Hinata's Worries

Once the final four were decided, the tournament's excitement instantly surged to its peak.

Everyone knew that none of the remaining matches would be easy.

Kiba spent almost the entire day talking tough, saying he would definitely crush Sasuke; although Ino still smiled as much as usual, she clearly went off to train for another half hour more seriously than usual after practice ended.

As for Ling, he stayed until the latest, as always.

It was not that he insisted on pushing himself to the limit. He simply knew that every battle ahead might force out more hidden cards. The more it came down to this, the more he needed to keep his body and chakra in their steadiest condition.

By the time night fell, only scattered lights remained at the ninja academy training grounds.

Ling stood before a wooden post, repeating the most basic compression, decompression, and short bursts over and over. Sweat ran down from his temples, soaking through his collar. He did not practice Explosive Shuriken, nor did he force himself to push Fire Release further. He only drilled the few basic movements most likely to determine victory until his limbs went numb.

He finally stopped when the old injury in his shoulder began to throb with heat.

"You haven't gone back yet?"

A very soft voice came from behind him.

Ling turned and saw Hinata standing at the entrance to the training ground, a small cloth bundle held in her arms. The night made her seem even quieter than she had during the day. Even the way she stood carried a trace of uncertainty, as though she was afraid of disturbing him.

"Why are you here?" Ling asked.

Hinata took two steps closer and lowered her head as she offered him the bundle. "These... are medicinal patches. Last time, I saw that your shoulder injury hadn't completely healed."

Ling accepted the bundle and caught the faint scent of medicine from within.

"Thank you."

Hinata gently shook her head, but her gaze remained on his sweat-soaked sleeve and the slightly reddened side of his shoulder. "You've been training too much lately... You still have a match tomorrow."

Ling fell silent for a moment before answering calmly, "Precisely because I have a match tomorrow, I can't afford to relax."

Hinata pressed her lips together.

She knew he was right. But reason was reason. Watching him drive himself so hard again and again still made her heart ache.

"But you'll get tired too." Her voice was as soft as the wind. "If your injury gets worse, that wouldn't be good."

Ling's movements paused slightly at those words.

Ever since coming to this world, many people had reminded him to stay in control, warned him not to lose control, told him not to disgrace the Uchiha Clan. But there seemed to be very few people like Hinata, who truly focused on whether he was too tired or whether he might hurt himself.

"I'll be careful," he said.

Hinata raised her head and looked at him, as though trying to determine whether that was merely something he said to reassure her. But when she met those calm eyes, which showed no trace of perfunctory dismissal, she slowly nodded.

After a brief silence, she seemed to finally gather her courage and asked softly, "Can you... put it on yourself?"

Ling paused slightly.

Hinata's ears immediately turned red, and she hurriedly added, "I-I mean, if it's inconvenient, I can help you... just for a moment."

The night breeze was gentle. Only the two of them remained by the training grounds.

Ling looked at the medicinal patch in his hand, then finally nodded. "I'll trouble you, then."

Hinata seemed not to have expected him to actually agree. Her whole body stiffened for a moment before she hurried closer. Her fingers were so light that she scarcely dared to truly touch him. She carefully peeled back the patch at the injured spot on his shoulder, then slowly pressed down its edges.

Her movements were excessively earnest. Even her breathing was soft, as if she was not touching an ordinary medicinal patch, but something that might be startled if she was not careful.

"It's done..." After applying it, she stepped back half a pace, her voice so low it was nearly inaudible.

The wind rustled through the trees beside the training ground.

After several breaths of silence, Hinata suddenly said quietly, "I'll cheer for you tomorrow."

Ling looked at her and gave a quiet "Mm."

Yet that single sound slowly lit a tiny glimmer in Hinata's eyes.

She did not linger any longer. Having delivered the patches, she prepared to leave. Halfway there, she could not help looking back and saw Ling already lowering his head to open the cloth bundle, as though he truly intended to use them.

In that instant, the indescribable worry in her chest finally eased a little.

Early the next morning, Ling reapplied the medicinal patch to his shoulder as instructed. The sting truly lessened considerably. When he left, dawn had not fully broken yet. As soon as he circulated chakra through his palm, he could feel that his condition was smoother than it had been the night before.

When he reached the side of the training ground, Ino was already leaning against the railing, waiting for the drawing of lots. The moment she saw him approach, she noticed the treated marks on his shoulder.

"You really did train too late again yesterday."

Ling glanced at her. "How did you know?"

"Because when it matters most, you're even less likely to let yourself stop." Ino huffed, then let her gaze rest on his shoulder again. "Still, it was treated fairly well today."

Ling did not say who had given him the medicinal patches.

But Ino was far too perceptive. She almost immediately sensed something from that faint, inexplicable calm. She did not press him for answers, merely pursed her lips in a somewhat complicated way.

The tournament had yet to begin.

But subtler emotional threads had already quietly drawn taut between her and Hinata.