From behind, Hikari watched as Hinata retreated again and again. Unable to hold back, he spoke up, "If you want to fail, then just keep going like this. Tomorrow you can go back to training with Kurenai!"
As he spoke, he subtly reinforced his words with genjutsu to further sharpen her emotions.
Hearing that, Hinata—who had been retreating nonstop—tightened up in panic.
She didn't want to lose this chance. In the past, she didn't think much of it, but now that she wanted to stay by Naruto-kun's side, she had to become stronger.
Only the strong could truly support him.
"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Palm!"
Under Hinata's constant retreat, Naruto had already lost interest in attacking and was about to go through the motions half-heartedly. But right at that moment, Hinata's expression changed. A seriousness Naruto had never seen before appeared in her eyes.
In that single moment of surprise, Naruto took several direct hits from Hinata's palms and collapsed to the ground.
The unique principles of the Gentle Fist sealed Naruto's chakra flow. Fortunately, Naruto's chakra reserves were enormous, so the effects were only moderate on him.
"That's more like it!"
Naruto grinned as he leaped back up. "I knew your taijutsu was amazing, Hinata! With you as my sparring partner, I'll definitely get stronger!"
A great shinobi didn't just excel in their specialty—they also worked to overcome their weaknesses.
Naruto's specialties were Shadow Clone Technique and Rasengan—both ninjutsu.
Taijutsu, however, was his weak point.
To become stronger, he didn't just need a practice partner; he needed a real opponent.
Hikari was no good—he was far too strong. Fighting him meant Naruto would only be on the receiving end of a beating.
Sasuke needed peace and quiet right now.
That left only Hinata.
Originally, Naruto didn't think Hinata was a suitable match, but her sudden burst of power made him genuinely happy.
Seeing Naruto so cheerful, Hinata had mixed thoughts.
'Could Hikari-senpai be right? Does Naruto-kun... actually like being beaten?'
"Naruto-kun, are you okay?" Hinata asked worriedly.
Naruto shook his head, then gave her a big thumbs-up.
"Awesome, Hinata! You're really amazing!"
"No—I'm not, I'm really not!" Hinata stammered, instinctively wanting to retreat again after being praised.
"Then let's keep going!"
Thanks to Hinata's light strikes and Naruto's natural resilience, he was already fully recovered, ready for another round.
'Naruto-kun needs me. I have to help him!'
Seeing Naruto's bright smile, Hinata felt something inside her melt. Warmth filled her whole body.
"Please guide me well, Naruto-kun!"
This time, Hinata resolved not to hold back. She unleashed her Gentle Fist, while Naruto used his taijutsu. The two fought back and forth intensely.
Not far away, Hikari finally let out a sigh of relief at the sight.
With Naruto as a catalyst, if Hinata still couldn't evolve ahead of schedule, he truly had no idea what to say.
She possessed the purest Hyuga bloodline—how could she remain so weak?
As for whether Hinata would start domestic-violenting Naruto once she got stronger... Hikari didn't think that would be a problem. With the Nine-Tails inside him, even if Naruto got beaten up at home, he'd recover in no time.
The two were fighting vigorously. Naruto didn't know how to hold back, and after Hinata got used to Naruto's tough body, she gradually increased her strength.
Both of them were improving.
If Naruto and Sasuke pushed each other due to rivalry—
Then Naruto and Hinata were growing because of a certain mysterious, unspoken connection. They drove each other forward.
Naruto didn't want to be beaten by a girl, and Hinata didn't want Naruto to look down on her. With such motivation, the taijutsu of both improved significantly.
This kind of training was very worry-free for Hikari.
Both Naruto and Hinata already had a foundation—they simply needed resolve and direction.
With the boy and girl working together, he could laze around.
He really had himself to thank for this.
Compared to those two going blow for blow, Sasuke, on his side, was feeling rather unhappy.
The Naruto he constantly thought about was right next to him, exchanging glances with Hinata—practically flirting—and Sasuke nearly coughed up blood at the sight.
The more he watched, the more unsettled he felt.
And the more unsettled he was, the harder it became to complete the training Hikari had assigned him.
By the time the Ino–Shika–Cho trio arrived, Sasuke had already met the ground dozens of times.
"Hikari-senpai?"
Ino approached, surprised to see Hinata pressing Naruto in a fierce exchange. She was genuinely shocked.
In her mind, Hinata was a gentle, obedient girl. Seeing her take the initiative to hit Naruto made Ino more than a little gratified.
Both girls were from the same class and good families. Although they weren't extremely close, compared to others they were indeed in the "friends" category.
Hinata growing stronger made Ino happy for her.
Hikari looked up at the sun and suddenly realized it was time for lunch.
"What do you want to eat for lunch?"
"Is this really the time to be asking that?" Ino's mouth twitched. She felt Hikari was becoming less and less reliable.
Who asks something like that now!?
"Oh? So you don't want lunch?" Hikari said calmly.
"No way! I'll starve!" Ino immediately protested. She knew Hikari kept his word. If she really said the wrong thing and lost lunch, she would suffer.
A shinobi's training already burns tons of energy. She was still growing—if she ended up flat-chested like Sakura later, she would regret it for life.
"Skipping one meal won't kill you."
"That still doesn't make it okay! I need to eat until I'm stuffed, then train! By the way... doesn't Hinata seem kind of different now?" Ino studied Hinata carefully. Woman's intuition told her something had definitely changed about Hinata, even if she couldn't quite put her finger on what.
"Of course she's different. Look at her attacks—no hesitation at all. Seems like she overcame that personality weakness." Shikamaru, as usual, was the smart one. Observing Hinata's smooth offense and defense, he understood instantly.
Compared to her earlier wishy-washy style where she was afraid to commit, the current Hinata seemed to have undergone a complete transformation.
"She hasn't completely overcome it, but she's much better than before."
Seeing Hinata finally make progress made Hikari quite pleased.
"So, how about Ichiraku Ramen for lunch?"
Choji pulled out a bag of snacks, "Whatever, as long as I can eat my fill."
Ino was reluctant.
"Hikari-senpai, you come back and only treat us to that? Isn't that too stingy?"
'Stingy?'
Hikari glanced at Choji, then at Hinata fighting Naruto, and thought:
'If Ino knew how much those two can eat when they don't hold back, then she'd finally understand what stingy really means.'
A single meal of Ichiraku ramen for Choji and Hinata combined... was enough to cover Hikari's entire barbecue tab.
And she calls that stingy?