Early the next morning.
In a small grove behind Konoha.
“Morning, Hinata.”
Since Hinata always had a bodyguard following her, Naruto hadn’t used the Flying Thunder God Technique to get there.
Instead, he had simply walked over step by step.
“G-Good morning, Naruto-kun!”
Hinata greeted him with both excitement and shyness.
Naruto casually glanced at the bodyguard standing not far behind her.
“Why did you suddenly ask me to help you train? You’re the one who beat me, remember?”
“Don’t lie to me anymore. I know you’re strong, Naruto-kun.”
Hinata’s expression was unusually determined.
“That day, every one of my attacks landed on you, but all you did was fall over. You didn’t look like you were in pain at all!”
“So you were only pretending to be hurt, weren’t you?”
Naruto paused.
This was the first time he’d ever seen Hinata act like this.
“Then why did you give me that ointment?” Naruto asked with a smile.
Realizing that she might have been too direct, Hinata quickly lowered her head, her face turning bright red.
“I-I was still worried that Naruto-kun might really have been hurt…”
At that moment, the person behind Hinata finally revealed himself slightly and gave Naruto a warning look.
Naruto immediately felt a headache coming on.
“Why did this girl suddenly become so brave?”
At the mention of bravery, he suddenly remembered telling Hinata before that she needed to “be braver.”
Did his words really have that much influence on her?
“Whatever. Let’s just start training.”
Naruto wasn’t about to be intimidated by Hinata’s bodyguard.
If the girl he liked had finally gathered the courage to approach him, only for him to retreat instead, then he’d really be a coward!
“Okay, Naruto-kun!”
“So… what should we practice first?”
Naruto’s entire body seemed to go limp.
“I’m here to be your sparring partner, not your teacher, Hinata.”
“But… I don’t really know what I should train,” Hinata admitted somewhat awkwardly.
“In that case, let’s practice your Hyūga clan’s taijutsu. Last time, you only managed sixteen strikes of your Gentle Fist sequence, right? Try to land a few more this time,” Naruto suggested. Read this novel at novelping.com for the best experience.
“Mm!”
Hinata assumed the Hyūga clan’s starting stance.
“Then I’m coming, Naruto-kun!”
Naruto fell silent.
“…”
He had actually intended for Hinata to practice against a wooden post.
Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be any training posts nearby.
Naruto could only sigh.
“Come on, then.”
Looks like I’ll have to reveal a little more of my strength.
That Hyūga branch-family bodyguard probably won’t report this to that old man, the Third Hokage…
right?
Speaking of which, Naruto hadn’t sensed the Third Hokage spying on him today either.
Naruto’s sensory abilities had improved tremendously after countless instances of the Third Hokage observing him.
By now, he could clearly tell whether the old man was using the Telescope Technique to watch him.
The capable System would never allow Naruto to have any obvious weaknesses.
“Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!”
“One palm!”
“Two palms!”
…
“Sixteen palms!”
“Seventeen palms!”
“Eighteen palms!”
In just one week, Hinata had made considerable progress with the Thirty-Two Palms, managing to execute two more strikes than before.
Even Naruto couldn’t help being impressed.
The Hyūga branch-family member who had been hiding nearby to protect Hinata was equally impressed by her progress.
“The young lady has become much more motivated.”
“If she continues improving like this, the clan head will definitely be pleased.”
“But this demon fox… I still need to report the young lady’s contact with him to the clan head.”
“The Hyūga clan absolutely cannot be accused of trying to gain control over a weapon of war!”
Although he was merely a member of the branch family, he seemed to have a fairly sharp understanding of politics.
As the Jinchūriki, Uzumaki Naruto was watched closely by both the Hokage and Root.
If the Hokage misunderstood the situation, the Hyūga clan’s position within Konoha could become dangerous.
After all, the Uchiha clan was already a perfect example of what could happen! This chapter is updated first at g.com.
After completing one round of the Eight Trigrams Palms, Hinata didn’t rest.
Instead, she immediately began another sequence.
From the first palm all the way to the eighteenth, she repeatedly launched the same attacks.
This time, Naruto didn’t bother hiding his ability.
Every palm Hinata threw was casually intercepted by him.
Now that his taijutsu had reached Jōnin level, he could easily spot the flaws in her attacks.
Naruto’s performance once again shocked the Hyūga branch-family guard.
“This demon fox actually has this level of strength?”
“Even with Miss Hinata attacking so relentlessly, she can’t injure him at all?”
“And yet, not long ago during the practical assessment, he lost completely to Miss Hinata.”
“Could it be that this demon fox has been deliberately hiding his strength?”
With that thought, the guard began staring at Uzumaki Naruto with wary eyes.
He was worried Naruto might use the excuse of training to harm Hinata.
But the reality was exactly the opposite.
Hinata kept attacking.
Naruto kept defending.
The two trained like this for a full two hours, and Naruto never launched a single attack.
When Hinata was finally panting heavily from exhaustion, Naruto caught the hand she was still trying to strike with and restrained her.
“All right. That’s enough for today.”
“But… there’s still a lot of time left today,” Hinata said, confused.
“There’ll be plenty of time in the future too. Training is about balancing work and rest. Look at you—you’re already covered in sweat. Don’t force yourself too hard.”
Hearing the concern in Naruto’s voice, Hinata stopped protesting.
“Mm. Then let’s train together again tomorrow.”
“Sure. Come on, I’ll walk you home.”
The moment Naruto said those words, the bodyguard behind Hinata nearly stepped out and punched him.
You think you’re qualified to escort the Hyūga clan’s eldest daughter home?
Do you not see the incredibly dedicated bodyguard standing right here?
Although he was furious with Naruto, in the end, he still restrained himself and didn’t interfere.
However, he had already decided that once Naruto and Hinata separated, he would teach the boy a lesson.
He needed to learn his place.