Third Hokage Takes a Disciple

After lunch, Hinata changed her clothes and headed towards Naruto's house.

Over the past few years, Hinata had learned where Naruto lived. She went to his house first because she figured Naruto might oversleep.

Hinata knocked on the wooden door, making a bang, bang, bang sound, but as expected, there was no movement inside.

She placed her hand on the doorknob and channeled True Qi into the lock, only to find the door wasn't locked at all.

"I'm coming in~"

She didn't know who she was saying it to.

Walking into the house, before even reaching Naruto's room, Hinata heard an alarm clock ringing.

But even with such a loud alarm, Naruto had no intention of turning it off.

She went in to see Naruto lying in bed, his blanket twisted into a ball, and the alarm clock muffled inside it, emitting a dull sound.

Hinata straightened the blanket that was wrapped around Naruto, turned off the alarm clock, and placed it on the nearby table. Then, she flicked Naruto's forehead, who was still snoring.

Naruto: "...Is it morning already? Ugh... Hinata, what are you doing here?"

"Did you sleep through your alarm? Didn't we agree to go barbecue by the river this afternoon? I came to wake you up specifically to prevent you from being late."

Naruto jumped out of bed, scratching his head with a sheepish grin. "Thanks, Hinata, you're so good to me."

Hinata's body trembled. This guy's words were too mushy.

"...I'll wait for you outside. Hurry down."

A few minutes later...

"Sorry to keep you waiting, let's go."

Naruto always seemed to have a cheerful smile.

"No, let's go."

When they arrived at the river, they found Choji and Shikamaru already there.

Naruto then rolled up his sleeves, took off his shoes, and rolled up his pants to go into the river to catch fish.

Shortly after Rock Lee arrived and wanted to help in the river, but after scaring away several fish, Naruto chased him out.

Shikamaru and Ino went into the woods by the river to hunt. While they might not find large prey, there were plenty of small animals like rabbits in the forest.

Not long after Tenten arrived with the barbecue equipment, they returned with three rabbits and two large birds.

Hinata and Naruto also caught a lot of fish together. At the very least, no fish that passed by this stretch of river, unless they were too small, survived; they were all caught for the barbecue.

Not everyone was as skilled at catching fish as Naruto, and the rest of them felt too embarrassed to do nothing, so they helped set up the barbecue grill and such.

Happy times always passed quickly. Time flew by, and it was already evening. They ate until dusk, although most of the barbecue ended up in Choji's stomach. As for Hinata, she only tasted a little.

She really only tasted a little.

Because she no longer needed to eat to survive, ordinary food was merely for enjoying its taste. Tasting a little was enough; there was no need to eat too much.

Seeing that the sun was about to set, everyone tidied up, said their goodbyes, and went home.

That afternoon, everyone was very happy.

Then, time moved on to the next day.

Ninja Academy.

"Hinata, good morning!"

Naruto came over and sat next to Hinata, greeting her.

"Morning."

Generally, Naruto was the last one to arrive at class.

When the classmates saw Naruto arrive, even the most boisterous children would sit quietly in their seats. The entire classroom immediately fell silent because...

"Good morning, everyone."

"Good morning, Iruka-sensei."

Naruto's arrival in the classroom meant that class time was nearing, and the teacher would be here soon.

Iruka scanned the classroom, his gaze lingering on Hinata for a moment.

"As you all probably guessed, yesterday's test..."

"Now, I will announce your results for this test."

"..."

Most of the test scores announced by Iruka-sensei were D or E.

Those who received a C rating were the ones who followed Hinata to the teaching building.

Among them, only Shino Aburame received a C+, while the others only got a C rating.

However, when Iruka reached the end of the list, Hinata's name did not come up.

"...That is all for the test results." Iruka then looked at Hinata. "Hyuga-san, please come with me."

Iruka didn't explain why.

Hinata didn't ask either; she'd find out soon enough anyway.

When Hinata left the classroom and reached the hallway, she heard, "Classmate Hyuga, are you wondering why I called you out alone?"

"Teacher will tell me."

"I... will indeed tell you."

"Ahem, Classmate Hyuga, Hokage-sama wants to see you!"

The Third Hokage wanted to see her?

What did the Third Hokage want with her?

Hinata knew she had drawn some attention during yesterday's test; she had intentionally revealed some of her strength.

After all, her father had been subtly hinting about her graduating early ever since he could no longer guide her Taijutsu training.

Hinata thought about it. Graduating early wouldn't be bad.

While enjoying the leisurely time at the Ninja Academy was nice, it would just be a waste of time.

In the years since the Bizarre Creatures had appeared, Hinata's understanding of them was limited to the "Headcutter (Large)" she held and the research on Bizarre Creatures she'd accidentally... ahem, unintentionally seen from the Konoha laboratory during her free time.

If things continued like this, it was possible that one day a Bizarre Creature capable of threatening the Shinobi World could emerge in some corner of the world, and she wouldn't even know about it.

By the time she found out, it would likely be too late!

After all, even her Tenseigan couldn't see the entirety of the Shinobi World. She couldn't even see the entire Land of Fire.

Hinata planned to graduate early and then form her own ghost-hunting team.

A team consisting of only herself.

At the same time, Hinata also planned to assemble a research team to study those Bizarre Creatures. For some reason, Orochimaru was the first person who came to mind.

He... should be able to be persuaded... right?

Hinata knew that Orochimaru's primary desire was immortality, with science coming in second.

As for immortality, Hinata felt that giving him a drop of her blood should make him happy for a long time.

But the specifics would require further planning.

Soon, Iruka brought Hinata to the Hokage's office.

"Excuse me."

Iruka knocked twice on the door before pushing it open.

"Hokage-sama, I've brought her."

Third Hokage: "Mm, thank you for your trouble."

"Then I shall take my leave."

As Iruka left, he closed the door behind him.

Only Hinata and the Third Hokage remained in the Hokage's office.

"Classmate Hinata, do you know why I've asked you here?"

"No."

The Third Hokage took a puff of his cigarette and said, "Your talent is exceptional. I intend to take you as my disciple. What do you say?"