Mm. Speaking of which, it was probably about time to figure out how to deal with Zabuza and Haku.
Lying back in the freshly-drawn bathwater, Hinata let Tazuna's daughter-in-law scrub her arms. In a damp, chilly country like this, a hot soak really was a pleasure.
"Lady Hyūga's skin really is amazing. As expected of a young lady raised in a peaceful place like Konoha."
Gazing enviously at the pale-eyed girl's flawless skin, Tazuna's daughter-in-law threw herself into her service role with conspicuous effort. Hinata simply let out a quiet hum and didn't bother answering. The strong owned all the women and all the honors—that was an entirely natural axiom in her worldview.
First time around, yes, she'd caught Zabuza off guard. But precisely because of the strength she'd displayed, his and Haku's next ambush would absolutely not be as casual as the original work. They weren't the kind of shinobi who gave up easily. And strictly speaking, in a water-rich country like the Land of Waves, both Zabuza's Water Release and Haku's Ice Release could operate at a hundred and twenty percent of their normal potential. It was not a battlefield where she could afford to be careless.
"Hey. Woman. Tell me about anything interesting that's been happening lately."
Sinking into bathwater tuned to just the right temperature, Hinata closed her eyes and let her mind relax alongside her body. Since she knew a brutal fight was coming, moments of relaxation like this one became all the more valuable.
"Ah—yes. I think it was yesterday. Apparently a ship struck something in the nearby waters and sank. It's very strange, because those waters should have been a safe lane. Everyone's saying it's because Gatō's company has done too many evil things, and the sea god has finally begun punishing them."
Tazuna's daughter-in-law made no effort to hide her loathing for Gatō's organization. Her husband had been publicly executed by Gatō's people, so feelings like that were hardly surprising.
So the reef chain was already producing its intended effects. Before long, everyone in this country would realize that, apart from the bridge, they had no remaining way to leave.
The atmosphere at breakfast was noticeably heavy, as though a stubborn gray cloud hung over the dining room. The largest patch was unmistakably above Kakashi's head. The second largest was above Naruto. And the third belonged to Tazuna.
"What's with all of you? Looking like you've lost a parent. I went out last night specifically to gather this seafood. You should be eating it gratefully, instead of sitting there looking like this."
Sipping small spoonfuls of sea-cucumber broth from her bowl, Hinata chastised her tablemates without ceremony. In near-synchronized response, all three sighed. Each of them clearly had a chestful of grievances.
"Don't get me started... I just feel... whatever shred of dignity I had left as a teacher... has been scattered to the wind..."
The shame-red flush still hadn't fully faded from Kakashi's face; his voice had a spacey, drifting quality. For a man who spent his days reading Jiraiya's erotic novels, the Jōnin's actual embarrassment threshold was astonishingly low. Then again, this was the same man who, in the original work, had almost died of mortification when asked to decode Jiraiya's cipher because it required him to recite an erotic passage from "Make-Out Paradise" aloud.
"I'm the same... no matter how I try, I can't get this ultimate to work... I really feel like such a loser..."
Naruto, too, was crying openly over his bowl, head practically on the table. You could tell this time he was genuinely considering giving up. That startled Sasuke and Hinata enough that they both looked up mid-meal and traded a glance.
The dead-last, acting like this? Was he actually about to throw in the towel?
"And me... one of the boats carrying building materials hit a reef this morning for some reason. Which means... conservatively, completion of the bridge is delayed by at least another day. And in the current climate, even one more hour's delay could bring terrible reprisal from Gatō..."
Tazuna's words drew a surprised response from his daughter-in-law. "Really? Yesterday there was a ship that struck a reef too—does that mean today also..."
"That's right... those were supposed to be safe waters. It's as if reefs have just grown up out of the seabed overnight..."
The exchange between Tazuna and his daughter-in-law didn't draw much attention from anyone else, because even Kakashi's attention was now being drawn in by Naruto's surrender declaration.
Kakashi's brow furrowed slightly, but he had no intention of talking Naruto out of it. On the contrary, he felt something close to relief.
Purely in terms of destructive potential, Divine Sandstorm was still too much technique for Naruto right now. Especially given the colossal chakra reserves Naruto carried, if he actually mastered a ninjutsu of that level of devastation, there was a real question about who would ultimately end up hurt by it.
Ninjutsu was a double-edged sword. It could harm the enemy, sure—but it could just as easily harm the user and his allies, especially techniques of this scale that could reshape the local terrain in a single use. If Naruto accidentally caught one of his own teammates because his control wasn't up to the task yet, the result would be nothing short of tragedy.
By contrast, Hinata's Orochinagi and Sasuke's Ame no Habakiri—while equally powerful as ultimates—had much smaller areas of effect, and both of them had far better control and posed much less risk than Naruto. The probability of accidental harm was accordingly much lower.
"You're giving up, Naruto?"
Setting her spoon down, Hinata registered a genuine stir of something she couldn't quite name. No matter how she looked at it, this was the first time she'd ever seen Naruto give up on anything. In the original work, once this dead-last made up his mind to try something, he essentially never failed—and therefore had essentially never given up on any challenge or mission.
Yet here he was, abandoning Divine Sandstorm. And what's more, abandoning it in the middle of a contest with Sasuke. That was extraordinarily unusual.
"Idiot dead-last. Is that all you've got?"
Unsurprisingly, Sasuke was also disappointed by Naruto's surrender. Whatever he claimed out loud, in his mind Naruto was a rival dogging his heels—like another racer tailing you in a competition. And when that rival suddenly broke down on the track, Sasuke found the mixture of petty relief and deeper boredom hard to swallow.
"Hmph! That's right! I'm giving up on Divine Sandstorm!"
Naruto clenched his teeth and jerked his head to one side, forcing the words out—then grabbed his rice bowl and began shoveling food into his mouth, clearly done with the conversation.
"Tch—!"
Sasuke let out a cold snort, slammed his bowl down on the table, and walked straight out of the dining room. From the way he'd slammed the bowl, it was clear this middle-of-the-road hothead was seriously angry—just too proud to show it in words.
Well... clearly, nothing ever went perfectly smoothly. And now, on top of everything else, something unexpected had just happened here.
But this was also an opportunity. It was probably time to reasonably request some deeper disclosure.
With a faint smile, Hinata let Naruto be, and started shoveling food into her own mouth. She finished her breakfast in short order, wiped her mouth, and left the room as well.
Sasuke hadn't gone far. The dark-haired hothead was lying on Tazuna's rooftop, sunbathing. A few days ago, he'd have been off in the forest drilling ninjutsu after breakfast. The fact that he wasn't today was a sign of that restless "why bother pushing when your rival's dropped out" feeling.
"Up. We're going to find Kakashi and ask some questions."
Hinata delivered the order flatly. Sasuke reflexively opened his mouth—probably to say something like "leave me alone" or "not interested"—but given that Hinata's aggressive influence was in full effect right now, after about a second's hesitation the dark-haired, moody kid begrudgingly got to his feet and followed her off the roof.
Kakashi was lying on his side in his room, one hand propping up his head, the other holding a small book with an adult-content marker on the cover—presumably the legendary "Make-Out Paradise". The moment Hinata climbed through his window, the disreputable Jōnin was genuinely startled. Thankfully, the sight of Sasuke right behind her was enough that the white-haired Jōnin managed not to flee reflexively via Body Flicker.
"Hey, Kakashi. It's time for you to fulfill your responsibilities as our teacher."
Opening with that accusation the moment she arrived, Hinata seated herself in seiza directly across from Kakashi with complete gravity. Sasuke copied the posture and knelt beside her. The arrangement had Kakashi instinctively sweating. After working himself up, the white-haired Jōnin finally mustered the courage to speak.
"Um... Hinata, Sasuke. What do you need help with?"
"Don't stall. Obviously, it's about Naruto. At this point, there's no use playing dumb. Why did he choose to give up on Divine Sandstorm? Look, the three of us are currently the only inheritors of the South Dipper Seven Sacred Fists. If Naruto gives up, neither Sasuke nor I can just sit back and watch."
Arms folded, Hinata's crisp tone visibly relaxed Kakashi. Thankfully, it wasn't some bizarre or frightening demand.
"Exactly. That idiot dead-last may not be the brightest, but he's not someone who'd casually give up on training an ultimate—not even to preserve the combat strength of the team as a whole. We both think it's your responsibility to resolve this."
Drawn into the conversation, Sasuke couldn't help but speak up. He clearly cared about this far more than he was letting on.
"Haah... fair enough. You saw it yourselves last time—the episode where Naruto lost control."
After brief deliberation, Kakashi nodded. As a teacher, he knew this was the moment he had to put a secret or two on the table. Just as Hinata and Sasuke had said, at minimum—for the sake of his students' unity—he had to offer some kind of solution.
"The truth is, there is, indeed, a terrifying existence sealed inside Naruto's body."
"Naruto is probably giving up on Divine Sandstorm because practicing it keeps triggering that monster. He's afraid of ending up in the same state as last time, so he's refusing to train the technique at all."
"That boy... for the sake of protecting the people around him from being hurt by him, is the reason he's made a decision as painful as 'giving up.'"