---
Whoosh!
Kunai whistled through the air, targeting Neji from every direction.
"Byakugan!" Neji activated his dōjutsu and moved with elegant precision, his body weaving through the projectiles flawlessly.
"Beautiful! If I had taken even half a step more, I'd be a pincushion!" Naruto shouted from the sidelines.
His sudden outburst startled Neji, making him flinch—and nearly catch a kunai to the shoulder.
"Why the hell are you still here, you idiot?!" Neji and Hiashi growled in unison.
"W-Well... Naruto has a mission with our team…" Hinata mumbled, her cheeks turning crimson.
Neji and Hiashi: "…"
"Seriously, Hinata—your father and cousin are terrifying!" Naruto said, clutching his head dramatically.
"S-Sorry, Naruto…" Hinata said shyly, following behind him.
Her cheeks burned as memories from two days ago resurfaced.
---
"Byakugan!" Hinata shouted sweetly, sending a volley of kunai in all directions.
"Eight Trigrams Palms!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The kunai ricocheted off the invisible barrier formed by her precise strikes, falling harmlessly to the ground.
"Take a break," Shino called as he emerged from the shadows of the trees.
"Well done, Hinata!" Kiba leaped down from a branch.
"Thank you both for training with me!" Hinata smiled brightly, bowing slightly.
"Eat! Eat!" came a sudden voice from behind.
"Why the hell are you here again?!" Kiba's face was full of black lines as he pointed angrily at the cheerful intruder. "Naruto!"
"Aha, my team's a man short and I've got nothing better to do," Naruto grinned. "So I thought I'd come check on my beloved first wife—err, second wife?"
Hinata's face turned scarlet.
"Hey! Hinata, did you hear that?! This guy's a total playboy! Get away from him!" Kiba shouted protectively.
"W-W-Wife?!" Hinata gasped, then fainted with a small squeak.
Kiba and Shino: "…"
The two sighed, then glared at Naruto. "You bastard!"
Ignoring them, Naruto suddenly pulled out an absurdly oversized luxury dining table and chairs, complete with ornate decorations.
"Why the hell are you even carrying this crap?!" Kiba and Shino both shouted in disbelief.
Soon, the four were seated at what looked like a French aristocrat's banquet table.
Naruto and Hinata sat at opposite ends of the long table, goblets in hand. Candles flickered between them.
"Cheers!" Naruto said, raising his glass of Coke to Hinata.
A cold breeze drifted through the clearing, making the scene even more awkward.
Kiba and Shino: "…" This feels like third-wheeling a whole fish market...
Blushing, Hinata took a sip of her Coke. She turned to the two boys beside her.
"Thank you both. Thanks to your help with my training every day, I'm almost done perfecting my new technique!"
"We are teammates," Shino replied coolly. "Helping one another is natural."
"Companions…" Hinata echoed, her gaze falling for a moment. She thought of Sasuke's defection—how painful it must be to lose a teammate. Her eyes drifted to Naruto.
He was currently chomping on steak using chopsticks, but when he caught her gaze, he flashed a bright grin.
It must hurt… Hinata thought quietly.
---
After dinner, Naruto stretched. "Ugh, I'm stuffed! Hinata, you're working on the Eight Trigrams Palms: Revolving Heaven, right?"
"Huh?!" Hinata blinked. "N-Naruto, how did you know?"
"Just a hunch!" he said with a smirk. "But maybe I could offer a little guidance."
"Oi! Don't mess around!" Kiba jumped in. "Even if you're strong, that technique depends on Byakugan and precise chakra control. Don't mislead her!"
Naruto gave Kiba a sideways glance full of disdain. "You don't know jack."
"You bastard!" Kiba roared.
But before he could attack, Naruto walked over to the spot where Hinata had been training and called out, "Alright! Let's go, little kunai!"
Shino and Kiba both twitched.
"You better not regret this," Kiba warned. "There's a wasp nest trap on the tree. We're not saving your ass."
"So much damn talk," Naruto muttered. He smoothly moved into a stance—one hand raised behind him, the other outstretched and beckoning. "Come."
In an instant, kunai launched from all directions.
"Watch out!" Hinata gasped.
But Naruto's hands moved in a blur, graceful and hypnotic.
"Flowing Water Rock Smashing Fist—Flowing Water Formation!"
Cling! Cling! Thunk!
Every kunai within his reach was either deflected or disarmed mid-flight. His movements flowed like water—gentle, but impossibly strong.
—Silver Fang Bang's Flowing Water Rock Smashing Fist. In a world full of monsters and superhumans, his technique stood as one of the purest and most powerful forms of hand-to-hand combat. Even without chakra, it could pierce through mountains.
"Nani?!" Kiba and Shino exclaimed in unison.
Hinata stared, eyes wide.
Within seconds, the training field was silent—kunai scattered across the ground.
Naruto stood tall, dusting off his hands. "So? Want to learn? I'll teach you."
And so began Naruto's hand-in-hand coaching with Hinata.
Hinata tried desperately not to faint from the contact, biting her lower lip as she focused.
---
After Naruto left, Hinata sat beside Shino and Kiba.
"If... a companion disappears... it must be painful, right?" she asked quietly.
"You mean Naruto?" Kiba asked.
Hinata nodded.
"Nope. That idiot? He's not sad at all," Kiba replied bluntly. "He'd probably love it if the team disbanded. No missions. Just chasing girls all day…"
Hinata: "…"
"Is there any way we can help him?" she asked, ignoring his tone.
Kiba: "…" She just ignored me again…
"We want to help him too," Kiba finally said. "But Naruto and Jiraiya-sama already went to Otogakure. There hasn't been a lead in weeks."
"Actually, it might not be hopeless," Shino said quietly.
"Huh?" Hinata and Kiba turned toward him.
---
The Next Day—Hokage's Office
"Micro-scent tracking bugs?" Tsunade raised a brow. "I thought those were extinct."
"They were never truly extinct," Shino explained. "The Aburame clan simply stopped using them and declared them extinct to protect the species."
"What are they, Lady Tsunade?" Shizune asked curiously.
"They were insects used by the Aburame clan before the Third Great Ninja War," Tsunade said. "Their sense of smell is said to be a thousand times stronger than that of a ninken. But their numbers declined, so the clan stopped using them."
Shino added, "Even now, there's only a 10% chance we'll find any."
"Ten percent, huh…" Tsunade considered. "And with something Sasuke left behind, you think these bugs could trace him?"
She walked toward the door and suddenly slammed her fist into it—splintering it apart. Behind it was none other than Naruto, who tumbled out, caught eavesdropping.
"You lazy Genin! Lurking around again instead of working!" Tsunade roared.
"Ah-haha… ehehe…" Naruto laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.
"Honestly, you trick me into thinking you're Hokage material, then spend your days flirting!" Tsunade raised her fist again.
"Wait, wait! Don't be violent!" Naruto held his hands up, crossing them over his chest like a shield. "Besides, maybe Sasuke just really likes Orochimaru! That freaky body of his…"
Boom!
---
As Hinata snapped back to reality, she saw Naruto walking ahead, waving.
"Hey! Hinata! Let's go!"
"Y-Yes!" she replied, running to catch up.
---
Postscript:
Shino: "Author… I really don't think you need to keep emphasizing that you can't see my face. Our clan all wears high collars and dark glasses. That's standard."
Author: "But… which one are you again?"
Shino: "…"
I have a bad feeling this story is heading in a very strange direction...
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