Mission Reward: Byakugan

Ichiraku Ramen Shop.

"I'm full. Thanks for the meal!"

Might Guy rose to his feet and said, "Beizawa, if you still want to learn taijutsu, come find me."

"Okay."

Beizawa agreed without hesitation.

"I'm going to meet that Rock Lee you mentioned."

A smile appeared on Might Guy's face as he spoke.

"See you next time."

Beizawa gave a slight nod.

Watching Might Guy leave, he wondered whether this counted as changing Rock Lee's fate.

If Rock Lee learned the Eight Inner Gates six years earlier, would he still suffer such a crushing defeat against Gaara of Sunagakure?

"I'm full too, Teacher Beizawa."

Hinata Hyuga set down her chopsticks.

She had completely cleaned out the huge bowl of Chashu Ramen before her.

"Teuchi, another bowl."

Beizawa glanced at it and spoke.

"Are you eating it?"

Teuchi poked his head out and asked.

"It's not for me. It's for Hinata."

Beizawa smiled.

"Huh?"

Teuchi instinctively looked toward Hinata Hyuga.

"I..."

Hinata Hyuga immediately felt embarrassed. She had wanted to refuse, but she did not know how to say it.

"Hinata."

Beizawa reached out, pinched her cheek, and asked, "Tell your teacher honestly. Are you full?"

"N-No."

Hinata Hyuga's heart trembled. Her face turned slightly red as she answered.

"Really... appearances can be deceiving."

Teuchi sighed in amazement and returned to the kitchen.

A moment later, he brought out a second bowl of Chashu Ramen.

Under Beizawa's gaze, Hinata Hyuga blushed and picked up her chopsticks.

Though she was embarrassed, she maintained her good manners and ate with great elegance.

Ten minutes later, the second bowl of Chashu Ramen was successfully finished.

"Teuchi, another bowl."

Beizawa called out.

Hinata Hyuga pursed her lips, the blush on her face growing more obvious.

It was her first time having someone discover her secret: she could really eat.

"Chakra is produced by combining physical energy and spiritual energy."

Beizawa reassured her. "Being able to eat is a good thing."

Just then, four lines of text appeared before his eyes.

[You have discovered your deskmate's secret. As the Class Leader, you should help her while keeping it confidential.]

[Current mission: Feed your deskmate, Hinata Hyuga, until she voluntarily reveals her secret.]

[Mission reward: Byakugan.]

[Accept?]

Beizawa's pupils contracted.

He had completed quite a few missions already, but their rewards had only been relatively basic ninjutsu.

Fortunately, for an ordinary Chunin like him, they still counted as boosts to his strength.

But this mission was completely different.

The Byakugan was absolutely priceless.

There was an Underground Black Market in the ninja world, where bounties for the Sharingan and Byakugan started at tens of millions of ryo.

Because of the Caged Bird Seal, the Byakugan was even more valuable. A complete pair of Byakugan was worth no less than one Asuma Sarutobi.

After all, eyes in the ninja world could be plugged in and used immediately.

Though the Byakugan could basically not be upgraded, even an ordinary Byakugan would be an enormous improvement.

Long-range vision, X-ray vision, and insight were enough to send Beizawa's strength soaring.

If he also learned the Gentle Fist, becoming a Jonin would be effortless.

"Hinata, eat as much as you want. Teuchi and I will keep your secret."

Beizawa came back to his senses and spoke with a serious expression.

"Keeping customers' secrets is a basic professional ethic."

Teuchi nodded.

"Thank you."

Hinata Hyuga picked up her chopsticks and began eating her third bowl of ramen.

Time slowly passed.

In the end, Hinata Hyuga ate seven bowls of ramen.

That was far fewer than in the original story, since she was still quite young.

Teuchi clicked his tongue in amazement.

If Hinata Hyuga did not have those Byakugan eyes, he would have suspected she was a child of the Akimichi Clan.

But as the owner of a ramen shop, he welcomed customers with big appetites.

"Hinata, how did this morning feel?"

Beizawa and Hinata Hyuga left the Ichiraku Ramen Shop and headed toward the Ninja Academy.

Hinata Hyuga fell silent at his question.

For a moment, she did not know how to answer.

To her, it had been the most outrageous morning of her life.

Skipping class, climbing over walls, and eating so many bowls of ramen.

It had been thrilling, but even more than that, it had given her the liberating feeling of casting off her restraints.

"I felt... really happy."

Hinata Hyuga spoke so softly that her voice was barely audible.

Beizawa almost failed to hear what she said.

The two arrived at the door of First Year Class A.

"Hinata, see you next class."

Beizawa paused, then smiled and said, "Today's special training was very effective. Keep it up tomorrow."

Hinata Hyuga only felt her cheeks burn.

She nodded, then turned and fled into the classroom.

It was lunchtime, and quite a few students were sleeping with their heads on their desks.

"Hinata."

Hearing the commotion, Ino Yamanaka raised her head and asked, "Where did you go?"

In her eyes, Hinata Hyuga had always been a model student.

Yet who would have thought that she would become the first student in the class to skip school?

"I... I went out with Teacher Beizawa."

Hinata Hyuga stammered.

"Teacher Beizawa?"

Ino Yamanaka straightened her slender waist, becoming even more curious.

"N-Nothing. We just went to learn taijutsu."

Hinata Hyuga buried her head in her arms and said, "Good afternoon."

Ino Yamanaka fell into thought.

Had he been secretly giving her extra lessons?

But Beizawa did not seem like that kind of teacher.

Afternoon arrived.

Beizawa stood on the training field, explaining the techniques of Kunai Throwing.

Previously, they had used fixed targets. Now, they had switched to Moving Targets, and the difficulty had skyrocketed.

But for students from ninja clans like Sasuke Uchiha and Hinata Hyuga, it was still extremely easy.

They had already mastered it before entering school.

Soon, the students were divided into two groups.

Those who successfully hit the Moving Targets began their free activity.

Just like in the previous class, Sasuke Uchiha went to that tree to practice his Chakra control.

Beizawa quickly followed him.

"Hey, do you want to go take a look?"

Ino Yamanaka noticed Beizawa and Sasuke Uchiha acting strangely.

"No."

Shikamaru Nara lay sprawled on the grass, completely unwilling to move.

Choji Akimichi did not answer because he was busy eating potato chips.

"Hinata, let's go."

Ino Yamanaka grabbed Hinata Hyuga's little hand.

As for Sakura Haruno, she was still practicing Kunai Throwing.

Her talent was quite good among civilian ninja, but she did not come from a ninja clan and had not received ninja training in advance.

"Huh?"

Hesitation appeared on Hinata Hyuga's face.

She was indeed a little curious, but she was even more afraid of making Beizawa unhappy.

Seeing this, Ino Yamanaka directly pulled her forward.

Before long, they reached their destination and found Sasuke Uchiha climbing a tree.

"Since you two are here, train together."

Beizawa noticed them and spoke.

"Teacher Beizawa."

Ino Yamanaka stepped out openly and asked with a smile, "What kind of training is this?"

Hinata Hyuga glanced at Beizawa, lowered her head, and blushed slightly.

"It's training for Chakra control. Under normal circumstances, you would not encounter it until after graduation."

Beizawa explained, "But you're all geniuses, so you can give it a try early."