“Izayoi-kun, that’s great—we did it!”


    Leaving the clan grounds with Izayoi, Hinata could no longer suppress her excitement. Her voice trembled slightly with emotion.


    “Calm down. Be careful—if your father sent guards to secretly follow us, they might overhear you,” Izayoi reminded her with a smile.


    Hearing this, Hinata quickly covered her mouth and glanced around nervously—utterly adorable.


    “Come on, I’ll take you somewhere.”


    Izayoi wasn’t sure whether any guards were tailing them, so he didn’t undo his transformation jutsu. Instead, he led Hinata out of the central streets toward a remote training field.


    “Shadow Clone Jutsu!”


    Once they entered the forest, Izayoi created a shadow clone, which instantly vanished.


    A short while later, Izayoi canceled his transformation jutsu.


    Seeing this, Hinata’s eyes lit up with joy. “Izayoi-kun, does that mean no one followed us?”


    “Yeah, it’s confirmed—no one’s following us.”


    Izayoi nodded and grinned. “I’m going to teach you a technique. Practice it at home. If your father sees it, he probably won’t stop you from going out anymore.”


    Upon hearing this, Hinata’s smile deepened.


    Disguising himself as Ino Yamanaka to invite Hinata out—


    That was Izayoi’s plan.


    If he had gone in person, Hinata would never have been allowed out.


    At best, it would be a wasted trip; at worst, Hinata might get a warning from Neji under orders from Hiashi, or even be reassigned in class—or to a different class altogether.


    The kids might not understand what’s going on.


    But Izayoi knew well—this was how adults operated.


    In a world governed by daimyo and aristocrats, class divisions were even more pronounced than in his previous life.


    Hinata was the heiress of a prestigious ninja clan. Izayoi? Just a nameless orphan from the common folk.


    There was a chasm between them.


    If Izayoi were a girl, maybe he’d still have a chance to be Hinata’s friend.


    But he was a boy. To prevent Hinata from falling for him, and to stop their clan’s Bloodline Limit from spreading, neither Hiashi nor the Hyuga elders would allow Hinata and Izayoi to grow too close.


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    Unless… Izayoi’s value was exceptional.


    If he were a civilian genius worth recruiting, he might be allowed to marry in.


    If he were like Naruto Uzumaki—a hero of Konoha and savior of the ninja world—then he could marry a Hyuga heiress.


    But until he proved his worth, Izayoi had to rely on clever tricks.


    Ino Yamanaka was the heiress of the Yamanaka clan, one of the new generation’s Ino-Shika-Cho trio. Even if her combat skills were lacking, she’d always have the family’s secret techniques and a future in the Intelligence Division—wielding real power.


    And since the Ino-Shika-Cho clans were tight allies, among the Konoha Rookie 9, no one was more qualified than Ino to be Hinata’s friend.


    Only by transforming into Ino could Izayoi invite Hinata out without arousing suspicion—or being followed.


    If not for the widening gap in power between him and Hinata, and the increasing difficulty of triggering her red innate talent, he wouldn’t have risked this.


    Once the first major exam came and he earned the title of top student, he’d have more confidence in his position.


    But more than Naruto or Sasuke’s Red Innate talent, Izayoi wanted to trigger Hinata’s.


    Once he awakened the Tenseigan, everything would change.


    So he couldn’t waste this vacation.


    They arrived at an abandoned training ground. Izayoi turned to Hinata and asked,


    “Hinata, have you learned the Three Basic Jutsus?”


    “Not yet,” Hinata shook her head. “Father wants me to focus on Gentle Fist. He says I can only practice other jutsu when the school teaches them.”


    “In that case, I won’t teach you the Three Basic Jutsus either.”


    Izayoi smiled. “I’ll teach you a technique that improves chakra control. Whether it’s your clan’s Gentle Fist or learning the Shadow Clone Jutsu, it’ll help immensely.”


    Hinata’s eyes widened in surprise. “Izayoi-kun, you… you’re going to teach me the Shadow Clone Jutsu?”


    “That’s right.”


    Izayoi nodded. “Soon, my real body won’t be going to school much. You can come here anytime—or use your shadow clone to attend class like I do, while your real self trains with me.”


    Hinata was tempted.


    After learning Izayoi used shadow clones in class, she wanted to learn the jutsu too.


    Not for any other reason—she just didn’t want to fall too far behind him.


    But as she said, Hiashi only allowed her to practice Gentle Fist and forbade her from learning anything else.


    She couldn’t even do the Three Basic Jutsus—let alone the Shadow Clone Jutsu.


    Now, hearing that Izayoi would teach her personally and that she could secretly come here every day to train with him—enjoying both friendship and the freedom she longed for—Hinata was deeply moved.


    Izayoi saw her expression and knew what she was thinking.


    “Follow me. I’ll show you how to improve your chakra control.”


    He smiled at her and led her to a large tree.


    He formed a hand seal and said,


    “Focus chakra on the soles of your feet while maintaining balance. Then overcome your fear, like this…”


    Under Hinata’s wide-eyed gaze, Izayoi lifted his right foot and stepped onto the tree trunk.


    Then he lifted his left foot and placed it on the trunk as well.


    Both feet now off the ground, his body was upright—parallel to the tree—right in front of Hinata.


    Step by step, as if walking on flat ground, Izayoi walked from the base of the tree to its very top.


    Facing down at Hinata from above, his body forming a right angle with the tree, Izayoi smiled and said,


    “Tree-walking with chakra—that’s the technique I’m teaching you.”


    “Amazing…”


    Watching Izayoi defy gravity, Hinata was stunned.


    Coming back down, Izayoi smiled.


    “Tree-walking is just the first step. The next level is walking on water.”


    “If you master these two techniques, the Three Basic Jutsus, Shadow Clone Jutsu, even the Body Flicker Technique—none of them will be hard.”


    “Can I… learn this?” Hinata asked, a little unsure.


    “Don’t sell yourself short. You’re the Hyuga clan’s heiress.”


    Izayoi patted her shoulder and encouraged her,


    “Give it a try. Don’t be afraid of falling—I’ll catch you.”


    “If I leave you too far behind, I won’t wait for you.”


    That last line was said half-jokingly, teasing even.


    But that single sentence made Hinata firm her resolve. She nodded hard.


    “Mm!”


    She had already disappointed her father.


    She absolutely couldn’t disappoint Izayoi too.


    And she didn’t want to lose her only friend.


    PS: Grooming. xD