Hinata had always possessed incredible natural talent.
Even in the original timeline, though her early performances were often seen as average, she blossomed impressively in the mid-to-late stages of her journey.
After all—
The title of Byakugan Princess wasn't just thrown around casually.
Now, with Yoruha by her side, helping her work through the insecurities she once held deep inside, those emotional knots were slowly beginning to unravel.
The lingering issues—shyness, doubt, fear—were being gently resolved.
And because of that, her growth in gentle fist techniques had become rapid and noticeable.
Maybe it was due to this change...
Even though Hinata and Yoruha met and trained together every single day, neither Hinata's father nor Yoruha's family ever interfered. They didn't make a fuss or bring it up in front of Yamanaka Inoichi either.
They just let the two of them develop freely and naturally.
In everyone's eyes, Hinata and Yoruha... made a great match.
—
As for Yoruha—
Three whole months had passed...
And he was still practicing flat slashes.
Every single day, rain or shine.
If someone had asked him why—
Don't ask!
Seriously. Just don't.
Because the truth was—Yoruha was ready to pull his hair out.
"System, I'm not trying to be difficult here,"
he muttered, frustrated,
"but what kind of cursed mission is this?"
"'Sign in at a wooden training post with a pink piggy carved on it'?"
"Okay. Cool. Neat. BUT WHERE IS IT?!"
"What does the pink pig even look like?"
"Three months! I've been stuck on this ridiculous task for THREE WHOLE MONTHS! You're seriously not going to explain anything?!"
But the system, as always, remained cold and silent.
Not a single beep.
Yoruha let out a long, suffering sigh.
"...Forget it. Back to sword practice. What else can I even do at this point?"
His entire face screamed melancholy.
He turned to Ino and Hinata and gave them a small signal, letting them know it was time to begin another round of live combat training.
—
In the middle of the training ground—
Hinata and Ino stood side by side, facing Yoruha.
Maybe good looks were contagious, because even the girls had started carrying themselves with more presence and confidence—shoulders squared, eyes sharp.
"Alright, big brother! We're starting!" Ino called out.
Then, with perfect coordination, she and Hinata leapt backward in unison, widening the distance between themselves and Yoruha.
At the same time—
Both girls opened their ninja tool pouches.
Their hands moved in a blur.
A flurry of hidden weapons burst forth into the air.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Shurikens. Senbon. Kunai.
Over twenty projectiles sliced through the air like a meteor shower, all converging on Yoruha's position from different angles.
None of the attacks aimed for vital points—
But even so, if one wasn't careful, they could still be seriously injured.
Facing this barrage—
Yoruha's expression didn't flicker.
Not the slightest trace of panic.
He raised his blade.
Shing!
A clean flash of silver light.
The ninja sword swept across the air in one fluid arc.
All the incoming weapons were deflected effortlessly—pinging off at precise angles and embedding themselves directly into the center of the bullseye targets on the training posts nearby.
—
"Aaah—Shikamaru, did you see that?!"
Not far away, Choji had been watching from the shade while munching on potato chips.
A chip slipped from his hand, falling to the ground unnoticed.
Shikamaru's eyes narrowed, serious for once.
He could feel it—the sharp pressure emanating from Yoruha's blade.
"...Is this the 'special training' Ino was talking about?" he muttered to himself.
"Are you sure this is training? It looks more like a battle to the death."
Yoruha had officially gone insane.
And it didn't stop there.
Under Yoruha's influence—
Even Ino had started carrying a ninja sword!
Shikamaru's mind spun.
Was this the end of Team 10's unity?
Would the legendary Ino-Shika-Cho trio break apart because of this one guy?
"Such a troublesome person…"
He groaned.
—
Meanwhile, back on the training ground—
"Big bro, you're amazing!"
"Yoruha-kun! That was incredible! You finally pulled it off!"
Both Ino and Hinata were beaming.
That technique—their combined hidden weapon formation—they'd practiced it dozens of times.
And for the first time...
They'd pulled it off perfectly.
"Ding!"
"Congratulations! Passive skill [Flat Slash Mastery] has leveled up to [Flat Slash Excellence]. New trait unlocked: Chakra Blade!"
Yoruha blinked.
Then slowly grinned.
"...Finally."