Peers in the Ninja Academy

"Not bad." Uchiha Jie smiled as he applied ointment to Hinata's body.

Little Hinata's performance had exceeded his expectations. Although everything seemed to unfold naturally during the fight, and she performed exceptionally well, there was still a sense of unreality to it.

And it was a bit different from how he had initially taught her.

His fingers lightly traced the wounds, leaving behind a pale green ointment. Looking at Hinata's adorable expression, Uchiha Jie muttered softly, "Could you really be a genius?"

"Teacher, what did you say?" Hinata wanted to turn her head, but the wound on her neck prevented her.

"Nothing," Uchiha Jie smiled and changed the subject. "Do you know what you did wrong?"

"There were probably many things," Hinata asked cautiously.

"Only one thing," Uchiha Jie finished applying the last of the ointment and took out bandages, gently wrapping Hinata's right arm.

"You should have used Explosive Tags from the start. Ordinary people without strict training wouldn't be able to escape such a wide-range explosion."

"In an instant, you could have dealt with all the enemies. Those who survived would be crippled. Then you could have used ninja tools to wear them down from a distance. There would have been no need to fight them head-on."

"But..." Hinata knew what Uchiha Jie meant. She had known before the fight even happened.

"But Explosive Tags are expensive."

"Heh, you're already starting to be calculative."

Uchiha Jie chuckled. He patted Hinata's head and said with a smile, "Your teacher doesn't need you to save money for him. Being able to maximize all your advantages to complete a mission is what makes a qualified Ninja."

"What are your advantages? The Byakugan, you utilized that very well."

"What other advantages are there? You have Explosive Tags. Compared to Ninjutsu that requires hand seals, Explosive Tags are much more convenient. Just tie them to a Shuriken and throw them. Even an average Chunin would have to dodge them. If you have enough of them, even a Jonin would tremble."

"Teacher has deep pockets. Not only does he have a secret stash in Konohagakure, but he also has businesses outside the village. A few Explosive Tags are nothing."

"Today you thought about saving an Explosive Tag and ended up exhausting all your chakra, fighting hand-to-hand like this. I don't even want to imagine what you'll do tomorrow."

Hinata lowered her head, listening to Uchiha Jie's nagging. She didn't feel disappointed at all; instead, she felt exceptionally happy.

She had initially wanted to throw Explosive Tags too. They were simple and convenient.

But she thought about how she had to achieve things that even the Hokage couldn't do in the future. Thus, she had to start training herself now, training her combat skills, training her Byakugan, exhausting her chakra, and squeezing out her potential bit by bit.

"Alright, bandaging is done." Uchiha Jie tied a small bow on the bandage and pulled Hinata up.

"Let's eat, let's eat!" he called out.

"What is Hanabi-chan eating today?"

While Hinata was eating, the young ninjas at the Ninja Academy were also having lunch. The Ninja Academy didn't have a cafeteria; everyone brought their own lunchboxes from home.

The students sat together. Lunchtime was a great social opportunity, and the students couldn't help but compare.

Naruto Uzumaki's lunch was the worst, sometimes nonexistent, but with Teacher Iruka's care, he could still eat his fill.

Previously, Sasuke Uchiha had the most lavish lunch. After he was hospitalized, Ino took over that position. But now, Hyuga Hanabi, who had only recently enrolled, had the best lunch.

When Hanabi opened her lunchbox, the food inside seemed to emit a golden light.

"Hanabi's treatment is much better than Hinata's," Sakura mumbled softly while holding her onigiri and taking small bites.

In the past, Hinata's lunchbox, like hers, only contained pathetic onigiri. The two of them would sit in a corner, silently watching others share delicious food.

Now that Hinata was in trouble, she had made up with Ino and joined the girls' clique. A group of them gathered around the Hyuga family's little princess, watching her take out box after box of delicious delicacies.

Her treatment was worlds apart from Hinata's past.

"The nanny at home used to prepare food for my sister. Father instructed them to be simple," Hanabi turned her head to look at Sakura. She had heard her complaint just now and explained.

"Now my meals are entirely decided by my teacher. This food was all prepared by her." Her smile held a hint of sadness. It would have been great if her sister could have eaten food made by Sister Yue.

Unfortunately, she couldn't eat it all the time either. Sister Yue seemed to be helping out at the Security Force after dropping her off at the Ninja Academy recently.

This was because the public security situation in Konoha had deteriorated, becoming even worse than when the Uchiha Clan was still around.

"Sakura, did you hear? Sasuke seems to have woken up. He'll be discharged soon," Ino said, finishing her main course and tearing open a bag of chips. She sat next to Sakura, winking at her childhood friend.

"Ino, what are you up to?" Sakura looked at her childhood friend suspiciously.

Although the two had reconciled because of Hinata's incident, they wouldn't back down when it came to Sasuke-kun.

Why was she thinking of herself this time? It must be a trick!

"It's not that I'm up to something. It's Hanabi. She's planning to organize the class to visit Sasuke-kun before he's discharged," Ino shrugged and explained.

"I just wanted to ask you to go shopping for a gift with me. Didn't you have all your allowance confiscated..."

Although Hyuga Hiashi didn't blame Ino and Sakura for Hinata being kidnapped, they were still somewhat affected.

Ino's family was wealthy. The Ino-Shika-Cho clans, though not large individually, were not to be underestimated when combined, not even by the Hyuga family.

Ino was the young lady of the family, and her elders wouldn't trouble her much. But Sakura was different.

She was the child of a civilian ninja, and that civilian ninja was only a Chunin. If it weren't for Hyuga Hiashi's repeated assurances that he wouldn't hold grudges, her life would have been even more miserable.

Now, her allowance was just cut off. If her father wasn't on missions, she would have almost been confined to her home.

"It's okay. The Security Force patrols frequently now, so there won't be any problems," Ino said, seeing Sakura's hesitation. She leaned her entire face towards Sakura and comforted her.

"It wasn't your fault back then. It was the fault of the scoundrel who kidnapped Hinata," she said, patting her hands, her tone filled with a little resentment. "Now that we're Ninjas, let's go find that guy together! And bring Hinata back!"

"Ino, do you know who took my sister?" Hyuga Hanabi, having finished her lunch, sat beside Ino without them noticing. She tilted her head and asked curiously.

"Uh, Hanabi, I was just saying that," Ino said with an awkward smile. "I didn't even see the shadow of the person back then."