Hinata gently knocked on Hanabi's bedroom door, and a muffled mumble came from inside.
She pushed the door open to find her little sister curled up beneath the covers, with only a mess of long hair showing.
"Hanabi, time to get up. It's time for morning training."
Hinata spoke gently, reaching out to give the bundle of blankets a light shake.
"Mmm... Sis... five more minutes... just five..."
Hanabi bargained groggily, burying her face deeper in her pillow. She clearly hadn't had enough sleep.
As the Hyuga clan's second daughter, she still had the same love of sleeping in as any girl her age.
"No. We agreed we'd practice a new move today."
Hinata smiled patiently, but her hands kept moving. Gently yet firmly, she lifted a corner of the blanket and took her sister by the wrist.
"Come on, get up. The morning air is lovely. You'll feel more awake after practicing."
While one sister coaxed gently and the other resisted getting up, still half asleep, a red-haired figure quietly slipped away from behind a slightly parted curtain at a window in another room.
Barefoot, Karin retreated silently to her bedside, her movements as nimble as a cat's.
She adjusted the glasses she habitually wore even indoors, complex emotions flickering in the red eyes behind the lenses.
There was relief at finally confirming something, a trace of barely perceptible smugness, and something deeper and more intense mixed in.
"Hmph... just as I thought. There's nothing special between Naruto-kun and that old hag."
She murmured under her breath, so softly that almost no one but her could hear.
The moment Tsunade had left Naruto's room, Karin had warily hidden behind the curtain. With her excellent sensory abilities, she had heard every word of the conversation in the courtyard.
As her