After school that afternoon, Naruto went through his usual high-intensity physical training.
After running twenty laps at full speed around the outskirts of the sprawling Konoha, he headed to a secluded training ground in the village.
Rather than going home to rest, he began practicing shuriken throwing, one of a ninja's most basic skills.
His next method of practice, however, went far beyond anything that could be called "basic."
Several chakra threads, so fine they were almost invisible to the naked eye yet remarkably tough, slipped from Naruto's fingertips like nimble strands of spider silk, connecting precisely to several shuriken and kunai scattered on the ground.
The next instant, his fingers twitched as though plucking invisible strings.
Shuriken Manipulation Technique!
The motionless ninja tools immediately rose under the pull of the chakra threads, hovering briefly in midair.
As Naruto's hands moved rapidly, changing finger signs, the airborne shuriken and kunai seemed to come alive. They swung and darted nimbly, even changing direction abruptly in flight before plunging in unison toward the distant training posts!
The control he displayed was already exquisite in its own right.
Yet when the weapons struck the wooden posts, they made a few dull thuds, then dropped limply to the ground instead of embedding themselves deep in the wood.
Although Naruto had skillfully controlled the shuriken with his threads, guiding them through complex trajectories, they had little actual power.
The key reason was that the pull generated by controlling them from behind with fine chakra threads lacked the strength and explosive force needed to give these weapons the initial momentum and penetrating power of a direct throw.
They were being "guided" into contact with the target rather than "piercing" it.
Naruto gazed thoughtfully at the weapons scattered across the ground. He had begun to master precise control, but turning that finesse into power was the next challenge he needed to overcome.
Perhaps... I could replace ordinary kunai with adhesive explosive tags?
An idea flashed through his mind.
That way, he would no longer have to worry about the Shuriken Manipulation Technique's lack of power.
The core of the attack would no longer be physical penetration, but the explosive damage of the tags!
He continued working through the idea: if a single explosive tag was too light to control properly, he could bind it firmly to a kunai, adding weight to make its flight path easier to control.
Then the problem would become precisely calculating the tag's detonation time, ensuring it exploded at the exact moment the threads guided it to the enemy!
That would undoubtedly turn the Shuriken Manipulation Technique from a control-and-harassment technique into a lethal surprise attack!
Having worked that out, Naruto felt a little better, though a trace of frustration soon followed.
His Wood Release, along with the many other powers he was secretly building up, still had to be carefully concealed. He could not use them freely.
Having stronger options at his disposal yet being forced to hold himself back really was a nuisance.
Still, he knew that revealing his trump cards too soon would be foolish before he had enough power to protect himself and keep the situation under control.
Behind a nearby tree, a small head peeked out timidly. Her fair cheeks were flushed, and her pure white eyes watched the sweat-drenched figure on the training ground without blinking, filled with admiration.
It was Hinata Hyuga.
Watching Naruto's precise control and focused expression, Hinata felt both admiration and a rising sense of inferiority.
Naruto-kun... you're already so strong, yet you still work this hard...
But I never seem to meet Father's expectations, whether in the clan's sparring sessions or at the Ninja Academy. I just keep disappointing him...
While Hinata was lost in her thoughts, another, smaller head quietly peeked around the other side of the tree trunk behind her.
With the same short black hair and pure white eyes, the younger Hanabi Hyuga tilted her head, puzzling over her sister's focused yet faintly forlorn figure, as though a giant question mark had appeared above her head.
My sister's been coming home late lately. So she's been hiding here to watch that blond boy train?
Hanabi blinked her clear, wide eyes, her little face full of curiosity.
She did not quite understand why her sister had to hide to watch him, nor what was so special about the older boy training there. But her sister's intent expression made her feel that this must be something important.
Just as Hanabi was staring intently at her sister's back, her little head full of questions, a warm hand suddenly settled gently on her head and ruffled her soft hair.
Startled by the unexpected touch, Hanabi jolted, instinctively shrinking back and landing on her bottom in the soft grass.
A little frightened, she raised her head to look at the person who had touched her.
What met her pure white eyes was a head of brilliant blond hair and a pair of smiling blue eyes.
To her surprise, it was the older boy who had been training in the distance just moments ago!
Hanabi quickly caught on. A shadow clone!
Looking at the startled little girl sitting on the ground, Naruto showed no trace of apology. Instead, he gently pressed his right index finger to his lips and playfully closed his right eye, giving Hanabi a clear, friendly signal to keep quiet.
Then, with a tiny, discreet motion of his left thumb, he pointed toward Hinata, who still had her back to them, completely unaware as she watched "Naruto" training intently.
Hanabi's lively little eyes blinked, then darted between Naruto and her oblivious sister. In an instant, she seemed to understand.
A sly, knowing expression flashed across her face. She immediately clamped both little hands over her mouth and nodded vigorously at Naruto, showing that she would keep this "secret."
A silent "alliance" was forged between the strange pair in an instant.
In fact, Naruto had used his increasingly sharp perception much earlier to sense that someone was secretly following him and hiding nearby.
So he played along.
Before entering the training ground, he had quietly dispelled a shadow clone practicing Wood Release at home, reclaiming its chakra and awareness.
Then, using the trees as cover, he had deftly hidden his real body and sent a newly created shadow clone, dedicated to putting on a "performance," into the training ground to carry out his routine practice as though he had noticed nothing.
Meanwhile, his real body had already used his practiced stealth skills to slip soundlessly into the blind spot of Hinata and the smaller figure behind her, as though he had blended into the surroundings.
He waited patiently. Only after the smaller figure had also emerged and he had finished his silent exchange with little Hanabi did he finally speak.
With a gentle smile, he spoke softly from behind Hinata, a hint of teasing in his voice:
"So this is where you've been watching me train, Hinata?"