Sleeves

As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeve, revealing the faded but still visible bruises on his arm. "See these? These are the souvenirs your Hyuga Clan's 'genius' left us!"

The other two boys also exposed their injuries, resentment written all over their faces.

"That Neji thinks he's so great. Did he think he could beat us up and just walk away?" one of the boys, who had a pointed face and pinched features, said viciously. "Since we can't find him to get even, we'll take it out on you, his clanmate!"

Hearing this, Hinata felt both angry and helpless. She knew what her cousin Neji was like. Unless these boys had provoked him first, he would never have attacked them. Yet now they were taking their defeat out on her.

"Neji did nothing wrong," Hinata said bravely. "If he beat you up, you must have done something wrong first."

"What?!" The fat boy's face instantly flushed red. "You little brat! How dare you defend him? Looks like you won't learn what respect means unless we teach you a lesson!"

He exchanged a look with his two companions, and the three immediately formed a triangle around Hinata, cutting off her escape.

"Listen here, little girl," the fat boy said, looking down at Hinata. "We'll give you one chance. Get on your knees and apologize for your clanmate Neji, then hand over all your money, and we'll pretend none of this happened."

"No!" Hinata shook her head firmly. "I'll never apologize when Neji was in the right!"

"So you want to do this the hard way!" The sharp-faced boy reached out with a vicious grin. "Then don't blame us for getting rough!"

Just as his hand was about to touch Hinata, something unexpected happened.

Hinata's gaze instantly sharpened like a blade, and her entire demeanor changed. She was no longer a timid little girl, but a rigorously trained member of the Hyuga Clan who had mastered genuine combat skills!

"Don't touch me!"

Hinata cried out and sprang forward like an agile cat. Holding her right index and middle fingers together, she struck the sharp-faced boy's chest with lightning speed.

"Aah!"

The boy let out an agonized scream. His chest felt as though it had been struck by a sledgehammer, and excruciating pain instantly coursed through his whole body. Clutching his chest, he collapsed to the ground, hurting too much to speak.

Before the other two boys could even register what had happened, Hinata had already turned to face them. Her movements were fluid and precise. She delivered a knife-hand strike to the fat boy's ribs with her left hand while simultaneously striking a pressure point on the third boy's shoulder with her right.

Thud! Thud!

After two dull impacts, the two boys fell to the ground one after the other. One clutched his ribs and groaned in agony, while the other had lost all feeling in his arm.

The entire exchange took less than five seconds.

The three bullies who had been so arrogant moments earlier now lay on the ground, tears and snot streaming down their faces from the pain. They stared at Hinata standing before them, their eyes filled with disbelief and fear.

How could this delicate, adorable little girl be so terrifyingly strong?

"Boo-hoo... a monster! She's a monster!" the fat boy sobbed as he crawled backward. "Run! Hurry, run!"

Supporting one another, the three boys scrambled away, not even daring to leave behind a single threat.

A flicker of confusion crossed Hinata's eyes as she watched them flee in disgrace. She remembered often seeing boys at school shout things like "Just you wait until next time!" after a fight. Why had these three cried after being hit? And why had they run so fast?

What she didn't understand was that, although she hadn't used her full strength, the precise pressure-point strikes of her Gentle Fist had inflicted pain these ordinary students, who had received no formal training, had never experienced before. These weren't ordinary punches and kicks, but attacks that directly targeted nerves and pressure points, causing pain far beyond anything they could imagine.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Sharp applause sounded behind her. Hinata turned to see Toru Kujyo emerging from behind a tree, an approving smile on his face.

"Well done, Hinata," Toru Kujyo said as he walked up to her. "When people mean you harm, you should answer with strength."

"Kujyo!" The moment Hinata saw Toru Kujyo, her lingering tension melted away. "When did you get here?"

"Not long ago. Just in time to see your impressive performance." Toru Kujyo glanced in the direction the three boys had fled. "You used your Gentle Fist techniques very skillfully. Looks like all that training paid off."

Hinata's cheeks flushed slightly at Toru Kujyo's praise. After spending so much time together, she had found herself caring more and more about what he thought. Every word of praise from him could keep her happy for a long time.

"But," Toru Kujyo added, changing tack, "you went a little easy on them. You can't show any mercy when facing a real enemy."

"But they're just ordinary students..." Hinata said, a little embarrassed.

"Precisely because they're students, they need a lesson they won't forget," Toru Kujyo said calmly. "Unless you make people like that really hurt, they'll only become more ruthless in bullying those weaker than themselves."

Hinata nodded, only half understanding. She did think Toru Kujyo had a point, but her naturally kind disposition made it difficult for her to be completely cold and merciless.

Seeing Hinata's conflicted expression, Toru Kujyo felt a surge of satisfaction. After all the time he had spent guiding her, Hinata had grown from the timid, withdrawn little girl she had once been into a girl who was gentle on the outside but strong within. She had kept her innate kindness while also gaining the strength to protect herself and others.

This change gave Toru Kujyo an inexplicable sense of accomplishment. He felt like a gardener watching the flowers he had carefully tended gradually blossom into beautiful colors.

"Oh, right," Toru Kujyo said, remembering something. "Being able to go out so freely now must be a reward from Uncle Hiashi, isn't it?"

"Yes." Hinata nodded, a hint of pride flashing in her eyes. "Father said I've improved a lot lately, so he gave me more freedom."

"That's good." Toru Kujyo smiled in satisfaction. "Come on, let's go to the Training Ground and keep practicing. I'm going to teach you some new techniques today."

The two headed toward the abandoned Training Ground No. 3, one walking behind the other. Sunlight fell over them, stretching their shadows long across the ground.

After they reached Training Ground No. 3, Toru Kujyo took two unusual sets of equipment out of a sealing scroll.

"What are these?" Hinata asked, looking at the white, fluffy outfits before her with puzzlement in her eyes.