Method and No Method

To the east of the Land of Fire lies the Land of Water. It's a considerable journey to truly reach Kirigakure; while you don't need to climb mountains, you'll definitely have to cross water.

Hinata, wearing a child's swimsuit, stood barefoot on the surface of the hot spring water.

Uchiha Jie controlled Wind Release nearby, whipping up gusts of wind and blowing them towards Hinata.

"Good! You did well today, you didn't even fall into the water."

Half an hour later, before her chakra was depleted, Hinata leaped forward and successfully landed on the shore.

Even though her chakra was exhausted, she was still excited. She stretched out her small palm and high-fived Uchiha Jie, who was lying on a lounge chair. Then, she took the drink he handed her and gulped it down.

In just a few days of training, she had already made significant progress. Although this progress had nothing to do with Gentle Fist, she could truly feel herself growing.

The speed of this growth was much faster than when she was at home.

Moreover, this growth and progress were accompanied by joy, which made Hyuga Hinata even more motivated to train.

Every time she completed a goal or made progress, she could see Uchiha Jie's encouraging smile. Although Teacher usually smiled too, it was clear that at times like these, he was exceptionally happy.

This made her happy too.

And if she made a mistake, he wouldn't be as stern as her father used to be. Instead, he would patiently explain to her where she went wrong.

More importantly, she had been eating well and heartily these past few days, having tried almost all the snacks in this small village. If it weren't for the immense amount of exercise every day, she would have become like Choji.

"Choji! Stop eating! Shikamaru! You too, wake up!" Ino snatched the potato chips from her companion's hand and then tapped the head of the other companion, rousing both of those lazy fellows.

"What's wrong, Ino?" Choji looked up, taking back his beloved potato chips from his companion, and said.

Shikamaru also looked up. He widened his eyes, looking at the small figure on the podium. It was a little girl, a head shorter than them, with pure white eyes and ink-black hair, standing with her hands on her hips, introducing herself.

"It's Hinata's little sister!" Ino poked Choji's belly and whispered, "She's already attending the Ninja Academy at such a young age! Thanks, I don't want any."

Choji showed no reaction, merely placing the bag of chips in front of Ino. Shikamaru, meanwhile, had already slumped back onto his desk.

"Another genius, what a pain," he muttered.

"Sigh, what's going on with Konohagakure lately? First, Sasuke was hospitalized, and now even Hinata had an accident. We won't be next, will we?"

Ino mumbled, watching the small figure take a seat in the front row of the classroom. Normally, Hinata would never sit there.

She glanced again at the pink-haired person next to the small figure and thought of the person in the hospital room.

"I wonder when Sasuke-kun will be discharged. The last time I visited him, he was still in a coma, but the doctor said he would recover soon. I don't know if they're telling the truth or just trying to comfort me."

"I really hope Sasuke sees the gift I gave him the first moment he wakes up."

She said a lot, but her companions were either eating or slumped on the desk, silent.

"Shikamaru! Say something!" She tapped Shikamaru's head again.

"Mmm... Don't ask me, I don't know anything, and I don't want to know anything," Shikamaru's voice grew fainter, and he collapsed onto the desk like a puddle of water.

"Shikamaru, you've been sleeping in class more and more lately," Choji finally finished a bag of chips and said in a muffled voice. "I think the Teacher's lessons are getting better and better, so why are you still so uninterested?"

"Choji, I'm not eating," Shikamaru yawned, declining the chips, his voice full of fatigue. "There's a lot going on at home lately."

"Hmm, it really is our turn then," Hearing Shikamaru's words, Ino had an expression of "I knew it," and her voice lost some of its strength.

"It has nothing to do with you guys, it's Shikaru-sister... No, actually, it should be Father," Shikamaru explained in a low voice.

"Shikaru-sister works in the newly established Security Force and has countless matters to handle every day. Because Father works for Hokage-sama, she often goes to him for advice..."

"But what does that have to do with you?" Ino asked.

"It originally had nothing to do with me, but that day Shikaru-sister couldn't find Father at Hokage-sama's office, so she came to our house..." Shikamaru's tone was full of regret. "I opened the door for her."

"Pfft... Hahahaha." Ino covered her mouth and chuckled softly. She understood what had happened.

"Ino, please, just leave me alone," Shikamaru twisted his head, burying his face in his arms, and closed his eyes, wanting to get some good sleep. But his mind was still filled with the conversation between his father and Shikaru.

"Shikaku-sama, what do you think?"

"Hokage-sama is very concerned about public safety, especially with the newly established Security Force. If there's no improvement compared to the former Uchiha-led Security Force, neither he nor the other Elders will look good."

Nara Shikaku and Nara Shikaru sat opposite each other, playing chess and discussing.

"But the entire Security Force, apart from some of Hokage-sama's clansmen, consists of lower-ranking ninja from civilian families who lack power."

"A group like this can maintain public order and prevent civilians from committing crimes, but their ability to restrain ninja is greatly reduced."

Nara Shikaru gently pushed a chess piece, continuing:

"I truly admire you, Clan Head. Only when one truly holds power does one realize how difficult every decision is."

"Don't your Teacher and your Minister handle things?"

Nara Shikaku automatically filtered out Shikaru's flattery and extracted the most important content.

"Logically, decisions should be made by your Teacher."

"Clan Head, please don't say anymore. My Teacher spends his days cultivating and shopping. He only intervenes when someone commits a crime right in front of him; all the daily work is left to me."

Nara Shikaru complained about Sarutobi Kou's shameless behavior.

"If anything happens, Teacher will stand up for me, but I'd still prefer to rely on my own strength to manage the Security Force well, but..."

"It's just that you can manage civilian ninja, but you have no way to deal with the ninja clans, and even when you encounter certain people, even Sarutobi Kou can't do anything," Nara Shikaku said softly.

"Actually, I have a way, but..." Shikaru shook her head, hesitating to speak.

"A way that can't be used is no way at all," Nara Shikaku made a move and shook his head. He was about to lose to Shikaru.