Chapter 9: Hinata's Talent and Yagyu's Experiment

Just like with Naruto and Sasuke Uchiha, Yagyu hadn't spoken a single word to Hinata throughout the year in class.

Hinata was too shy, and even Yagyu didn't know how to approach her.

Plus, back then, his game system hadn't awakened, so he didn't dare get too close to Hinata.

After all, who knew if rumors might reach Neji Hyuga or the Hyuga Clan, making them think he had ulterior motives toward Hinata? They might even come to warn or discipline him.

Yagyu wasn't a jinchuriki like Naruto and had no powerful backing.

However, after his cheat ability awakened, and after his hero moment saving Hinata and nearly being named top student, Yagyu began to reconsider things.

Now, he barely qualified to be friends with Hinata.

Even though, as a commoner, he still couldn't invite Hinata out to play.

But the "Boar" in the new generation of Ino-Shika-Cho, Ino, had that privilege.

Being a supporter of the Hokage, Hiashi Hyuga would surely allow Hinata to befriend Ino.

Although he was disappointed in his eldest daughter, Hiashi hadn't completely given up on Hinata.

In the new Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Ino was the only girl.

If Hinata befriended Ino, it would mean a future alliance between the Hyuga Clan and the Ino-Shika-Cho, an important connection.

When Ino and Hinata approached, Yagyu knew his plan had gone smoothly—Hiashi had indeed given his approval.

"I did it! I brought Hinata out," Ino said proudly as she returned to Yagyu.

"Impressive, as expected from Ino," Yagyu praised her with a thumbs-up, then smiled at Hinata, who was standing beside Ino, sneaking glances at him. "Hello, Hinata."

Hinata quickly lowered her head when Yagyu looked at her.

But remembering what Ino had told her earlier, she finally summoned the courage to lift her head and nervously said, "Yagyu-kun, th-thank you!"

After expressing the gratitude she had held onto for three years, which had only grown stronger in recent times, Hinata felt a weight lift from her heart.

"Have you been watching me all this time just to say thank you?" Yagyu teased, though he already knew the answer.

"…Yes," Hinata admitted, her head lowering again in embarrassment.

"Alright, I accept your thanks," Yagyu smiled. "We're about to go train. Would you like to join us?"

Hinata's face lit up with surprise. "Can… can I?"

"Of course! You're very welcome," Yagyu said with a nod.

Seeing Hinata's timid nature, Ino playfully draped an arm around her shoulders and said confidently, "From now on, we're friends, Hinata."

"Please take care of us, Hinata," Sakura added with a polite smile.

Moved by the kindness and warmth of Yagyu, Ino, and Sakura, Hinata's pale eyes filled with tears of joy.

The sudden arrival of friendship, something she had longed for but never attained, left her at a loss.

But she knew she couldn't let this opportunity slip away.

She nodded vigorously and managed to choke out, "…Yes!"

With Yagyu's effort, three of the four "flowers" of the new generation had become friends.

———

"Yagyu, look! I can climb all the way to the top of the tree now!"

In the familiar forest, Ino eagerly led them to the tree covered in small footprints, eager to show off her progress.

Effortlessly running up the tree trunk, defying gravity, Ino quickly reached the treetop, which hadn't yet filled out with leaves.

"Impressive!" Yagyu praised, giving her a thumbs-up.

From frequently falling before, Ino had now mastered tree climbing on her first attempt. It was clear she had put in a lot of effort at home.

This spoke volumes about her competitive spirit.

That drive was a good thing. If she kept it up, Ino might not fall as far behind Sakura and Hinata as she did in the original story.

"Hinata, do you want to give it a try?" Ino asked, coming down from the tree. She made the hand seal and smiled at Hinata, who looked astonished. "You gather chakra in your feet and use it to stick to the tree. Yagyu taught us this technique."

"My dad said this is a trick they don't teach at the Ninja Academy."

"That's… amazing," Hinata said, more amazed by Yagyu's teaching and growing more impressed by him.

With a nod, she said, "Yes… I'd like to try."

With her index and middle fingers raised, Hinata made a seal, gathered chakra to her feet, and walked toward the tree.

The next moment, something that caused emotional damage to Ino slowly unfolded.

Hinata, trying tree climbing for the first time, moved with the same ease as Sakura had before, walking up the trunk like it was flat ground.

In no time, Hinata reached the spot where Ino had just been.

On her first attempt, she climbed to the top of the tree.

Even Sakura had needed a few tries to make it to the top.

"That's… amazing," Sakura and a now emotionally wounded Ino marveled.

But Yagyu wasn't surprised.

Of the four "flowers," Hinata had the best natural talent.

Not only was she the only one among them to possess a kekkei genkai (bloodline limit), but she also came from the Hyuga Clan, where she had been practicing Gentle Fist techniques, which involved injecting chakra into the body's chakra points.

This technique required precise chakra control, just like tree climbing.

Having trained in this from a young age, Hinata's foundation in chakra control was far superior to Sakura's.

In the original Naruto: Shippuden, Hinata also mastered medical ninjutsu and barrier techniques.

During the Three-Tails incident, among Shizune, Sakura, Hinata, and Ino, only Ino fell behind.

Before Sakura began training under Tsunade, the strongest among the four girls was also Hinata.

Had it not been for her shy personality, Hinata could have easily been one of the most popular figures at school.

Even so, she was still among the top five students in her year.

As Yagyu looked at the three girls, who had all mastered tree climbing in their first year, he felt genuinely happy for them but also prepared to carry out his plan.

He smiled at them and said, "Since you've all learned tree climbing, next I'll teach you the Body Flicker Technique, and we'll practice some combat skills as well."

"Great!" Ino cheered. "I've been wanting to learn the Body Flicker Technique since yesterday!"

"Me too!" Sakura chimed in. "Yagyu, the way you defeated Sasuke was so cool."

Hinata nodded in agreement.

It seemed that all three girls had overlooked the mention of combat skills.

That was exactly what Yagyu wanted.

While they thought combat training was just an additional lesson, it was actually Yagyu's main goal.

He wanted to conduct an experiment on Hinata, Sakura, and Ino.

If something dropped from them, Yagyu would be able to determine whether the items from his system were permanently lost by the opponent or just a "copy."

If it wasn't a permanent loss, Yagyu wouldn't need to worry about defeating someone and accidentally stealing their kekkei genkai, which might lead them to suspect that he had the ability to steal such powers.

If that was the case, Yagyu could act without fear.