"Ha!" Hinata let out a sharp cry and delivered a perfect palm strike, hitting Tahm squarely and making his massive body tremble. Tahm checked his panel. That blow had dealt a full 35 points of damage, more than double the 16 points from a few hours ago. For a child of only six, that was already something to be proud of.
"Nicely done." Tahm did not skimp on his praise. "Let's call it there for today. You've improved quite a bit."
"Okay, Tahm!" Hinata replied excitedly. She could clearly feel that in less than half a day, her strength had improved by leaps and bounds.
Tahm brought over a towel and affectionately wiped the sweat from Hinata's forehead, then carefully used his thick fingers to straighten the collar that had been thrown into disarray by her intense exercise.
Hinata had never received this kind of treatment before. For a long time now, the only impression her clan-head father had left her with was the word "stern."
"Mr. Tahm feels like a father," Hinata murmured unconsciously.
"Hm?" Tahm sharply caught that mosquito-soft whisper.
"I mean..." Hinata's face turned as red as a ripe apple. "Tahm is so kind to me, just like the parents in those civilian families outside."
"Actually..." Tahm put on a serious expression. "I'm more suited to being your older brother... being a father would make me too old."
"Haha." Hinata burst out laughing at once, even forgetting her shyness.
Then, as if remembering something, Hinata asked, "Tahm, does it really not hurt? I hit you all morning..."
"Still don't believe me? Once you can make me feel pain, you'll have graduated." That was no lie. With Tahm's current body, even if Madara crawled out right now, he could only slap Tahm to death. There was no way he could make him feel pain.
Hinata said nothing, only gave a quiet acknowledgment. Tahm could tell the little girl was still worried about him, so he chuckled, scooped her up, and placed her on his head. "Don't overthink it. Let's go!" Ever since being reborn with this big body, Tahm had loved letting people close to him sit on his head while he carried them all over town. It had been Sage Fukasaku before, and now it was little Hinata.
Though it was only her second time riding the Tahm-mobile, Hinata had already grown fond of the feeling of being carried. She quickly calmed down and stopped dwelling on her worries. Sitting atop Tahm's soft, squishy head as he carried her along steadily, Hinata once again felt that fatherly sweetness. She could not help recalling the civilian children she had seen on the streets, laughing happily while riding on their fathers' shoulders. Before, she could only watch from afar in envy. Now, I've found someone who cares for me this much too.
"Mr. Tahm?" Hinata softly called his name.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you!"
"You silly girl, thanking me out of nowhere."
Every day, Tahm got up early, guided Hinata's training, ate with her, went for walks with her, and showed her television soap operas she had never watched before. If his fingers had not been so thick, he would have wanted to play computer games with her too. Thanks to the strangely advanced civilian technology of the Shinobi World, Tahm quickly recreated the lifestyle of an introverted gamer from his previous life. Even Hinata had been led astray by Tahm's theory of balancing work and rest, and her entire way of life quietly began to change. But when these matters reached Hyuga Hiashi's ears, they were automatically translated into the vile behavior of that detestable toad leading his disappointing daughter into wasting her days on frivolous amusements. It made him itch to throw that shameless fat toad out the door immediately.
But Hinata's training had not fallen behind at all. Though Tahm himself was not particularly strong, he had still studied under Sage Fukasaku, one of the Shinobi World's peak figures, for over a full year. His theoretical knowledge was no worse than a jonin's. His unofficial senior brother Jiraiya had also given him guidance before. It was like someone who had received over a year of detailed instruction from an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences teaching elementary school students—there was no chance of leading them astray. Not to mention that Tahm himself was practically a humanoid training aid.
Before they knew it, a week had passed.
That morning, Hinata got up early, but instead of taking Tahm to their usual training dojo, she headed toward a plaza within the Hyuga Compound.
"Why aren't we training today?" Tahm asked.
"Today is the monthly day of sparring for the clan's younger generation," Hinata explained. A shadow, however, surfaced in her eyes, as though she had recalled some unpleasant memories.
They even had monthly competitive matches like this? At such a young age, they were already being made to climb the rankings and establish their tier. The Hyuga Clan's education really did not slack off in the slightest. Still, given Hinata's previous strength and personality, it was not hard to imagine why she felt a little down.
"Don't be afraid!" Tahm comforted her. "You're different from before!"
"Yes, I'm different..." The confusion in Hinata's eyes gradually faded, replaced by determination. I can't let Tahm's efforts go to waste...
When they arrived at the plaza, Tahm discovered that many people were already there. Most were young children with bandages around their foreheads. They were presumably children of the branch family, the bandages used to conceal the ugly Caged Bird Cursed Seal. What a barbaric system of management! Tahm sighed. Still, he could not deny that such ruthless measures did have a special effect on preserving the Hyuga Clan's inheritance and cohesion.
Several adult Hyuga clan members stood on the raised platform nearby. They stood as still as pine trees, and from their bearing and posture alone, it was obvious they were all experts. In the central seat stood Hinata's father, the clan head, Hyuga Hiashi. Seeing that Tahm and Hinata had arrived, Hiashi said nothing more and merely gave an official instruction. "Everyone is here. Begin!"
Several dozen children, clearly familiar with the process, lined up and orderly drew wooden lots that determined the match order and pairings. Everything was impeccably organized, making Tahm regard the discipline of great clans even more highly.
The matches began. The first few were duels between branch family children Tahm did not recognize. Their level was indeed not high; in Tahm's eyes, they were absolutely no match for Hinata after his special training. But compared with civilians outside, their strength was worlds apart. After all, civilian children at this age did not even know what chakra was, much less train with it. That made Tahm's thoughts wander. For his unofficial senior brother Jiraiya and unofficial nephew Minato Namikaze, both of civilian birth, to rise to the pinnacle of the Shinobi World amid so many powerful clans—what extraordinary talents they must have been!
At last, it was Hinata's turn. Tahm immediately pulled himself together, sat up straight, and watched her. Completely ignoring the quiet atmosphere around the plaza, he shouted, "Hinata, you can do it!" He looked exactly like a father watching from the sidelines as his daughter competed.
With so many people present, Tahm's shout made Hinata a little embarrassed. Still, her face flushed as she clenched her tiny fists and used a louder voice than ever before, trying to make sure Tahm below could hear her. "I will, Tahm!"
On the raised platform, the real father, Hyuga Hiashi, who had been watching the matches all along, instantly lost his calm, mirror-like state of mind. He could not shake the feeling that, in the span of just one short week, that fat toad had stolen something important from him.
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