After a moment, he walked back in, holding Hinata's hand.
Hinata kept her head bowed deeply, her cheeks crimson, almost burying herself in her collar. Even her earlobes were red.
Mamoru lifted the hand he was holding, their fingers tightly intertwined, and presented it before Kurenai. "See for yourself."
"See what, you idiot!"
Kurenai snatched Hinata's hand away, quickly pulled the girl behind her to shield her, and glared at Mamoru. "Brat, I told you to help her train, not bully her!"
"Huh!?" Mamoru widened his eyes, looking completely wronged. "How did I bully her? It was just normal physical contact during sparring, and she got this shy."
"How is that possible?" Kurenai clearly didn't believe him.
Mamoru himself felt the reaction was too exaggerated, but that was the reality. He had never considered that possibility before, but now, even he, slow as he was, vaguely sensed something was off.
He had certainly never actively tried to gain Hinata's favor. They hadn't even exchanged ten sentences in the Ninja Academy, right?
"Hinata, don't tell me you..." Mamoru began tentatively.
Before he finished speaking, Hinata's face was so red it looked like smoke might rise, and her body began to tremble slightly.
Seeing this, Mamoru quickly changed the subject, "Are you hungry? Don't be shy, I won't laugh at you."
He hadn't eaten anything himself yet. Realizing this now, his stomach cooperated by letting out a "rumble."
"N-no, I'm not hungry."
Hinata dared not look at him and shook her head slightly, seemingly relieved that the topic had been changed.
"So, should the training continue?" Mamoru looked at Kurenai.
"Of course, it must continue." Kurenai's attitude was firm.
"But..." Mamoru tried to argue.
"Stop making excuses. If there are difficulties, find a way to overcome them." Kurenai interrupted him.
"It's easy for you to say. Why don't you do it yourself?" Mamoru muttered softly, but eventually gave up resisting. "Fine, just get me something to eat first."
...
Mamoru and Hinata stood in the courtyard once more.
After a brief period of thought, Mamoru had come up with a countermeasure. He quickly formed a few hand seals.
Bang!
The white smoke dispersed, and a figure appeared in his place, identical to Neji.
"N-Neji-nii-san?" Hinata's eyes widened in surprise, then she realized. "No, it's Mamoru-kun. How did you turn into Neji-nii-san?"
"Neji and I are friends, there's nothing strange about it." 'Neji' explained in a calm tone, trying to make the transformation seem plausible. "In that case, we should be able to practice normally now, right?"
As he spoke, he adopted the starting stance of the Gentle Fist, even simulating the bulging veins around the eyes, characteristic of activating the Byakugan.
"Gentle Fist?" Hinata was even more surprised. "You know it too?"
"I'm not highly proficient, just a little bit." Mamoru maintained the 'Neji' appearance and lowered his voice. "Remember to keep this a secret for me."
He could perfectly replicate the force projection of the Gentle Fist and the ability to see the Chakra network, thanks to the Six Eyes' power of insight. He was always unconventional, switching between hard and soft styles effortlessly.
As long as he clearly understood the core mechanics of Gentle Fist's force projection, he could achieve the Gentle Fist effect with any movement. He was even planning on preparing a 'big surprise' for Neji during the Chunin Exams.
And Hiashi, that oldie...
Mamoru wouldn't mind transforming into the old man next time to let Hinata vent some frustration.
Thinking of this, a mischievous smile unconsciously appeared on his face.
"Mhm." Hinata responded softly, still finding it incredible.
Can one use Gentle Fist without the Byakugan?
"We're starting now." Mamoru focused his mind and reminded her.
"Yes."
As the words fell, the sound of fists and palms cutting through the air erupted, and the two figures crossed paths in the courtyard.
—
A light breeze brushed through the woods, and fallen leaves drifted leisurely from the treetops, tracing unpredictable paths as they slowly descended.
Just as a leaf was about to touch the ground, a palm suddenly swept past its edge.
Surprisingly, the leaf wasn't blown away by the wind from the palm. Instead, it seemed to be instantly torn apart by some invisible force, turning into fine fragments that scattered in all directions. With just a passing brush, that intact leaf had become unrecognizable.
Mamoru, transformed into Neji, calmly struck out with his palm, his movements as smooth as flowing water and carrying a force that could not be underestimated.
Bang!
A crisp hitting sound rang out, but this palm strike was parried away by the young girl opposite him.
Without waiting for him to withdraw his move, Hinata had already taken a step forward, kicking up several fallen leaves beneath her feet. She quickly raised her other hand, aiming for her opponent's chest and abdomen.
Facing this sudden counterattack, Mamoru, transformed into Neji, remained calm, but secretly praised her in his heart—her offensive is getting more and more decisive, she's improved. However, it's still a bit lacking.
At the same time, he took a step back, dodging the attack.
Seeing 'Neji' take the initiative to open up distance, Hinata keenly sensed that there might be a trick involved. She immediately stabilized her stance, timely halting her pursuit.
As expected, in the next second, Mamoru used the force from shifting his hips and twisting his waist to unleash a sharp back-swing kick that whistled through the air.
Hinata didn't dare to be negligent, meeting the attack with both palms using all her strength.
Bang!
Taking this hit head-on, Hinata was jolted backward three meters, her soles carving two clear tracks on the leaf-strewn ground.
Even though she was mentally prepared, she couldn't help but be secretly amazed by his incredible power, and this was with him holding back.
"Not bad, you didn't rashly pursue, your judgment was very accurate." 'Neji' praised generously, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes.
If Hinata had rashly pursued just now, what would have been waiting for her wouldn't have been a back-swing kick, but a faster and more accurate outside-swing kick.
Hearing the praise, Hinata's body couldn't help but tense up, revealing a nervous and shy smile. "It's all thanks to Mamoru-kun being willing to practice with me."
With a soft "pop," Mamoru reverted to his original appearance.
He patted the dust off the corner of his clothes and said gently, "Your foundation in Gentle Fist is very good. As long as you accumulate more combat experience, you'll definitely see progress in the short term."
This was the special training method Mamoru had come up with: demonstrating his own combat thinking and techniques through actual combat, then explaining them step by step, and finally letting Hinata realize them on her own.
With a sparring partner who was proficient in both Gentle Fist and Strong Fist, honing her strength through continuous practice would surely lead to a breakthrough in time.
If talent is insufficient, use combat to make up for it. Moreover, Hinata's talent wasn't bad to begin with, it was just that with her personality, she didn't like fighting. Even if she couldn't reach Neji's level, getting close to it was still achievable.