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"What?! You saw Hinata?!"

"Why didn't you tell us?"

After soaking in the hot springs, Sakura, Ino, Tenten, and the other girls kept questioning Shikamaru and the others.

"Uh... I forgot..."

Shikamaru looked a little embarrassed. He had genuinely forgotten.

"But then again, how did Hinata get to know that perverted peeping tom?"

Kiba Inuzuka was puzzled.

"Maybe they had some kind of mission together."

The fact that he had easily broken free from their tight bindings showed that he was no ordinary person. He was most likely a ninja, though they had no idea how strong he actually was.

"Alright, we should think about how to pass the monthly tests from now on. We can't fall too far behind Hinata."

Neji: "..."

Having witnessed the power of the Tenseigan, he said nothing. He did not want to crush his juniors' confidence.

"Um... Senior Neji, why does your complexion look so strange?"

"...It's from soaking in the hot springs. I'll be fine after a while."

"Old man, you wouldn't even let me enjoy a hot spring in peace." Jiraiya pushed open the door and entered. "So? What information could possibly be that important?"

The Third Hokage looked at the displeased Jiraiya, then past him. Hinata had already entered and shut the door behind her.

"Danzo had been privately researching First Hokage's Cells..."

Jiraiya's displeased expression vanished. He knew exactly what First Hokage's Cells were.

"...The key is that he actually got some results."

The Third Hokage handed Jiraiya a document.

It was Danzo's autopsy report.

Jiraiya quickly finished reading it, and confusion and anger rose within him. "The village hadn't even succeeded in researching First Hokage's Cells, so how did Danzo manage it?!"

"Just how many human experiments had he carried out?!"

Daring to transplant First Hokage's Cells into his own body showed that he had already gained a preliminary understanding of them.

As Jiraiya had said, human experimentation must have been involved.

The Third Hokage drew a deep breath. "Orochimaru was likely involved in this as well. They may still have some kind of connection."

Jiraiya fell silent at once. His feelings toward Orochimaru were extremely complicated.

"I called you here this time because I want you to bring Tsunade back."

"Tsunade? Would she be willing to return?"

"Even if you have to drag her back, bring her back. Jiraiya, the Shinobi World is becoming more dangerous by the day. It's too dangerous for her to be out there alone."

Having wandered outside for the past few years, Jiraiya knew all too well how dangerous it was. He was not comfortable leaving Tsunade out there by herself either.

Bringing Tsunade back to the village would be more reassuring.

"Alright. I'll leave immediately."

"Little Hinata, I thought of another way to teach you. Once I bring back your Senior Disciple Sister, I'll teach you then. Sorry for the trouble."

"It's fine, Senior Disciple Brother. Senior Disciple Sister Tsunade's safety is more important."

Jiraiya apologized once more before leaving the office.

"Hinata, help me process some documents for the next few days."

Hinata looked at the tall stack of documents on the desk.

It should only be a small portion, right...?

Over the next few days, Hinata went to the Hokage Building during the day and helped the Third Hokage process documents under his guidance, only returning home at dusk.

Then she went to the Hokage Building again early the next morning.

Other than finding time to have a small gathering with Naruto and the others, she did not go anywhere else.

The Third Hokage watched Hinata rapidly process documents from her seat. Her adorable little face was full of concentration. That serious expression on eight-year-old Hinata's face made her look especially cute.

And it gave the Third Hokage a sense of guilt.

Even he, an adult, found processing these documents exhausting, let alone a child.

Was I making her process documents too early? Should I have waited another two years before teaching her this?

At first, it had merely been a sudden idea. He had wanted Hinata to familiarize herself with how documents were handled.

But after guiding her for two days, he discovered that Hinata processed documents even more efficiently than he did.

And she handled some of them extremely well, to the point where even he could not find any faults.

Gradually, the number of documents that passed through Hinata's hands grew day by day...

"Little Hinata, would you like to take a break?"

After hesitating for a while, the Third Hokage slowly spoke.

"No, Teacher. I'm almost done with the documents that were held over from yesterday."

Hinata answered without even raising her head.

Seeing how focused Hinata was, the Third Hokage felt even guiltier.

"These documents aren't so urgent that they need to be finished right away. It wouldn't be good if you exhausted yourself."

The urgent documents had long since been handled by the Third Hokage. These were all minor matters, though they still required the Hokage's seal.

Yes, that seal was the one Hinata was currently using.

"Uh..."

Seeing Hinata acting like such a workaholic, the Third Hokage had nothing more to say.

He took a sip of freshly brewed tea and let out a long breath.

He had to admit that with Hinata's help, he had enjoyed rare leisure these past few days.

It made him reluctant to let Hinata go do anything else.

As for Hinata, she truly was not tired.

With her utterly monstrous mental strength, she could work for three years without rest or sleep and still not feel exhausted.

On the contrary, she found processing these documents somewhat enjoyable.

Although most of the documents were incredibly boring, Hinata could learn about Hidden Leaf Village's recent situation from them.

For Hinata, who did not want to casually pry into other people's privacy, this was a rare way to gather information.

As for anything more sensitive, that would be the top-secret intelligence submitted by the Anbu. At this stage, the Third Hokage had no intention of letting Hinata handle it.

Thinking about it, that was only natural. The Anbu belonged solely to the Hokage, so how could the responsibility for processing Anbu intelligence be casually handed to someone else?

And so, more than twenty days passed.

This day was when the Ninja Academy held another test.

On this day, Hinata stopped helping the Third Hokage process documents.

She arrived at a building not far from the Ninja Academy.

She was not the only one there. The Third Hokage and the heads of the major clans had come as well.

Today, these clan heads were not merely clan heads. They were more like parents waiting outside an examination hall.

Among all these parents, perhaps Hyuga Hiashi was the calmest.

After all, his daughter had already graduated and had even been accepted as the Hokage's disciple. What else could possibly make him unhappy?

Inside the dim room, the doors and windows had been sealed shut, not allowing even a trace of sunlight inside.

The room was spacious. Even with dozens of people sitting together, it did not feel crowded.

At the center of the room stood a table, and on it rested a crystal ball.

At that moment, the crystal ball was showing what was happening at the Ninja Academy from a god's-eye view.

Hinata, seated beside the Third Hokage, twitched at the corner of her mouth. No wonder she had felt something strange that day, as though a gaze had been peeping at her.

She had thought it was an exam proctor. She had not expected it to be a "ball"!

And it had even given the village's higher-ups a live broadcast.