Hyuga Neji, the Demon King

The second week of May.

After buying breakfast, Beizawa arrived at the Ninja Academy.

As expected, Hinata Hyuga had arrived early and was waiting in his office.

"Eat."

Beizawa set the breakfast items out on the coffee table one by one.

"Teacher Beizawa."

Hinata Hyuga took a sip of milk, the corners of her lips rising involuntarily. "Yesterday, I sparred with Father."

"You're this happy... don't tell me you beat him?"

Beizawa teased.

"N-No..."

Hinata Hyuga's face immediately reddened at his teasing. She said weakly, "H-How could I possibly beat him?"

In her eyes, Hyuga Hiashi was a powerhouse standing at the pinnacle of the ninja world.

It would already be incredible if she could attain even half his strength in her lifetime.

"How is that impossible?"

Beizawa smiled. "I think you'll definitely be able to defeat him someday."

"Ah?"

Hinata Hyuga's small mouth fell open, and for a moment, she did not know what to say.

"If you didn't beat him, why are you so happy?"

Beizawa took a bite of his rice ball and steered the conversation back on track.

"Father said I've improved tremendously!"

Hinata Hyuga came back to herself, and a smile returned to her little face.

"That shows you have great talent."

Beizawa praised her.

Hinata Hyuga's problem was her lack of confidence.

For this sort of situation, Beizawa's solution was simple: praise her more.

"I-I don't have any talent."

Hinata Hyuga looked up at him and said, "It was Teacher Beizawa's training that worked."

"My training could work because you have great talent."

Beizawa said with a smile.

"Huh?"

Hinata Hyuga felt as though her mind had short-circuited.

How had it come full circle again?

Could it be that she really did have great talent?

"I-I'm nowhere near as good as Brother Neji."

Hinata Hyuga suddenly thought of something, and her expression darkened.

"Not necessarily."

Beizawa shook his head and comforted her. "It's normal for him to be stronger than you, because he's older than you."

Hinata Hyuga definitely had talent.

In the original story, both Otsutsuki Toneri and the spirits of the Otsutsuki clan had called her the Princess of the Byakugan, believing that she possessed a Byakugan of extremely high purity.

"B-But..."

Hinata Hyuga hesitated.

"Practice is the only criterion of truth."

Beizawa met her gaze and said, "Keep training, and I believe that one day, you'll be able to defeat Hyuga Neji."

Theoretically, it was indeed very difficult, but he had a cheat.

Once he obtained the Byakugan and Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, Hinata Hyuga might not be without hope of winning.

After all, all the ninjutsu rewards given by the system came with maxed-out proficiency.

Hinata Hyuga stared blankly.

She had never once entertained the thought of defeating Hyuga Neji.

But seeing Beizawa's serious expression, she nodded almost as if possessed.

"Teacher Beizawa."

Hinata Hyuga looked away and said, "There's one more thing I want to ask you."

"Go ahead."

After finishing his rice ball, Beizawa picked up another piece of sushi.

"Father said my Chakra has increased by half compared to before."

Hinata Hyuga spoke with confusion in her voice.

"Neither you nor your father knows why?"

Beizawa raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Mm."

Hinata Hyuga nodded.

Although she had been refining Chakra over the past month, an increase of half was still far too astonishing.

"I'd say you weren't paying attention in class."

Beizawa raised a hand and flicked her forehead.

"I... I haven't been attending classes lately."

Hinata Hyuga blushed and spoke in a small voice.

"Ahem."

Beizawa deliberately skipped over the subject and asked, "Do you know what Chakra is made of?"

"It's the product of spiritual energy and physical energy mixed together."

Hinata Hyuga answered.

"If your Chakra increased, that means your spiritual and physical energy increased too."

Beizawa asked in return, "Think about it. What have you been doing lately?"

"I haven't done any—"

Hinata Hyuga suddenly froze.

She had thought of the reason.

With Beizawa's help, she no longer had to hide the secret that she could eat a lot.

For nearly the past month, she had eaten until she was full every day.

Once she was full, her body naturally had ample energy.

"So that's what it was?"

Hinata Hyuga muttered to herself, deeply shocked.

She had always believed that having such a large appetite was something deeply shameful. It did not fit the Hyuga Clan's rules or etiquette, and made her seem crude.

"A good appetite is a blessing."

Beizawa reached out and patted her head. "You don't need to feel embarrassed about it anymore."

Hinata Hyuga looked up at him.

She could not help feeling dazed.

Defeating Toranosuke, Hyuga Hiashi's praise, and the Chakra brought by eating well.

With all these things piling together, the emotions that had accumulated in her heart for so long burst out all at once.

"Beiza—"

The moment Hinata Hyuga opened her mouth, she realized tears had begun to fall.

She hurriedly wiped them away, not daring to look up at Beizawa again.

What a pitiful child.

Beizawa sighed inwardly. He said nothing, merely watched her quietly.

"I'm sorry, Teacher Beizawa."

After a long while, Hinata Hyuga took a deep breath and said.

"You don't need to apologize for that."

Beizawa shook his head.

"Thank you."

Hinata Hyuga felt lighter than ever before.

Those heavy emotions had all flowed out of her with her tears, leaving behind only an indescribable sense of relief.

"Come on, let's go to the classroom."

After breakfast, Beizawa stood up.

"Mm."

Hinata Hyuga obediently followed him.

The class bell rang.

"Before class begins, I have something to announce."

Standing at the podium, Teacher Beizawa said with a smile, "At the beginning of June, our class will hold a Friendly Match with Second Year Class A."

As soon as he finished speaking, a stir ran through the classroom.

"Second Year Class A? The class with Neji Hyuga?"

Choji Akimichi's eyes widened. "Then we're definitely going to lose. There's no way we can beat them."

"Don't talk ourselves down!"

Kiba Inuzuka slapped the desk. "We haven't even fought yet. How can you say we can't win?"

"You don't know how strong Neji Hyuga is."

Ino Yamanaka said without confidence, "He's even more famous than Sasuke, a renowned genius of the Hyuga Clan."

"How could there be a student even more talented than Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura Haruno clenched her fists. "Sasuke-kun will definitely defeat him!"

"I'll defeat him."

Sasuke Uchiha suddenly said.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Hearts practically appeared in Sakura Haruno's eyes.

It was the first time Sasuke Uchiha had spoken to her.

"Neji Hyuga isn't someone to take lightly."

Shikamaru Nara said seriously, a rare occurrence.

The moment Hinata Hyuga heard the name Neji Hyuga, her body stiffened.

At the thought of facing him, more than half of her earlier courage vanished.

"Hey!"

Naruto Uzumaki stood up and said confidently, "We have Teacher Beizawa!"

At his words, Hinata Hyuga instinctively looked at Beizawa.

The smile on his face immediately put her much more at ease.