Chapter 3: Wife, Give Him a Punch!
A practical combat drill class at the Ninja Academy.
Aside from academic classes, this was a segment that gave students—especially the dead lasts—a major headache. After all, getting an answer wrong on a theory exam only meant losing points, but lacking the skills in a practical class was truly embarrassing, and might even result in a beating.
"Next group: Hyuga Hinata versus... Iida Tatsuya."
Iruka called out the names loudly while holding the register.
A commotion broke out in the crowd.
The boy named Iida Tatsuya was a big fellow. Although only twelve, he was already nearly 1.7 meters tall, and his muscular build looked quite intimidating. At that moment, he was cracking his knuckles with a series of pops, a confident "I've already won" smile plastered on his face.
Then, looking at his opponent.
Hyuga Hinata walked onto the field with her shoulders hunched, her hands wringing together anxiously. She didn't look like she was there to fight at all; instead, she seemed timid, not even daring to glance up at her opponent.
"Tsk, isn't this unfair?"
"With Hinata's personality, she'll probably start crying after one punch."
The surrounding classmates whispered among themselves. Even Kiba looked away, unable to bear it, while Akamaru let out a whimper from his shoulder.
There was only one exception.
Uzumaki Naruto sat cross-legged in the shade of a tree by the field, a piece of foxtail grass he'd plucked from somewhere dangling from his mouth, but his eyes were surprisingly bright.
[Cry? What a joke. You guys don't know shit.]
Naruto narrowed his eyes, watching Hinata, as that voice in his head—the one that loved to stir up trouble—began to run wild.
[That's the eldest daughter of the Hyuga Clan, with genuine noble blood. Her current weakness is only temporary. Once this girl awakens, that contrast will be amazing. Go for it, wife! Don't be afraid, use your Gentle Fist to teach this big guy a lesson! You're the future Crown Princess; you could knock him flat using even half your strength!]
In the center of the battlefield, the familiar teasing voice suddenly echoed in the mind of the still-shaking Hinata.
Especially those words: "wife."
Boom!
A wave of heat instantly surged into her heart. Hinata stumbled where she stood.
It's... it's too embarrassing!
How can he say such things! But that form of address... that tone of high expectations, as if he already considers her one of his own...
"Whoa, careful there!" Seeing Hinata almost fall before the fight even started, Iida Tatsuya let out a contemptuous laugh. "Hyuga-san, if you're afraid of pain, it's better to just give up now."
Normally, Hinata might have actually shrunk back at this point.
But right now, the text on the heavenly curtain was scrolling frantically along with Naruto's thoughts.
[Aww, even that stumble looked so good. She looks soft, but I bet once she gets serious, those eyes... tsk tsk. Hinata, for the sake of our future children's excellent genes, do your husband proud!]
He's still not done?!
Chi... children?!
Hinata's face was flushed all the way to her neck. Overcome with shame and indignation, she suddenly felt a surge of inexplicable courage—or rather, an urge to shut that bad guy's mouth.
If she didn't win... if she didn't show some strength, who knows what other nonsense would come out of his mouth... no, what other messy thoughts would pop into his head!
She took a deep breath and suddenly looked up.
Her previously panicked gaze had now become firm. She settled into a Gentle Fist starting stance that, while not perfectly standard, was very steady.
"Huh?"
Iida Tatsuya was taken aback, then immediately infuriated by this silent defiance. "I'm giving you a way out and you won't take it!"
He let out a roar and charged forward, using his size advantage to throw a massive punch straight at Hinata's face.
Several gasps came from the surroundings, and some of the more timid girls even covered their eyes.
However, in Hinata's vision, the world changed.
The ability from her reward, [Gentle Fist: Acupuncture Point X-Ray Vision], activated automatically.
The opponent's seemingly fierce movements became slow in her eyes. Beneath the layers of muscle, the human meridians were clearly visible. Within this complex map of meridians, several blue points of light were flickering slightly.
Flaws.
Nothing but flaws.
That seemingly powerful punch was actually just brute force; the Chakra flow was a mess. And three inches below the opponent's right ribs, an acupuncture point responsible for balance lay exposed before her eyes.
"Too slow."
This wasn't a conscious thought, but her body's instinctive judgment.
Under the astonished gazes of everyone present, Hinata didn't retreat. Instead, an instant before contact, her body blurred.
Her petite frame slipped past the opponent's thick arm, almost brushing against it.
There were no wasted movements.
Hold breath, focus, strike.
It was a movement she had repeated tens of thousands of times through tears during those countless late nights when she was scolded by her father.
She thrust her fingers forward.
*Snap.*
A soft sound, one that was even drowned out by the surrounding wind.
But in the next second.
The charging Iida Tatsuya seemed to lose all his strength instantly, his forward momentum coming to a dead stop. His eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief, and his entire body went limp. With a "thud," he fell to his knees and then collapsed face-first into the dirt.
He was paralyzed and unable to move.
The entire field fell silent instantly.
The clipboard Iruka was holding fell to the ground with a "clatter," his mouth hanging wide open.
Was that... Tenketsu?
Not only did she defeat him in one move, but she achieved a precise strike using only her eyes and perception without even activating the Byakugan? This kind of talent... even that Hyuga Neji from the Main House, who was called a genius, was probably only at this level?
"You're... you're kidding, right?" The jerky in Inuzuka Kiba's mouth fell to the ground.
Sasuke's normally indifferent eyes suddenly narrowed. He stared intently at the frail girl in the center of the field, who still held her striking pose, a rare look of solemnity flashing in his eyes.
On the field.
Hinata looked at her fallen opponent, feeling a bit dazed herself.
Did I really do that?
She subconsciously looked at her palm, the subtle sensation of hitting the acupuncture point still lingering on her fingertips. That clear, transparent feeling was truly captivating.
And just then, that heart-pounding, face-reddening voice recklessly echoed in her mind once more.
[Beautiful! Well done, wife!]
Naruto slapped his thigh excitedly by the side of the field, nearly swallowing the grass in his mouth, his eyes full of admiration.
[That's the stuff! It seems my judgment was right; she's no pushover, she's clearly the prototype of a 'husband-protecting demon.' That palm strike just now was so cool I almost want her to try it on me... wait, what kind of weird attribute is that?]
[But then again, Hinata's dodge just now... wasn't her waist a bit too flexible? If it's like this in the future... ahem, wouldn't all sorts of high-difficulty positions be a breeze? Tsk tsk, I've hit the jackpot, this is a huge win.]
The heavenly curtain glowed, and the text turned red.
Hinata, who was just about to savor the joy of victory, was instantly made dizzy by these words.
Po... positions?
High-difficulty?
"Kyaaa—!"
With a low cry of shame and indignation, the genius girl who had just displayed the prestige of the Main House suddenly covered her face with both hands. She quickly stepped over her opponent—who still couldn't get up—and bolted to the very back of the crowd, burying her head in her knees and refusing to look up again.
[Ding!]
At the same time, the light screens that only the two of them could see finalized their rewards.
On Hinata's side of the heavenly curtain:
[Detected that the host's behavior has greatly satisfied the target's 'wife-training' psychology and triggered deeper 'taijutsu interaction' associations.]
[Reward Obtained: Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven (Principle Insight Fragment x 1)]
[Note: Although shyness is a form of defense, this Absolute Defense will bloom for you when you truly want to protect something.]
Revolving Heaven...
Curled into a ball, Hinata's body trembled slightly. That was the Absolute Defense passed down by word of mouth in the Hyuga Main House; even her father had never taught it to her.
And on Naruto's side.
[Detected that the capture target 'Hyuga Hinata' has completed a magnificent self-breakthrough.]
[Mood Feedback: Ecstasy amidst shame, slight reshaping of self-confidence.]
[Reward Distributed: Basic Taijutsu: Konoha Strong Fist Insights (Proficiency Level).]
A warm current instantly flowed through all the muscles in his body.
Naruto stood up and moved his shoulders, feeling that the usual lack of coordination in his body had mostly vanished. Every muscle seemed to know exactly how to exert force and how to throw a punch at the best angle.
"This cheat is really something..."
Naruto suppressed the urge to laugh out loud and glanced at Hinata, who was acting like an ostrich. He was in an excellent mood.
Meanwhile, on a branch of a large tree at the edge of the playground.
A white figure stood silently. Although Hyuga Neji's Byakugan wasn't active, his eyes glinted with a cold light.
His brow was furrowed as he stared from afar at the cousin he had always looked down upon, then glanced at Uzumaki Naruto, who seemed to be smirking just now.
"Was it an illusion?"
Neji whispered to himself, his fingers unconsciously crushing the tree bark.
"That movement just now... there's no way she could have done that."
For some reason, looking at that flash of blond hair, a wave of inexplicable irritability suddenly surged in the heart of this genius of the Hyuga Branch House. He had a feeling that something destined to happen had quietly veered off its original course on this sweat-filled afternoon.