Hinata stood beneath the large tree, formed a Ram hand seal, and began channeling the chakra inside her body, focusing it just as Izayoi had instructed—toward the soles of her feet.
Then, she lifted her right foot and stepped onto the tree trunk.
At that moment, she felt as though the soles of her feet had been glued to the bark, sticking tightly.
Feeling this, Hinata relaxed a little, then lifted her left foot and stepped up as well.
Just like Izayoi had earlier, Hinata's body was now suspended horizontally in midair.
She held her breath and took a third step.
"Ah…"
In the next second, Hinata's expression changed dramatically and she let out a startled cry.
The firm grip her feet had on the tree bark suddenly loosened, and her entire body began to fall.
At that moment, two arms caught her and steadied her.
Izayoi smiled softly and said:
"No need to be scared. I told you—I'd catch you."
"Izayoi-kun, I'm sorry…"
Hinata looked down and apologized, looking as if she had let him down.
"Why are you apologizing to me?"
Izayoi reached out and gently patted Hinata's shoulder again, encouraging her:
"It's perfectly normal to fail. The fact that you managed to stick to the tree with both feet on your first try is already amazing. When I practiced back then, I had to try over a dozen times before I got it right."
That was a lie!
Izayoi had succeeded on his first attempt, and even walked up several steps.
Neither Naruto Uzumaki nor Sasuke Uchiha had the chakra control trait in their talent entries.
But both Izayoi and Hinata possessed blue-level chakra control.
With talent at this level, not only were tree walking and water walking easier, but even learning medical ninjutsu, sensory techniques, sealing jutsu, and barrier techniques would be far simpler than for those without chakra control talent.
After all, Gentle Fist involves injecting chakra into the opponent's body—a technique that itself relies heavily on chakra control.
As long as Hinata had enough chakra and someone to guide her, she should be able to master tree-walking quickly.
"Keep going. I believe you'll reach the top of the tree soon."
"Mm!"
With Izayoi's encouragement, Hinata's confidence surged.
She formed the hand seal again, gathered chakra at the soles of her feet, and stepped onto the trunk—soon once again suspended in midair.
Perhaps because of the sense of security Izayoi gave her, this time Hinata didn't hold her breath. Instead, she naturally took her third step.
The previous problem—losing control of one foot's chakra after the third step, which caused her balance to fail—didn't happen.
Hinata maintained excellent control over the chakra in both feet, and her shoes stuck firmly to the tree.
Step four, step five, step six…
By the time she reached the eighth step and moved into the ninth, her rhythm finally faltered, and she lost balance again—chakra slipping from her soles, her body falling downward.
But something was different this time.
Hinata didn't feel afraid. She didn't even cry out in alarm.
In fact, deep down, there was a sliver of anticipation.
And sure enough—
Her body didn't hit the hard ground, but instead fell into a warm embrace.
Izayoi caught her again, holding her in a princess carry. Looking down at her, he didn't hold back his praise:
"Amazing, Hinata. You got that far on just your second try. You really are a genius."
"Hehehe…"
Hinata didn't feel shy—instead, she smiled happily.
Today, she'd received more praise than she had in all the past few years combined.
So this is what it feels like to be acknowledged?
Her personality hadn't yet become the insecure and easily discouraged version shown in the original story, so in this moment, she felt even more motivated and confident.
Her beautiful eyes sparkled as she rarely took the initiative and said,
"Izayoi-kun, put me down. I want to try again."
"Alright."
Izayoi noticed all of Hinata's changes.
Seeing her growing more confident, he genuinely felt happy for her.
A proper heiress of a prestigious clan, yet in the original timeline she ended up so timid and self-effacing—it only showed what kind of high-pressure environment she had grown up in.
Since he had come to this world, and had chosen to cut in ahead of Naruto Uzumaki and Toneri Ōtsutsuki, Izayoi was determined to change this girl.
Even if she didn't become the tough, delinquent version from the Infinite Tsukuyomi world, she should at least not waste the incredible genes of the Ōtsutsuki clan like in the original.
The transformation would start with her personality—Izayoi would raise her into the kind of person he wanted! (A/N: Uh)
Hinata had excellent talent. Among the four kunoichi of the Konoha 12, she was the only one from a noble clan and possessed one of the Three Great Dōjutsu: the Byakugan.
What she lacked was simply confidence.
Once she regained that confidence, she would shine brilliantly.
Tree-walking and water-walking didn't require large amounts of chakra—only control.
That control could be gained either through intense training or by pure talent.
In the original, Naruto and Sasuke belonged to the former; Sakura to the latter.
Izayoi and Hinata also belonged to the latter.
Hinata, who could already take seven or eight steps on her second try, didn't regress on her third. In fact, she improved further, taking over a dozen steps before falling again.
Izayoi still caught her firmly.
By the fourth try, Hinata no longer fell—she successfully reached the top of the tree.
"Izayoi-kun, I did it!"
Standing at the top, Hinata didn't bother looking at the view from above. Her first instinct was to share her joy with Izayoi below.
"Amazing. You made it to the top by your fourth try. Hinata, you're way better than I was."
Izayoi gave her a thumbs up and praised her without holding back.
"Hehe..."
Pleased by the compliment, Hinata once again smiled brightly.
Even though both were instructors, the feeling she got from Izayoi was completely different from her father's.
At home, learning Gentle Fist from her father, Hinata always felt tense. Even when she completed the assignments set by Hiashi Hyūga, she wouldn't get a single word of praise.
Sometimes, she'd even get criticized—for not being as perfect as her cousin.
But with Izayoi, she was finally receiving the kind of praise she had always longed for.
The lightness instead of tension, the joy instead of anxiety—these feelings seemed to cleanse her spirit and made her genuinely enjoy training.
Stepping down from the tree as if walking on flat ground, Hinata looked at Izayoi with expectation in her eyes.
"Izayoi-kun, is water-walking the same as tree-walking?"
"Yeah, but it's harder."
Izayoi nodded and smiled.
"Tree-walking only requires you to stick to the bark, but water is constantly flowing. To stay on the surface, your control needs to improve several times over."
"I won't teach you that just yet, but you can go home and try it in a bathtub or water tank. Once your chakra level increases a bit more, I'll teach you real water-walking—and the Shadow Clone Technique."
"Mm-hmm..." Hinata nodded enthusiastically.
Seeing how obedient she was, Izayoi finally revealed his true colors and smiled.
"Next, let me teach you hand-to-hand combat! And let me see for myself the Hyūga clan's famed chakra point strikes."
"Okay."
Naive and trusting, Hinata had no idea what Izayoi's real intention was.
She had sparred with her cousin many times at home, so she simply nodded sweetly, not realizing there was anything unusual about practicing taijutsu that hadn't been taught at school yet.