The school bell rang, marking the end of the first day for the new class at the Ninja Academy.
At the front gate, Hinata parted with Sakura and Ino with a subtle touch of reluctance before strolling leisurely down the path toward home.
Before she could make it very far past the gates, however, her footsteps came to a halt.
A satisfied look surfaced on her face.
Glancing at the four boys blocking her path, she offered a light smile.
“I didn’t expect you to be so impatient.”
“I remember now…
Mm, you’re the guy who plays with dogs, right?”
The boy leading the group had dark hair, dark eyes, and red triangular markings painted on his cheeks like teeth.
An aura of pure arrogance radiated off him.
The person blocking Hinata was none other than her future teammate, Kiba Inuzuka.
“Arf!” Akamaru, resting atop Kiba’s head, let out a sharp little bark.
“What?
At least you’ve got some eyes on you!” Kiba crossed his arms, staring down at Hinata with a deeply displeased look.
“You’re just a girl, so don’t think being Lady Hyuga gives you free rein to do whatever you want!”
Just like A-Da, A-Er, and A-San from earlier that morning, the title of clan heiress carried zero weight in the Leaf Village among kids.
Here—and indeed across the entire shinobi world—fists were the only thing that actually mattered.
Sometimes, even if your fists were hard enough, people still wouldn’t believe it until they felt it firsthand.
Once again, see the tragedy of Sakumo Hatake.
Yet, compared to other brutal places, the Leaf still retained a thread of human warmth, such as the Will of Fire.
“Boss Kiba, why is it just a girl?”
“Did you drag us all out here for this?”
The three or four boys trailing behind Kiba looked like fellow members of the Inuzuka Clan, their expressions full of skepticism.
“Not necessary,” Kiba stated with absolute confidence.
“I only called you guys here today to act as witnesses.
I’m not the type to pick on a girl.”
His swaggering tone only made Hinata’s smile broaden.
Provoking the entire class earlier hadn’t been done purely for fun; she had a specific goal in mind.
In the original timeline, both Naruto and Sasuke ended up failing at critical moments.
If she intended to carry the weight of the entire shinobi world’s future on her shoulders, she obviously needed to stand invincible over everyone else.
If she couldn’t even steamroll a mere Ninja Academy, Hinata might as well pick a nice plot of land, dig a hole, and start prepping her own funeral early.
As for getting married later?
Out of the question.
And the boy standing in front of her right now?
Kiba Inuzuka was no different than the little puppy sitting on his head—just a stray dog barking by the side of the road.
Since it was right after school, the street was packed with students and passersby.
The moment Kiba blocked Hinata’s path, a crowd naturally formed to watch the drama unfold.
“Lady Hinata…”
Just like the Inuzuka, plenty of children from the Hyuga Clan attended the academy as well.
Even if Hinata was known as the clan’s resident terror, seeing a few Inuzuka brats cornering their young mistress caused several Hyuga kids to step up without hesitation, positioning themselves right beside her.
Besides, Hinata’s chaotic behavior was strictly reserved for pushing Hiashi’s blood pressure to the limit; she treated the rest of her clansmen quite well.
That much was clear from the way she had sacrificed her own allowance to secure bonus pay for the guards.
“Lady Hinata, what is going on here?” Neji pushed his way through the gathered crowd, stepping up beside her and asking in a low voice.
“Hey, hey, hey!
You guys aren’t planning to gang up on me, are you?!” Kiba blurted out hurriedly, glancing nervously at the Hyuga members surrounding Hinata, every single one of them giving him unfriendly glares.
When it came to actual fighting power, Kiba was the only one in his group who possessed an ninken puppy, so his side was at an obvious disadvantage.
The Hyuga Clan’s taijutsu was legendary throughout the shinobi world; if a full-blown brawl broke out, he was going to take a massive beating.
Even if all his clan mates brought their ninja dogs along, they would still be no match for a group of Hyuga.
“None of your business,” Hinata waved her hand nonchalantly, pointing a finger at Kiba.
“This guy wants to challenge me to a duel.”
Neji froze for a second, then looked at Kiba with a face overflowing with profound pity.
It wasn’t just Neji; the other Hyuga members were all staring at Kiba as if looking at a complete idiot.
Outsiders might not know Hinata’s true combat strength, but how could they not?
Before she had ever sparred with Neji, she had already thrashed nearly every single child of her age group within the clan!
What’s with the expressions on these guys’ faces?!
Kiba stared directly at Hinata, noticing the unhidden contempt written across the faces of the other Hyuga members.
A surge of righteous anger flared up in his chest, and he shouted furiously:
“Cut the crap!”
“Let’s settle this between the two of us!”
Hinata’s smile widened even further.
She couldn’t help suggesting, “Personally, I advise you to bring those guys behind you along too.”
Before she could even finish her sentence, Kiba felt a wave of intense humiliation!
He was a guy with dignity; did he really need a squad just to fight a single girl?!
“Die!”
The moment the word left his mouth, Kiba charged forward like a wild animal!
“No!”
“Kiba, stop!”
A bright yellow head poked out from the surrounding crowd, yelling at Kiba as he lunged toward Hinata.
At that moment, however, Kiba was in no mood to listen to anything the blonde kid had to say.
His eyes were locked entirely on Hinata, swearing to teach this arrogant girl a proper lesson!
Watching the guy charge at Hinata so mindlessly, Neji couldn’t help covering his face with one hand.
He couldn’t bear to look.
An attack like that was riddled with fatal openings—even he could easily dodge it and land a devastating counter.
To say nothing of Hinata, who would hit him so hard he would start questioning his own life choices.
With a bright smile on her face, Hinata stepped forward to meet the charge without a second thought!
She sidestepped his reckless tackle with fluid ease, pressing an open palm smoothly against Kiba’s chest!
This…
oh no, it’s the Gentle Fist, I’m done for!
Kiba shrieked internally in absolute terror.
The terrifying reputation of the Gentle Fist was something even six-year-old kids like him knew about.
Yet the expected sensation of blocked chakra pathways never came, leaving Kiba completely dumbfounded as he braced for impact.
This person is surprisingly nice…
she actually knows how to pull her strikes…
However…
The very next second!
Kiba felt as if a heavy iron sledgehammer had smashed directly into his ribs, blasting his entire body straight into the air!
The palm resting against Kiba’s chest had curled into a solid fist at some point, slamming savagely into his upper body!
In a single instant, a spray of crystal-clear saliva erupted from Kiba’s mouth, sparkling translucent in the afternoon sunlight!
After blasting Kiba into the air with a single punch, Hinata shifted her footwork smoothly, following up with a lightning-fast kick directly to his lower stomach, sending him flying backward!
BANG!
The kick sent him soaring through the air like a cannonball, crashing directly into the three or four Inuzuka members standing behind him and knocking them all to the ground!
“You can’t beat her…”
The battle was over in a fraction of a second.
Naruto, who had been trying to stop Kiba from challenging Hinata, hadn’t even finished his sentence before the fight came to a complete end.
“You…
you bastard, why didn’t you say so earlier…” Kiba raised a trembling finger toward Naruto, his voice shaking.
The second the words left his mouth, his eyes rolled back into his head, and he passed out cold on the dirt.
“That’s it?
He couldn’t even handle a single combo?”
Hinata raised an eyebrow at the unconscious Kiba, then turned her gaze toward the blonde boy trembling nearby in the crowd.
“What about you?
Care for a round?”