"Impossible! You're a dead last who can't even perform the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. How could you possibly pull off that move?!" Neji shouted angrily at Hinata.
Hinata took a deep breath and smiled.
"Yeah, at first, I didn't think I could learn it either. I couldn't even beat my little sister, who's several years younger than me."
"Weak, useless, timid—those words have followed me all my life."
"But..." Hinata looked up at Zeyu on the second floor.
"Zeyu-kun believed in me! He encouraged me! He gave me confidence! And I believe what Zeyu-kun told me: I can do it!"
"Without Zeyu-kun, I wouldn't be who I am now!"
"Hinata..." Zeyu murmured as he watched her.
Hinata turned back to Neji and slowly assumed the opening stance of the Gentle Fist. Then she said solemnly,
"So... Zeyu-kun isn't an outsider at all! As long as I'm with him, I can do anything!"
Neji gave a faint laugh and slowly straightened up.
"Hmph. So what if you learned the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm? I'm still the one with the upper hand. You can forget about beating me!" Neji said contemptuously.
Then he took up the opening stance as well.
"I'll crush you right here! I'll make sure you never say another one of those stupid, pretty words!" Neji glared at Hinata and shouted.
The two faced each other again. The air was so still they could almost hear each other breathing.
Then Neji suddenly charged at Hinata.
"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"
Hinata struck straight at Neji with her right palm.
Neji quickly dodged to the side.
"Hmph. You think that move will work on me again?" Neji said with a sneer, then charged at Hinata once more.
Hinata fired another Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm with her left hand.
Neji turned sharply and dodged it again.
"That's all you've got!" Neji shouted, relentlessly closing in on Hinata.
Hinata panicked and backed away.
Suddenly, she stumbled. Her foot slipped, and she fell backward.
"It's over!" Neji shouted, seizing his chance.
They were already very close.
Neji planted his feet, lowered his body, and spread his arms wide. His feet scraped a short distance across the ground, and a Eight Trigrams formation appeared beneath him.
"Not good! Neji's going to use that move!" Guy realized. He stepped onto the railing, ready to jump down and stop Neji.
The other team instructors realized what was happening too, and hurried to intervene.
Hinata watched Neji and understood what he was about to do. Terror filled her eyes; her pupils trembled, and her lips quivered.
Memories flooded her mind: being looked down on and despised, training late into the night without making any progress.
"Is... this as far as I can go?" Hinata thought, tears welling in her eyes.
Just as she thought that—
"Don't lose to him, Hinata!"
"Don't give up!!!"
The railing in Zeyu's hands snapped with a loud bang. Clutching the two broken pieces, he yelled at the top of his lungs.
Zeyu's words brought Hinata back to her senses. She gritted her teeth.
She flipped backward, planted both hands on the ground, and pushed herself up into the air with all her strength. Tears flew from the corners of her eyes, but her gaze was resolute.
Neji froze for a moment, then knitted his brows and sprang toward Hinata in midair, striking at her with his palm.
"Don't think you can escape!" Neji shouted.
"That's right. What was I thinking? I'm not the same as I was before. Zeyu-kun has always been by my side. Nothing matters except answering him!" Hinata thought as she adjusted her position.
She stared at Neji as he charged toward her, not a trace of fear left in her eyes.
"Remember the training I did with Zeyu-kun!" Hinata thought, drawing both fists back to her waist and gathering her strength.
Neji's Byakugan clearly saw chakra quickly gathering in Hinata's hands. He was shocked.
"Not good! She can get ready to use the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm again this quickly?!" Neji thought, hurriedly raising both arms to shield himself.
"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"
Hinata struck with one palm. Neji, still in midair, couldn't dodge in time. The blow hit his arm, and the pain made his body stiffen.
Hinata struck again with her other hand. Neji couldn't take it anymore. He cried out in pain, his head falling back as his arms slowly dropped.
Hinata brought both hands together and gathered chakra at her waist.
"This is the strength Zeyu-kun gave me! I won't run away anymore!" Hinata shouted as she struck Neji with both hands.
A powerful blast of air hit Neji squarely in the chest, sending him crashing hard into the ground with a loud impact.
Neji cried out in pain. The tiles beneath him shattered, and he spat out blood. Dust rose and scattered in every direction with the fading gust of wind.
Several instructors arrived just in time. They stood not far from Neji as a gust swept past, their eyes filled with shock.
Hinata landed on the ground, panting heavily. Her arms hung limp at her sides as she looked down at Neji.
"Can you still get up?" Hayate asked as he came to Neji's side.
Neji didn't respond. He coughed twice, his eyes full of unwillingness to accept defeat. He tried to raise an arm, but managed only to lift it a little before letting it fall.
Seeing this, Hayate declared Hinata the winner.
Hinata breathed a sigh of relief. Her body swayed, and she looked about to fall over.
"That's great! She won!" Megumi said excitedly, looking toward Zeyu.
But Zeyu was nowhere to be seen. She only heard two sharp cracks. On the ground lay two badly bent pieces of railing.
"That's wonderful, Hinata. You did it," Kurenai said, walking toward Hinata and reaching out a hand.
A figure flashed past her. Zeyu reached Hinata first, and the unsteady Hinata leaned into his arms.
"Hinata, how are you feeling? Let me check," Zeyu said, holding her close.
"Uh..." Kurenai's hand remained suspended in the air. Then she withdrew it helplessly and smiled.
Seeing Zeyu arrive, Hinata smiled and looked up at him.
"Thank you, Zeyu-kun. I owe it to you. Otherwise, I might have lost," Hinata said, sweat streaming down her face.
"No, it was your hard work in training that did it," Zeyu said. Looking at Hinata in his arms, he felt his heart ache. Tears glimmered in his eyes.
Hinata noticed his expression and suddenly remembered how Zeyu had acted earlier. She decided to imitate him to put his mind at ease.
She couldn't remember which hand he'd used, so she raised both hands beside her face and made peace signs. Smiling, she looked at Zeyu.
"I won, Zeyu-kun, so I'm okay, you know?" Hinata tilted her head. Sweat glistened on her face, and she was flushed and panting from exhaustion.
Zeyu froze at the sight. His face reddened, and just as he was about to say something, Hinata could no longer hold herself up. She buried her head against his chest, her two peace signs slowly drooping as her legs bent inward. She looked ready to collapse to her knees.
Zeyu quickly scooped Hinata into his arms.
"Yikes, Hinata was so adorable just now. I got distracted for a moment." Zeyu thought as he carried her back to the second floor.
He took off his waist pouch and tossed it to Shota.
"Shota, get some things out of there for me, quick!"
Then he crouched down and sat Hinata on his lap. He freed one hand and placed it on her chest, using Medical Ninjutsu.
"Got it!" Shota crouched on the ground and rummaged through the pouch with practiced ease.
Watching Zeyu treat Hinata, Megumi felt reassured. She was curious about what he kept in his waist pouch, so she leaned closer to look.
Aside from a pile of scrolls, there wasn't even a single kunai in the pouch.
Megumi's mouth twitched as she stared in disbelief.
A moment later, Shota pulled out a pile of things, including medical supplies, bedding, water, towels, and more.
Zeyu was a little surprised and praised him.
"You're prepared, Shota. Nice work." He laid Hinata down as she drifted off to sleep from exhaustion.
"Hehe." Shota scratched the back of his head and grinned.
Megumi watched the two of them and rubbed her forehead helplessly.
"Hey, big brother, why are you getting a nosebleed?" Shota asked, looking at Zeyu in confusion.
Zeyu froze at the question and hurriedly wiped beneath his nose, then continued treating Hinata.
"I'm fine. Don't worry about the little things," Zeyu said, turning his head away. His face reddened a little as he remembered how Hinata had looked just moments ago.
Below, Guy called for the medical ninja to take Neji away for treatment.
"Zeyu again. How does he keep doing it?" Kakashi thought as he watched Neji being carried away, his curiosity about Zeyu growing.
Upstairs, the Third Hokage watched the busy scene below and smiled faintly.
"Hiashi, you really hit the jackpot this time. Hahaha!"
"Ah... ah... achoo!" Hiashi stood beside the training ground, watching his clan members train, when he suddenly sneezed.
"What's going on? Why do I feel a chill down my back?" Hiashi wondered. He didn't think much of it, waved it off, and went back inside to drink tea.