"Juuyabiru, that's great! We succeeded!"
Leaving the Hyuga compound with Izanami, Hinata could no longer contain the excitement bubbling within her. Her voice trembled slightly with joy.
"Calm down. Be careful—your father might send guards to follow us secretly. If they hear you say that, things could get troublesome," Juuyabiru reminded her with a smile.
Hearing this, Hinata quickly covered her small mouth, her big eyes scanning her surroundings cautiously. The expression made her look especially cute.
"Let's go. I'll take you somewhere special."
Juuyabiru wasn't entirely sure whether guards had been assigned to tail them, so he didn't cancel the Transformation Technique. Instead, he led Hinata away from Central Street, heading toward a secluded training ground in the wilderness.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Once they entered the forest, Juuyabiru created a shadow clone of Izayoi, which vanished instantly into the trees. A moment later, Juuyabiru canceled the Transformation Technique, returning to his original form.
Seeing this, Hinata asked joyfully, "Juuyabiru, does that mean no one is following us?"
"Yes, I've confirmed it—no one is following," he replied with a nod and a grin. "Later, I'll teach you a technique. When you go back, you can practice it at home. If your father sees your progress, he might stop restricting your movements in the future."
Hearing this, Hinata's expression lit up with deeper joy.
Transforming into Ino Yamanaka to invite Hinata out—that was Juuyabiru's strategy.
If he had invited her as himself, there would have been no chance she could come. At best, he would have wasted his time. At worst, Hyuga Neji might appear to deliver a warning, or Hinata could be reassigned to a different seat—or even a different class.
Children might be oblivious, but Juuyabiru knew the schemes adults employed.
In a world ruled by Lords, Daimyo, and nobles, class distinctions were even more pronounced than in his past life.
Hinata was the heiress of a prestigious ninja clan. Juuyabiru? Just a common orphan—one without even a surname. Between them lay a massive chasm.
If Juuyabiru had been a girl, maybe he'd have had a chance to befriend Hinata. But being a boy?
To prevent any romantic development and to guard against bloodline leakage, neither Hyuga Hiashi nor the clan elders would allow him to get close to her.
Unless... Juuyabiru's value was extremely high.
If he proved himself to be a genius worth nurturing, then he might qualify to be adopted into the Hyuga family.
If he were someone like Uzumaki Naruto—a hero of Konoha, a savior of the ninja world—then maybe he'd even have a shot at marrying into the main family.
But until he proved himself, Juuyabiru could only resort to clever tricks.
Ino Yamanaka, for example, was the young lady of the Yamanaka clan, part of the next-generation Ino-Shika-Cho trio. Even if her strength was limited, her clan's secret techniques would likely earn her a vital role in the intelligence department. She was destined to hold real power.
The Ino-Shika-Cho clans were united and respected.
If anyone among the Konoha girls had the right to be Hinata's friend, it was Ino Yamanaka.
That's why Juuyabiru chose to disguise himself as her. It greatly reduced the chances of being followed.
But still—this was a risk.
If not for the fear that the strength gap between him and Hinata might widen to the point where he could no longer trigger a red entry, Juuyabiru wouldn't have risked it at all.
When the first Chunin Exam arrived, he hoped to be more confident—hopefully even win the title of top student.
But more than Naruto's or Sasuke's red entries, Juuyabiru craved Hinata's.
If he could awaken the Reincarnation Eye, then he'd have nothing to fear.
So he couldn't afford to miss this opportunity.
Arriving at the abandoned training ground, Juuyabiru turned to Hinata.
"Hinata, have you learned the Three Body Technique yet?"
"Not yet," Hinata shook her head. "Father told me to focus entirely on Gentle Fist training. He said I can only practice other ninjutsu when the school officially teaches them."
"In that case, I won't teach you the Three Body Technique," Juuyabiru smiled.
"Instead, I'll teach you a technique that will improve your chakra control. Whether you're working on Gentle Fist or aiming to learn Shadow Clones, this will make your training twice as effective."
Hinata's beautiful eyes widened, astonished.
"Juuyabiru, you... you want to teach me the Shadow Clone Technique?"
"That's right."
Juuyabiru nodded.
"From now on, my main body won't often attend class. You can come find me here anytime. Or, you can learn the Shadow Clone Technique and have your clone go to class in your place—just like I do. Meanwhile, your real body can come train here with me."
Hinata was clearly tempted.
After learning that Juuyabiru used Izayoi's shadow clone to attend class, she had already wanted to learn the Shadow Clone Technique—not just to skip class, but because she didn't want to be left behind.
But as she said, her father had ordered her to focus solely on the Hyuga style. He wouldn't teach her anything else, nor allow her to learn anything outside their tradition.
She hadn't even learned the basic Three Body Technique. How could she dream of Shadow Clones?
Now, hearing Juuyabiru say he'd teach her, and that she could secretly come here every day, train freely, and also enjoy friendship...
Hinata was utterly captivated.
Juuyabiru saw her expression and knew she was moved.
"Come here. I'll first teach you how to improve your chakra control."
He smiled and walked over to a large tree that would take several people to hug. Forming the Ram hand seal, he said:
"Focus your chakra at the soles of your feet. Then overcome the fear in your heart—like this..."
Hinata watched in awe as Juuyabiru calmly raised his right foot and placed it against the tree trunk.
The moment his foot made contact, he lifted his left foot and stepped onto the tree as well.
Now both feet were off the ground, his body upright and vertical against the massive tree.
As if walking on flat ground, he casually walked up the tree trunk, step by step, all the way to the top.
Turning to look down at Hinata, his body forming a right angle with the tree, he smiled.
"Walking on trees using your feet—this is the technique I'm going to teach you."
"S-So... so amazing!"
Hinata stared, wide-eyed and stunned at the sight of Juuyabiru casually defying gravity.
Coming back down, Juuyabiru continued smiling.
"This is just the first stage. There's also an advanced technique—Water Walking."
"If you can master these two, whether it's the Three Body Technique, Shadow Clone Technique, or even the Body Flicker Technique, none of them will be hard for you anymore."
"I... I can really learn it?" Hinata asked, uncertain.
"Don't underestimate yourself. You're the Hyuga Clan's heiress."
Juuyabiru patted her gently on the shoulder and encouraged her.
"Go on. Try it. Don't be afraid to fall—I'll catch you."
"And if you fall too far behind me..."
Juuyabiru added with a teasing grin, "I won't wait for you."
That last sentence was playful, almost like he was joking, but it stirred something in Hinata's heart.
She nodded with determination: "Yes!"
She had already disappointed her father.
She couldn't let Juuyabiru down too.
Even more importantly—she didn't want to lose her only friend.
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