I Have High Hopes for You

"Finally, I've trained Genjutsu to level ten!" Jin exclaimed as he looked at the last ant.

"Brother Jin, why are you so happy?" Hinata asked happily from beside him.

"Because I can be by your side now!" Jin said casually.

Then, Jin began serving as Hinata's practice target.

In order to win Hinata over, Jin had put in a tremendous amount of effort. Every day, he played with her, trained with her, ate and drank with her—he was more attentive than any paid companion. This delighted Uchiha Fuchiu and Hiashi Hyuga. Everyone in Konoha Village knew that Uchiha Jin treated the eldest daughter of Hiashi Hyuga's family with the utmost care. They all thought cow dung was nourishing a flower, and endlessly debated whether it was worthwhile for a flower to be stuck in cow dung. The topic became a favorite subject of debate among Konoha's residents after meals.

Completely in the dark, Jin had no idea that "cow dung" had been added to his list of nicknames. He was still acting as Hinata's practice target, foolishly grinning as he said, "Keep it up. You're doing great." At this rate, I'll definitely win Hinata over someday. Hehe, if I'm not a genius, then who is? His brows gradually furrowed. Sigh, there are less than two years left. If the Uchiha Clan is wiped out, I'll be homeless. I need to think of something. Should I wipe out Danzo's council of elders? Or resist Akatsuki's attack? Such a hard choice. I'll think about it later. Both of those things require training the Gale Technique. If I can train the Gale Technique to level ten, staying alive won't be a problem. I also need to become a Chunin as soon as possible. I need to master the Summoning Technique quickly too—it'll be a huge help then. I also need to practice spatial teleportation. God! There are really so many skills to train!

"Brother Jin, what's wrong? Is something bothering you?" Hinata asked.

"Nothing. I just feel that I'm too weak and need to improve my strength as quickly as possible. So I can protect my Hinata!" Jin said shamelessly.

"Oh, Brother Jin, I'll work hard too. I'll definitely help you," Hinata said, her little face flushed red.

"Muah! My Hinata is the best! I'll be going off to train for a while, so practice properly at home! Wait for me to come back! Then I'll take you somewhere fun. Let's work hard together!" Jin said with a smile before leaving.

Jin wandered around Konoha Village for quite some time before finally finding Naruto. He patted Naruto on the head from behind and said, "Naruto, what are you doing all alone? Missing me, perhaps? Hahaha, just kidding. I want to know what your dream is."

Naruto flashed a sunshine-like smile. "My dream is to become the Fifth Hokage!"

Jin smiled as he rubbed Naruto's head. "That's a great dream! Then you'd better work hard! You know, my younger brother Sasuke Uchiha, the eldest daughter of the Hyuga family, Hinata, and many other kids our age have already begun learning all kinds of skills. If you don't work hard, they'll surpass you. I won't be coming out for the next year either. I'm going to begin my own training."

Naruto said, "Boss Jin, but no one will teach me ninjutsu. What should I do?"

Jin smiled. "You can train your body first and make yourself run faster than anyone else. When everyone else is too exhausted to stand, but you can still stand before the enemy and fight, then you'll be a hero in battle!" Jin's words made Naruto's eyes shine brightly.

Jin looked at Naruto. "Train in moderation. Don't wear your body out. Remember to practice with weights. That way, your body will have endless strength. I'm leaving now. I'll come see you again after a while. Since you've acknowledged me as your boss, I should show some generosity too. This is my personal savings. It'll treat you to meals for a year. Remember to return the favor someday."

Naruto stared blankly at the huge bundle of money. It was only after Jin had gone far away that he recovered and shouted at Jin's retreating back, "Boss, I definitely won't let you down! I'll definitely treat you someday!" Tears streamed down his face as he spoke.

Jin happily returned home, dug up a pile of ants in the courtyard, shut the doors and windows, and began practicing the Gale Technique.

Smack! He vanished! He punched an ant, then reappeared.

Smack! He vanished again! He punched an ant, then reappeared.

Oh no, Clone No. 9 has run into a huge tiger! Damn it, why is that tiger black? This is bad, this is bad—I'll have to send another clone over! Damn black tiger. Let's see how this young master deals with you! Clones No. 1 through No. 8, hurry to No. 9's location and kill the black tiger! Jin commanded mentally, then quietly watched the battle.

Damn it! Why would there be other people in the Forest of Death? Shadow Clone—Dispel! Jin gloomily recalled whether he had been spotted.

A man's voice rang out in the Forest of Death. "What's going on? I could sense someone here just now, so why did they suddenly disappear? Could it be a Kage-level expert? Impossible! I need to hurry back and report this!"

After thinking it over, Jin confirmed that he had not been discovered. He cursed the person who had interrupted his leveling before continuing his training.

For Hinata, train, train, train! Jin silently encouraged himself to persevere.

For myself, train, train, train! For grilled meat, train, train, train! So I don't become a eunuch, train, train, train! Huh? That's not right! How could I become a eunuch? What bad luck! I must have trained for too long! I almost went down the path of becoming a eunuch! Damn dead eunuch! For my little brother, I'll endure! Jin trained with a face full of fury.

Hiashi Hyuga noticed that Jin had not been coming around lately. Feeling puzzled, he asked Hinata, who was training, "Why hasn't Jin come recently? Did something happen? Did you two have a fight?"

Hinata's little face reddened. "Brother Jin said he wants to protect me. He's training, and he'll come back after a while."

Hiashi Hyuga laughed heartily. "Good! Very good! To have such ambition at such a young age! It seems I'm quite wise after all! Hinata! You must work hard too! Members of the Hyuga family do not live to be protected by others. We are no worse than the Uchiha Clan. Work hard, my good daughter. I have high hopes for you two!"

Hinata nodded, her face red.

After more than an hour of training, Jin's expression grew increasingly awful. Blegh—Jin vomited!

"This won't do! I need to think of a way! If this keeps up, I'll vomit myself to death!" Jin muttered to himself.