Hinata's Change, A Painful Training!

Inside the Hyuga Clan, within the residence of Hiashi Hyuga.

Hiashi Hyuga and Hinata sat facing one another.

Hiashi Hyuga wore a grave expression, his tightly furrowed brows revealing that he was in a foul mood.

As for Hinata.

Though she felt somewhat constrained and nervous.

Her eyes held an unusual sense of determination.

"Is this the reason you became friends with Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Because of a bowl of ramen?"

Hiashi Hyuga finally spoke.

His own daughter had actually gone out late at night to eat because she wasn't full.

And he, of all people, had noticed nothing at all.

If Hinata hadn't told him herself, perhaps he truly would never have paid it any mind.

After all, the Hyuga Clan was a prominent family within the village.

Furthermore, since they practiced taijutsu, the portions of food prepared were naturally quite generous.

He had never imagined that Hinata's nutritional needs would be so great!

"It wasn't one bowl, it was twelve."

Hinata earnestly corrected Hiashi Hyuga's words.

"I..."

For a moment, Hiashi Hyuga did not know how to respond to Hinata.

After Hanabi Hyuga was born, Hiashi Hyuga's demands upon Hinata had reached a point that could only be described as nitpicking.

This was because he wanted to break certain rules.

Rules that had been long-standing within the Hyuga Clan.

The Main House and the Branch House!

Back then, his own younger brother, Hizashi Hyuga, had died in his stead.

The blow to Hiashi Hyuga had been immense.

And now, Hanabi and Hinata might face a similar situation in the future.

That was why Hiashi Hyuga had been so harsh with Hinata.

He wanted her to have enough strength in the future so that, as the clan head, she could abolish this rule.

However, Hinata's talent had left Hiashi Hyuga somewhat dissatisfied.

Her progress in training was also extremely slow.

He had originally assumed it was a lack of talent, never suspecting it was simply because she hadn't been eating enough.

In these short few months, Hinata's improvement had been visible to the naked eye.

This left Hiashi Hyuga feeling conflicted.

Hinata getting too close to the Uchiha could potentially trigger unknown dangers and problems.

But... with Hinata's personality...

Trying to make her distance herself from that little Uchiha boy at this time would likely cause a massive psychological impact on her.

"Father, do you also have a negative view of the Uchiha Clan?"

"Could you tell me about the Uchiha Clan?"

Hinata gathered her courage and addressed the point of contention directly.

She was not stupid; on the contrary, she was extremely clever.

She knew about many things.

"Hinata, you... very well, I shall tell you."

"The Uchiha Clan, as one of the two founding families of the village, was once known alongside the Senju Clan as the two strongest clans in Konoha."

"However, the arrogant nature of the Uchiha people, as well as their obsession with power..."

Hiashi Hyuga's understanding of the Uchiha was quite profound.

Before long, he had recounted the history of the Uchiha Clan, from Madara Uchiha down to the current Fugaku Uchiha.

He even included the rising geniuses like Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi in his explanation.

As for Sasuke...

Hiashi Hyuga, however, did not mention him specifically.

"One of the two great clans that founded the village!"

"A family that has performed remarkably in several Ninja World Wars!"

"During the Third Ninja World War, they faced the Hidden Mist Village single-handedly and crushed their offensive!"

"Now, geniuses are gathered there, and the number of elite jonin within the clan is vast!"

"Is such a clan being ostracized simply because they are proud?"

"As for the Nine-Tails Rebellion... that doesn't seem to have been confirmed, right?"

Hinata recited all the information she had gathered in one breath.

The determination in her eyes was even stronger than before.

How could Hiashi Hyuga not know this information?

The reason the Hyuga Clan had been able to maintain such a large population in Konoha until now was precisely because they did not participate in power struggles.

But once they became involved with Uchiha, the gaze of Konoha's higher-ups would naturally converge upon them.

At that time...

However, Hiashi Hyuga could not bring himself to say these words.

"Father, Uchiha Sasuke and I are friends."

"I will work hard to meet your requirements in my training."

"So, can you please not stand in my way?"

Hinata raised her head and met Hiashi Hyuga's gaze.

She spoke this request word by word, with great weight.

Faced with her daughter's request, Hiashi Hyuga pondered for a moment, as if he had reached a certain decision.

"Hinata, do you know what your current decision implies?"

Hiashi Hyuga stood up.

"I do."

Hinata also stood up and immediately activated her Byakugan.

"Good!"

"Then use your actions to prove your resolve. Once you show any sign of slack, then..."

"I understand, Father!"

Before Hiashi Hyuga could finish, a look of joy appeared on Hinata's face.

Hiashi Hyuga nodded, signaling that Hinata could go and rest.

"I hope this choice of mine is not a mistake."

A look of helplessness appeared on Hiashi Hyuga's face.

He... had staked everything he had on Hinata.

Moreover, he could see the changes in her.

The Hinata of the past would never have said such things.

And this change in Hinata's personality gave Hiashi Hyuga confidence in his desire to change the clan's rules.

If Hinata had remained that timid, shy person, she would never have been able to accomplish such things.

But now... it was different!

Meanwhile, in the forest.

"Is this the new training method that Sasuke-kun mentioned?"

"It looks so interesting."

Rock Lee's eyes, which revealed his intelligence, widened as he asked.

"It's not interesting at all, and it actually hurts a bit."

"But it's much more effective for physical improvement than simple training."

Naruto, who had been experiencing this training method the whole time, spoke with deep feeling.

At the same time, he recalled the fear of being dominated by Sasuke's Lightning Style.

One had to know, this guy would zap him with electricity from time to time even during class.

If it weren't for his sufficiently tough will, he would have been kicked out of the classroom by the teacher long ago.

"Naruto, Lee."

"Regardless of the direction our training takes, physical strength is the foundation of it all."

"Lee goes without saying; he has the best physical constitution among the three of us."

"However, there is still plenty of room for improvement."

"Therefore, our training from here on out cannot remain as singular as it was before."

"Today, we will complete ten rounds of body tempering."

"Consider the upcoming physical conditioning as training to master your own bodies."

"Are you ready?"

After Sasuke finished speaking, powerful arcs of electricity began to dance between his hands.

Watching the sparks in Sasuke's hands, Naruto and Lee couldn't help but twitch the corners of their mouths.

This was going to... hurt a little!