The Land of Fire lay to the east, in the direction of the Land of Water. Reaching Kirigakure for real meant a long journey. They wouldn't need to cross mountains, but they would definitely have to travel over water.
Hinata stood barefoot on the surface of the hot spring, wearing a child's swimsuit.
Uchiha Jie stood nearby, controlling Wind Release. Gust after gust swept toward Hinata.
"Good! You did well today. You didn't fall into the water once."
Half an hour later, before she ran out of chakra, Hinata leaped forward and successfully made it to the bank.
Even though her chakra was completely depleted, she was excited. She held out her small hand and high-fived Uchiha Jie, who was reclining on a lounge chair. Then she took the drink he handed her and gulped it down.
After just a few days of training, she had already made considerable progress. Although it had nothing to do with Gentle Fist, she could truly feel herself growing stronger.
She was improving much faster than she had at home.
And she was having fun as she grew and improved, which made Hyuga Hinata even more motivated to train.
Whenever she met her goal or made progress, she saw Uchiha Jie smile encouragingly. Her teacher was always smiling, but she could tell that he was especially happy at times like those.
That made her happy, too.
And whenever she made a mistake, he didn't act as stern as her father had. Instead, he patiently explained what had gone wrong.
More importantly, she'd been eating well and to her heart's content these past few days. She'd practically tried every delicious snack in the little village. If she hadn't been getting so much exercise every day, she'd have ended up just like Choji.
"Choji! Stop eating! Shikamaru, wake up, too!" Ino snatched the bag of chips from one teammate and rapped another on the head, hauling both lazybones to their feet.
"What's wrong, Ino?" Choji raised his head, took back the chips he loved from his teammate, and asked.
Shikamaru raised his head, too. He widened his eyes as he looked at the small figure at the front of the classroom. The little girl was a head shorter than they were, with pale eyes and long, ink-black hair. She stood with her hands on her hips, introducing herself.
"That's Hinata's little sister!" Ino poked Choji in the belly and whispered, "She's so young, and she's already attending the Ninja Academy! Thanks, but I don't want any."
Choji didn't react at all. He just placed the bag of chips in front of Ino, while Shikamaru beside them once again slumped over his desk.
"Another genius. What a pain," he muttered.
"Tell me, what's been going on in Konoha lately? First Sasuke ended up in the hospital, and now something's happened to Hinata, too. Are we next?"
Ino muttered as she watched the little girl take a seat in the front row. Hinata never sat there under normal circumstances.
She glanced at the pink-haired kid sitting beside the little girl, then thought again of the person in the hospital room.
"I wonder when Sasuke-kun will be discharged. The last time I visited him, he was still unconscious. The doctor said he'd recover soon, but I don't know if that was true or if he was just trying to comfort me."
"I really hope that when Sasuke wakes up, the first thing he sees is the present I gave him."
She had plenty to say, but one of her teammates was eating while the other was slumped over his desk, not saying a word.
"Shikamaru! Say something, at least!" She rapped him on the head again.
"Ugh... Don't ask me. I don't know anything, and I don't want to know anything." Shikamaru's voice grew fainter and fainter as he slumped over his 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 spoke in a muffled voice. "I think the teacher's lessons are getting better and better. Why are you still so bored?"
"Choji, I don't want any." Shikamaru yawned and declined the chips, his voice full of exhaustion. "There's a lot going on at home lately."
"Ugh, so it really is our turn." Hearing Shikamaru's words, Ino looked as if she'd been expecting it. Even her voice sounded weaker.
"It has nothing to do with you two. It's Shikaru Nee-san... No, actually, it's Father."
Shikamaru quietly explained.
"Shikaru Nee-san works in the newly established Security Force. She has countless things to deal with every day. Since Father works for Lord Hokage, she often goes to him for advice..."
"But what does that have to do with you?" Ino asked.
"It didn't have anything to do with me at first, but that day Shikaru Nee-san couldn't find Father at Lord Hokage's office, so she came to our house..." Shikamaru sounded full of regret. "I opened the door for her."
Ino covered her mouth and giggled. She understood what had happened.
"Ino, please let me off the hook." Shikamaru turned his head, rested it on his arms, and closed his eyes, hoping to get a good nap. But his mind was still full of his father and Shikaru Nee-san talking.
"Lord Shikaku, what do you think?"
"Lord Hokage is very concerned about public safety, especially since the new Security Force has just been established. If it hasn't improved on the old Security Force that belonged to the Uchiha, neither he nor the other Elders will come out of this looking good."
Nara Shikaku and Shikaru Nara sat facing each other, discussing things as they played chess.
"But aside from some of Lord Hokage's clansmen, the entire Security Force is made up of Genin and Chunin from civilian families who have little power."
"People like that can maintain public order and stop civilians from committing crimes, but they have far less ability to keep shinobi in line."
Shikaru Nara nudged a piece forward and continued:
"I really admire you, Clan Head. Only after I actually got my hands on authority did I realize how difficult every decision could be."
"Doesn't your teacher, your department head, handle these matters?"
Nara Shikaku ignored Shikaru's flattery and focused on the most important part of what she'd said.
"Logically, shouldn't your teacher be the one making the decisions?"
"Clan Head, please don't ask. Aside from training, my teacher spends every day shopping. She only steps in if someone commits a crime right in front of her. She's left all the day-to-day work to me."
Shikaru Nara complained about Sarutobi Kou's shameless behavior.
"When something goes wrong, my teacher will stand up for me. But I'd rather rely on my own strength to run the Security Force well. It's just that..."
"It's just that you can keep the civilian shinobi in line, but you can't do much about those clans. And when you run into certain people, even Sarutobi Kou is powerless," Nara Shikaku said quietly.
"Actually, I do have a way, but..." Shikaru shook her head and trailed off.
"A way you can't use isn't a way at all." Nara Shikaku moved a piece and shook his head. He was about to lose to Shikaru.