“Y-Haruto, p-please take care of me.”
Her voice was as soft as a mosquito’s buzz.
Haruto nodded politely.
“Likewise.”
Hinata’s shy personality really hadn’t changed at all.
After completing the hand seal, he watched as Hinata assumed a standard Gentle Fist stance.
The moment she did, her eyes became serious.
Haruto stopped worrying about his acting and took a deep breath.
“Come on!”
The instant his words fell, his gaze sharpened.
He pushed off the ground and charged toward Hinata first.
Hinata showed no sign of backing down and rushed forward as well.
Bang!
Their arms collided fiercely in midair.
Hinata felt her arm go numb and was secretly shocked.
Haruto is so strong!
Haruto was equally surprised.
She looks so gentle and delicate, but her strength is incredible.
No wonder she eats so much.
Bang!
After neither side gained an advantage, Haruto smoothly followed up with a sweeping kick.
Hinata instantly activated her Byakugan.
Veins bulged around her eyes as both hands turned into palms, accurately striking toward Haruto’s leg.
The force generated by their direct clash stirred up dust from the ground.
The moment they made contact, they separated again.
Both Haruto and Hinata took a step back.
Looking at him seriously, Hinata said,
“Haruto, you’re really amazing.”
Haruto didn’t respond, but his evaluation of Hinata’s strength rose another level internally.
Soon, the two engaged once more.
As the battle continued, Hinata gradually overcame her shyness and became increasingly comfortable fighting.
The foundation of the prestigious Hyūga Clan was finally being fully unleashed.
After forcing Haruto back with a palm strike, Hinata assumed the stance of a Gentle Fist secret technique.
“Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms!”
With her Byakugan activated, Hinata could clearly see the immense chakra flowing through Haruto’s body like a surging river.
Though shocked, she didn’t say anything.
Blue chakra wrapped around her hands as countless palm strikes rained down toward Haruto.
Haruto frowned.
If those hit me directly, even I’d suffer internal injuries.
Hinata’s movements were lightning-fast.
In the blink of an eye, she closed the distance, her palms becoming afterimages as they shot out repeatedly.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Dull impacts continuously echoed through the air.
Her attack speed was so fast that it was difficult to follow with the naked eye.
The students watching below were all dumbfounded.
Especially those who used to think Hinata was easy to bully.
Their jaws nearly hit the floor.
Naruto stared with wide eyes.
“So Hinata’s actually this strong?! That’s way too fast!”
Sasuke’s expression grew serious.
“This woman… is strong.”
Ino and Sakura were completely petrified.
“Is that really the timid Hinata?”
Even Iruka couldn’t help but sigh.
“It seems Hinata has been hiding her strength all this time.”
“But can Haruto really withstand an assault like this?”
Facing the airtight barrage of Gentle Fist attacks, Haruto slightly furrowed his brows.
No good.
If I keep dodging like this, it’ll look too easy.
I need to take at least one hit.
The next moment, just as Hinata’s palms were about to strike his chest, Haruto’s body twisted in an almost unnatural manner, avoiding the vital areas.
However, with the Byakugan’s nearly 360-degree vision, Hinata adapted instantly.
In less than a second, Haruto looked like he was dancing on the edge of a blade, narrowly avoiding over a dozen lethal attacks in succession.
Then, during the final strike, his eyes flashed.
He deliberately slowed down by half a beat and failed to dodge completely.
Hinata’s chakra-infused palm landed solidly on his abdomen.
Bang!
“Urgh!”
The strike was powerful enough to make his stomach churn violently.
He nearly vomited.
Clutching his stomach, his face twisted in pain as he staggered backward several steps.
“Stop! You win!”
Only after hearing him surrender did Hinata snap out of her combat state.
“Ah! Y-Haruto! I’m sorry! Are you okay?”
She had become too immersed in the fight and completely forgotten to hold back.
Seeing his pained expression now, tears immediately began gathering in her eyes.
Haruto gritted his teeth.
This time, it wasn’t entirely an act.
It genuinely hurt.
Still, he waved a hand.
“Don’t worry. I won’t die… You’re really ruthless. As expected of a genius of the Hyūga Clan.”
Inside, however, he was cursing.
If my physique wasn’t absurdly strong, that palm would’ve put me in bed for half a month.
Hinata’s monstrous strength is no joke.
The law of conservation of energy really doesn’t lie—people who eat more really are stronger.
Holding his stomach, he silently walked off the field despite the pain.
Iruka finally reacted and hurried over.
“Haruto! Do you need to go to the infirmary?”
Haruto waved him off and forced out a smile uglier than crying.
“I’m fine, Iruka-sensei. Just got the wind knocked out of me. I’ll be okay after resting a bit. No need to worry.”
In reality, he truly wasn’t seriously injured.
The pain was real, but his organs were unharmed.
Still, to keep up the act, he behaved as though he had suffered severe injuries.
From atop a nearby tree, Kakashi watched everything unfold and slightly curled his lips.
“This kid’s reaction speed is astonishing. That final hit was obviously intentional.”
“Though that palm strike was definitely enough to make him suffer.”
“That level of evasive movement just now already surpasses many veteran Chūnin. For a six-year-old to have reflexes like that…”
“It seems the strength you’re hiding is even deeper than I imagined.”
After the battle, many of the students looked at Hinata differently.
There was now a trace of awe in their eyes.
The soft, shy girl who blushed whenever she spoke was actually a tyrannosaurus in sheep’s clothing.
If any of them had faced that barrage earlier, they would probably have been beaten into a swollen mess.
Sasuke frowned.
“I never noticed anything unusual about Haruto before.”
“But losing to a girl? How embarrassing.”
He failed to see through the deception.
All he saw was Haruto’s defeat.
In fact, not only Sasuke, but the entire class—including Iruka—had been fooled by Haruto’s acting.
Everyone crowded around Hinata to praise her.
Only Hinata continued looking worriedly at Haruto sitting alone in the corner.
The examination continued.
Once the novelty wore off, everyone’s attention was quickly drawn to the next match.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Hinata quietly walked over to Haruto.
With her head lowered, she nervously poked her index fingers together.
After a long pause, she finally spoke in a voice barely louder than a whisper.
“I’m sorry… Haruto. It’s because I’m so clumsy that you got hurt.”
Haruto was still holding his stomach, though thanks to his absurd recovery ability, the pain had already vanished.
He looked up at the guilt-ridden girl and smiled gently.
“It’s okay. Don’t blame yourself. It has nothing to do with you. I just wasn’t skilled enough.”
The moment he finished speaking, Hinata suddenly raised her head.
Her pale Byakugan eyes stared directly at him.
“No! Haruto is obviously very strong!”
“I could tell during our fight. You’re definitely not as ordinary as you usually pretend to be.”
“I think… you’re incredibly powerful. Maybe even much stronger than me.”
“I keep feeling like you were deliberately holding back against me.”
Although she had no concrete proof, her intuition told her that he could have avoided that final attack.
Haruto’s expression didn’t change.
He maintained the same calm smile.
“You’re overthinking it. Your Gentle Fist was firing off like a machine gun. How could a normal person react to that?”
“As for you, you should work on your personality. When it’s time to act, be decisive. Stop hesitating so much.”
Haruto smiled at her.
Of course, he wasn’t trying to flirt.
He simply didn’t want to continue discussing such a dangerous topic.
If this girl exposed him, things would get troublesome.
Hinata’s face instantly turned red all the way down to her neck.
She obediently nodded.
“Mmm… Thank you for your guidance, Haruto.”
After that, silence settled between them.
Until the examination ended completely, Haruto didn’t say another word.
When the final scores were announced, he once again earned an utterly average result and remained firmly in the middle of the class rankings.
The moment school ended, Haruto slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed straight for a secluded training ground as usual.
After tossing aside his bag, he sat down on the grass with his chin resting on his hands, absentmindedly watching the shinobi training in the distance.
However, before he had even settled in, a figure silently appeared beside him.
It was the “ghost” who had been following him all day—
Kakashi Hatake.
“Skipping homework after school and coming to a place like this. What are you doing?”
Haruto had sensed his arrival long ago.
Without even turning his head, he kept his eyes fixed on the training ground.
“Of course I’m here to steal techniques. Seeing if I can learn any powerful moves.”
Kakashi was visibly stunned.
“Steal techniques?”
Haruto nodded seriously.
Kakashi became interested.
“What can you learn here? Don’t tell me you’re trying to imitate their taijutsu?”
“Based on the skills you showed during today’s combat test, you’ve already surpassed your peers by a huge margin.”
Since he’d already been discovered, Kakashi decided to stop pretending and addressed the issue directly.
Haruto pointed at a shinobi on the field who was forming hand seals.
“Not taijutsu. I’m waiting to see if they’ll use ninjutsu.”
“Even the weakest low-level ninjutsu is a priceless treasure to me. I want to learn all of them.”
Kakashi was taken aback.
His curiosity toward this precocious child grew stronger and stronger.
Though his questions kept piling up, he didn’t press further.
Instead, he followed the topic.
“So, have you managed to learn anything?”
“Hehe, of course!”
“I learned the Three Basic Techniques and Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!”
His tone finally carried the childish pride expected of a six-year-old.
Even someone as experienced as Kakashi was shocked.
“The Great Fireball Technique?”
“That’s a standard C-rank ninjutsu. It consumes a lot of chakra and requires complicated hand seals.”
“Many Genin spend years practicing before they can use it successfully.”
“Are you sure you’ve really learned it?”
A six-year-old learning the Great Fireball Technique merely by watching, without anyone teaching him?
If that wasn’t bragging, then it was monstrous genius.
Haruto simply nodded.
“Mhm.”
Looking at his focused profile, complicated emotions rose within Kakashi.
He had investigated Haruto’s background.
He knew the boy was a war orphan whose parents had died during the Nine-Tails attack.
Alone in the world and born a civilian, naturally no one had taught him proper ninjutsu.
From beginning to end, Haruto hadn’t even looked directly at Kakashi.
One stood.
One sat.
The two silently watched the training shinobi until nightfall and everyone gradually dispersed.
Haruto sighed in disappointment.
“Sigh. My luck sucks today. Nobody used any ninjutsu.”
He picked up his backpack and prepared to leave.
Watching the lonely figure walking away, something in Kakashi’s heart was tugged.
After Haruto had taken several steps, Kakashi suddenly called out.
“Haruto, wait.”
Haruto stopped and turned around.
“Need something?”
Looking into the innocent and puzzled eyes before him, Kakashi seemed to reach a decision.
He asked seriously,
“What you said earlier about learning the Great Fireball Technique—is it true?”
Haruto nodded as though it were obvious.
“Of course. Why would I lie about that?”
There really wasn’t much reason to hide it.
Besides the Great Fireball Technique, he had secretly copied plenty of miscellaneous low-level ninjutsu.
He simply hadn’t mentioned them to avoid frightening people.
Kakashi’s expression became serious.
“Do you know who I am?”
Haruto rolled his eyes internally.
Who in Konoha doesn’t know Copy Ninja Kakashi?
But outwardly, he played dumb.
“No idea. But judging from your outfit, you must be some important shinobi above Chūnin rank.”
Kakashi chuckled.
“Oh? And how did you figure that out?”
Haruto pointed at his green flak jacket.
“Because only Chūnin and above wear those standard vests. That’s common knowledge.”
Kakashi glanced down at his clothes and laughed.
“Sharp observation.”
Haruto shrugged.
“What’s sharp about it? It’s in the academy textbooks.”
Kakashi smiled and patted his shoulder.
“My name is Kakashi Hatake. I think you probably—”
Before he could finish showing off, Haruto interrupted.
“Never heard of you.”
Kakashi’s smile instantly froze.
That was awkward.
Still, he quickly recovered and didn’t bother arguing with a child.
Instead, he tempted him.
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t know me.”
“You only need to know that I know thousands upon thousands of ninjutsu.”
The moment Haruto heard the word “ninjutsu,” he instantly entered full acting mode.
His eyes practically turned into stars.
“Really? Thousands upon thousands?”
Seeing that look of admiration, Kakashi was quite pleased.
He nodded reservedly.
“That’s right. A great many.”
Clutching his backpack strap, Haruto asked hopefully,
“Then… can you teach me?”
Even Haruto felt disgusted by his own acting.
Still, this was exactly how a child his age should react.
Kakashi wagged a finger mysteriously.
“No. The inheritance of ninjutsu is a serious matter. There are rules.”
“I can only teach my subordinates or my students.”
The light immediately faded from Haruto’s face.
He lowered his head in disappointment.
“I see…”
“That makes sense. Ninjutsu is valuable. Why would anyone casually teach it to a stranger?”
“Then I’ll be going. Goodbye, Uncle Kakashi.”
The moment he finished speaking, his figure vanished from the spot like a ghost.
Looking at the suddenly empty space, Kakashi’s smile froze before he could even retract it.
Several seconds later, he finally exclaimed,
“That… was the Body Flicker Technique?!”
“And that execution… that’s clearly my Body Flicker Technique!”
“When did he learn it? At the ramen shop?”
Kakashi clearly remembered that his only interaction with Haruto had been the day before.
When leaving the ramen shop, he had indeed used the Body Flicker Technique.
“He mastered it perfectly after seeing it only once?”
“And that tiny body can even withstand the strain of the technique…”
“This kid is a monster.”
Meanwhile, several hundred meters away on a secluded street, Haruto had just landed and immediately wanted to slap himself.
Grabbing his hair in frustration, he groaned.
“I messed up!”
“I was so focused on getting away that I forgot that guy was still watching.”
“Now it’s over. I’ve completely exposed myself.”
“I’ll have to take a detour whenever I see him from now on. He’s way too dangerous.”
“Why do you need to avoid me? Am I that scary?”
Before Haruto could finish speaking, a lazy voice sounded beside his ear.
Kakashi had appeared before him without him noticing.
With his arms folded, he watched Haruto with an amused expression.
Haruto’s face instantly stiffened.
The embarrassment was so intense his toes nearly dug out a three-bedroom apartment.
“N-No, nothing like that.”
“Kakashi-sama is really fast. Hahaha… you caught up already.”
“Well, I’m heading home now.”
Scratching the back of his head, Haruto let out a dry laugh while avoiding eye contact.
Seeing his guilty expression, the amusement in Kakashi’s eye deepened.
“Why are you running?”
“Did I ever say I wouldn’t teach you?”
Haruto’s heart skipped a beat.
Yet he stubbornly continued.
“I’m not running!”
“Really! I just suddenly remembered I might’ve forgotten to lock my door before leaving home.”
“I’m worried a thief might get in, so I need to hurry back and check.”
“Anyway, let’s talk later, Kakashi-sama. I’ve got to go.”
As soon as he finished speaking, his figure transformed into a blur and disappeared again with the Body Flicker Technique.
Since this perceptive Jōnin had already seen through him, there was no point hiding the technique anymore.
Watching the direction in which the boy vanished, Kakashi’s visible eye revealed a playful smile.
“Interesting.”
“This little brat is really hard to figure out.”
“With talent like this, letting him remain buried in mediocrity would be the real waste.”
After muttering to himself, Kakashi’s figure flickered and disappeared as well.
Relying on Konoha’s intelligence network, which he knew like the back of his hand, Kakashi easily arrived at Haruto’s residence—
Even before Haruto himself got there.