Hinata, You Like Naruto, Don't You? Please Vote!!!

"Refine, refine... the refraction of light..."

"Chakra, chakra... angle of incidence..."

"Ahhhhh—!"

Naruto frantically clawed at his hair. His head felt like it was about to explode.

"This is impossible!"

"If this keeps up, I'll go insane before I even get stronger!"

[Host...]

"...I get it."

"Okay, okay. This time, I'll focus and listen carefully first, then see if my body starts moving on its own..."

"Activate..."

"[Knowledge Absorption]!"

Naruto instantly entered a state of total concentration, staring eagerly at every word Iruka-sensei wrote down. His efficiency in class really did shoot up.

But...

His chakra didn't start refining on its own.

[Host...]

"I'm trying!"

Naruto tried forming Hand Seals again. He activated the Chakra Refinement Technique first, then suddenly entered the [Knowledge Absorption] state while it was in progress. But the result was that the Chakra Refinement Technique quickly stopped.

And yet, Naruto seemed to glimpse a ray of hope...

Because although the Chakra Refinement Technique stopped as soon as he entered the [Knowledge Absorption] state, it didn't stop immediately. It continued for a very brief moment!

"Aha! Didn't I manage to multitask in that instant?!"

[Please...]

"I'm about to succeed!"

"Chakra Refinement Technique!"

Naruto entered the Chakra Refinement Technique again. This time, he didn't even deliberately tell himself that he was about to enter the [Knowledge Absorption] state.

In other words...

He was tricking his own brain!

Sure enough, this time, even while listening with total concentration, his chakra continued refining successfully for a short while, as if carried along by inertia!

And it lasted a little longer than before!

"It's working! It's working!"

Naruto was overjoyed and began trying frantically.

At first, he could only "multitask" for an instant. Gradually, he managed to do it for a few seconds, then more than ten seconds, then several dozen...

By the end of class, Naruto could maintain his "dual-tasking" state for a full minute or so!

"A-and if this keeps up, I can turn the Chakra Refinement Technique into a passive skill..."

"As long as I can still breathe, I can make my body move on its own and refine chakra day and night..."

"Wouldn't that make me a Perpetual Motion Machine?!"

"Ahaha..."

Naruto grinned and laughed, as if he could already see a brilliant future ahead.

Iruka-sensei glanced at him and shook his head with a sigh.

"I praised that kid Naruto for a few days, and now he's zoning out in class again..."

"Is it because of that so-called love triangle?"

"But, sigh, he is at that young and passionate age..."

For once, he didn't say anything. After announcing the end of class, he left the room.

The classroom soon grew noisy.

Many people were still gossiping, pointing at Naruto and Hinata.

Clearly, they were still caught up in the conflict from before class.

Naruto didn't mind. He was absorbed in his own world of "dual-tasking."

Hinata, however, felt conflicted.

She wasn't used to being the center of attention.

She had always been known as quiet and reserved in class, and had never received so much attention before. What was more, the things people were saying weren't necessarily kind.

But...

The first thought that crossed Hinata's mind was...

"Does Naruto-kun... usually get treated like this?"

"I... only had to put up with a little bit of it, and I already feel awful. How much pain and loneliness must he go through every day...?"

Hinata felt even more sorry for Naruto.

She cautiously stole a glance at him.

"Naruto-kun is still training..."

"Of course. He's been used to this for ages. He's so strong inside that he doesn't care anymore..."

"And, just as I thought, working hard to improve yourself is the best choice..."

A faint smile appeared on Hinata's face.

The unease and gloom in her heart vanished in an instant.

She soon entered a state of training, too.

So neither of them noticed...

Ino returned to the classroom in a daze.

Her eyes were red, clearly from crying hard, and two tear tracks still marked her fair, delicate cheeks.

Under everyone's gaze, Ino dragged her sorrowful self back to her seat.

She lay down on her desk and buried her face deep in her arms.

Soft sobs sounded once more.

But Sakura Haruno never came back.

After a whole day of effort,

Naruto grew more and more skilled at Dual-Tasking.

With the power of the [Knowledge Absorption] trait at work, he could still maintain the Chakra Refinement Technique for a full three minutes!

Don't underestimate those three minutes...

That was already a long time!

It meant Naruto only needed to exit the [Knowledge Absorption] state temporarily after about three minutes, reactivate the Chakra Refinement Technique, and then enter the [Knowledge Absorption] state again right before the system's Baptism of Lightning Release activated. That would let him keep dual-tasking nonstop!

This was what you called...

Dual-Core Naruto Uzumaki!

The result was...

While keeping up with his academic lessons, Naruto spent several times longer refining chakra than he normally could!

After all, under ordinary circumstances, he could only train during scattered bits of free time, such as breaks between classes, lunch, and after school.

Now, he could train all day!

In just one day, Naruto's chakra increased by a full 9 points!

That was equivalent to two or three days' worth of progress under normal circumstances!

On his way home from school, he didn't even need the system to remind him. He decided on his own to try refining chakra while doing weighted frog jumps all the way home!

Even the system was caught off guard.

Immersed in improving himself, Naruto seemed to have put the day's events behind him, too.

Before, if he'd offended Sakura Haruno like that, he would have worried endlessly, feeling anxious and trying every possible way to get her to forgive him. He wouldn't have cared if she beat him ten or a hundred times over!

But now...

I, Naruto Uzumaki, only want to train!

Still...

When he saw Hinata, his heart stirred despite himself.

He flashed his trademark radiant smile and waved at her.

"Hinata!"

When Hinata turned and saw Naruto, her little face immediately turned red again.

"N-Naruto-kun..."

Naruto walked over and fell into step beside her beneath the dusky evening sun.

"Um, thanks for what you did this morning..."

Naruto gave an awkward laugh and scratched his head.

Hinata quickly shook her head. "I-it was nothing..."

"But Hinata, there's something I've never understood..."

"Why did you step in front of me to protect me?"

Hinata instantly panicked. It felt as if electricity were coursing through her whole body.

"I..."

"I don't know, either. It was like my body just moved on its own..."

Hinata was so bashful. Saying that made it sound just like a confession...

Naruto, however, was taken aback.

"Your body moved on its own?"

He immediately thought of his own Dual-Tasking and nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah, that does happen sometimes..."

"Mm-hmm."

His obliviousness actually put little Hinata at ease.

"All right, Hinata. I'm heading home..."

"See you."

Hinata said softly, "See you tomorrow, Naruto-kun..."

She watched Naruto's retreating figure as he frog-jumped away beneath the evening sun. She brushed back her hair, tousled by the summer breeze, and felt a surge of joy in her heart.

Not only for Naruto, but for herself, too.

She felt like she had become...

A little braver than before.

That included not only her unexpected actions that morning, but also her everyday conversations with Naruto.