During their treatment, Hinata learned from her teacher, Kurenai, that the one Shinmoku had blown up that day was actually his clone.
She had misunderstood him. He didn't know it, but she still felt bad about it. Luckily, now she had a chance to make it up to him.
She took Shinmoku to the general store she often visited and paid out of her own pocket for knitting needles and wool.
"Thanks."
Shinmoku had meant to pay for them himself, but Hinata insisted. It hadn't cost much, so he let her.
Next, they went to a park and sat down beneath a shady tree.
"What do you want to knit?"
"Anything's fine."
"Then let's make a scarf. It's relatively simple and suitable for beginners."
"Sounds good."
Hinata smiled faintly, picked up the knitting needles, and gestured for Shinmoku to do the same.
"Oh!"
Shinmoku followed her hand movements and picked up his needles.
"I'll teach you the most basic stitches first." Hinata's hands kept moving as she spoke. "First, cast on, then knit across. When you're doing it, you need to pay attention to..."
As he listened to the instructions and watched her technique, he had to keep his own hands moving. Shinmoku even felt tempted to activate his Sharingan.
About an hour later, they had knitted a scarf about a meter long.
The final step was to bind off. When they finished, they both stood up.
"We finally did it."
Shinmoku spread out the scarf, then gave an awkward look.
It was shorter than Hinata's, crooked, and not nearly as nicely colored. Hinata's was red and blue, while his was solid black and looked like a caterpillar.
In short, it was hideous.
"It looks really good!" Hinata encouraged him, seemingly noticing his expression. "Much better than my first one."
"Thanks, but you can be honest."
It was a bit ugly, but Shinmoku hadn't set out to make a perfect scarf. He just wanted to learn some basic stitches.
"I'm only doing this for training."
"Training?"
"Yeah."
As he spoke, Shinmoku took out another ball of yarn. Once he was ready, he slowly moved his hands away from the needles, keeping them connected with chakra so they stayed in place.
"Wow!"
[Mission: You've learned how to knit. Now use this method to make a perfect scarf!]
[Mission reward: A scarf.]
"???"
What kind of stupid mission was this?
Shinmoku only gave the mission a brief glance before ignoring it. This training was even harder than he'd expected. There were a lot of small, intricate movements, and not only did the needles' positions keep changing, but their center of gravity did too. He had to focus all his attention on them.
"Hey, you two—"
Naruto's shout grew closer, and then he landed heavily beside them.
He'd dropped a stitch!
Shinmoku was speechless. He hadn't expected this unexpected lesson in resisting distractions.
He looked up. Naruto seemed to be everywhere in the park.
"H-hello, Naruto-kun," Hinata said softly.
"What?" Naruto leaned in to listen. A moment later, he said, "I can't talk to you guys! There's a perverted teacher chasing me!"
Then he ran off without giving them a chance to respond.
"What happened?" Hinata asked quietly.
"Probably training." Shinmoku recalled the scene of Ebisu helping Naruto train. "By the way, why don't you call me Shinmoku-kun?"
"I... I don't think I've ever called you by your name."
Hinata looked a little embarrassed as she spoke. She had called him by name in her thoughts, but she hadn't added "-kun."
"Yeah, you haven't."
Shinmoku blinked, then went back to his training.
Uchiha Shrine.
Shinna activated her Sharingan.
After the exam ended yesterday, she'd learned that the Uchiha Clan's secret to becoming stronger was hidden here. She had come over after parting ways with Shinmoku that morning.
"So you came after all?"
A hoarse voice came from a dark corner of the shrine.
Orochimaru slowly emerged.
After hearing what Shinna had said yesterday, he'd told her that the shrine held the Uchiha Clan's secrets.
He didn't know for certain if it did. He'd only deduced as much, but he was probably right. When it came to understanding the Uchiha, even some of the clan's own members likely knew less than he did.
"Do you want to become stronger?" Orochimaru said ominously. "Then just kill Shinmoku."
"What a wonderfully agonizing relationship. The person you hate most is also your only living relative. Cut that bond and become stronger!"
Shinna glanced at Orochimaru without a word. She had seen the stone tablet and read its contents.
Judging by Orochimaru's reaction, only someone who had awakened the Sharingan could see it.
He'd deduced it? Impressive.
She said nothing and turned to leave.
Orochimaru wasn't bothered. That was how the Uchiha were.
His figure faded from sight, and he left too. He still had things to do.
The sun arced across the sky. It was already evening.
Hinata had stayed while Shinmoku trained and had even prepared a bento for him.
Only the final step, binding off, remained. Hinata watched without blinking, afraid she might miss the moment.
When the knitting needles crossed and pulled free from the scarf—
"Yay!"
Hinata clapped excitedly, while Shinmoku collapsed onto the grass beside her.
His hands were trembling, and he was drenched in sweat.
The day's training had made a clear difference. At first, he'd moved timidly, but by the afternoon his movements had become fluid.
He was still slow, but that gave him plenty of time to think about where to place each stitch. This scarf looked much better than the first one—good enough to sell in a store.
[Mission complete. Reward issued and available to claim at any time.]
That was pretty thoughtful.
"Thanks," he said to Hinata.
"Mhm~ It was nothing."
"Let me buy you dinner."
"You don't have to."
"I do." Shinmoku got up. "Come on. Ichiraku Ramen."
Seeing that Shinmoku had already set off, Hinata said nothing more and followed him.
A short while later, they returned. The scarf they had just knitted had been left behind on the grass.
"Your scarf," she said, catching up to him.
"No, it's your scarf. I'm giving it to you."
"I..."
"Never mind, then. It's not that pretty."
As he spoke, Shinmoku reached out.
Instead, Hinata put the scarf away.
"It's pretty."
She really was so kind!
Ichiraku Ramen.
Shinmoku ordered huge servings of ramen for himself and Hinata. He'd used up a lot of energy and was starving.
They ate in silence.
Shinmoku left only the broth, but Hinata had finished even that. She was still staring intently at the bottom of her bowl, looking like she wanted more.
"Uncle, give her another bowl."
"N-no..."
"Not enough? Then make it two."
"Are you sure?" Teuchi asked.
"Don't worry. We won't waste any."
"Okay!"
"I..." Hinata's face was red, and she seemed to want to say something but couldn't.
"Take your time. I'll head out first." Shinmoku left the money on the counter. "See you."
"Mm."