Hinata's head was gently patted—
And she was instantly defeated.
Her cheeks flushed bright red, her neck burned up to the ears, and she nearly fainted on the spot.
But.
There was no one else around.
If she passed out here, wouldn't that put Lord Yoruha in an awkward position?
No!
She couldn't faint! Not here!
And so—
Little Hinata clenched her fists, dug deep into her tenacious willpower, and forced herself to stay upright.
"Yoruha-kun... thank you," she said softly, taking a deep breath as her face turned even redder.
Yoruha smiled. "No need to thank me. Don't be so formal."
Then, he suddenly grinned.
"By the way, Hinata—how about a little sparring? Some real hand-to-hand combat?"
"Eh? S-sparring?" Hinata blinked, caught completely off guard by the suggestion.
"Yep. Real combat practice!" Yoruha nodded seriously.
"You're from the Hyuga clan. With your Byakugan, you have a natural advantage in close-range taijutsu. Since it's our first day training together, I want to see what you've got."
His eyes were calm and encouraging.
To Yoruha, Hinata was a great girl—kind, talented, and loyal. She just lacked confidence.
That's why he wanted to spar.
To give her a boost.
To help her believe in herself—
And maybe… to spend more time together.
"I-I… but… I'm not really that strong," Hinata mumbled, lowering her gaze.
She felt Yoruha's belief in her.
She really did.
But deep down, she still felt like a failure.
She was the Hyuga heir… yet she couldn't live up to their name.
She didn't want to disappoint him.
"No, Hinata," Yoruha said, stepping a little closer.
"I've always believed in you. So now it's your turn—believe in yourself. You've got this."
His voice was warm, his eyes full of sincerity.
To Hinata, that gaze felt like sunlight.
Warm.
Comforting.
Unshakable.
"Then… okay," she whispered.
Words alone couldn't change a person—
But Hinata's heart was gentle, and she couldn't bear to refuse Yoruha's expectations.
So even if she was nervous, she would do her best.
"Haha, that's the spirit! Let's go!"
The two of them walked to the center of the training ground and faced each other.
They raised their hands and made the traditional seal of confrontation—
A sign of respect before a proper ninja duel.
Then—
Hinata took a breath and steadied her stance.
"Byakugan!"
Her eyes turned pale and clear, the signature dojutsu of her clan.
She flowed into her Gentle Fist stance, graceful and focused.
Yoruha studied her form with interest.
Despite her young age, Hinata looked dignified and sharp.
She truly lived up to the name Byakugan Princess.
"Hinata—I'm coming for you!"
"O-okay!" she answered, nervous but resolute.
Whoosh whoosh!
Both of them moved at the same time, dashing toward each other—
And in the blink of an eye, their figures collided.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
At first, Hinata stayed on the defensive, holding a tight guard.
Yoruha, meanwhile, launched a flurry of clean strikes—fists, elbows, shoulder feints.
It wasn't that Yoruha didn't know how to go easy on someone.
Sure, he had trained hard over the years. His physical strength was far beyond an average seven-year-old.
Even his punches could generate bursts of air.
But in terms of pure taijutsu—
He wasn't Hinata's match.
Every one of his strikes was parried with precision. Her Gentle Fist absorbed and redirected the force like water flowing around stone.
"Hinata, you said you weren't strong," Yoruha said between blows, smiling.
"But I can't even break your defense. Why don't you try attacking?"
Hinata blushed again.
But this time, she didn't retreat.
Spurred on by Yoruha's encouragement, she finally took a step forward.
Whoosh whoosh!
"Eight Trigrams — Two Palms!"
"Four Palms!"
"Eight Palms!"
That was her current limit.
But even just that much—
Put real pressure on Yoruha.
Truth be told, Yoruha had already noticed the flaws in her technique.
It wasn't that the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist had any inherent weaknesses—
It was that Hinata herself was still inexperienced.
If this were a true life-or-death battle, Yoruha would've had plenty of opportunities to use a horizontal slash or a well-placed hidden weapon to end it.
But when it came to pure hand-to-hand skills…
Even though he could see the weaknesses—
He couldn't exploit them.
That's how refined her technique already was.
Still…
He had a long way to go.