This time, Hinata didn't need Hinata's father to pressure her. When she saw the desserts she'd never tasted before, a light appeared in her eyes, and she unceremoniously devoured all ten servings.
"Father, I'm full." Hinata burped with satisfaction and said shyly.
"F-full is good." Hinata's father no longer knew what to say. He could only stare blankly at Hinata's belly, which looked no different from before, and wonder if she had some kind of alternate dimension inside it.
"Clan Leader Hinata, surely you don't doubt what I said now?" Hao Shuai poured Hinata's father a cup of tea.
Hinata's father didn't answer Hao Shuai. Instead, he looked at Hinata with a self-reproachful expression and said, "Hinata, I'm so sorry! I never imagined that I, the head of Konoha's foremost clan, had been letting my own daughter go hungry all this time! I haven't cared for you enough."
"It's not your fault, Father. I'm just the one who eats too much." Hearing Hinata's self-reproachful words, Hinata grew flustered.
"Hinata... It's all my..." Hinata's father started to say, but Hao Shuai interrupted him. "All right, you two don't need to blame yourselves. When you think about it, you're both at fault."
"Hinata, you're too timid and shy, and you don't know how to express yourself. You always keep everything bottled up. You only ate a normal person's portions because you wanted to seem like everyone else."
"And Clan Leader Hinata, you've been too strict with Hinata as her father, which left her afraid to say anything."
"Now that the misunderstanding's cleared up, that's all that matters. From now on, you just need to be able to speak openly with each other."
"You're right. I'll be more mindful from now on." Hinata's father might have lacked the resolve to lead his clan,