The monotonous repetition of D-rank missions finally came to an end. That day, the staff at the mission assignment office handed Kurenai Yuhi a scroll.
"A C-rank mission: escort a shipment of medical supplies to a sentry post on the southeastern border. You may encounter wild beasts or wandering Ninjas along the way, so a Ninja escort is required."
"A C-rank mission!"
Kiba immediately grew excited, rubbing his hands together.
"Finally, something decent! Maybe we'll run into some blind fools so Akamaru and I can show off our skills!"
Shino pushed up his sunglasses and analyzed the situation calmly.
"The southeastern border... it's near the Land of Waves. Things haven't been very peaceful there lately."
Hinata's heart stirred. According to the timeline, Naruto and the others should have already set out on that 'bridge-building' mission, which actually far exceeded C-rank difficulty, and were about to face Zabuza Momochi and Haku.
[It seems our side is just a routine escort, while their side is getting the protagonist treatment.]
"Mission confirmed. Team 8 accepts." Kurenai Yuhi nodded and took the mission scroll.
A few days later, Team 8 successfully completed the escort mission.
Although they encountered several waves of blind Bandits and Wandering Samurai along the way, they were easily dealt with under Kiba and Akamaru's swift assault, the eerie harassment of Shino's bugs, and Hinata's occasionally well-timed finishing blows, without causing much of a stir.
The mission process was unremarkable, completely incomparable to Team 7's thrilling experience in the Land of Waves.
On the way back, it was getting late. Team 8 camped in a forest clearing. Kiba and Shino took turns on night watch, while Hinata appeared to be resting, but in reality, her Divine Sense quietly spread out.
Team 8 successfully finished the escort mission and was camping in the forest on the return journey.
Late at night, Hinata left a Shadow Clone there while she headed toward Team 7.
Hinata concealed her presence, gliding through the treetops like a night breeze. She didn't go directly to Team 7's main camp but took a detour because she'saw' Naruto walking alone to a small stream a bit further from the camp, looking frustrated. He was staring blankly at the water, occasionally kicking a pebble on the bank in annoyance.
[As expected, he's alone. Perfect.]
Hinata landed gracefully not far behind him, without intentionally hiding the sound of her footsteps.
"Who's there?!"
Naruto turned around alertly, and seeing it was Hinata, he visibly relaxed.
"Hinata?... What are you doing here?"
"Returning from a mission, just passing by."
Hinata walked to the stream and stood beside him, looking at the shattered moonlight reflected in the water.
"You look troubled."
"Of course I am!"
Naruto waved his arms like a powder keg that had been lit.
"That masked guy! He looks about the same age as me, but he's incredibly strong!"
"You have power, but you don't know how to use it."
Hinata's voice was calm, yet it carried a strange soothing power.
"The key lies in concentration and control. You have a Chakra capacity far beyond ordinary people, but it's like this stream—it seems to flow endlessly, but it's scattered and disordered."
She reached out a finger and lightly tapped the surface of the stream. Under her precise Spiritual Energy control, a small stream of water seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, leaving the surface and gathering above her fingertip, spinning at high speed to form a small, rotating Water ball.
"!" Naruto's eyes widened, staring intently at the spinning ball of water.
"Imagine your power like this."
Hinata dispersed the Water ball and looked at Naruto.
"No longer a disordered flow, but concentrated at a single point, constantly rotating and compressing until a qualitative change occurs."
She began to explain in detail, her tone steady and unhurried:
"The first step is rotation. You can first try practicing with an ordinary water balloon, churning the Chakra inside until the rotational force can burst the balloon."
"The second step is stability. Switch to a tougher Rubber ball and keep the rotating Chakra stable in a fixed form, no longer easily collapsing."
"Finally, there's the release. Directly condense and maintain this rotating power in your hand, and be able to burst it out at any time."
"This technique has no fixed form; its core lies in the rotation. It's called—the Rasengan."
Naruto listened intently, his eyes growing brighter as if a door to a new world had been opened.
He instinctively reached out his hand. Chakra began to clumsily gather and attempt to rotate in his palm. Although it failed immediately, the previous dejection on his face was gone, replaced by intense curiosity and excitement.
"Rasengan... rotation... I think I'm starting to understand!"
Naruto nodded vigorously.
"Thank you, Hinata! I'll definitely learn it!"
Hinata nodded slightly and prepared to leave. Then, as if remembering something, she looked back at Naruto, a subtle, inscrutable smile in her pure white eyes.
"Naruto, one more thing. You might encounter a Femboy."
After saying that, she spoke no more. With a flicker of her body, she vanished into the shadows of the woods by the stream, leaving Naruto standing there scratching his head, repeatedly mulling over the secrets of the "Rasengan."
"A Femboy? What's that?"
[Team 7 Main Camp]
The moment Hinata appeared and spoke with Naruto, Kakashi, who was dozing against a tree, slightly opened his eyes. His sharp gaze beneath his book darted toward the stream.
He didn't stop them or approach, but simply listened to the entire conversation in silence.
"The Rasengan... the Fourth Hokage's technique..."
Kakashi's heart was shaken, his gaze incredibly complex.
"Hyuga Hinata... how could she know this technique? And know the cultivation method in such detail?"
He realized that this Young Miss of the Hyuga Clan was far more mysterious and unfathomable than he had imagined.
She seemed to know many things she shouldn't, and... she was intentionally or unintentionally guiding Naruto.
Was this a blessing or a curse for Naruto? Kakashi couldn't judge immediately, but he decided to keep a closer eye on Hinata, and... perhaps he should find an opportunity to have a proper talk with the Third Hokage.
On the other side, Sasuke, who hadn't actually fallen asleep, also vaguely heard fragments of the conversation coming from a distance. His eyes were tightly shut, but his brow furrowed slightly.
That dead last... was actually being personally guided by Hyuga Hinata? And it seemed to be a very strong technique? An indescribable sense of competitiveness and a subtle hint of jealousy sprouted in his heart.
He had originally thought he was the strongest among his peers, but now it seemed that both that dead last and Hyuga Hinata were hiding powers he didn't understand.
Sakura, exhausted and frightened by the day's battle, was sleeping soundly and didn't notice the commotion in the distance.
Hinata silently returned to Team 8's campsite.
[System Notification]
[Ding! Detected that the host directly taught the complete cultivation concept and method of the "Rasengan" while the target was alone, significantly altering Uzumaki Naruto's strength growth trajectory and mindset.]
[Ding! Detected that the host gave Uzumaki Naruto a clear and teasing hint regarding "Haku's" gender, which may directly influence his subsequent combat judgment and the plot's development.]
[Comprehensive Evaluation: Significant impact on the original plotline and character perceptions. Reward points: 2,800 points!]
With the points received, Hinata was in a pleasant mood.
This guidance had an outstanding effect. Not only did she plant the seed of the Rasengan, but she also gave Naruto a "Femboy" warning in advance, and incidentally left a deep impression on Kakashi and Sasuke.
She lay on her bedding, looking at the sparse starlight filtering through the gaps in the leaves, the corners of her mouth curling slightly.