After a long silence, Hyuga Hiashi finally spoke. He raised his head, looked at Roman, and asked, "When did you learn the Gentle Fist Acupoint Striking Method you just used?"
"The Gentle Fist Acupoint Striking Method? Of course I learned it from Hinata." Roman replied with a faint grin. "After all, before I met Hinata, I was just someone selling handicrafts on the streets of Konoha.
"Of course, selling handicrafts wasn't bad, but life in the Hyuga Clan was much easier and far more freeing for me.
"If I could take things a step further with Hinata in the future, that would be even better."
"My, my..."
Upon hearing that, Hinata's Mother raised a hand to cover her mouth and let out a soft laugh.
In Hinata's Mother's eyes, Roman was not only quite handsome.
More importantly, despite having no Chakra, he had defeated Neji, the genius of the Hyuga Branch Family. Perhaps all of this could truly change Hiashi's mind and make him acknowledge Roman.
Meanwhile, Hyuga Hiashi automatically filtered out Roman's latter remarks about taking things further and began thinking to himself:
Sure enough.
His earlier judgment had been correct.
Roman truly was a genius at learning combat techniques. That was why he had mastered the Gentle Fist in barely over a day and had even used it in actual combat to defeat the genius of the Hyuga Branch Family.
Then Hyuga Hiashi thought of another question and asked Roman:
"You don't have the Byakugan... how exactly did you interrupt the Chakra circulation through Neji's meridians?"
Roman said, "Instinct, or perhaps intuition. I felt that striking those acupoints would make Neji Hyuga's body stiffen. And sure enough... after I struck them, everything happened just as my instincts predicted. Neji Hyuga's movements did stiffen for an instant, and I took that opportunity to defeat him."
Combat instinct?
Combat intuition?!
He could determine the direction of Chakra flowing within an enemy's body through instinct alone... what extraordinary talent!
If he truly joined with my daughter Hinata, perhaps they really could...
No, now wasn't the time to think about that.
Hyuga Hiashi shook his head, dispelling the stray thoughts from his mind, then asked Roman a third crucial question. "How did you develop such thick muscles and such a powerful body?"
Roman's answer to that question consisted of only one word:
"Eat."
Eat?
A trace of confusion flashed through Hyuga Hiashi's eyes.
Just then, Hinata spoke up to remind him, "Father, have you forgotten? I kept asking for Roman's treatment to be raised to the same level as mine, including the amount of food!
"Whether yesterday or today... the food the Family sent over was all eaten by the two of us!"
Hearing this, Hyuga Hiashi suddenly recalled a fact:
His daughter was a massive eater!
Even when she was very young, she alone could eat enough food to fill ten children her age.
That was why her body had always been healthy, and why she had developed far beyond her peers. Roman had the same appetite as his daughter, so it was no wonder he had developed so well!
As Hyuga Hiashi thought about this, he increasingly felt that Roman and Hinata were actually quite well matched.
Roman had the talent of a massive eater, exceptionally sharp combat intuition, and outstanding talent for learning the Gentle Fist... If those talents could be inherited by Hinata's children!
Then the Hyuga Clan would surely grow ever more powerful in the future!
With that thought, Hyuga Hiashi spoke. "Roman, you defeated Neji Hyuga. I acknowledge you... you..."
Before Hyuga Hiashi could finish, he saw Hinata leap up with a cry of "Yay!" Then she sprang from behind Roman onto his back, happily planting sweet kisses on his neck and cheeks.
Roman did not hold back either and kissed her right back.
Watching this scene, Hyuga Hiashi immediately recalled the water marks he had seen on Hinata and Roman's faces in the Forest of Death. There was no doubt that the two of them had been kissing each other, engaging in a battle of lips on one another's faces.
Hyuga Hiashi's brows immediately furrowed again, and the anger in his heart surged once more. He swallowed the words he had intended to say—"I'm willing to marry my daughter to Roman, but the price is that he must marry into the Hyuga Clan and become the Hyuga Clan's live-in son-in-law"—and instead barked:
"I only acknowledged that you may continue staying in the Hyuga Clan. I never said you could be so intimate with Hinata..."
Before Roman could respond, Hinata, still lying on his back, spoke up in dissatisfaction. "Father, you're going back on your word. You clearly promised me that as long as Roman could defeat Brother Neji, you would agree to let me be with him."
Hyuga Hiashi's face darkened at those words, and he gave Hinata's Mother a meaningful look.
Hinata's Mother hurriedly tried to persuade her. "Hinata... you're still too young. You can't take things any further with Roman. Being together is something that must wait at least another ten years."
"That's right."
Hyuga Hiashi immediately nodded.
Hinata, lying on Roman's back, blinked. "I never said I wanted to take things further. I only said I wanted to stay with Roman long-term and research something."
Hyuga Hiashi frowned. "Research something?"
Hinata said, "Research the secrets of Roman's physique and see if we can figure out a way for him to cultivate Chakra."
"That's impossible. You can't research it alone—"
Hyuga Hiashi stopped halfway through his sentence as he suddenly remembered something:
His daughter was a true genius!
When she was very young, she had independently researched and recreated the A-rank ninjutsu, the Rasengan. Perhaps she truly could uncover Roman's secrets and even find a way for this civilian with extraordinary combat talent to cultivate Chakra.
After thinking it over and over, Hyuga Hiashi nodded.
"You may research together, but you must promise Father that you will not have any further contact with Roman."
Upon hearing this, Hinata finally smiled. Her little face blossomed like a flower as she said:
"Okay."
Huh?
Hiashi, are you serious?
Seeing Hyuga Hiashi agree so easily, Hinata's Mother could not help widening her eyes. The hand resting on her stomach began to tremble as she sank into deep thought:
Hiashi and I had already begun preparing for pregnancy, planning to have a second child!
If it was a girl, we would name her Hanabi Hyuga...
But if Hinata and Roman researched together for a long time, would they end up researching the mysteries of the human body and making babies... Would she get pregnant first, before I, her mother, became pregnant and gave birth to her younger sister... Or would mother and daughter both end up with big bellies at the same time?!
As Hinata's Mother thought and thought, she swallowed hard. Then another thought occurred to her:
Hinata was still young. She was still far from adulthood and from having the ability to bear children... No matter what, Hinata wouldn't...
Yet at that very moment, a sudden rumor flashed through her mind:
According to an ancient legend, the more someone ate and the larger their appetite, the faster they grew!
And both Hinata and Roman happened to be massive eaters. Could the two of them develop ahead of schedule?
Could they grow up early and become adults?!
After thinking of that, another worry arose in Hinata's Mother's heart. She worried that she and her daughter Hinata might become pregnant at the same time...
If news of that got out, it would definitely become explosive gossip throughout Konoha!!
Before you continue