Hinata's Daily Mission

Having just bound Hinata yesterday, the main quest was issued today; it was as if the system was afraid of letting me idle.

However, getting Hinata into the top ten, given her current foundation, should be much easier than Naruto's top fifteen.

Qiushui pulled back his thoughts, raised a hand, and summoned two sturdy wooden tables from his storage scroll, along with a thick stack of test papers and textbooks.

With a soft "thud," the table legs hit the ground.

Hinata stared blankly at the desk and papers that had appeared out of nowhere, blinking in utter confusion.

She had arrived at noon yesterday and hadn't known about the morning academic session. She had assumed today would be a continuation of yesterday's tree-climbing or the start of new ninjutsu training—why were there test papers?

Naruto, meanwhile, let his face fall instantly. He scratched his head until his hair was a mess, his expression etched with agony.

Qiushui took in their reactions and smiled, explaining to Hinata, "Your training task for this morning is simple: finish this set of papers, then move on to reading comprehension."

Though a bit bewildered, Hinata was an obedient child.

Since Teacher Qiushui said so, there must be a reason for it.

She sat down at the desk, picked up her pen, and began to carefully read and answer the questions.

Naruto's eyes darted around, and he gave a sly grin before forming hand seals. With a "poof," three Shadow Clones appeared beside him.

How could he forget his brothers when there was a good thing to do?

Sharing the burden of test-taking was only natural.

The clones he had summoned simultaneously wore masks of agony.

But test-taking wasn't something that became easier just because there were more people. After a dozen minutes, Naruto's attention began to drift, and he couldn't help but sneak glances at Hinata beside him.

Hinata was earnest, her gaze focused, and the pen in her hand barely stopped moving.

Watching her fluid, effortless pace, a deep sense of envy welled up in Naruto's eyes.

"Sigh, if only I were like her!" He sighed, looking down at his own paper, where he had written "founder of Konoha" and the proponent of the Will of Fire, only to get stuck immediately after.

Hinata seemed to sense the gaze from the side. She glanced over, and when she caught Naruto staring at her, her cheeks instantly flushed. Her heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly lowered her head, pretending to be even more focused on her work.

Qiushui walked over to Naruto's desk, curled his finger, and tapped the surface with a rhythmic tap-tap, saying, "Hinata is like this because of her consistent hard work in class. If you're envious, focus on your work; only then will you have a chance to become like her."

"Yes—" Naruto dragged out the syllable, his face pained as he threw himself back into the battle with the test paper.

Hearing Qiushui's words, Hinata buried her head even lower, but the corners of her mouth curled up uncontrollably, a hint of sweetness blooming in her heart.

Time flowed slowly amidst the sound of pen nibs scratching against paper.

An hour later, Hinata gently set down her pen and whispered, "Teacher Qiushui, I'm done."

Qiushui walked over, picked up her paper, and scanned through the questions.

As the eldest daughter of the Hyuga Clan, Hinata's foundation was indeed solid. Every question was filled out, her handwriting neat and elegant, though a closer look revealed that her accuracy was merely passable.

Many of her thought processes were correct, but there were slips in the details; some concepts weren't fully grasped, forcing her to rely on rote memorization. Overall, she was at a barely passing level.

Qiushui recalled Hinata's performance in the original story.

"Not bad, you passed everything." Qiushui nodded, offering affirmation rather than criticism. He knew that for a child as introverted and sensitive as Hinata, encouragement was far more effective than reprimand. "Rest for ten minutes, then start reading."

Hinata obediently agreed and picked up her book, beginning to swim through the ocean of knowledge.

Naruto was currently tearing his hair out, his three Shadow Clones and his original self huddled in a circle, arguing endlessly over the same question.

"The formula should be applied this way; the book I read yesterday said so," one clone pointed at the paper, arguing his case.

"No, no, Teacher Qiushui clearly explained a different method yesterday—you have to find the conditions first before substituting," another clone countered, slapping the table.

"Stop arguing, you guys. I think we should just do the ones we know first," the third clone suggested weakly.

"That makes a lot of sense. We'll listen to you."

Hearing the commotion, Hinata covered her mouth, trying her best not to laugh out loud.

After another half hour, Naruto finally finished the paper. He let out a long, relieved sigh and slumped over the desk.

He felt that these ninety minutes were even more exhausting than the four hours of physical training yesterday afternoon.

Qiushui took Naruto's paper and scanned it from top to bottom. Although most of the answers were wrong, it was a vast improvement compared to yesterday's blank pages where he couldn't even understand the questions. At the very least, he was trying to write things down, and for some questions, his train of thought was correct, even if he had miscalculated or mixed up the facts.

Qiushui looked up at Naruto, who was watching him nervously, and said earnestly, "Naruto, you've made great progress compared to yesterday."

Naruto froze for a moment, then his eyes lit up. The exhaustion on his face vanished, and he broke into a wide grin.

For the remainder of the time, Qiushui had them read their textbooks. He didn't leave them to their own devices, but instead threw out questions from time to time, calling on them to answer.

"Naruto, what are the five basic nature transformations of chakra? We just covered that on the previous page."

"Uh... Fire, Water... Wind, Lightning... and Earth." Naruto scratched his head, speaking in fits and starts.

Qiushui continued, "Then tell me, what is the characteristic of Wind Style?"

Naruto said confidently, "Sharpness. It can cut through things like a blade."

"Not bad, you remembered it." Qiushui turned to Hinata. "You answer: which nature transformation is Wind Style usually best suited to be paired with?"

"Fire... Fire Style," Hinata whispered. "Wind can fuel fire and increase the power of Fire Style."

Qiushui nodded in satisfaction. "Correct."

A smile bloomed on Hinata's face; in these past two days, the number of times Qiushui had praised her nearly surpassed the total from all her previous years combined.

This interaction continued until noon, and amidst the back-and-forth of questions and answers, those dry, tedious points of knowledge seemed to come alive, becoming much easier to commit to memory.

A notification popped up before Qiushui.

[Daily Mission: Ensure the high-quality talent, Hyuga Hinata, eats a full meal]

[Mission Reward: Issued after a comprehensive evaluation based on mission completion]

Qiushui stared at the mission details, then glanced toward Hinata's small figure, a look of confusion crossing his face.