Three Years in the Blink of an Eye

Time flew by; in the blink of an eye, nearly three years had passed since they were last together.

It seemed as though many things had happened in these three years, yet it also felt as if nothing had changed at all. Hyuga Gen continued to walk to school with Hyuga Natsu and Yu Zhihui, just as he always had.

There were changes, of course; at the very least, all three of them had grown significantly taller, and Xia and Zhihui had blossomed into increasingly lovely and spirited young girls.

Following Hyuga Natsu's suggestion, Yu Zhihui had grown her hair long, and the elegant, flowing purple locks draped over her shoulders made her appear even more gentle and moving.

In contrast, Hyuga Natsu had opted for a short haircut, which made her look all the more playful and cute. In Shippuden, Hyuga Natsu's beauty was not a whit inferior to Hinata's.

With Hyuga Gen offering tips on the side, the current Hyuga Natsu was a match for Hinata in every way—even the bust that Hinata took such pride in had been surpassed by Hyuga Natsu.

After all, Hyuga Natsu was now the very definition of a "child-faced, busty beauty."

Hyuga Natsu chirped like a lark, chattering away incessantly in the middle, while Yu Zhihui listened quietly on the right, only speaking up to respond when Xia asked for her opinion.

Watching the two of them chatting and laughing beside him—a perfect match—Yu Zhihui felt a twinge of envy, though a look of dejection flashed across her face and vanished just as quickly.

She didn't know when it had started, but she had realized she was in love with Hyuga Gen. Perhaps she had fallen for him the moment they first met; after all, aside from her mother, no one had ever stood up for her like he did. Even though he had been beaten quite badly back then, in her eyes, he was her hero.

Or perhaps it was through their subsequent interactions. Despite being from the prestigious Hyuga clan, he was gentle with everyone and lacked even a shred of arrogance. Even when a small-time shop clerk served him food, he would always say thank you.

More importantly, he was unique. It seemed there was nothing he didn't know—ice cream, barbecue, hot pot, and so on; they were all novel things, and their unparalleled deliciousness provided her with a truly special experience.

The changes at home were also because of him. Although her mother had put in the effort, she knew that if it weren't for him, she wouldn't be living a life free from worry, filled with hope and happiness.

Whenever she saw her mother scrimping and saving, working tirelessly for her sake, her hands calloused and her forehead lined with wrinkles, growing thinner by the day, it pained her heart deeply. She wanted to help her mother, but she couldn't do much.

Yet, because of him, everything had improved. Although life wasn't exactly easy now, it was infinitely better than before. At the very least, they didn't have to do manual labor or toil from dawn till dusk; they only had to manage a few people.

He had done so much, yet he always insisted that it was all her mother's credit, claiming he had just happened to be there and wanted to earn some pocket money. But she knew that while her mother could have managed with someone else, his ideas and insights were absolutely indispensable.

Though she loved him, she could only bury that affection deep in her heart, for the two standing beside her were the real pair—an enviable couple.

As for Hyuga Natsu's feelings for Hyuga Gen, anyone with eyes could see it. After all, the way she looked at him was different; it was that sparkling, radiant gaze, filled with gentle, smiling warmth.

"Brother Dongyi, I heard that Brother Uchiha Itachi has already become a Chunin, and he passed the Chunin Exams all by himself."

"That's right."

Hyuga Gen sighed with some emotion. Things were unfolding just as they did in Shippuden; Itachi's two teammates had died during a mission, forcing him to take the Chunin Exams alone.

It was undoubtedly a tragic story, though people would only notice how powerful Uchiha Itachi was for passing the exams solo.

"But I still think Brother Dongyi is more amazing, since you can make so many delicious things."

Seeing Hyuga Gen's mood dampen, Hyuga Natsu, thinking he felt inferior because Uchiha Itachi had become a Chunin, quickly added.

"You, you really are a little smarty-pants."

Hyuga Gen reached out and pinched Hyuga Natsu's cheek.

"Ouch—ouch! You're not allowed to pinch my cheeks, I won't be pretty anymore!"

Hyuga Natsu puffed out her cheeks, looking incredibly cute.

"Xia, how is your Gentle Fist coming along? I'll teach you a powerful technique after school."

Since you dare to underestimate me, I'll let you see just how capable I am.

Hyuga Gen hadn't been idle these past three years. Whenever he had time, he would train. Both his chakra reserves and his control over it had improved tremendously, and he had also managed to develop his own original ninjutsu.

Beyond that, he had mastered both Rotation and Rasengan. Learning Rotation had taken quite a bit of effort, roughly three months. Learning Rasengan hadn't taken long at all—just two days, and he was proficient within a week.

Come to think of it, during the learning process, he realized that Rotation and Rasengan were quite similar. Rasengan involved rotating inward to condense chakra, while Rotation involved rotating outward to deflect physical attacks.

Hyuga Gen had to admit that without a certain level of talent, Rotation was truly not easy to learn. Not only did one have to release chakra from every tenketsu point on the body, but one also had to maintain a perfect balance in the amount of chakra released from each point. If the balance was off, it was useless. In short, it had to be perfect.

Talent was truly an important thing. Just think of Hinata in Shippuden—was she not hardworking? No, she was very hardworking, yet in the end, she still never learned Rotation.

Genius was one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration, but without that one percent of inspiration, your ninety-nine percent of perspiration was useless.

Rasengan was described in great detail in Shippuden, so Hyuga Gen picked it up easily; most of his time was spent on maintaining the stability of the sphere.

In terms of physical fitness, Hyuga Gen had also improved significantly. Long-term sparring with wooden dummies had greatly enhanced his ability to withstand blows.

As for genjutsu, Hyuga Gen had mastered Genjutsu Release and could perform a few minor illusions. The theoretical knowledge for breaking genjutsu was explained in detail in Shippuden, and now he could apply it correctly.

Over these three years, Hyuga Gen had spent a lot of effort on Fuinjutsu. Now, he could release simple seals through scrolls, though the fact that he couldn't access high-level Fuinjutsu gave him a bit of a headache.

"Really? What kind of technique is it?"

Hyuga Natsu looked at Hyuga Gen with great excitement; she trusted everything he said implicitly.

After all, the last time he said he would teach her a new technique, she had ended up awakening her Byakugan, which had made her happy for a long time.

Of course, the key was that Hyuga Natsu had already awakened her Byakugan during the incident where Hyuga Gen was beaten; otherwise, no matter how he taught her, it would have been useless.

"You'll find out after school today."

Hyuga Gen kept her in suspense. He had already decided to teach Hyuga Natsu the Rotation; once she mastered it, she would have an extra layer of self-preservation.

Perhaps influenced by Hyuga Gen, Hyuga Natsu was exceptionally diligent in her training; she had already gone through several wooden dummies at home. Her Gentle Fist was not much weaker than Hyuga Gen's, after all, they often sparred together.

"Zhihui, you have quite a high talent for genjutsu, but if you want to improve further, it would be better to find a good master."

Hyuga Gen had learned of Yu Zhihui's talent for genjutsu from Hyuga Natsu. He had previously asked Zhihui to help test his resistance to genjutsu and his ability to break it, and he had discovered that her aptitude was indeed quite good.

However, to take the next step, finding a good teacher was better. Having a powerful mentor to provide guidance made the work twice as effective with half the effort. In Shippuden, Naruto was a living example; he was a completely different person before and after meeting the Pervy Sage.

"Mm, I understand."

Hearing Yu Zhihui say this, Hyuga Gen didn't say anything more, as he didn't know anything about genjutsu himself and could only offer a suggestion.

Hyuga Gen thought again about what was going to happen tomorrow. Should he tell her, or should he not?