Hinata's Private Lessons

An hour later.

The usually clean, fresh-smelling VIP Reception Room of the Hyuga Clan was now filled with the aroma of grilled skewers.

At Hinata's suggestion, the desk that had originally stood in the reception room had been replaced with a dining table.

It was piled high with all kinds of grilled skewers.

Crispy grilled meat, salmon, pan-fried river fish, three-colored dango...

Takasaki sat on the solid wood sofa, patted his stomach, and lifted a jade teapot of freshly brewed tea. He took a long gulp and said, "I'm stuffed. Hinata, thanks for the meal. If you hadn't reminded me, I would've forgotten I came to ask you about how to channel chakra for the Three Body Technique."

With that,

Takasaki let out a loud belch.

Hinata sat obediently on a cushion beside him, holding her class notes and studying the Three Body Technique intently as she considered how to explain the principles of chakra control in simple terms.

After all, Takasaki's abysmal grades at school were plain for everyone to see.

If she didn't explain things simply enough, Takasaki definitely wouldn't understand.

As she thought, Hinata kept glancing at the more than ten skewers still left on the table. She was so hungry that she kept swallowing.

She'd heard that the more a girl ate, the worse she looked.

Throughout the meal, she'd eaten only one skewer of meat, then tried her hardest to stop herself from eating more.

Otherwise, if Takasaki found out how big her appetite was, he might be frightened.

But there was no way her hungry expression escaped Takasaki's notice. "By the way, Hinata, are you really full after just one skewer? Don't you need to eat a little more?"

"I have a very small appetite. One skewer was enough to fill me right up," Hinata replied with a red face and a sweet smile.

A girl's mouth was a liar's.

Having read the story, Takasaki knew just how big Hinata's appetite was.

Maybe she was afraid of embarrassing herself in front of him. Since Hinata didn't want to eat, Takasaki didn't press her. Besides, he hadn't paid for the meal anyway.

Getting a free meal had been an unexpected bonus.

What he cared about more was the principles behind how chakra worked in the Three Body Technique.

"The Three Body Technique consists of the Substitution Technique, the Transformation Technique, and the Clone Technique. The hand seals and chakra pathways for each are different. Even the speed of the chakra flow can affect how efficiently the technique is performed..."

Hinata was deeply absorbed in her explanation. As she concentrated, her long eyelashes fluttered.

When she heard that the technique's efficiency could be improved, Takasaki listened especially closely.

At the same time, he quietly tried to manipulate the chakra inside his body in the way Hinata had described.

As she explained, Hinata seemed afraid Takasaki wouldn't understand. From time to time, she looked up and asked, "Can you understand what I'm saying?"

But every time she met Takasaki's serious gaze, her face turned red despite herself. She quickly lowered her head, paused for a second, then continued explaining.

Seeing how shy Hinata was, Takasaki's first thought was that this trip had been well worth it.

A pure and adorable young lady from a local noble clan was not only teaching him in person, but also providing a luxurious place to study—and even paying out of her own pocket to treat him to a big meal.

Wasn't this the perfect private-tutor experience?

The best part was that she was an easily embarrassed underage girl.

Even if he didn't learn a thing, the chance to indulge in this experience made the trip worthwhile.

But had he really learned nothing?

If he hadn't awakened the system and received the Diary as a reward, then given his previous ability to grasp things, Takasaki might indeed have come purely for the experience.

After all, his talent was what it was.

Even after patiently teaching him for six years, the teachers at Konoha Academy hadn't managed to help him get the hang of things. Hinata had no chance.

But Takasaki had already mastered the Three Body Technique. He simply wanted to reduce the chakra cost of using it, so he could level up his ninjutsu faster.

That was why he understood Hinata's lessons as soon as she explained them.

Sure enough.

As soon as Hinata finished explaining the direction and speed of chakra flow through the body's various chakra points when using the Clone Technique, Takasaki seemed to sense something.

He tried manipulating the chakra inside his body according to Hinata's instructions.

It worked!

Even though he hadn't actually used the Clone Technique, Takasaki knew he was making progress!

His chakra efficiency had improved!

He summoned the Control Panel with a thought. Only he could see it. When he checked the Clone Technique's stats, he was delighted to find that they'd changed!

It had originally been [Clone Technique (3 chakra)]

Now it was [Clone Technique (2 chakra)]

In other words, the chakra cost of the Clone Technique had dropped by a third!

The time he'd need to spend leveling up the Clone Technique would be greatly reduced.

This easily embarrassed, underage private tutor really was a treasure!

At that moment, as Takasaki checked the Control Panel, Hinata noticed his unfocused gaze and the slight upward curve of his mouth. She stopped explaining and let out a somewhat helpless sigh.

As the young lady of the Hyuga Clan, Hinata had been influenced by the words and actions of her elders since childhood. She instinctively wanted to do everything well and took every responsibility seriously.

Even though she was teaching Takasaki partly because she selfishly wanted him to write her name in his Diary more often,

she still sincerely hoped that her lessons would help him and make it easier for him to graduate from Konoha Academy.

Having attended Konoha Academy for six years herself, she knew exactly what state Takasaki was in.

He wasn't listening to her. He was daydreaming.

That was how the struggling students in her class acted during lessons.

Takasaki and Naruto in particular had been hit on the head with chalk so many times for spacing out in class that she'd lost count.

This couldn't go on. The final exam was on Monday.

"Takasaki, are you spacing out again?" Hinata reminded him.

Takasaki came back to himself, closed the Control Panel, and smiled. "I spaced out for a moment, but it's fine. Go on."

He admitted it without even trying to hide it... Hinata grumbled to herself.

She had to admit, the curve of Takasaki's smile was just right. It looked lovely.

But a nice smile wasn't enough to graduate from the Ninja Academy and become a ninja. He needed real skills he'd learned at school.

Since Takasaki had come all this way, she couldn't bear to just go through the motions. She reminded him earnestly, "Takasaki, please don't space out again. Monday's Graduation Exam will determine whether you can receive your Konoha Headband and become a proud ninja."

In other words: Takasaki, you don't want to fail the Graduation Exam, do you?

Takasaki could, of course, have told Hinata outright that he'd already learned the Three Body Technique.

But would he?

Of course not.

Once he told her, Hinata's private lessons would be over.

If he married Hinata someday, she could teach him every day.

But someday wasn't now.

Hinata giving him private lessons as his wife someday would feel completely different from her teaching him now as an underage student.

After all, Hinata was still a little girl, and he was enjoying himself. "Sorry. I promise I won't space out again."

He added, "Even if it's just for you, I'll work hard to master the Three Body Technique, so I can graduate from the Ninja Academy with you and become a proper ninja."

Sure enough.

Takasaki's deliberately teasing words had the desired effect on the innocent, sheltered young lady.

Hinata blushed again.

Her eyelashes fluttered a few times.

Takasaki was going to work hard for her.

Those words just felt so special.

Like a green apple instantly turning into a red one, Hinata's cheeks quickly flushed despite herself.