Hinata vs. Neji

Hinata stood in the center of the arena.

Neji stood opposite her.

Her cousin. The Hyuga clan's genius. The Caged Bird curse mark stretched from his forehead to his hairline, glinting dark green beneath the lights.

"Withdraw," Neji said evenly. "You can't beat me. The main family's young lady isn't suited for fighting. You're too gentle."

Hinata did not answer.

She assumed the opening stance of the Gentle Fist. Her palms opened, chakra flowing from them and gathering into pale blue light at her fingertips. Her hands were trembling. She had endured for too many years and did not want to endure any longer.

"Match—begin!"

Neji moved first.

Eight Trigrams Palm. Palm after palm, the force of his strikes sealed off every route of retreat. He was trying to make her surrender. Every blow brushed past her clothes and struck beside her chakra points rather than hitting them precisely. He was deliberately missing.

"You're not even qualified to make me get serious."

Hinata bit her lip. Chakra burst from her palms. Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms. Her palm strikes were slower than Neji's, but every one drove forward. She forced her way ahead, taking Neji's palms head-on with her body, like swimming against a current.

Neji frowned. He swung a palm backhandedly into Hinata's shoulder.

Hinata flew away.

She crashed onto the ground and bounced once. She coughed, blood at the corner of her mouth, but she climbed back up. Once again, she assumed her opening stance.

Ringo stood in the spectator stands. He had not sat down once.

His system analyzed Neji's attack patterns, the weakness of the Eight Trigrams Palm: Revolving Heaven, and the gaps in chakra point sealing. As chakra spun at high speed during Revolving Heaven, there were three weak points, like three hollows at the center of a vortex. In his card slots, the Sound Wave Fragment and Wind Cutter Fragment glimmered faintly. The recipe slot had already automatically matched a path: Sound Wave + Wind Cutter → gold, capable of piercing Revolving Heaven's rotating defensive layer.

The synthesis would take only three seconds.

But he did not synthesize it.

It was not that he did not want to help. Hinata did not need his help. She had stepped into the arena not so Ringo could fight in her place. She was here to prove that she could stand here on her own.

Neji struck again.

Hinata fell once more. Then she climbed back up. There was more blood at the corner of her mouth, but she still assumed her opening stance.

"Why—won't you give up?" Neji's voice changed. He did not understand. "You're the main family's young lady. You don't need to fight. You only need to sit in that position and wait for others to fight for you. Why do you have to do it yourself?"

"Because—"

Hinata's voice was quiet, but the entire arena heard it.

"Because—someone—is watching me, and I don't want—to let him see me—run away."

She did not look at Ringo. But Ringo knew who she meant.

Neji fell silent.

...His palm technique changed. He no longer brushed past her clothes; now he was serious. Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.

Palm shadows fell like rain.

Hinata's body was struck again and again. Every palm hit a chakra point, cutting off the flow of her chakra. She could no longer use the Gentle Fist. Yet she did not fall. She stood amid Neji's storm of palms, her body swaying and her knees buckling, but she did not go down.

Neji's final palm stopped before Hinata's throat.

It did not descend.

"Are you—satisfied now?"

Hinata looked at him. There were tears in her eyes, but they did not fall.

"I'm—not—satisfied, because I still haven't—shown you—that I'm not just—the main family's young lady. I am—Hyuga Hinata. I am—Hyuga Hinata, who wants to become—a better ninja."

After saying that, her body pitched forward.

Neji caught her. His supporting palm held her shoulder, and the expression on his face changed. He was confused.

"You—why—exactly..."

Hinata did not answer. Her eyes closed, her chakra flow dropping to its lowest point, but her lips still moved. Ringo's system caught her lip movements. They were not meant for Neji.

"I'm sorry."

Ringo gritted his teeth.

He did not shout. It was not because he did not care, but because he knew Hinata did not need his shouting. What she needed was for him to keep his promise.

"Wait for me to come find you."

Hayate Gekko raised a hand. "Winner—Hyuga Neji."

The medical team rushed into the arena. Neji handed Hinata over to the medical ninja and turned to leave. As he passed directly beneath Ringo, he did not look up. But his steps slowed for a beat. A line appeared in Ringo's system.

"Detected—Respect Fragment from Hyuga Neji. Purple. Automatically collected. Unconditional. No defeat required. Source: his final act of supporting Hinata."

Ringo lowered his head and looked at his card slot.

Purple light. It had not dropped from Neji. It had dropped from Hinata. Because Neji had supported her. Not an attack, not indifference, but support. That gesture carried more weight than any apology.

Ringo jumped down from the stands.

He vaulted the railing, just as Rock Lee had earlier. But he did not head for the center of the arena—he went toward the passageway. Toward the treatment room.

Kakashi watched him from behind. He did not stop him.

The treatment room door was not fully closed.

Hinata lay on a hospital bed, white bandages wrapped from her shoulder to her wrist. There were still traces of blood on her face, but her expression was calm. She was exhausted. Sixty-four chakra points had been sealed, and she did not even have the strength to open her eyes.

But her fingers were moving.

Ringo sat beside the bed.

He did not speak. Neither did Hinata. The lights in the room were dim, with only the pale green afterglow of medical ninjutsu wavering across the walls.

A long time passed.

Hinata's fingers touched the back of Ringo's hand.

"That—wasn't an apology."

Ringo spoke, his voice so low that only Hinata could hear.

"It was to prove that you stood before him not because you're from the main family. It was because you are Hyuga Hinata, who wants to become a better ninja."

Hinata's eyelashes trembled. Tears slid from the corners of her eyes and seeped into the bandages.

"How—did you know—what I wanted to say?"

"Because—I know you."

Ringo took her hand, gently enclosing it as though afraid of breaking it.

"Longer than I've known any card synthesis recipe."

Hinata did not answer. Her hand turned over and gripped Ringo's fingers. Her strength was faint, but her grip was tight. As if she were saying, You're right. I don't need to apologize.

Footsteps sounded outside the door. The electronic screen hummed—the next preliminary match was about to begin.

Ringo did not rise.

"I'm going to fight."

Hinata's fingers tightened slightly.

"Win—and come back—and tell me."

"Okay."

He stood and walked to the door. Then he looked back.

"It's mine."

The electronic screen flashed at the end of the corridor.

Ringo vs. Dosu.

Ringo did not look at the screen. He looked at his card slots. The orange glow of Boil Release pulsed, while the golden runes of Steam Ninjutsu slowly rotated along the edge of the slots. It was ready.

He walked toward the arena.

In the treatment room behind him, Hinata opened her eyes. She looked at the ceiling, her lips moving as she spoke two words.

Not "Good luck."

"Be careful."

The electronic screen flashed again.

But Ringo no longer needed to look. Because no matter who his opponent was—he had a promise to fulfill. Not a promise to Hinata. A promise to himself.

Win, then go back and tell her.

Keep winning.