The Third Hokage Takes a Disciple

After lunch, Hinata changed into a fresh outfit and headed for Naruto's house.

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

Hinata knocked on the wooden door, producing a series of thuds, but as expected, there was no response from inside.

She placed her hand on the doorknob and sent True Qi into the lock, only to discover that the door had not been locked at all.

"Coming in~"

She had no idea who she was saying it for.

As soon as she entered the house, before she even reached Naruto's room, Hinata heard an alarm ringing.

Yet despite the alarm being so loud, Naruto showed no intention of turning it off.

When she went in, Naruto was lying on the bed, his blanket twisted into a mess, while the alarm clock was buried beneath it, making a muffled racket.

Hinata straightened the blanket wrapped around Naruto, turned off the alarm, and set it on the nearby table. Then she flicked the forehead of the still-snoring Naruto.

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

"Did you sleep so hard you forgot everything? Didn't we agree to have a barbecue by the river this afternoon? I came to get you so you wouldn't be late."

Naruto sprang out of bed, scratched his head sheepishly, and grinned. "Thanks, Hinata. You're so good to me."

Hinata shuddered. This guy was way too mushy when he talked.

"...I'll wait outside. Hurry up and come down."

A few minutes later...

"Sorry for the wait. Let's go."

Naruto seemed to be smiling no matter when it was.

"It's fine. Let's go."

When they reached the riverbank, they found that Choji and Shikamaru had already arrived.

Naruto then rolled up his sleeves, took off his shoes, rolled up his pant legs, and went into the river to catch fish.

Not long after, Rock arrived and wanted to go into the river to help. But after he scared away several fish, Naruto chased him back onto the bank.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru and Ino went hunting in the woods by the river. They probably would not find any large prey, but there were plenty of small animals like rabbits in the forest.

Not long after Tenten brought over the barbecue equipment, they returned as well, carrying three rabbits and two large pigeon-like birds.

Hinata and Naruto also caught plenty of fish. At the very least, not a single fish that passed through that stretch of river survived—unless it was too small. They were all caught for the barbecue.

Not everyone was as skilled at catching fish as Naruto, and the rest were too embarrassed to sit around doing nothing, so they helped set up the grill and organize everything else.

Happy times always passed quickly. Before they knew it, evening had arrived, and they had eaten all the way until dusk. Though most of the barbecue ended up in Choji's stomach. As for Hinata, she only tasted a little.

She really only tasted a little.

She could survive without eating now, and ordinary food was merely something to enjoy for its flavor. A small taste was enough; there was no need to eat too much.

With the sun about to set, everyone packed up, said their goodbyes, and went home.

Everyone had been very happy that afternoon.

Then came the next day.

Ninja Academy.

"Morning, Hinata!"

Naruto came over, sat beside Hinata, and greeted her.

"Morning."

Generally speaking, Naruto was always the last person in the class to arrive.

When the students saw Naruto enter the classroom, even the rowdiest children would quietly sit in their seats. The entire classroom immediately fell silent, because...

"Good morning, students."

"Good morning, Iruka-sensei."

Naruto arriving at the classroom meant class was about to begin, and the teacher would be arriving soon.

Iruka swept his gaze across the class, his eyes lingering on Hinata for a moment.

"I'm sure you all have guessed what this is about—the test yesterday."

"So now, I'll announce your results."

"..."

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

Those who received C grades were the ones who had followed Hinata to the teaching building.

Among them, only Shino Aburame received a C+, while everyone else received a C.

However, when Iruka finished reading the results, Hinata's name had not appeared.

"...Those are the results of this test." Iruka then turned his gaze to Hinata. "Hyuga, please come with me."

Iruka did not explain why.

Hinata did not ask either. She would find out soon enough.

After Hinata left the classroom and reached the hallway, Iruka asked, "Hyuga, are you wondering why I called you out separately?"

"You'll tell me, sensei."

"I... I will tell you."

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

The Third Hokage wanted to see her?

What did the Third Hokage want from her?

Hinata knew that she would draw some attention during yesterday's test. She had deliberately revealed some of her strength.

After all, ever since her father could no longer guide her Taijutsu, he had often hinted at whether she should graduate early.

Hinata considered it. Graduating early would be fine.

Although she could enjoy the leisurely days at Ninja Academy, that would only be a waste of time.

In the years since Bizarre Creatures had appeared, Hinata's understanding of them was limited to the "Headcutter (Large)" in her possession, as well as the experiments researching Bizarre Creatures in the Hidden Leaf Village laboratory that she had secretly... ahem, accidentally seen in her spare time.

If this continued, perhaps one day a Bizarre Creature capable of threatening the Shinobi World would be born in some corner of the world, and she would not even know.

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

After all, even her Tenseigan could not see every corner of the Shinobi World. It could not even cover the entire Land of Fire.

Hinata planned to graduate early, then form a ghost-hunting squad of her own.

The kind where she was the only member.

At the same time, Hinata also planned to establish a research team to study those Bizarre Creatures. For some reason, the first person she thought of was Orochimaru.

He... should be recruitable... right?

Hinata knew that what Orochimaru longed for most was immortality, with science coming second.

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

But the specifics still required more planning.

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

"Excuse us."

Iruka knocked twice, then pushed open the door and entered.

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

Third Hokage: "Mm. Thanks for the effort."

"Then I'll take my leave."

When Iruka left, he closed the door behind him.

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

"Hinata, do you know why I asked you to come here?"

"No."

The Third Hokage took a puff of his pipe and said, "You have great talent. I intend to take you as my disciple. What do you think?"