Hyuga Hiashi's Surprise

"Hinata."

As they walked, Beizawa asked, "Do you want to go home, or do you want to keep training?"

"I..."

Just as Hinata Hyuga was about to speak, she was interrupted by a series of powerful voices.

"Youth! Youth! Youth!"

The three voices merged into one. Though they sounded exhausted, their chant was perfectly synchronized and remarkably rhythmic.

Hinata Hyuga instinctively looked over.

Three oddballs dressed in identical Green Spandex came into view.

"Is that... Naruto?"

Hinata Hyuga looked carefully and recognized one of them as her classmate, Naruto Uzumaki.

"Teacher Beizawa!"

Naruto Uzumaki noticed them and waved excitedly.

"Perfect opportunity!"

Rock Lee suddenly accelerated and overtook him.

"As if it would be that easy! Take this—Youth Tornado!"

Naruto Uzumaki leaped straight up, spun in midair, and easily caught up to Rock Lee.

"This is truly making my blood boil!"

Might Guy burst into tears at the sight and shouted, "Burn, youth!"

Because of Beizawa's butterfly effect, Rock Lee had become Might Guy's student earlier than he had in the original story.

But the one most affected was not him, but Naruto Uzumaki.

Born into the Uzumaki Clan, he possessed a powerful physique and terrifying recovery abilities. He was practically born to be a Taijutsu ninja.

Might Guy had taught him everything he knew and already regarded him as his own student.

That was also why Beizawa had been letting Naruto Uzumaki run free lately.

Might Guy was responsible for his Taijutsu training.

Beizawa only needed to help improve Naruto Uzumaki's theoretical grades.

Beizawa stroked his chin.

If Naruto Uzumaki learned the Eight Inner Gates, just how devious would that be?

Who could withstand that?

He could not help but mourn Sasuke Uchiha's future.

"They..."

Hinata Hyuga stared in stunned disbelief.

She simply could not understand the way Might Guy and the other two interacted. It was utterly shocking.

"Hinata, you still haven't answered my question."

Beizawa reminded her.

"I want to keep training."

Hinata Hyuga came back to her senses and answered without much thought.

She had already grown accustomed to Beizawa's training. Although she had defeated Toranosuke, she still did not want to stop.

Because she still had a dream: to earn Hyuga Hiashi's recognition.

"Let's bring Sasuke along too."

After giving it some thought, Beizawa spoke.

To defeat Second Year Class A, both Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki were crucial.

And Sasuke Uchiha would definitely be willing to put in extra hours training as well.

The two changed direction and headed for the Uchiha Clan compound.

After the Nine-Tails' Rampage, the Uchiha Clan had moved to the outskirts of Konoha.

Beizawa and Hinata Hyuga's arrival immediately drew the attention of quite a few Uchiha ninja.

"Teacher Beizawa."

Hinata Hyuga instinctively hid behind Beizawa and took hold of his hand.

"It's fine."

Beizawa reassured her. "They're all ninja from the village. There won't be any conflict."

Attacking fellow Konoha ninja within Konoha was basically the same as rebellion.

The Uchiha Clan was not yet bold enough to go that far.

And, to put it bluntly, he and Hinata Hyuga were not qualified to become the fuse.

"Who are you?"

A sudden voice rang out as a young ninja walked up to them.

Beizawa sized him up twice, then recognized him—Itachi Uchiha, that famously filial son.

His tear troughs were quite distinctive.

"My name is Beizawa. I'm a teacher at the Ninja Academy."

Getting straight to the point, Beizawa said, "I'm looking for Sasuke Uchiha."

"You're Teacher Beizawa?"

Itachi Uchiha smiled and said, "I often hear Sasuke mention you. He says you're a highly skilled teacher."

"Could you be Sasuke's brother?"

Feigning surprise, Beizawa said, "I've long heard of your reputation as a genius. It's an honor to meet you."

"It's all an empty reputation."

Itachi Uchiha shook his head and added, "Sorry, but I have something to take care of, so I can't accompany you to find Sasuke."

After saying that, he pointed Beizawa in the right direction.

"Thank you."

Beizawa and Hinata Hyuga soon arrived at Sasuke Uchiha's home.

Fugaku Uchiha was not there, and Mikoto Uchiha gave them a warm welcome.

After some small talk, Beizawa explained why he had come, then left with Sasuke Uchiha.

The Ninja Academy training ground.

"Sasuke, how is your Chakra Nature Transformation training progressing?"

Beizawa asked.

Sasuke Uchiha did not answer. Instead, he picked up a leaf.

Fire Style chakra surged forth, warping the air as a wave of heat blew toward the leaf.

A moment later, the leaf dried out and lost its moisture, but it did not catch fire.

"You've improved quickly."

Beizawa praised him. "With one more day of training, you'll complete the initial stage."

"The initial stage?"

Sasuke Uchiha was immediately taken aback.

"Chakra Nature Transformation training is not as easy as you think."

Beizawa chuckled.

"It doesn't matter."

Sasuke Uchiha clenched his fists. "As long as I can achieve my goal, I can do anything."

Could he really do anything?

That thought unconsciously surfaced in Beizawa's mind.

He hurriedly shook his head. It was not like he was some evil final boss.

"Keep training."

Beizawa left behind a Shadow Clone and went with Hinata Hyuga to the artificial lake.

Without needing him to say anything, Hinata Hyuga leaped onto the lake's surface and began Water Walking Training.

Time slowly passed, and in the blink of an eye, dusk arrived.

"Hahaha!"

Sasuke Uchiha looked at the burning leaf in his hand and could not help laughing aloud.

Halfway through laughing, he quickly formed hand seals with both hands.

A blazing fireball appeared out of thin air.

The corner of Sasuke Uchiha's mouth curled up, and he laughed again.

The fireball had grown from two or three meters tall to five meters tall now—more than double its previous size.

Surpassing Itachi Uchiha was no longer far off.

"Teacher Beizawa!"

Sasuke Uchiha hurried over to Beizawa and said, "I want the next stage of training."

"Fire Style has another characteristic besides burning: high temperature."

Beizawa took out a glass, filled it with lake water, and said, "Evaporate the water in this glass."

Sasuke Uchiha held out his hand, palm aimed at the mouth of the glass, then fed Fire Style chakra into it.

A moment later, his expression shifted slightly as he realized the difficulty.

"That's enough for today. We'll train again tomorrow."

Beizawa patted him on the shoulder and said, "You can have this glass."

"Thank you, Teacher Beizawa."

Sasuke Uchiha took the glass and left the school.

After Beizawa escorted Hinata Hyuga back to the Hyuga Clan compound, he turned and headed home.

"Hinata."

Hyuga Hiashi stood in the courtyard and said, "It's been some time since I last checked your progress with the Gentle Fist. Come, spar with me."

Not long ago, he had received Tokuma Hyuga's report about the battle between Hinata Hyuga and Toranosuke.

The battle had been so clean and decisive that it surprised him.

Hinata Hyuga froze at his words.

This sudden sparring match left her deeply confused.

But since it was Hyuga Hiashi's order, she could not refuse.

Hinata Hyuga stepped forward and assumed the Gentle Fist stance.

Her gaze sharpened as she struck first with her palm.

Bang!

Hyuga Hiashi remained where he was and effortlessly blocked her palm strike.

His brow rose slightly, a hint of surprise appearing on his face.

Hinata Hyuga was forced back a step. She took a deep breath and advanced again.

But no matter how hard she tried, it was futile.

"That's enough. We'll stop here."

Hyuga Hiashi pulled back and said.

"I'm sorry, Father."

Seeing his stern expression, Hinata Hyuga apologized instinctively.

"Why are you apologizing?"

Hyuga Hiashi praised her, saying, "Your improvement has exceeded even my expectations."

"Huh?"

Hinata Hyuga looked astonished.

"Compared to our last spar, your reaction speed, Chakra Control, and the power of your Gentle Fist have all improved significantly."

Hyuga Hiashi paused before continuing, "Most importantly, you have half again as much chakra as before."

By the end, his voice was full of surprise.

"I... it's all thanks to Teacher Beizawa!"

Hinata Hyuga hurriedly said.

"Beizawa is only an ordinary chunin. At most, he can help you improve your Chakra Control."

Hyuga Hiashi shook his head. "But chakra depends on the individual. He cannot help you with that."

"I... I don't know."

Hinata Hyuga replied blankly.