Chapter 6: Izayoi's Plan
"Izayoi-kun, this is great — we did it!"
Leaving the clan grounds with Izayoi, Hinata could no longer suppress the excitement in her heart. Her voice trembled slightly as she spoke.
"Calm down. Be careful — if your father sent guards to secretly follow us and they heard you say that..." Izayoi gently reminded her with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Hinata quickly covered her mouth and nervously glanced around. The gesture was adorably cute.
"Let's go. I'll take you somewhere."
Izayoi wasn't certain if any guards were secretly following them, so he didn't dispel his Transformation Jutsu. Instead, he led Hinata away from the central streets and headed toward an outdoor training field.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
After entering the forest, Izayoi created a shadow clone, which instantly disappeared.
Not long after, Izayoi released his Transformation Jutsu.
Seeing this, Hinata's eyes lit up joyfully. "Izayoi-kun, does that mean no one's following us?"
"Yeah. I've confirmed it — we're not being followed."
Izayoi nodded and grinned. "In a bit, I'll teach you a technique. Practice it at home afterward. If your father sees it, he probably won't stop you from going out anymore."
Hearing this, the happiness on Hinata's face deepened.
Disguising himself as Yamanaka Ino and inviting Hinata out — that was Izayoi's plan.
If he went in person, Hinata wouldn't have been allowed to come out.
At best, it would have been a wasted trip. At worst, Hyuga Neji — acting on orders — might have shown up to warn him, or he might have been reassigned to a different seat or even a different class.
Kids might not understand what's really going on.
But Izayoi knew — these were adult tactics.
In this world where nobles and daimyo still held sway, class divisions were even more pronounced than in his previous life.
Hinata was the daughter of a prestigious noble ninja clan. Izayoi was just a common orphan without even a surname.
A vast gulf separated them.
If Izayoi were a girl, he might still have a chance to become friends with Hinata.
But he was a boy. To avoid Hinata developing feelings for him — and to avoid the clan's Kekkei Genkai (bloodline limit) from leaking out — neither Hiashi Hyuga nor the elders of the main house would ever allow Izayoi to get too close to her.
Unless… Izayoi proved himself immensely valuable.
If he was a civilian genius worth recruiting, then he might be allowed to marry into the Hyuga clan.
If he became a hero of the village — like Naruto Uzumaki — and a savior of the ninja world, then he could marry the Hyuga heiress.
Until he proved his worth, Izayoi could only rely on little tricks like this.
Yamanaka Ino was the daughter of the Yamanaka clan — one of the new generation's "Ino-Shika-Cho" trio. Even if her skills weren't impressive, she could still use her clan's secret techniques in the future to become a major figure in the intelligence division — someone with real power.
The Ino-Shika-Cho trio formed an unbreakable alliance. Among the "Konoha 9" rookies, if anyone was qualified to be Hinata's friend, it was definitely Yamanaka Ino.
Only by transforming into Ino could Izayoi safely invite Hinata out — and with high likelihood that she wouldn't be followed by guards.
If he weren't worried that their growing power difference would make it harder to trigger a red-grade affinity with her, Izayoi wouldn't have taken such a risk.
Once the first major exam arrived and he secured the title of top student, he would finally have some real leverage.
Still, more than Naruto and Sasuke's red tags, Izayoi wanted to trigger Hinata's red tag.
If he could awaken the Tenseigan, then everything would change — and nothing would hold him back anymore.
He didn't want to waste this school break.
Arriving at the abandoned training field, Izayoi looked at Hinata and said, "Hinata, have you learned the Three Basic Jutsu yet?"
"Not yet," Hinata shook her head. "My father wants me to focus on Gentle Fist training. He said I can only practice other ninjutsu when the school starts teaching them and I have extra time."
"In that case, I won't teach you the Three Basic Jutsu."
Izayoi smiled and said, "Instead, I'll teach you a technique that will improve your chakra control. Whether you're training in Gentle Fist or learning Shadow Clone Jutsu, it'll help a lot."
Hinata's beautiful eyes widened in surprise. "Izayoi-kun, you… you're going to teach me Shadow Clone Jutsu?"
"That's right."
Izayoi nodded and said, "From now on, my real body won't be going to school much. You can come find me here anytime. Or you can practice the Shadow Clone Jutsu and, like me, secretly send a clone to class while your real body comes here to train with me."
Hearing this, Hinata was clearly tempted.
Ever since she found out Izayoi had been using a shadow clone to attend class, she had been thinking about learning the technique herself.
Not for any other reason — she just didn't want to be left too far behind by Izayoi.
But as she had mentioned before, Hiashi Hyuga only allowed her to focus on Gentle Fist training. He wouldn't teach her anything else, nor permit her to learn anything beyond the clan techniques.
Forget Shadow Clone Jutsu — Hinata didn't even know the Three Basic Jutsu yet.
Now, hearing that Izayoi wanted to teach her the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and that she could come here every day to secretly train with him… It offered both friendship and the freedom she longed for.
Naturally, Hinata was extremely moved.
Seeing her expression, Izayoi could already guess what she was thinking.
"Come with me. I'll teach you how to improve your chakra control."
Izayoi smiled at Hinata, then walked over to a large tree, big enough that several people would be needed to wrap their arms around it.
Forming a seal with his hands, he looked at Hinata and said, "By forming this seal, you gather chakra at the soles of your feet. Then, overcome your fear and do this…"
Under Hinata's wide-eyed and astonished gaze, Izayoi lifted his right foot and placed it on the tree trunk.
As soon as his right foot was firmly on the bark, he raised his left foot and stepped up as well.
With both feet off the ground, Izayoi's body was now horizontal in Hinata's line of sight.
Then, step by step, as if walking on level ground, he calmly walked up the tree from the base all the way to the top.
Turning around and looking down at Hinata, his body forming a right angle against the trunk, Izayoi smiled and said, "Climbing trees with your feet — that's the technique I'm going to teach you."
"That's… that's amazing!"
Watching Izayoi defy gravity, Hinata was stunned.
Walking back down the tree, Izayoi smiled and added, "Walking up trees is only the first stage. The more difficult technique is walking on water."
"If you can learn both of these, then no matter if it's the Three Basic Jutsu, the Shadow Clone Jutsu, or even the Body Flicker Technique — none of them will be hard for you."
"Do you… really think I can learn it?" Hinata asked, a little uncertain.
"Don't underestimate yourself. You're the heiress of the Hyuga Clan, after all."
Izayoi gave her a light pat on the shoulder and encouraged her, "Go on, give it a try. Don't worry about falling — I'll catch you."
"If you fall too far behind me, I'm not going to wait for you," he added playfully at the end.
It was clearly a joke — a teasing remark.
But that one line gave Hinata determination. She nodded firmly. "Mm!"
She had already disappointed her father — she absolutely couldn't let Izayoi down too. And more than anything, she didn't want to lose her only friend.
(End of Chapter)