Konoha Hospital smelled of bleach, cheap soap, and quiet, sterile suffering.
Naruto walked down the white corridor, his steps silent as a ghost's. The noise of the arena was left behind, but the echo of the battles still rang in his head.
The rest of the preliminaries had passed quickly, almost mundanely. The Jinchūriki replayed the results in his memory, analyzing future competitors.
Kiba Inuzuka got lucky. He was matched against Zaku Abumi, whose arms were still broken after his "meeting" with Sasuke.
That was easy, the youth noted. Kiba just overwhelmed the cripple with brute force and speed with Akamaru.
Shikamaru Nara outplayed Dosu Kinuta. Caught the Sound ninja in a shadow, using the arena's features, then knocked him out with a feinted kunai throw and a headbutt against the wall.
Cunning. A clean victory over a superior opponent through tactics. He has weak reserves, but his brain works.
Shino Aburame forced Kin Tsuchi to surrender. The Sound Kunoichi didn't even realize when she lost: her wires with bells proved useless against a swarm of bugs that eventually just covered her completely.
Quiet, eerie efficiency.
Temari crushed Tenten. Not a battle, but a simple beating. Fan against iron. The girl from the Sand simply blew away her opponent's entire arsenal without even moving from her spot, as if swatting away an annoying fly.
Kankurō vs Yoroi Akadō. The latter tried to use a chakra absorption technique but grabbed not a human, but a puppet. The doll broke his ribs. A stupid mistake—charging headlong without assessing the opponent's capabilities.
Sakura vs Ino. Uzumaki grimaced. That was... pathetic. Ten minutes of screaming, hair-pulling, and primitive Taijutsu. Result—double knockout. Draw. Neither advanced.
They both need to rethink their priorities if they really want to be shinobi.
Chōji Akimichi vs Misumi Tsurugi. Brute force against flexibility. Chōji's Human Boulder got stuck in the opponent's rubber body. Misumi managed to wrap around him like a boa constrictor and strangle him into unconsciousness. As a result, he would fight the winner of the Kiba vs Gaara match.
Naruto advanced. Sasuke was out, humiliated and broken by his own powerlessness.
The tournament bracket for the finals was formed. A month for preparation.
The blonde pushed away thoughts of the tournament table and stopped at a door with the sign "Rock Lee."
From behind the door came the muffled voice of Guy-sensei. The Jonin was crying, promising to find the best doctors, to move heaven and earth.
The boy placed his hand on the wall. Qi Sensory showed the worst. Lee's channels were torn, the bones of the affected limbs turned to rubble.
The price of power without a foundation, the cultivator thought bitterly. Lee built a skyscraper on sand and burned it down for a few minutes of glory. His spirit commanded respect, but the chosen path led to the grave.
I won't let this happen to those I care about.
With that thought, he moved on, toward Hinata's ward.
***
Naruto knocked briefly and entered.
The ward was bathed in orange pre-sunset light. Hinata sat on the bed, her left arm in a sling. Seeing the guest, she flinched and tried to straighten up, but winced in pain.
"Naruto-kun..."
"Don't get up." He said gently but firmly, sitting on a chair. "Internal injuries from Gentle Fist are insidious. You need rest."
Hinata lowered her eyes, fiddling with the blanket.
"Forgive me. I lost. You believed in me, and I... I'm weak."
"You are not weak," the Jinchūriki answered firmly. "You lost because you played by the enemy's rules. Neji is a genius of the Gentle Fist. Trying to beat him with his own weapon is suicide. He saw right through you."
The girl nodded, suppressing the welling tears.
"But I am a Hyuga. I have no other techniques. My tenketsu... he can close them. Without chakra, I am useless."
Naruto leaned forward. His face became serious.
"What if I give you a power that doesn't depend on tenketsu? A power Neji won't even be able to see... if we hide it?"
Hinata's eyes widened.
"Your... power?" she whispered. "The white chakra?"
"Yes. It's not chakra, it's Qi. The life energy of the world, permeating the very flesh and bone. Neji can block channels, but he cannot close off your life."
He extended his hand, palm up.
"But, Hinata, listen to me carefully. This is not a gift. This is a trial."
The girl froze, looking at his calloused palm.
"A trial?"
"The process of restructuring the body will be agonizing." The youth's voice became hard, warning. "Your bones will ache, muscles burn with fire. The body will begin to reject weakness. You will sweat black, foul-smelling filth—toxins leaving the organism. You will feel like you are dying and being born anew every night. Are you ready for such pain?"
Hinata remembered Neji's cold gaze. Remembered her helplessness. Remembered Naruto's back shielding her.
She placed her palm in his hand.
"I am ready. For any pain."
Uzumaki nodded.
"Close your eyes. Focus on your lower abdomen."
He closed his own eyes and turned to his Dantian. Separating a tiny, dense spark of White Energy, he directed it through his hand into Hinata's body.
Qi Control: Seed of Qi.
Hinata gasped, arching her back.
The sensation wasn't burning like chakra, but heavy and dense. As if she had swallowed a small sun. The drop of energy inside her formed into a tiny Dantian and anchored there, becoming a new, indestructible center of gravity.
The blonde removed his hand, wiping away sweat.
"Activate Byakugan. Look inside."
Veins on Hinata's temples bulged. She looked down.
Among the pale, damaged chakra channels shone a small, blindingly white, perfectly round sphere. It pulsed with power, sending threads of light directly into the muscles.
"This is... incredible," she exhaled.
Naruto abruptly covered her stomach with his palm, blocking the view.
"Now listen. This is the most important part."
Hinata looked up at him, deactivating her Dōjutsu. Her interlocutor was utterly serious.
"You live in the Hyuga clan. Your father, the elders, Neji—everyone has the Byakugan. If they see this white light inside you... we will have problems. They will decide you stole a technique, or that something is wrong with you. They might try to extract it."
Hinata's face paled. She understood the danger. In the clan, there were no secrets from the Byakugan.
"Then what do I do?"
"Hide it with Color Overlay," the youth commanded. "Use your normal chakra. Blue. Try to wrap it around your Dantian. Imagine you are painting a white pearl blue. Create a shell."
"Overlay... Color?" she repeated.
"Exactly. A thin but dense layer. That will be enough to fool your clan's eyes. To them, it will look just like a dense knot of chakra, perhaps a consequence of healing. Try. Now."
Hinata closed her eyes. Sweat broke out on her forehead. She reached for her reserves, pulling a thread of familiar blue energy, and began carefully wrapping it around the new, hot core.
It was hard. The White Qi resisted; it was too orderly. But Hinata's will, tempered by battle, was firm. She swaddled the light in chakra, layer by layer.
Naruto watched the process closely, ready to intervene. Memories of his own attempts surfaced: how his body broke from the conflict of energies, how the influence and volume of the Fox's chakra interfered with wrapping the Qi reserve, causing explosions inside. He had to strengthen his bones to the state of steel just to survive the process.
But Hinata was different.
Amazing, he thought, observing her aura. Her chakra is calm, submissive. Not like my inner storm. What I broke myself for months to achieve, she does in minutes thanks to talent and the calm nature of her energy.
It was unfair, but logical. Control over the massive reserve inside a Jinchūriki required the strictest discipline and a sturdy body. Control over a small reserve inside Hinata required only correct instruction and talent.
A few minutes of silence.
"Look now," Uzumaki exhaled.
Veins on her temples bulged again. She looked down.
The white sun had disappeared. Instead, a dense, blue sphere pulsed in her lower abdomen. It looked powerful, but... normal. Like the reserve of a strong shinobi recovering strength.
Naruto nodded with satisfaction.
"Perfect. Now you are safe."
He stood up, adjusting his jacket.
"Your task for this month: meditation, purification. Prepare for the filth—wash it off immediately so no one sees—and maintain the camouflage. No one must see the white light. No one. I will give additional instructions later."
Hinata clenched her fist. She felt a new strength—resilient, physical power emanating from within.
"I understand, Naruto-kun. I will keep this secret. And I will become stronger."
"I know." The youth smiled at her—wearily, but warmly. "Rest."
He walked out of the ward, leaving her alone with the new sun inside and a secret that now bound them tighter than ever.