want to be useful to you and prove to you…" His words flowed as if he had found enlightenment, the desire to grow strong, and his eyes shined brightly as if he had found the path he had been looking for so long.

.

"Do you understand now, Haku-chan?" I asked him with the wisdom of many years in my voice.

"Yes," he said with a slight bow, his voice reflecting the devotion of a dedicated follower.

.

I gazed into his bright eyes, eyes that sought only my recognition. The seed I wanted to plant in his heart had finally taken root, growing significantly from my divine speech.

.

'I am such an evil person, using little kids to my benefit, molding their innocent minds according to my desires, trapping them in a pit of darkness where I alone am the source of light. But suddenly, when I look at Haku-chan, why am I feeling guilty for ruining their lives? I should change for the good, maybe, just maybe, there is a path of redemption… meh… just kidding… hehe.'

.

"Let's go, Haku-chan," I said as I started to walk, and Haku followed me. Soon, we entered the room, and I could feel the tension in the air. Looking at Ritsu, I knew why.

"So they are about to move," I sat on the chair and grabbed an apple. Biting into it, I asked again, "Who is the first to move, is it Kiri or the Kaguya clan?"

"It's the clan. They are ready to attack at any time. What are your orders, Lady Hinata?" he asked.

I closed my eyes, going through the plan I had made. "You and Haku will wait for us at the coast. If anything goes wrong, we will send you the signal. Ren and I will be going to the sight."

"Is there anything you want to ask?"

.

Nobody said anything, but Haku seemed a little nervous. "Are you going to be okay?" he asked.

"Don't worry, Haku-chan. I am strong, very strong, so focus on your task," I reassured him, to which he nodded.

"Now, depart," I ordered. Haku and Ritsu were gone, leaving Ren and me in the room.

"Let's go," I said after finishing the apple.

---

We stood on the hill using a camouflage technique. I flipped a coin just to pass the time, my focus on the cage where the boy was locked.

'How could he get out of the cage without any help and safely escape from Kiri ninjas? This is impossible for a child like him.'

'There must be something, maybe a tunnel or something like that,' I thought, activating my Byakugan. I scanned the ground beneath them, finding some Kiri ninjas hiding, but I ignored them.

.

Then I moved my gaze left and right. 'There it is.' A small tunnel was about 800 meters away from the base of the clan.

'Now the question is, who set him free?'

The clan feared him. If they wanted to free him at times like this, they wouldn't have put him in prison in the first place.

.

Soon, the movements began in the clan. A Kiri ninja appeared beneath the ground, slitting one man's throat and attaching a paper bomb to another.

With a loud bang, the massacre started.

The Kaguya clan members were startled at first, but soon they regained their bearings, and bloodlust started to emanate from them.

Soon, more and more Kiri ninjas started to appear from the ground, trees, and the light fog.

.

The members of the Kaguya clan were heavily outnumbered, facing odds like 1 vs. 4. The Kiri ninjas were well-coordinated in their attacks, while the Kaguya clan resembled a group of berserkers controlled by their battle lust.

Many Kiri ninjas simultaneously cast the Hiding in Mist Jutsu, covering the whole area with thick mist.

Soon, they started to fall. Limbs were cut off, hearts were impaled, eyeballs rolled on the ground, and blood sprayed like fountains.

.

"Oh… so that's how he escaped." I looked at a member who was sneaking out after pretending to be dead. Slowly crawling towards the cage, the cage was just a normal box, some distance away from the massacre.

The boy in the cage could only hear the loud screams of his clansmen. He could do nothing but listen to the agony-filled voices.

.

I looked at the man who slightly resembled the boy, perhaps he was his mother's brother or father's brother.

"So they could also feel pity; it was unexpected," I commented while observing the massacre where they didn't back out and just died.

"Are you letting him go so we can pick up the boy before he enters that tunnel?" Ren asked curiously.

"Of course not."

"I've wanted to do this for a long time," I chuckled slightly.

.

I flipped the coin for some time; my chakra started to flow towards my finger and thumb, converting into lightning. Streaks of lightning danced around my thumb, and when the coin hit it, lightning passed through it in large amounts. With a push, more lightning chakra rushed out from my finger, giving direction to the coin. The coin shot out from my thumb, creating a small blue streak as it passed through the air.

*swish*

It directly hit the man's back, causing him to scream as the coin entered his body.

"I didn't kill him," I commented, but the next moment, a Kiri ninja slit his throat. A slight chuckle left me as I looked at the fate of the man.

.

"Lady Hinata, why didn't you let him go? It would be easy to pick up the boy," Ren asked.

"You don't understand, Ren. If he had been set free this early, he would have never understood how precious life is. But now, he will feel true despair. Every moment his heart will pound loudly in fear. He will pray every moment to God not to be killed. Every moment, he will hope for someone to save him. And even after praying, nothing will happen. And when he gives up all of his hopes, guess who is going to save him?"

"It will be you, Lady Hinata," Ren said, understanding flashing in his eyes.

.

"I thought you had changed, Lady Hinata, after Haku came into our life, but I was wrong. Your evilness knows no bounds," he commented.

"Hehe, Ren, you are the person who knows me the most. How can you be this wrong? I am disappointed," I said in disappointment.

"You have only seen a portion of what I can do."

.

"But hey, I am not evil. I am just saving the poor boy from the clutches of the cruel world. He will get what he wants—live a happy life. What else does he need?" I clarified my innocence.

"You're just twisting the words, Lady Hinata. He will live a happy life, certainly, but as your puppet without him knowing," Ren said, chuckling slightly.

.

"Indeed, but you're making me appear even more evil,"

.

.

--

End of the chapter. how do you like it? tell your thoughts in comments... 

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