Thud.
Crisp, light footsteps echoed at the classroom door, prompting nearly everyone inside to turn their heads toward the entrance.
“Yo, good morning, everyone.”
Standing at the door with a gentle smile was a girl with dark hair, white eyes, and a soft, delicate face, waving a greeting to the class.
Looking at the person by the door, Kiba Inuzuka couldn’t help but shrink his neck back.
Seeing Hinata again made his still-swollen cheeks throb with a faint, phantom pain.
He wasn’t the only one; Naruto, who had been thrashed twice by Hinata before, didn’t look much better.
After what had transpired at the school gates yesterday, almost everyone now knew that this girl—who looked frail and easily bullied on the surface—was actually a pure, battle-crazy tyrannosaur.
“Morning, Hinata!”
Not far away, Ino and Sakura waved back at her.
Seeing them, Hinata walked over with her usual, everyday smile.
Compared to Ino, Hinata actually cared a bit more about Sakura.
A Kage-level powerhouse at sixteen.
In the future, when Naruto and Sasuke suffered severe nerfs, she seemed to be the only one in the entire Hidden Leaf Village who maintained a considerable level of combat effectiveness.
Well, mostly, it was because adult housewife Sakura was just so wonderful.
Hinata liked to find little amusements for herself in an otherwise dull and tedious life.
Is this chick really a girl…?
A crowd of boys grumbled internally as they watched Hinata navigating her interactions with Ino and Sakura like a fish in water.
In the blink of an eye, the day’s classes at the Academy came to an end.
Hinata planned to pack up her things and rush home; she could hardly wait.
After all, her old man had headed out early in the morning to meet Hiruzen Sarutobi to secure the Flying Raijin Jutsu and the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags for her.
“Hinata Hyuga.”
Before Hinata could finish packing, she noticed a figure blocking her path.
Sasuke Uchiha?
Looking at Sasuke standing before her, Hinata felt a bit puzzled.
What does he want with me?
If there were three people in the current Hidden Leaf Village that Hinata wanted to avoid dealing with the most, Sasuke Uchiha was one of them.
The other two were, naturally, Konoha’s ultimate “Scapegoat King,” Lord Danzo Shimura, and the ninja world’s number-one ironically “dutiful son” and extreme brother-complex sufferer, Itachi Uchiha.
And as the younger brother of the ultimate brother-con Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke was naturally one of the people Hinata least wanted to cross paths with at this stage.
“Is something the matter?”
“Sasuke-kun?”
Sensing nothing but trouble, Hinata tilted her head.
Her eyes curved into sweet crescent moons as she flashed a gentle smile.
I’m greeting you with a smile, so be smart and beat it.
“T-That…”
Before Sasuke’s eyes, Hinata was bathed entirely in the glow of the sunset streaming through the window, looking as though she were draped in a layer of pure gold.
Sasuke, who had originally prepared himself to get beaten up, completely forgot the mental script he had prepared upon seeing this sight.
A bright blush crept onto his cheeks, leaving him staring blankly, unable to utter a word.
“Catch ya later~”
As the characteristically crisp voice of a girl reached his ears, Sasuke finally snapped out of it.
By the time he realized he wanted to challenge Hinata to a duel, her figure had already vanished from the classroom doorway.
She…
she seems even cuter than Big Brother…
“Sasuke!”
“Don’t be fooled by Hinata Hyuga’s appearance, you bastard!”
“She’s a total tyrannosaur!”
Sasuke’s behavior was witnessed clearly by Naruto and the others who hadn’t left the classroom yet.
In this precocious world, Sasuke’s damn reaction looked exactly like a male lead on TV being bewitched by an evil green-tea girl!
Especially Naruto—having grown up without anyone looking after him, he naturally read adult, R-rated magazines whenever he wanted.
So compared to his peers, while Naruto couldn’t exactly be called a scholar in this regard, he was certainly well-versed.
Seeing someone in class actually being seduced by the charms of a violent girl like Hinata Hyuga made Naruto incredibly anxious.
As the biggest victim of Hinata Hyuga’s wrath, Naruto felt a profound obligation to make Sasuke see the true, ugly face behind her facade!
“W-What do you care?!”
Facing the blond kid’s unreasonable pestering, Sasuke forcefully suppressed the strange emotion in his heart and snapped coldly.
“I’m doing this for your own good, you bastard!”
“Don’t throw my good intentions back in my face!”
Naruto grabbed Sasuke’s hand, looking completely earnest and full of well-meaning advice.
“Let go.”
Looking down at his captured hand, Sasuke spoke in a freezing tone.
“I’m literally doing this for your own good!”
Naruto felt deeply wronged in his heart.
Originally, he had wanted to help Hinata Hyuga escape the harassment of his three “good brothers,” Boss, Number Two, and Number Three.
Who would have thought that that violent girl Hinata Hyuga would indiscriminately thrash him afterward?
Now, he wanted to help Sasuke see through Hinata Hyuga’s true colors, only to be treated with this kind of attitude.
It was simply outrageous!
Heh, perfect…
It just so happens I originally wanted to challenge Hinata to a duel, but she had to leave.
Since she’s gone…
…I’ll just vent my frustration on you today!
A wet-behind-the-ears punk trying to mess with me?
You’re still way too green!
Meanwhile, Hinata, who was rushing home, was filled with a mix of utter disdain and a sense of accomplishment.
She had smelled the sheer battle intent radiating from Sasuke Uchiha from half a mile away.
As for Sasuke’s objective, Hinata could guess it pretty accurately.
It was nothing more than wanting to have a sparring match with her.
If she wasn’t worried about drawing the attention of that “weasel” Itachi Uchiha, she actually would have agreed to it.
After all, Hinata had already thrashed Naruto; who else was off-limits?
A mere Sasuke Uchiha was nothing.
However, compared to stomping noobs, Hinata was currently filled with anticipation over whether her old man, Hiashi Hyuga, could secure the Flying Raijin Jutsu and the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags from Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Carried by this excitement, Hinata practically flew back to the Hyuga compound and dashed straight toward Hiashi Hyuga’s study.
“Dad!”
The study door rattled under her thunderous knocking.
Predictably, Hiashi Hyuga opened the door with a completely helpless expression.
“Well?!
How did it go?!”
Hinata looked at her father with wide, expectant eyes.
“Here, what you wanted.”
“The Flying Raijin Jutsu and the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags are sealed inside.”
Hiashi Hyuga pulled a storage scroll from his robes and handed it to Hinata.
“!”
“You’re the best, Dad!”
Hinata’s eyes lit up as she stared at the storage scroll Hiashi held out.
“…Remember to head over to the Hokage Residence tomorrow.”
“Lord Hokage wants to see you.”
“Be on your best behavior.”
Hiashi handed the scroll to Hinata, unable to resist giving her a firm reminder.
“Lord Hokage wants to see me?”
Hinata blinked, quickly putting the pieces together.
After all, she was the one who had asked Hiashi Hyuga for these S-rank jutsu.
If Hiruzen Sarutobi didn’t meet the person requesting them, he would be a rather incompetent Hokage.
“Mhm, got it!”
“Leave it to me!”
Hinata nodded vigorously, then clutched the storage scroll tightly to her chest and bolted toward her room.
The Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags were just a nice little bonus; the Flying Raijin Jutsu was Hinata’s ultimate prize.