Red chakra flowed from Naruto's hand into Hinata's forehead.
The space wasn't very large; it was full after just ten cards, which left Naruto somewhat dissatisfied. He still needed to improve it.
A small red dot had appeared on Hinata's forehead, too. But because she had bangs, it was usually hidden. Only then did Naruto notice her hair. In the original story, Hinata seemed to have short hair, didn't she? Few ninja wore their hair very long.
Madara Uchiha was an exception. In the Ninja World, chakra could be used to control one's hairstyle so it wouldn't affect one's fighting. Of course, Naruto didn't know that Hinata had learned he liked long hair while chatting with him, and had grown it out especially for him. Her dark, long hair made her look very cute.
Hinata focused on the feeling. After hearing Naruto's explanation, she was even more moved. Because of Naruto, she had gone out of her way to learn about the Uzumaki Clan, and knew that their greatest strength was Sealing Jutsu.
Tsunade had developed the Strength of a Hundred Technique in conjunction with the Yin Seal, which could even restore severed limbs. Of course, even if Naruto could do that, he didn't want Hinata to learn this secret technique.
Warm and powerful—that was how Naruto's chakra felt to Hinata.
The chakra would slowly flow out and nourish Hinata's body. Naruto just didn't know whether her Byakugan could evolve. Her Byakugan already had the highest concentration of power in the Hyuga Clan; now that Naruto's chakra was nourishing her, he hoped it might improve further.
Naruto now had the chakra of Asura and Indra, in addition to the blood of the Uzumaki Clan. He could almost be said to have gathered the bloodlines of all his ancestors in one person.
"This might not be a bad idea. With the Six Thief Immortals, I could try absorbing all the bloodlines. I should be able to awaken some kind of special constitution, right?" Naruto rubbed his chin, thinking.
Hinata woke up and saw Naruto staring blankly ahead.
Time flew by, and the final year of their school life began. Naruto still sat in the last row, but unlike before, Hinata had boldly become his deskmate.
Hinata's personality hadn't changed much, but that was what made her so cute. At least, Naruto was glad she no longer fainted whenever she saw him.
"Naruto, you skipped class again." Hinata looked at him with some exasperation. Ever since he got Shadow Clone, skipping class had become even easier.
"So, little Hinata, how can you tell?" The more experienced someone was, the harder it was to tell a Shadow Clone apart from the real thing. But Hinata always seemed to know whether Naruto was a clone.
"I can just feel it." Hinata couldn't explain it. She simply knew when she saw him.
Naruto didn't deny it. He chatted quietly with Hinata.
Up ahead, Uchiha Sasuke couldn't help glancing toward Naruto.
"Damn it, I wonder how strong that guy's gotten. What should I do? When will these boring, wasted days finally end?" Sasuke gritted his teeth. Their last fight had dealt a heavy blow to him. Although he'd been training, Sasuke had watched Naruto train and knew all too well how much stronger Naruto was.
Sitting not far from Sasuke, Sakura was secretly watching him. When she noticed where he was looking, she followed his gaze.
"It's that Naruto guy. When did he get so close to Hinata? Hm, what's going on? Naruto's changed so much. He's even taller than Sasuke now." Because of the Six Thief Immortals, Naruto had a very low presence. Combined with his deliberate efforts to keep a low profile, his classmates hardly ever noticed him.
Sakura hadn't seen Naruto in a long time. When she took a good look at him, she was astonished. At this point in the original story, Naruto was still going hungry and drinking expired milk, a little blond boy who looked malnourished.
Now Naruto had the Six Thief Immortals, and was among the tallest in his year. He wore his hair short and dressed simply and neatly, looking like a cheerful boy.
Noticing someone looking at him, Naruto glanced at the two of them and spotted Sasuke and Sakura.
He furrowed his brow ever so slightly. To be honest, he felt that both of them were trouble.
He also knew that when they were assigned to teams, he was sure to end up with those two. Just thinking about it gave him a headache: a chuunibyou and a lovesick girl. They seemed fine in an anime, but the thought of being friends with people like that in real life made him cringe.
Several Shadow Clones were still at work in Naruto's home.
Naruto had decent mental strength, but both Flying Thunder God and Sealing Jutsu gave him a headache. Fortunately, he didn't have to create them himself; he only needed to learn and refine them so they suited him better.
In an underground space on the back mountain, Naruto was training. The densely packed Sealing Jutsu formulas covering the ground were enough to make anyone's head spin.
"One, two, three." Naruto himself was doing basic exercises. Shadow Clones could only be used to study and accumulate experience; only his real body could train his physique.
Naruto exhaled, and beads of sweat were visibly gathering on his head.
"This Sealing Jutsu really is amazing..." He had originally found this place to practice Sealing Jutsu. Later, after developing an interesting technique, he built a gravity field here to train in Taijutsu. The results were surprisingly good.
Training inside worked his whole body. Whenever he got injured, the Six Thief Immortals repaired him instantly, and his body grew stronger after each recovery. Naruto still couldn't take an S-rank ninjutsu head-on without a scratch, but he could probably withstand a B-rank one, and recover instantly from an A-rank one.
In the Hokage's office
"Lord Hokage, this is Naruto's situation lately." Iruka was reporting Naruto's recent circumstances to the Third Hokage.
"Why has Naruto changed so much lately?" The Third Hokage frowned. This wasn't what he'd expected. Putting Naruto and the others together to teach them the Will of Fire was meant both to help them learn it and to foster bonds between them.
But Naruto was keeping such a low profile that the Third Hokage found himself in a difficult position. Compared to the Naruto of today, the Third Hokage preferred the Naruto of the past. He'd been a little mischievous, but none of his antics had bothered the Third Hokage.
"Lord Third, I feel Naruto has become much more sensible." Iruka didn't understand what the Third Hokage was thinking. He felt that Naruto had matured a lot, which reflected well on him as a teacher.
"You did well. You may go, Iruka." The Third Hokage didn't explain.
Iruka scratched his cheek. He didn't quite understand why the Third Hokage was dissatisfied.
After Iruka left, the Third Hokage began to ponder.
"That little girl from the Hyuga Clan?" The Third Hokage frowned. If Naruto had grown close to someone else, it would have been easy to handle. But the Hyuga Clan was an old-fashioned bunch, which made things difficult.
In the original story, Naruto liked Sakura, Sakura liked Sasuke, and Naruto and Sasuke had a good relationship. To the Jonin and the Hokage, these were the so-called bonds between them. And they weren't wrong; teams were assigned this way, whether it was Naruto's team or the old Team Kakashi.
So when Naruto showed that he liked Hinata, the Third Hokage had to consider whether to put her on the same team as Naruto. The greatest benefit of doing so would be to strengthen Naruto's bonds. In the Ninja World, the strongest bonds were those between teammates and friends, and those were the only bonds they trusted.
But he also had to consider the Hyuga Clan's feelings. Hinata belonged to the Main Family, and her Byakugan had no restrictions. The person who liked her was Naruto Uzumaki. Although Naruto's identity was confidential, the Konoha High Command all knew how important he was.