It had been several months since the Great Demon God was last sealed.
During this time, Kitahara Kira and Kihana Sakinoko were often surprised by the strange things that Kihana Sakiya would occasionally say.
Things like "The Eye of Death is the strongest!" or "The immense power sealed in my left eye means I cannot remove this blindfold!"
To them, these sounded like the exaggerated fantasies of a child, likely influenced by reading too many fairy tales. They found it amusing and didn't interfere much with Sakiya's dramatic behavior. As long as she wasn't being reckless, they didn't mind.
In fact, Sakiya only became more confident in her so-called "chuunibyou" tendencies, even recruiting a few friends into her fantasy world.
One of them was Ino.
Sakiya first met Ino at a dango shop, where Ino's parents had brought her to buy sweets. Being a curious child, Ino was immediately drawn to Sakiya and her mysterious blindfold.
"What's with your left eye?" she asked.
Sakiya knew she shouldn't, but she just couldn't resist. She clutched her left eye, dramatically tilted her head back, and let out a deep laugh.
"Hahaha! So even ordinary humans can sense the power sealed within my left eye?"
She then fixed Ino with a serious gaze.
"This is the Eye of Death! A Great Demon God is sealed within it! With this power, I can see the very root of existence! Tremble before—"
Smack!
Before she could finish, Sakinoko delivered a swift chop to her head.
"Ow~" Sakiya whimpered, rubbing her head, eyes welling up with tears. She looked up at her mother with a pitiful expression.
Sakinoko, embarrassed, turned to Ino's parents with an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, my daughter… has a bit of a chuunibyou phase. I hope she didn't disturb you. Let me make it up to you with some dango."
Ino's parents weren't bothered at all. They laughed and accepted the treat. After all, a little girl without chakra claiming to have a powerful eye was nothing more than a child's playful imagination.
But young Ino?
She was fascinated.
At three years old, she found Sakiya's words thrilling—cool, even. And just like that, she got roped into Sakiya's fantasy world.
Sakiya, surprised but pleased, welcomed her new recruit. She even gave Ino a role in her grand narrative—granting her the title of Magician and making her a member of the so-called Death Covenant, a completely made-up secret organization of dimensional magicians.
Ino had no idea what any of it meant. But Sakiya's intense expressions, dramatic gestures, and the elaborate magic circles she drew on the ground all seemed incredibly cool.
And so, the two girls started playing together.
Within days, Ino was imitating Sakiya's speeches and mannerisms.
Of course, a normal child couldn't actually draw magic circles… but that didn't stop her from trying.
Kihana Sakiya's talent for drawing magic circles came entirely from her artistic skills in her previous life. She had even worked on original illustrations for certain comics, so while she might not have been a master, she definitely had experience.
One night, while Sakiya and Ino were carrying out their self-proclaimed "Operation Shadow Night Wander", they stumbled upon a lonely Hinata.
Sakiya froze in shock. Then, with a solemn expression, she stepped forward and faced Hinata.
"Masaka! Could it be… the True Eye of the Night?! I never expected to meet the heir to such a powerful eye!"
Hinata blinked, utterly confused.
"Huh??"
Sakiya nodded firmly and placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder.
"I acknowledge you! The successor of the True Eye of Yatsuki!"
Ino, catching on, mimicked Sakiya's tone. "Hmm, welcome to the Death Covenant!"
Hinata's confusion only deepened.
"Huh?????"
Seeing Hinata's bewildered expression, Sakiya pressed further.
"What's wrong? Are you looking down on my organization, Heir of the True Eye of the Night?"
Hinata, not wanting to offend anyone, instinctively shook her head.
"N-No…!"
Sakiya smiled in satisfaction. "Good. Now, let's replenish our energy. I can sense that your True Eye is running low, and my Eye of Death is also hungry."
Before Hinata could process what was happening, she was dragged along to a dango shop by Sakiya and Ino.
As they ate, Sakiya continued with her dramatic explanations.
"This is our energy base. From now on, whenever our power is low, we come here to replenish energy!"
Ino, with her cheeks stuffed full of dango, nodded enthusiastically.
"Mhm! Puffpet make it!" (She meant "Perfect magic!" but talking with a full mouth had its consequences.)
Hinata still didn't quite understand, but somehow… she liked it.
She glanced at the strange girl with the blindfold and the energetic girl with the ponytail. Then, she took a hesitant bite of her dango.
The moment the sweet and chewy dumpling touched her tongue, her eyes widened.
Delicious!
As she kept eating, Hinata felt something warm in her heart. This was the first time she had made friends.
Meanwhile, Kihana Sakinoko, Sakiya's mother, silently observed her daughter making friends with kids her age.
The way they played together might be a little strange… but the outcome was good, wasn't it?
Sakinoko smiled at her daughter's cuteness. The way she and her friends happily bit into their dango, their bright eyes sparkling with joy—it was heartwarming.
…Until ten minutes later, when her smile began to stiffen.
She stared at the growing pile of empty plates and bamboo skewers on the table.
This… was not the appetite of a three-year-old girl.
Suddenly, Sakiya's words about "energy replenishment" echoed in Sakinoko's mind, and she realized—she might go bankrupt at this rate.
Even Sakiya, normally the master of dramatic speeches, was stunned by Hinata's appetite. She cleared her throat awkwardly.
"Ahem… Yes, it seems your True Eye of the Night was really lacking energy."
Hinata, feeling a little self-conscious, blushed and lowered her head.
Ino, on the other hand, looked at her with admiration.
"Wow! The True Eye of the Night is so strong!"
Hinata turned even redder, her cheeks practically glowing.
Meanwhile, Sakiya secretly prayed that her mother wouldn't ban them from eating here again.
Once Hinata finished eating, Sakiya put on a serious face—though with her tiny, round cheeks, it was hard to take her seriously.
"Has the energy replenishment been completed?" she asked.
Ino nodded firmly. "Yes! My Dimensional Magician energy has recovered to 98%!"
She made sure to say 98% instead of 100%—last time she'd said 100%, and Sakiya had been very dissatisfied.
As expected, Sakiya nodded approvingly.
Then, she turned to Hinata. "What about you? Has your True Eye of the Night recovered?"
Hinata hesitated but quickly caught on.
"Y-Yes… The energy of the True Eye of the Night has been replenished!"
The moment she said it, she felt a bit strange. Of course, she knew her eyes were just the Byakugan… but somehow, playing along felt fun.
Sakiya's eyes sparkled.
"Excellent! Now, Heir of the True Eye of the Night… it's time to exchange real names!"
Hinata's eyes widened slightly. "Huh?"
She had no idea what that meant.
Seeing her confusion, Ino grinned.
Finally! After all these days of practice, she had a chance to show off in front of a new recruit!
Ino took a deep breath and dramatically lowered her voice.
"Alright, I'll go first."
She stood up, struck a dramatic pose, and spoke in a rushed, intense tone.
"I am the First Apprentice Magician of the Death Covenant! Real name: Yamanaka Ino!"
Sakiya nodded in approval. Ino had done well.
Now, it was her turn!
Sakiya stood up, raised her right hand with her fingers spread wide, and made a claw shape with her left hand over her blindfolded eye.
"I am the bearer of the Eye of Death! The Founder of the Death Covenant! The Traveler of the Pan-Dimensional Universe! The Sealer of the Great Demon God! The Death Walker!"
She dramatically waved her right hand in front of her.
"Listen well, for now, I shall reveal my true name!"
Ino nodded excitedly, practically vibrating with anticipation.
Sakiya took a deep breath.
"My real name… Kihana Sakiya!"
With perfect timing, she somehow produced a flower out of nowhere and scattered the petals in the air.
For a moment, the petals floated around them, creating an aura of pure theatrical brilliance.
Ino clapped enthusiastically.
It was perfect.
…
But before Sakiya could fully bask in the glory of her performance—
Da!
"Ow ow~"
Kihana Sakiya clutched her head, tears welling up as she looked at her mother pitifully.
Kihana Sakinoko sighed, feeling helpless. She could never truly get angry at her adorable daughter.
"Sakiya, don't be too reckless in public."
Sakiya quickly nodded and, without wasting another second, grabbed Ino and Hinata's hands, making a quick escape.
Meanwhile, Kihana Sakinoko rubbed her temples, sighing as she looked at the flower petals scattered on the floor.
"Honestly… At least there weren't any other customers."
Outside, Sakiya finally slowed down, turning to her companions with a dramatic tone.
"That was the true god-tier existence! I still can't challenge her yet."
Ino thought about her own parents and nodded in agreement.
"Of course! We won't stand a chance until we grow stronger."
Hinata hesitated.
She wanted to say: Isn't that just your mother…?
But after some thought, she decided to keep quiet.
Then, suddenly, Sakiya and Ino turned toward Hinata, staring at her intensely.
Hinata felt uneasy under their gaze. She shifted awkwardly, pressing her fingers together, and mumbled,
"Umm… C-Can you not look at me like that?"
"Your real name!"
"Eh?"
Hinata blinked, confused.
"Your real name!" Sakiya and Ino repeated firmly.
Hinata hesitated, then, after a deep breath, she stammered,
"I… I am the owner of the True Eye of the Night… M-My real name is… um… Hyuga… Hinata…"
The moment she finished, her entire face turned red, blushing all the way to her neck.
Sakiya nodded approvingly.
"Very good! Welcome to the Death Covenant!"
Just as she declared this, Sakiya subtly glanced toward a nearby corner.
There, two hidden guards were quietly observing Hinata.
One of them muttered, "Is this really okay? Letting the young lady make such… unusual friends?"
The other chuckled.
"Relax. Kids having fantasies like this is normal."
"Normal? You think the clan leader will see it that way? When he asks, you can be the one to explain."
"Tch, who's scared~?"