Hinata's Training

The Hyuga Main House's private training ground, its bluestone-paved floor gleamed with a cold, hard sheen in the morning light.

Hinata was knocked to the ground once again.

Her slender palms pressed against the rough stone slabs, rubbed raw and red. Sweat slid down her pale cheeks, mixing with tears at the corners of her eyes—whether from pain or hurt, even she did not know. Three meters away, Hyuga Hiashi stood with his hands behind his back, the wide sleeves of his white kimono utterly still. On his face, which bore a seventy-percent resemblance to Hinata's, there was only cold disappointment.

"Get up." Hiashi's voice was not loud, but it cracked through the air like a whip. "I demonstrated the opening stance of Gentle Fist Third Form: Revolving Palm seven times. Can you not even remember the direction chakra flows through your meridians?"

Hinata bit her lower lip and shakily pushed herself up. She had just turned six this year. Children her age were still learning the most basic chakra extraction at the Ninja Academy, while she was already being required to master an advanced technique of the Hyuga Clan's secret Gentle Fist. This was not teaching. It was torture.

"Father, I..." Hinata's voice was barely louder than a mosquito's buzz.

"Gather chakra at the laogong acupoint in your palm, guide it in reverse along the Pericardium Meridian to danzhong, then split it into two streams and send it into your eyes." Hiashi cut her off, speaking as quickly as if reciting scripture. "Why can't you manage such a simple route?"

Hinata lowered her head. She could feel chakra darting wildly through her body like a flock of startled birds, completely beyond her control. Every time she tried to circulate it along the route her father had described, a needle-like pain pierced her chest, and all the chakra she had gathered instantly scattered.

"Again." Hiashi took two steps back and assumed the opening stance. "If you don't learn it today, you don't get lunch."

Hinata took a deep breath and formed hand seals before her chest. Chakra rose from her dantian and climbed upward through her meridians. Everything went smoothly until it reached her chest—then that familiar feeling of blockage returned, like an invisible wall lying across her meridians. She gritted her teeth and forced her chakra against it. Agonizing pain exploded through her instantly.

"Mm!"

Hinata let out a muffled groan and staggered back. The backlash of chakra left a sweet taste in her throat. She clutched her chest, her little face deathly pale.

Hiashi's gaze turned completely cold.

"Useless." He spat out the two words, then turned toward the tea table at the edge of the training ground. "The eldest daughter of the Hyuga Main House can't even learn the most basic Gentle Fist. Do you know that children from the Branch House had already been able to complete an entire set of Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms at your age?"

Hinata stood where she was, her shoulders trembling faintly. It was not that she did not work hard. She woke before dawn every day to practice, refusing to rest until her hands were swollen and her chakra exhausted. But some things could not be changed through effort alone.

"I'm sorry..." Her voice caught in her throat.

Hiashi did not turn around. He lifted his teacup and took a sip. "Keep practicing. Until sunset."

The training ground fell silent. Only Hinata's suppressed sobs remained, along with the faint disturbances in the air caused by her repeated failed attempts to circulate chakra. The sun gradually climbed higher, and the temperature rose. The bluestone slabs began to scorch. Sweat soaked through the back of Hinata's training clothes, and her palms, repeatedly used to brace herself against the ground, had already been rubbed raw and were seeping blood.

After another failure, she finally could not hold on any longer. She slumped onto the burning stone slabs and buried her face in her knees.

Footsteps came from the side entrance of the training ground.

They were light and steady, the deliberately restrained gait unique to members of the Branch House. Hinata hurriedly wiped away her tears and looked up, only to see a boy in a plain white training uniform walk in—it was Hyuga Xiao, the Branch House older brother who served as an assistant instructor at the Ninja Academy.

Xiao held a bundle of cleaning tools, as though he had just finished cleaning and happened to be passing by. When he saw the scene in the training ground, his steps paused for a moment. Then he bowed toward Hiashi. "Clan Head."

Hiashi glanced at him without speaking, silently permitting him to enter.

Only then did Xiao walk toward the pool at the edge of the training ground and begin washing a rag. His movements were unhurried, but while bending over, his gaze quietly swept in Hinata's direction.

Byakugan, activate.

His vision instantly pierced through flesh and bone, reaching deep into her meridians. In Xiao's eyes, the flow of chakra within Hinata was crystal clear—this was not a matter of "not trying hard enough" or "lacking talent," as Hiashi claimed. It was a congenital blockage in her meridians. Near the danzhong Acupoint in her chest, where three primary chakra meridians converged, there was a dim, gray obstruction that had nearly solidified into substance. Any chakra attempting to pass through it would be weakened by more than half. Forcing it through would only result in backlash.

Worse still, because Hinata had spent so long training under this blockage by force, her meridians had already sustained slight damage. The cracks were like frost fractures on porcelain, slowly widening with every chakra impact.

Xiao lowered his eyes and continued washing the rag. The splashing water concealed the subtle change in his breathing.

After finishing his tea, Hiashi rose and glanced at the sky. "I need to meet with the Hokage this afternoon. Continue practicing on your own. I'll inspect your progress before dinner."

With that, he left the training ground without looking back.

The heavy wooden doors shut. Only Hinata and Xiao remained in the training ground. Hinata sat blankly on the stone slabs. After a while, she realized she was still in front of someone else. She hurriedly tried to stand, only for her numb legs to give out and send her back down.

Xiao walked over at that moment.

He crouched before Hinata, bringing his gaze level with hers. The angle was carefully chosen: it neither made the eldest daughter of the Main House feel looked down upon nor seemed excessively servile. He took a clean handkerchief from his robes and offered it to her.

"Wipe your face, Young Lady." Xiao's voice was gentle, like melting snow in early spring. "The stones are hot. Sitting on them too long will hurt your skin."

Hinata took the handkerchief blankly. It carried a faint scent of soapberry. She wiped the sweat and tears from her face, and a small patch of the handkerchief quickly became damp.

"Th-thank you..." she said softly.

Xiao did not rise. Remaining crouched, he looked at Hinata's scraped palms. "The difficulty in the opening stance of Gentle Fist Third Form: Revolving Palm is that chakra has to split at the danzhong Acupoint and flow into the eyes, correct?"

Hinata looked up in surprise. "How do you know?"

"I've seen the Main House's instructional scrolls at the Ninja Academy." Xiao smiled. The smile was faint, yet somehow reassuring. "But what the scrolls do not mention is that some people are born with relatively narrow meridians around the danzhong Acupoint. Forcing chakra through the standard route will only make half the effort yield twice the result."

Hinata's eyes brightened briefly before dimming again. "Father said that was just an excuse..."

"The Clan Head is right." Xiao's words startled Hinata. "For the vast majority of the Hyuga Clan, it really is an excuse. But Young Lady, you are different."

He extended a finger and lightly pointed at the laogong acupoint in Hinata's palm. The gesture was so gentle that he did not truly touch her skin; there was still a layer of air between them. Yet Hinata could feel a warm, soothing stream of chakra seep in through that point, like spring water soaking into parched earth.

"Relax. Don't resist," Xiao said quietly. "Follow my guidance."

That chakra was thin and gentle, completely unlike her father's domineering and forceful style. It entered through the laogong acupoint and slowly traveled upward along the Pericardium Meridian. Yet just before reaching the danzhong Acupoint, it suddenly turned.

"The standard route goes straight through, but your meridians have this." Xiao's finger gestured in the air three inches above Hinata's wrist. "A side branch. It's very thin, almost invisible, but it's open."

Hinata held her breath. She could clearly feel that warm chakra bypass the blocked area in her chest, winding upward through a tiny meridian she had never known existed, until it smoothly reached her eyes.

Buzz—

Her Byakugan opened on its own.

It only lasted an instant before shutting again, but Hinata had never experienced that sensation of chakra flowing freely without obstruction. Her eyes widened as she looked at Xiao.

"Th-this is..."

"A shortcut." Xiao withdrew his hand and rose to his feet. "Young Lady, the reason you cannot learn Revolving Palm is not because you do not work hard, nor because you lack talent. Your body is simply a little different from the standard model. Of course you will fail if you force yourself to follow that model."

Hinata rose as well, though her legs were still a little weak from crouching for so long. She looked at Xiao, and for the first time, a different light appeared in her pale eyes. "Then... then how should I practice?"

Xiao looked around, making sure there was no one else in the training ground before lowering his voice. "I'll teach you a breathing technique. If you circulate your chakra in rhythm with this breathing pattern, you can temporarily widen that side-branch meridian. Practice it every day. In three months, it should be able to withstand the chakra flow of the standard route."

"A breathing technique?"

"Yes. It's simple. Listen—" Xiao demonstrated. "Inhale for four seconds, hold your breath for two, exhale for six. The important part is that while exhaling, imagine chakra rising from your dantian and traveling once along the route I just guided you through. Practice thirty times each morning and evening. Before practicing, stretch for ten minutes to relax your shoulders, neck, and chest."

Hinata carefully memorized it, then tried once herself. Strangely enough, after her breathing rhythm changed, the familiar blockage in her chest actually eased somewhat.

"It really is... much smoother," she murmured.

Xiao watched the delight emerge on her face, and something faintly stirred deep within his eyes. But it quickly settled again, returning to calm.

"Do not tell anyone about this breathing technique, including the Clan Head," Xiao said. "Let it remain a secret between us, all right?"

Hinata nodded hard. "I promise!"

She practiced several times, and every attempt went more smoothly than the last. That long-lost feeling of controlling her chakra nearly brought her to tears. She looked up at Xiao. This Branch House older brother stood quietly to one side, his gaze resting on the woods outside the training ground, his profile appearing a little blurred in the sunlight.

"Brother Xiao..." Hinata called him that for the first time. "Why are you so good to me?"

Xiao turned around.

Sunlight shone from behind him, tracing a faint halo around his body. His expression was hidden in shadow, impossible to see clearly. The training ground was quiet. Only the cicadas in the distant woods cried one after another, tearing through the summer air.

After a long time—so long that Hinata thought he would not answer—Xiao finally spoke softly.

"Because..." His voice was quiet, as though he were speaking to himself. "We are both caged birds, Young Lady."

Hinata froze.

She watched Xiao raise a hand and gently touch the spot on his forehead hidden beneath his forehead protector. Though she could not see it, Hinata knew what was there—the Caged Bird Seal, a brand engraved upon every Branch House member from birth, symbolizing absolute obedience and control.

And what about herself?

Hinata lowered her head and looked at her hands. Though she was the eldest daughter of the Main House, her father's cold gaze, the expectations she could never meet, all those words of "you must" and "you should"... were they not another kind of cage?

"I should go." Xiao took two steps back, returning to the respectful posture of a Branch House youth. "Please continue practicing, Young Lady, but remember not to overdo it. Damage to the meridians requires time to heal. Excessive training will only be counterproductive."

He bowed, picked up his cleaning tools, and turned toward the side entrance of the training ground.

Hinata stood where she was and watched his back disappear through the door. The training ground became quiet again. The sunlight remained fierce, and the bluestone slabs remained scorching hot. But something had changed.

She took a deep breath and assumed the opening stance of the Gentle Fist.

This time, with that secret breathing rhythm, her chakra smoothly bypassed the blockage in her chest and slowly rose along the tiny side-branch meridian. The flow was still weak, and she was still far from fully performing Revolving Palm, but—

She could see it.

That path was right there.

Hinata closed her eyes and continued practicing. Sweat once more slid down from her forehead, but this time, the corners of her lips lifted into an almost imperceptible curve.

Outside the training ground, Xiao leaned against a wall and looked up at the sky.

Through his Byakugan vision, he could clearly see the chakra flow within Hinata gradually becoming more orderly. That breathing technique was certainly not some secret art exchanged through the system—it was merely a chakra-guidance method he had improvised based on his Byakugan observations and basic medical ninjutsu knowledge.

But if it worked, that was enough.

[System Notification: Intervened in Hinata Hyuga's Fate Node "Despair of Meridian Blockage." Fate disturbance +3%. Current Hinata affection: 21 (Trust)]

[Warning: Excessive intervention in the cultivation of the Main House's direct bloodline may alert Hyuga Hiashi. Host, carefully assess the risk.]

Xiao closed his eyes.

The words he had copied yesterday from the Branch House library surfaced in his mind—records of how the Caged Bird Seal had deteriorated from a protective measure into a tool of oppression, and obscure accounts hinting at how Leaf Village's upper ranks treated the Hyuga Clan as a bargaining chip to keep the Uchiha in check.

Risk?

He had long been living amid the greatest risk of all. The Curse Mark on his forehead could take his life at any moment with a single thought from the Main House. Compared to that, what was Hiashi's vigilance?

"Caged Bird..."

Xiao softly repeated the words, his fingers unconsciously brushing the skin beneath his forehead protector. It felt faintly hot—not because the Curse Mark had been activated, but because something deeper was awakening.

He turned and left the training ground area, walking steadily toward the remote courtyard where the Branch House members lived. Along the way, he encountered several Branch House clansmen, all of whom respectfully bowed to him. After all, he was now an assistant instructor at the Ninja Academy and held some status within the Branch House.

Xiao returned each bow, his expression gentle and humble, perfectly fitting the image of a "loyal and devoted" Branch House youth.

Only he himself knew what was growing wildly beneath that skin.

Returning to his crude dwelling, Xiao shut the door and slowly slid down against it to sit on the floor. He removed his forehead protector, revealing the dark bluish-black Curse Mark in the center of his forehead. Its patterns were intricate and ferocious, like a ghostly hand tightly gripping his skull.

His Byakugan opened, and his vision turned inward.

He could see that the roots of the Curse Mark had already penetrated deep into his brain, thoroughly tangled with his brainstem and chakra meridian system. Any attempt to forcibly remove it would result in immediate brain death.

But at the deepest point of those roots, Xiao saw an extremely faint fluctuation of power, different from the Curse Mark itself.

It was the change produced after yesterday's system reward, the Illusion Talent Fragment, had fused into him. Though weak, it truly was eroding the foundation of the Curse Mark bit by bit, like a drop of water slowly seeping into a crack in stone.

"Ten percent..."

Xiao recalled the system's notification regarding the progress of removing the Caged Bird Seal. At this rate, if he could continue intercepting women with great fortune and obtaining more rewards, completely removing the Curse Mark was not beyond reach.

And Hinata was undoubtedly the easiest person to approach at this stage, as well as the most important target.

"A relationship of nurturing salvation and rebellion..."

Xiao tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing a smile without the slightest warmth.

He put his forehead protector back on and rose, walking to the window. Outside lay the Hyuga Clan Grounds. The luxurious residences of the Main House stood at the center like a white fortress. Meanwhile, the crude homes of the Branch House members surrounded them like servants, humble and obedient.

But soon, it would not remain this way.

Xiao closed his eyes and began refining chakra. He used the same breathing rhythm Hinata had just practiced—that technique was equally effective for him, perhaps even more so. His Byakugan was purer, allowing him to control every inch of chakra flow through his meridians with greater precision.

Warm chakra circulated along a specific route, gradually washing through the meridians that had been weakened by the Curse Mark's long-term suppression. Pain surged through him, as though countless fine needles were piercing his body. Yet Xiao did not so much as furrow his brow.

Compared to death, what was pain?

Compared to having his fate controlled forever, what was this little suffering?

He took a deep breath and continued cultivating.

Outside the window, the sun began to set, dyeing the white buildings of the Hyuga Clan Grounds blood-red. From the direction of the training ground, he could faintly hear the subtle sound of wind stirred by Hinata practicing the Gentle Fist.

Everything was only just beginning.