Hinata Caught Him Secretly Practicing Jiahao

Over the weekend, Kiyoshi left home with the remaining Instinct Soldier Pill.

He told Misa he was going for a walk on the Back Mountain. She was airing out the bedding and said, "Don't come home too late," without even looking up. He murmured his agreement, tucked the soldier pill into his pocket, and headed out.

He walked all the way to the Back Mountain and found a secluded spot far from the path, surrounded by trees. A layer of fallen leaves covered the ground, soft beneath his feet.

He stood in the middle of the clearing and looked around, making sure no one was there.

Good.

He took the grayish-brown soldier pill out of his pocket. Last time, he had stopped after one bite, leaving more than half of it.

Today, he wanted to try its full effect. He put it in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

He waited a moment.

He felt nothing. He looked down at his hands, then clenched his fists. Nothing had changed.

He frowned, thinking he might as well give up and study it some more back home...

Then his body moved.

All on its own.

His right foot stepped to the side, his left foot drew in after it, and his hands slowly rose into an opening stance...

A thought sprang into his mind: What the hell kind of opening stance is this?

Then his body started moving.

Punch, toss his head, pull his fist back, turn, kick, land, punch again.

The movements flowed smoothly, every punch whistling through the air. The problem was that they were far too exaggerated.

Every punch came with a toss of his head. Every kick ended with a spin. After a full sequence, he even had to perform a closing movement, slowly pressing both hands downward like he was doing tai chi.

Kiyoshi was screaming inside.

What the hell? What the hell is this? Why am I doing these moves?

Stop! Hurry up and stop!

There was only one thought in his head: if anyone saw him, he could never show his face again.

[System notification: Instinct Soldier Pill active. Host detected performing the Jiahao Standard Fist Form. Current Awkwardness Value +20. Host is advised to find cover immediately. Social death warning triggered.]

Then he heard a startled gasp.

It was faint and brief, as though someone had tried to cover their mouth but failed.

Kiyoshi's back instantly went rigid, and cold sweat broke out on the back of his neck.

Kiyoshi froze.

His body finally stopped. He slowly turned his head toward the sound...

Someone was standing behind a tree.

Hinata Hyuga.

She wore a white training outfit, her hair tied in a ponytail. Both hands covered her face, but one eye peeked through her fingers, staring straight at him.

That eye blinked.

Kiyoshi's ears burned.

The heat spread from his ears to his neck, then across his entire face.

But he couldn't let it show. He was supposed to be stone-faced. He had to hold it together.

He looked at Hinata with a blank expression.

Hinata slowly lowered her hands. Her face was scarlet too, red from her forehead all the way down to her neck-even redder than his. She opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again, and finally whispered:

"Kiyoshi... that fist form you just did... was amazing."

Her voice was barely louder than a mosquito's buzz, but in the quiet woods, Kiyoshi heard every word.

He fell silent.

For three seconds, even their breathing was audible.

"...That's a secret Taijutsu passed down among us Uchiha..."

He said it with a blank face, a steady voice, and unwavering eyes, as though the person who had just struck that bizarre opening stance and tossed his head with every punch had nothing to do with him.

Hinata blinked.

"...A secret Taijutsu?"

"Yes."

Hinata nodded with only a hazy understanding, as though she actually believed him.

Kiyoshi looked into her earnest white eyes, with only one thought in his mind: I'm doomed. She actually believed it.

He turned away, pretending to gather his things when he was really trying to calm himself down. He took a deep breath, let it out, and repeated it several times. Only when the heat in his face had faded a little did he turn back.

"What... are you doing here?"

"I... I'm practicing Gentle Fist." Hinata's voice was still quiet, but a little more natural than before. "I come here to practice for a while every day after school."

Kiyoshi looked at her training outfit, then at the wooden post beside her feet. Several shallow palm prints marked its surface, clear signs that she had been practicing.

"Alone?"

"Yes..."

Hinata lowered her head and twisted her fingers together, her voice growing softer and softer. "My... my fundamentals aren't very good. I don't want my family to see, so..."

She didn't finish, but Kiyoshi understood.

The Hyuga Clan's eldest daughter, less gifted than Hanabi, had been told by her father since childhood that she wasn't good enough.

In the original story, she had practiced secretly on her own too, not wanting anyone to see her clumsiness.

He was silent for a moment, then spoke:

"I watched your Taijutsu today. Your weight was off in your opening stance."

Hinata raised her head, taken aback.

"When you strike with your palm, your weight should be on the ball of your front foot, not your heel. If it's on your heel, your strike falls short, and you won't reach your opponent."

As he spoke, Kiyoshi demonstrated. "Look. Like this."

He assumed a Gentle Fist opening stance. Although he was an Uchiha and had never learned Gentle Fist, the basic principles of generating force in Taijutsu were the same.

With his weight on the ball of his front foot and his body leaning slightly forward, his palm strike could reach a few centimeters farther.

Hinata watched him, her eyes lighting up briefly before she quickly lowered her head and adjusted her weight to copy him.

"L-like this?"

"Yes."

Hinata tried a palm strike. Her movement was smoother than before, and her reach was indeed a little longer.

She looked up at Kiyoshi, wanting to thank him, but swallowed the words just as they reached her lips. In the end, she only said softly:

"Kiyoshi... you know so much."

Kiyoshi kept his face blank. "...The principles of Taijutsu are universal."

That was what he said, but all those fighting videos he had watched online in his previous life had finally come in handy.

The two fell silent for a while.

Hinata stood beside the tree, twisting the hem of her shirt between her fingers. She seemed to want to say something but lacked the courage, scuffing her toes against the ground twice.

Kiyoshi stood in the middle of the clearing, glanced at the sky, then looked at her.

"How late do you usually practice?"

"Until... sunset."

"Then there's still plenty of time. You do your training, and I'll do mine."

Hinata paused, then nodded and said softly, "Okay."

She walked over to the wooden post, settled back into her opening stance, and began practicing Gentle Fist.

This time, her movements were noticeably steadier, her center of gravity clearly lower.

Kiyoshi stood a short distance away and watched her practice for a while, then turned and began his own training.

But before he started, he first felt for the soldier pill left in his pocket.

Its effects were more... absurd than he had imagined.

All it did was make him perform those ridiculous movements. There were no other side effects.

And with such broad movements and explosive force, a full sequence really did leave him a little winded.

He rolled his shoulders. Honestly, embarrassing as it was, it made for a pretty good workout.

But what if he used it in an actual fight?

He thought about it. If an ordinary person saw their opponent suddenly assume a bizarre opening stance and perform a ludicrously exaggerated fist form, their first reaction would definitely be to freeze. That instant of hesitation would be an opening.

He narrowed his eyes.

This thing might work as a surprise tactic.

The sun sank in the west, painting the edge of the sky orange.

Hinata finished her practice and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She looked at Kiyoshi's back, hesitated, then walked over and stood beside him.

"Kiyoshi..."

Kiyoshi turned his head. "Hm?"

"Um..." Hinata looked down, twisting the hem of her shirt as though she were trying to work up her courage. Then she suddenly raised her head. "See you tomorrow!"

With that, she turned and ran.

Her ponytail swung behind her, and she quickly disappeared into the trees.

Kiyoshi remained where he was, watching her retreating figure, and blinked.

Then he looked down at his hands.

She probably didn't see that whole Jiahao fist form just now, did she?

He thought about it.

Forget it. If she saw it, she saw it. Little Hinata wouldn't tell anyone anyway. Besides, I helped her adjust her weight.

He turned and headed home.

The Instinct Soldier Pill's effects were much better than simply grinding away at training.

After thinking it over, he decided to find an even more secluded place to try it next time.