The reason Hyuga Shinichi had suddenly gone out of his way to teach swordsmanship to someone he did not know was simply because he found the boy before him particularly pleasing to the eye, with a strange sense of familiarity.
That feeling gradually became clearer as he taught Shirakumo Hayama the basics of swordsmanship, and he finally remembered where he had seen him before.
It had been shortly after Hyuga Shinichi became a Chunin, when he would form teams with other ninjas to carry out missions.
There had been a middle-aged man surnamed Shirakumo on one of those teams. Seeing that Hyuga Shinichi was already a Chunin despite being so young, the man had taken especially good care of him.
While resting and eating, the two often chatted. Uncle Shirakumo had even smilingly taken out a photograph of his family of three to show Hyuga Shinichi.
He said that he hoped his own son would grow up to be as young and promising as Hyuga Shinichi, becoming an outstanding ninja who could protect Konoha.
And the child in that photograph, around two years old, had been none other than Shirakumo Hayama!
Although Shirakumo Hayama had grown up considerably since then, his features still made Hyuga Shinichi certain that he was the child from the photograph.
Hyuga Shinichi immediately asked Shirakumo Hayama about it. After his initial surprise, Shirakumo Hayama quickly pulled out a photograph from his clothes, confirming that he was indeed the child in it.
Shirakumo Hayama had never expected that Hyuga Shinichi had once been on a team with his father.
It could only be called fate. After confirming it, the two no longer felt quite so unfamiliar with each other.
After all, Shirakumo Hayama's father had looked after Hyuga Shinichi before, so there was nothing wrong with