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Ino took a deep breath. Unable to hold it in any longer, she leaned in slightly and lowered her voice to ask Hinata, "Hinata, you... why do you seem so different today?"
Hinata, who was putting food on Hanabi's plate, paused and looked up. A hint of confusion flashed in her pure white eyes. "Different? How so?"
Ino opened her mouth but didn't know how to describe it. "It's just..." she stamred, "your skin looks better, your complexion is glowing, and... and I feel like your whole—"
She couldn't finish the sentence. She felt like it would sound too weird if she actually said it out loud.
Hinata looked at her, stunned for a second, before realization dawned on her. She offered a gentle smile. It was a soft, tranquil smile, radiating a charm that even Ino found hard to resist, making her heart skip a beat.
"It's nothing special," Hinata said softly. "I just... had so profound epiphanies last night."
Epiphanies?? New epiphanies?? What kind of epiphany completely overhauls a person's power and entire aura overnight?! Ino was completely baffled. It felt like an itch she couldn't scratch; she was dying to know. She wanted to press further, but Hinata had already turned back to feeding Hanabi. That attitude clearly ant—this conversation is over. Ino had no choice but to shut her mouth, though her suspicions only deepened. She turned to look at i Terumi and Mabui, using her eyes to ask if they had noticed it too.
i, who had been gracefully sipping her soup, caught Ino's gaze. She set down her spoon and tilted her head, a deeply aningful smile curling the corners of her lips. Mabui also set down her cutlery, exchanging a knowing glance with i.
Almost simultaneously, the three of them cast their gazes toward the five won across the table whose strength and auras had undergone such a drastic transformation.
i was the oldest and most experienced of the three. As a forr Mizukage, she had seen countless people and experienced countless things. When it ca to intimacy, even if she lacked practical experience, she knew far more in theory than a young girl like Ino.
Her gaze swept over Hinata, Shion, Ryuzetsu, Honoka, and Samui one by one. The more she looked, the more certain she beca, and the deeper her smile grew.
"Ino," i called out, keeping her voice incredibly low.
"Hm?" Ino imdiately leaned closer.
i picked up her teacup, took a sip, and said leisurely, "Your best friend..." She paused, her gaze landing aningfully on Hinata. "She's... grown up. She's blossod into a real woman."
The phrasing was subtle, but the aning couldn't be clearer.
Ino froze. Her mind seed to short out, going completely blank for a second. And then—
She almost scread. She quickly covered her mouth, but her face instantly flushed a brilliant, boiling red, the heat spreading from her cheeks all the way to the tips of her ears. Eyes wide with utter disbelief, she stared at i, then violently snapped her head back to look at Hinata.
Hinata was gently wiping Hanabi's mouth, her movents tender and entirely natural. With her heightened senses, she easily overheard i's deliberately lowered whisper. Even so, she didn't seem to care.
It was the truth, and she had nothing to be ashad of. She was no longer that timid little girl who blushed at the slightest provocation. She was a Six Paths-level powerhouse, a woman who belonged exclusively to Lord Alex.
In Ino's eyes, every single one of Hinata's actions suddenly took on a completely different context. That languid posture, that casually exuded charm, that skin glowing with a radiant luster, and that mature grace in her every gesture... coupled with that terrifying, heart-stopping aura...
Everything suddenly made perfect sense.
"T-t-t-this..." Ino stamred, her voice trembling. "Are you saying... Hinata and... Lord Alex...?"
She couldn't finish. Her face was as red as a boiled prawn. Even though she had ntally prepared herself before coming here, knowing she would be dedicating everything to Lord Alex, actually hearing it spoken out loud still made her blush furiously.
i laughed at her reaction. She gently patted the back of Ino's hand, her tone carrying a teasing lilt. "Don't look so shocked. It's not just your best friend. Those other ladies over there..." She tilted her chin toward Shion and the rest. "I'm sure it's the sa story for them."
Ino followed her gaze. Shion was chatting with Ryuzetsu with a bright smile, her eyes brimming with allure; Ryuzetsu, uncharacteristically, wore a faint smile, her cheeks slightly flushed; Honoka ate quietly, but whenever she glanced in Alex's direction, her eyes held a deep, unwavering tenderness; Samui remained icy and aloof, but the slight upward curve of her lips and her pink ears betrayed her true emotions.
Ino felt like her brain had run out of processing power. She opened her mouth to speak, but found her throat terribly dry. After stuttering for a long ti, she finally squeezed out, "I-isn't that... a bit sudden?"
i chuckled softly. She picked up her teacup, took another sip, and said slowly, "Fast? I actually think it's... perfectly normal."
She looked out into the distance, a trace of almost imperceptible envy flashing in her eyes. "That caliber of power. Ascending straight from an ordinary ninja to... that realm, literally overnight." She paused, lowering her voice even further. "What do you think the price for that is? Or rather... what do you think the process entails?"
Ino froze. She hadn't thought about it from that angle.
i set down her teacup and turned to Ino, her mature, captivating eyes looking entirely serious. "Your best friend has already moved miles ahead of all of us. Not just in terms of power, but in... status." She leaned in, whispering directly into Ino's ear. "So, make sure you stay on her good side. When the opportunity arises, have her put in a good word for us during pillow talk..."
Her tone turned deeply suggestive. "Because, well... we want it too."
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