Hinata Runs Away From Home

The Gentle Fist style requires one to maintain contact with the opponent's skin to release force. The moment their palms touched, Hinata could feel the chakra gathering and surging beneath her sister's palms. Though her own chakra was already concentrated in her hands, at the very instant of impact, she subconsciously pulled back her strength; she was afraid of hurting Hanabi.

Hanabi did not know her sister's thoughts. The chakra in her palms surged forth suddenly, pushing a tiny gap between their hands, and she slipped through that opening. Her small shoulder pressed against her sister's chest, and she gave a light trip with her foot.

Thud.

Hinata's back slammed into a corridor pillar, the dull sound echoing through the empty training ground.

Hanabi wanted to step forward to help her up, but a stern voice froze her in place.

"Do not help her."

Hyuga Hiashi walked over from the veranda, his brows locked tightly together, his face etched with irrepressible anger: "You are ten years old, yet you cannot even skillfully use the Byakugan or the Gentle Fist of the Main House. The Main House has no need for such trash."

The rules of the Hyuga Clan had always been strict. A talent like Hyuga Neji had emerged from the Branch House, capable of guiding his chakra to awaken the Byakugan at age three, and in the last two years, he had even mastered the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms—a technique only the Main House could learn—simply by observing Hinata's practice. Yet Hinata, as the heir to the Main House, could not even defeat a sister five years her junior.

Hinata remained leaning against the pillar. She had long since grown accustomed to the pain in her back, but as she looked up and saw the expression of disappointment in her father's eyes, she suddenly felt a sense of suffocation in her heart.

Since she was small, she knew she was the one upon whom high hopes were placed. While other children played, she trained; while other children slept, she was still training. Day after day, year after year, all she received in return was scolding after scolding. There was no one to confide in, and at this moment, her father's words finally crushed the emotions she had suppressed deep within her heart for all these years.

Tears welled up and spilled over.

Hinata said nothing. She turned and ran, passing through the corridor and the courtyard until her small figure quickly vanished from sight.

"Sister." Worry surfaced in Hanabi's eyes, and she instinctively wanted to chase after her.

She took half a step before stopping, realizing her father's gaze was fixed upon her. Though he did not speak, his silence carried more weight than any words. Hyuga Hiashi was rarely one to smile, and while Hanabi respected him, she always harbored a sliver of fear toward him.

Hyuga Tenin had stood in the same spot from beginning to end, not moving a single step. Only after Hinata's back disappeared did he speak slowly, his voice so calm it was almost cold: "I think Hinata's talent is actually acceptable, but her personality is too weak. If she becomes the clan head in the future, I fear she will struggle to manage the Hyuga Clan well."

Hyuga Hiashi remained silent, offering no reply.

"It might be better to focus on cultivating Hanabi from now on," Hyuga Tenin continued, his gaze falling on his young granddaughter as if appraising an object. "Though her talent is slightly inferior to Neji's, her temperament is far stronger than Hinata's."

Hyuga Hiashi stood there in silence for a moment. He looked at his youngest daughter, then toward the direction where Hinata had vanished, and finally, he gave a slight nod.

Hyuga Hinata ran out the gates of the estate, head down, running without knowing how long she had been going.

Until only the sound of her own heavy breathing and heartbeat remained in her ears, her father's reprimands, Hanabi's worried eyes, and her grandfather's calm face—all of these were left far behind.

Twenty minutes later, she finally stopped, leaning against her knees and gasping for air.

Hinata looked up to find herself in an unfamiliar landscape, far from the main city district, and a look of bewilderment appeared in her eyes.

She had grown up in the clan compound and, aside from going to the Ninja Academy, she rarely went out alone, so she did not know where she was.

On a nearby lawn, a few boys her age were chasing each other, and they were walking in her direction.

Hinata's heart suddenly tightened.

She remembered the experience of getting lost when she was small—the strange faces, the curious stares, the panic of having nowhere to run. Subconsciously, she lowered her head, hiding her face behind her falling bangs, and gripped her collar tightly.

Fortunately, the boys were too busy playing, pushing and shoving as they ran past her; none of them noticed her standing by the roadside with her head bowed.

The sound of footsteps gradually faded away.

Hinata looked up, watching those backs disappear around the street corner. She let out a quiet sigh of relief and loosened her crumpled collar. She did not want to go home yet, and she did not know where else to go, so she crossed the small bridge in front of her and continued walking forward.

Just then, her gaze caught a familiar figure.

Hinata froze, then instinctively hid behind a large tree by the roadside. She pressed herself against the trunk, poked out half her head, and rubbed her eyes.

"How can there be four Naruto? And two Qiushui-sensei?"

A voice suddenly came from behind Hinata.

After leaving his home, Qiushui had gone to the store to buy a few bottles of electrolyte water in different flavors before heading toward the training grounds.

After crossing the bridge, he suddenly saw a girl in a black mesh training suit standing under a tree not far away, standing on tiptoe with her neck slightly stretched, as if looking at something.

Qiushui softened his footsteps. The girl's familiar hairstyle and her innate sense of stealth made him realize immediately that it was Hyuga Hinata.

He remembered that in the original story, Hinata was always hiding behind trees, wall corners, or bushes outside the training grounds to watch Naruto train. He hadn't expected to run into it himself today.

Qiushui lightened his steps and walked up behind her, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly, though he did not speak immediately.

Hyuga Hinata was watching with such focus that she did not notice anyone had come up behind her.

"Hinata-san," Qiushui said suddenly, "what are you doing here?"

Hinata's shoulders jolted violently. She turned around like a frightened little rabbit, only to find Qiushui-sensei standing right in front of her, holding his items and looking at her calmly.

"N-nothing," Hinata's voice was as small as a mosquito's.

Qiushui did not call out her lie, knowing that given Hinata's personality, she would likely faint on the spot if he did.

"Gurgle."

Hinata's face turned bright red instantly.

From her forehead to her earlobes, and from her earlobes to her neck, her face looked like a ripe tomato. She kept her head bowed low, staring at her toes, wishing there were a crack in the ground she could crawl into. She hadn't eaten much since waking up, had spent the whole time sparring with Hanabi at the training ground, and then ran such a long distance in such a hurry—her stomach had been starving for a while. It just had to growl at the worst possible moment.

Even though Hinata kept her head down, Qiushui could feel her embarrassment. He said gently, "I've prepared lunch, teacher. If you don't mind, why don't you come and eat with me?"