Chapter 61: The Girls' Water-Falling Training
Alright, there was almost no need to guess the reason for Hinata's arrival.
Naruto had followed Sakura and Sasuke, and Hinata had followed Naruto. All he could say was that the students at the Ninja Academy had far too much free time after school. He suggested the Academy increase its number of classes.
Hinata saw his gaze and immediately stopped in her tracks. The momentum she'd had just a moment ago vanished, and she became timid and withdrawn, even lowering her head, not daring to meet his eyes. If he didn't do something, she would probably turn and run.
"Is there something you need?"
Akiyama Makoto spoke up, drawing the attention of Ino and Sakura. They tilted their heads and immediately noticed Hinata.
"Hinata, what are you doing here?" Ino was the first to ask.
Sakura's lips curved into a smile. "What else could it be?" she teased. "It must be for Naruto."
"Maybe she thinks Naruto was being bullied and wants to stand up for him?"
Sakura's analysis was reasonable, but Makoto felt it didn't fit Hinata's character. The current Hinata didn't have the courage to proactively stand up and protect Naruto. The time she would have that kind of courage would be during Pain's assault on Konoha.
Ino went up and pulled Hinata over.
Hinata grew flustered, looking left and right, wanting to escape. But in the end, she didn't dare to forcefully pull her hand away from Ino's and, as if accepting her fate, was dragged before him.
"Hello, and you are?" Makoto asked, feigning ignorance.
Hinata buried her head even lower. "Hinata... Hyūga Hinata."
"The young lady of the Hyūga clan?"
Hinata gave a timid nod. Her appearance made Makoto, who had been about to say something, instantly lose interest.
Without a doubt, Hinata was a very worthy simulation target. Her Byakugan was officially certified as having the highest level of dōjutsu power. If he wanted to walk the path of the Tenseigan in the future, a talent of her level was almost essential. But beyond that, her talents were quite average, only at the Chūnin level. Of course, this might have been related to the fact that she became a housewife after getting married and stopped fighting altogether. So if he were to simulate with Hinata, it could only be for her Byakugan talent.
The problem was, there was no way for the current Makoto to explain how he had suddenly awakened the Byakugan. Moreover, the Byakugan wouldn't give him a decisive boost in combat power. His current sensory talent was inferior to the Byakugan, but if it were upgraded again, its reconnaissance ability would be about the same as that of an average Hyūga clan member.
Therefore, even if he were to simulate with Hinata, it couldn't be now. It would have to be at least after the Chūnin Exams.
With this in mind, Makoto said calmly, "I'm Akiyama Makoto. For now, I'm something of an author, and also a friend of Sakura and Ino."
"Is there something you need? If not, we're about to begin our ninjutsu training."
Ino and Sakura had polite smiles on their faces. They weren't actually very close with Hinata. At most, they had chatted a few times because they were all girls. But Hinata's personality at this time was too introverted and shy, and she was always secretly staring at Naruto. This meant that even a social butterfly like Ino didn't know her very well.
"I..." Hinata bit her lip, hesitating for a few seconds. Seeing him start to frown impatiently, she quickly said, "I want to train with you all!"
"Hm?"
Makoto looked at her, puzzled, not expecting this to be the reason at all.
Ino and Sakura also looked skeptical. Sakura was even a bit blunt. "Miss Hinata, doesn't the Hyūga clan have its own training methods? You should be able to find plenty of people to teach you, right?"
"But... but!" Hinata was anxious, wanting to say something, but couldn't find a reasonable excuse. She couldn't just say that she had lost to her younger sister, had been effectively abandoned by the clan, and had almost no chance of becoming the Hyūga heiress, could she? Since that day, her father had never trained her again. She had been fumbling along and growing on her own.
"Could it be for..." Sakura was about to bring up Naruto, but Makoto pinched her cheek. She pretended to be in pain and swatted at his back, but inwardly, she was delighted. She loved these casual, close moments with him.
This made Hinata watch with envy, but she was now even more afraid to tell the truth. Right now, she really did just want to get a little closer to Naruto. Besides him, she couldn't find anyone else who could understand her.
"Since you want to join, then let's do it together. After all, Hinata is your classmate, isn't she?" Makoto made the decision. Even if he didn't plan to simulate with her right now, he could use this time to get her pheromones.
"But first, let me ask, what level is your training at? Have you practiced tree climbing and water walking?"
Hinata nodded, but then shook her head. Seeing his confused expression, she added, "My father did teach me how to practice them, but in the past, I was not allowed to leave the Hyūga compound to train."
"Therefore, I could only practice by climbing walls, and my water walking was done in a bathtub. So I don't know what my level is."
"I see..." Makoto then looked at Ino and Sakura. "You two take her and try tree climbing."
Afterward, with Makoto as a witness, Hinata easily climbed to the top of the tree trunk.
Next was the water-walking test. But this time, it wasn't just Hinata; even Ino and Sakura had looks of fear on their faces. It was clear they were worried about falling into the cold water.
Seeing this, Makoto shook his head, then took out a handkerchief and blindfolded himself.
Just as the three girls were wondering what he was about to do, he skillfully formed hand seals and then spat a stream of water from his mouth.
Water Style: Wild Water Wave!
Although it was the most basic of Water Style jutsu, when the stream of water hit the river's surface, it kicked up a half-meter-high wave that rushed towards the three girls.
Caught off guard, the three of them screamed and tried to dodge, but they had forgotten they were standing on water. The next second, they lost their balance and fell into the river, one after another.
The icy river water soaked through their clothes, leaving their faces pale. They struggled to get up, wanting to get out of the river.
But then Makoto spoke. "Today, whoever can walk out from on top of the waves will have succeeded in their training."
"Of course, you can also choose to give up now. I won't stop you. But in the future, don't use 'training' as an excuse to come to the training grounds with me."
He was doing this because he wanted to improve their strength. Although he could give them talent, strength still needed to be trained. They would be graduating from the Academy soon and would also be participating in the Chūnin Exams this year. He did not want to see a repeat of the drama where Ino and Sakura were pulling each other's hair, and Hinata was beaten half to death by Neji.
However, he wouldn't force them. If they really couldn't handle this kind of training, then he would simply remove them from his future battle plans. It wouldn't affect his attitude towards them in his daily life.
But to his surprise, after a brief moment of shock, all three girls gritted their teeth and persevered.
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