Takasaki, you big bad, can't you be a little more devoted?

At the same time, at the Hyuga Clan Mansion.

Hinata finished washing up, packed her school bag, and stood silently before the main gate, waiting.

Her thoughts were the same as Sakura Haruno's; she wanted to walk to school with Takasaki.

Last night, Hinata had hesitated over whether she should go to Takasaki's doorstep early to wait for him.

The moment that thought crossed her mind, she would shrink back into her blankets, her cheeks flushing uncontrollably.

In his diary, Takasaki had called her "wife" more times than she could count; it was truly too excessive and made her feel so ashamed.

As the young lady of the Hyuga clan, standing at her own gate to wait for Takasaki was the greatest effort her naturally shy personality could muster.

The sky grew brighter.

The rolling shutter of Ichiraku Ramen slowly rose, and the shop began its business.

Students with school bags on their backs constantly passed by the Hyuga Clan Mansion, eating soy milk and bread as they walked toward the Ninja Academy.

Hinata continued to wait silently, occasionally stretching her neck to peek toward the direction of Takasaki's house, a faint blush rising on her small face.

This feeling was quite strange.

She was a little afraid of Takasaki finding out she was waiting for him, yet at the same time, she was afraid of missing him.

After all, this was an opportunity to be written into Takasaki's diary, and she didn't want to miss it.

What made her feel embarrassed was that, given her shy nature, she couldn't help but think Takasaki was a hateful guy whenever she recalled the contents of his diary regarding her.

He called her "wife" at every turn.

In reality, she hadn't even held a boy's hand before; how could she accept being treated as a wife by another boy already?

Meanwhile.

Neji finished washing up, strapped on his ninja tool pouch, and stepped out of his room, heading toward the main gate.

Having graduated from the Ninja Academy a year before Hinata, he headed toward the Hokage Building as usual to check for any mission requests suitable for him.

Every day, the Hokage Building provided various mission requests for ninjas to choose from, and successful completion earned different rewards and merits.

Of course.

Neji had not yet passed the Genin examination and was still just an ordinary ninja, so the missions he could accept were all of low difficulty.

Finding lost cats and dogs or clearing out sewers were common occurrences.

Neji didn't complain about this, however.

But today, as he headed to the Hokage Building to check the mission list, he held a glimmer of special hope.

Would he receive a mission related to the Caged Bird seal?

In the past, he had always believed that fate could not be changed.

But through his experience with Takasaki yesterday and the words Takasaki had spoken to him, his deeply rooted ideas were beginning to waver.

He emerged from the Hyuga clan gate and saw Hinata with her school bag, standing by the entrance, craning her neck and standing on tiptoe as she peered toward the intersection, seemingly looking for something.

Neji asked curiously, "Hinata, what are you doing here? Aren't you going to school?"

"I'm waiting for someone," Hinata replied naturally.

"Waiting for whom?"

"Waiting for..."

Hinata's lips parted slightly, a crimson flush spreading across her pretty face as she lowered her head. "Waiting for Takasaki."

Her shy appearance was not lost on Neji. Even as a boy with no romantic experience, he could see what was going on. "It seems the Clan Head was right."

"What?"

"You really do like Takasaki."

"What? No... that's not it..." Hinata denied it repeatedly.

That big pervert Takasaki—how could she possibly like him?

It was true that Takasaki liked her, but at the same time, that didn't stop him from liking other girls.

Any normal person wouldn't be able to accept that.

"I am your cousin; there is no need to deny it in front of me." Neji smiled and shook his head. "I went to apologize to Takasaki last night, and he didn't mind my previous offense toward him at all. He is a very good person; even the Clan Head does not oppose you two being together."

Hinata's face turned even redder.

She didn't respond until Neji had left, simply lowering her head and fiddling with her fingers.

Only when she realized Neji had walked far away did the flush on Hinata's face fade slightly, her thoughts becoming complex.

Her cousin, who had previously kept his distance, seemed to have a slightly better attitude toward her because of Takasaki.

Her father, who had always been strict with her, had also become gentler because of Takasaki.

It seemed that ever since she took the initiative to approach Takasaki yesterday and invited him to their home, her relationship with her family had become more harmonious, and the home felt warmer.

This feeling was indeed quite wonderful; after all, she was a person who valued family at her core.

Judging by the contents of Takasaki's Diary, Takasaki was certainly not going to be a family man in the future.

Thinking of this, Hinata gently kicked a small pebble at her feet and secretly whispered a curse: "Takasaki, you big jerk, wouldn't it be better to be a bit more devoted?"

The pebble tumbled a few times after Hinata's kick and came to a stop in front of Naruto, who was wearing an orange tracksuit with his school bag on his back.

"Hinata!" Naruto tilted his head toward Hinata and waved at her in his usual boisterous manner.

"Good morning, Naruto," Hinata replied politely.

"Have you had breakfast yet?"

"Not yet."

"Let's go get some ramen together. Teuchi's shop is already open, and it's my treat!" Naruto said, full of anticipation.

Naruto was currently worrying about today's Graduation Exam.

He knew a little bit about the Three Body Technique, but the real issue was that he was completely clueless when it came to the theoretical written exam.

Fortunately, Kurenai Yuhi had previously released the seating chart, and Hinata's seat happened to be right near his.

If Hinata was willing to help him cheat, he might just be able to scrape by.

Therefore, treating Hinata to a bowl of ramen to get on her good side was no big deal.

Poor as he was, he could still afford the price of a bowl of ramen.

"No thanks, I don't like ramen." Hinata politely declined Naruto's invitation, even telling a small lie.

The reason was simple.

She was afraid Takasaki would misunderstand.

Naruto left in low spirits, forced to hurry and find other classmates who could help him cheat on the exam.

Konoha Bay Apartments.

Takasaki had no idea that Sakura Haruno, a beautiful girl from a commoner family, and Hinata, the wealthy and beautiful heiress of the Hyuga Clan, were waiting in different places to walk to school with him.

Even if he did know, he would probably just feel a thrill of excitement before continuing to grind his proficiency.

The content in Takasaki's Diary was just empty talk to appease the system; while women were important, strength was more important.

He hadn't been sleeping in.

In fact, he had barely slept a full night at all.

Before falling asleep, he had set an alarm on his nightstand; once his chakra was fully restored, the alarm would wake him up to remind him that it was time to grind his ninjutsu.

Drain his chakra, then go to sleep.

Then, be woken up by the alarm to grind ninjutsu.

Repeating this all night, he had gone to the bathroom to shower four times just from being drenched in sweat.

Takasaki had practiced so hard that even in his fragmented sleep, he dreamed of himself grinding his ninjutsu proficiency.

Most of the time, he was training the Clone Technique.

It wasn't that Takasaki didn't want a full night's sleep; it was just that he was well aware his current strength was too poor, and if he didn't work hard as soon as possible, he would suffer for it later.

Fortunately, his hard work had clear results.

7:30 AM.

"Clone Technique!"

Takasaki formed the hand seals on the balcony, and with a poof, a cloud of smoke appeared beside him. As the smoke cleared, his clone stood there.

Whether it was the hand seal technique or the flow rate of his chakra, he was proficient to an outrageous degree.

At the same time, a feeling of sudden enlightenment washed over Takasaki's mind.

He felt as if he had grasped something, gaining a deeper understanding of the Clone Technique.

He checked the attributes of the Clone Technique: [Level 3 Clone Technique (240/500)]

With the ninjutsu reaching Level 3, the casting efficiency doubled, and the power increased by 100%.

The doubling of casting efficiency was easy to understand: it meant faster hand seals.

The 100% increase in power was directly reflected in the effects of the ninjutsu.

"Clone Technique!" Takasaki formed a single hand seal with one hand.