In the early morning, the Hyuga Clan compound, due to its overly quiet environment, always allowed the subtle sounds from within to be heard.
Whenever a member of the Hyuga Clan emerged from their room, their gaze would involuntarily turn towards the Hyuga Clan Head's residence.
Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The tender, clear shouts of a young girl and the rapid, powerful thudding against wooden stakes would emanate from the Clan Head's residence.
Lady Hinata is different now.
All the Hyuga Clan members could feel that Hinata's aura when practicing Gentle Fist was vastly different from before; it had shed some of her past weakness and gained a few points of relentless forward momentum, making her more like the Main Family's young lady.
Moreover, many Hyuga Clan members had already learned that Lady Hinata had activated her Byakugan. Although the Hyuga's Byakugan is not like the Uchiha's Sharingan, where it can be activated as long as one is old enough and has enough Chakra, activating it at less than six years old still sufficiently proves Lady Hinata's talent.
But very few knew what exactly happened yesterday, what caused Lady Hinata's personality to suddenly change, and what led to her Byakugan awakening.
They only knew that yesterday, a Branch Family guard was, for the first time in a long while, punished by the Clan Head using the Caged Bird Seal.
Inside the Clan Head's residence, in the spacious courtyard, wood chips were scattered and flying everywhere.
The wooden stakes that were originally standing upright were now leaning every which way, covered with dense palm prints, and the originally flat and neat lawn had long been trampled by Hinata, leaving one footprint after another.
Little Hinata was currently wearing a loose black training uniform, her small face taut, her hands wrapped in Chakra, striking the wooden stakes in front of her, palm after palm.
Her Gentle Fist contained a sense of frustration, and it was this vexed feeling that added a few points of ruthlessness to her palm techniques. Hinata's training was also a small way to vent her emotions.
Even after a day had passed, and she had learned the news of Naruto-kun's safety, the image of Naruto-kun with his face covered in blood still appeared in her mind.
This was not an emotion born of affection or similar feelings; the current Hinata was merely a child just over five years old, and she didn't even have the concept of the opposite sex in her heart.
She developed a longing for Naruto in her heart, and so she began to detest her own weakness.
Just as Naruto-kun said, she clearly had the ability to solve those problems on her own, but because of her weakness, she dared not use her strength, thinking that she just had to endure it alone. As a result, Naruto-kun, who helped her, was harmed because of it.
She didn't want to hurt others, even if they were bad people, she didn't dare to use her strength, but it was precisely this weak personality that made the bad people escalate, and caused those who wanted to help her to suffer harm.
If she had been a little braver then, and had driven those bad guys away herself, Naruto-kun wouldn't have been harmed because of her weakness.
She wanted to change herself, and then go tell Naruto-kun that she was different now, and wanted to become true friends with him.
"Hinata, take a break."
A gentle voice sounded. Under the eaves was a beautiful woman holding a one-year-old little girl.
She had a pair of lovely almond eyes like Hinata's, revealing the same gentleness and innocence as Hinata, similar facial features to Hinata, plus the tenderness of a Yamato Nadeshiko, but her skin was somewhat morbidly pale.
It was Hinata's mother, Hyuga Keiko.
However, Keiko's beautiful embroidered brows were slightly furrowed, and she looked at her daughter, who was continuously practicing Gentle Fist, with a worried expression. Hyuga Hanabi, in her arms, was also making "ee-ee-ya-ya" sounds at Hinata, seemingly wondering why her older sister wasn't playing with her this morning.
Upon hearing this, Hinata stopped her movements and gave a smile to her mother and sister.
"It's alright, Mom, I'll just practice a little longer."
After Hinata finished speaking, she began to torment the wooden stakes in front of her again.
"This..."
Keiko looked at her daughter with pity, feeling a little resentful towards a certain blond boy in her heart, but seeing her daughter's extremely serious expression, Keiko could only shake her head helplessly.
"Then I'll have Natsu prepare breakfast. Does little Hinata have any requests?"
Hinata's palm-swinging motion paused slightly, a hint of hesitation appearing on her face, which then quickly turned red, as if she wanted to say something but was too embarrassed to.
Keiko looked at her daughter with some anticipation.
"Mom, c-can Natsu-nee-chan prepare three... two portions of breakfast?"
Despite having made up her mind to change, Hinata still lowered her head shyly.
Keiko smiled, saying, "I understand, little Hinata, I'll have Natsu prepare three portions of breakfast.", even though her personality had changed a lot, her daughter was still as cute as before.
"Three, three, three portions are too many...!"
Hinata's eyes immediately turned into circles. She felt like she was being treated as a big eater. Although she could indeed eat that much, it was still too embarrassing.
Hinata wanted to explain to her mother, but she found that Keiko was already gone, off to arrange breakfast.
In the end, Hinata had no choice but to continue training in Gentle Fist.
—
When Hyuga Hiashi returned from outside that day, he looked somewhat tired.
Being suddenly woken up in the middle of the night by the Third Hokage's Anbu, and then having an all-night meeting, this was even more exhausting than fighting enemies all night. He had to constantly maintain his proper demeanor and be careful of his words and actions, not saying anything wrong that might affect his position.
After all, the heads of all the major families in the Village had attended, and even many civilian Jonin were present at this meeting. It was almost as large as the meeting during the last Nine-Tailed attack.
And upon learning the reason for the meeting, Hyuga Hiashi's face also darkened. The ability to steal another's Bloodline Limit—this news might not concern civilian Ninja much, but for Bloodline Limit families like theirs, it had to be taken seriously.
It was fortunate that the target this time was Uchiha Shisui. One must know that the title "Shunshin Shisui" was not obtained out of thin air, but earned by Uchiha Shisui himself on the battlefield.
Even on the battlefield, Uchiha Shisui already possessed the strength of an elite Jonin. Now, after so many years, his frontal combat strength is probably already comparable to that of a typical Kage-level expert.
But even so, Uchiha Shisui still couldn't defeat the opponent.
Thinking of this, Hyuga Hiashi's expression became even more solemn. Although the Hyuga's Byakugan is not as powerful as the Sharingan, its attractiveness is equally significant.
Konoha's Bloodline Limits, have they been targeted by such a terrifying individual?
Indeed, after the Third Shinobi World War, the Village had already begun to decline.
Hyuga Hiashi's heart was filled with melancholy, but his face still maintained its dignity. He was the head of the Hyuga Clan, and he could not lose face.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Before Hyuga Hiashi even entered his residence, he could already hear the sound of wooden stakes being struck from afar. His eyes widened slightly, and his steps quickened.
Entering his courtyard, he immediately saw Hinata's small body, continuously striking with her palms. Her movements were no longer as soft as before, but had gained a few points of fierceness.
The Hyuga family's Gentle Fist is not solely gentle; although not as formidable as the Strong Fist, its precision and sharpness are in no way inferior to the Strong Fist. Attacks must be swift and ruthless to seize opportunities in battle and inject Chakra into the enemy's Tenketsu.
However, Hinata's Gentle Fist in the past was always timid and hesitant, lacking sharpness, and she even dared not strike at weak points during sparring. How could such a soulless Gentle Fist lead the Hyuga Clan?
Looking at the changed Hinata, Hyuga Hiashi's eyes showed a hint of relief, but he quickly thought of the reason for Hinata's personality change. When he heard the news yesterday that his daughter had beaten someone into the hospital, he thought it was fake news. Later, when he heard it was because of a blond boy, his face turned green.
Just like now.
Hiashi walked into the courtyard with a somber face. Hinata, who was still training inside, immediately noticed him, quickly stopped her movements, and seeing his gloomy face, lowered her small head again.
Facing the father she had feared since childhood, her hard-earned courage temporarily reverted to its former weak state, and she mumbled, "Welcome home, Father."
Hyuga Hiashi's mouth couldn't help but twitch, a breath stuck in his chest that he couldn't release.
"Go eat first."