The melodious chime of the school bell rang out.
Ninja Academy had let out for the day.
Hikari leaned back in her chair, lost in thought.
Failure.
Her supposedly peerless talent had been useless against Wind Release.
She had spent the entire day—until her stomach growled in protest and her chakra was nearly depleted—trying to figure out how to develop Wind Release. Yet, no matter how hard she struggled, her chakra refused to take on the sharp, cutting properties it was supposed to.
The so-called "sharpness" and "fluidity" of Wind Release might as well have been pure imagination.
Looks like the Byakugan still can't compare to Deep Blue.
Unwilling to admit any flaw in her own abilities, Hikari instead blamed the very eyes that had once saved her—the Byakugan.
Guess I'll have to ask Kakashi when I get home.
She adjusted the bone membrane in her ears, and the noisy clamor of the outside world rushed back in.
"Hikari… Hikari…"
As the membrane receded, Naruto's voice went from faint to deafeningly loud in an instant.
"Lower your voice. I can hear you just fine," Hikari muttered, rubbing her ears and leaning away from the human noise machine that was Naruto.
Naruto, his backpack slung over his shoulder, scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"I kept talking to you, but you ignored me. I thought—"
"Get to the point."
After a whole day of wrestling with Wind Release, Hikari wasn't in the best mood.
"Your notes. I wrote down everything the teacher said today." Naruto handed her a notebook filled with dense, slightly clumsy but meticulously detailed writing, his bright blue eyes shining with anticipation.
Seeing the effort he'd put into it, some of Hikari's irritation faded.
"Sorry, I was in a bad mood earlier. And… thanks, Naruto."
"It's fine! I-I get it."
Naruto's face turned red as he waved his hands frantically.
Of course he knew. He'd been sneaking glances at her all day—hundreds of them. There was no way he hadn't noticed her frustration.
As Hikari stuffed the notebook into her bag and made to leave, Naruto clenched his fists.
"Um… Hikari, is there anything you like?"
"Hm?"
Pausing mid-motion, Hikari's gaze instinctively flickered toward Naruto's stomach.
What she really liked was inside him. If she could just get Kurama out and take a few bites, she'd instantly ascend to Kage-level strength and never have to worry about limitations again.
"Why do you ask?"
She quickly averted her eyes.
Luckily, the black cloth covering them hid her less-than-polite stare from Naruto.
"W-well, since you gave me a gift, I thought…"
Naruto ducked his head, avoiding her gaze as his feet—encased in those ridiculously heavy blue leg weights—fidgeted nervously.
Honestly… terrifying.
Hikari stared at the weights, each one easily ten kilograms.
Dense chakra visibly gathered around Naruto's legs, easing muscle fatigue while accelerating the growth of his muscle fibers.
And he'd already adapted to them in just one day.
If Might Guy's body had this kind of insane progression speed, not even Madara Uchiha—no, not even Kaguya Ōtsutsuki—would stand a chance against him.
But this wasn't like her own Body Domination technique.
Body Domination was a shortcut—directly manipulating muscle growth to bypass conventional training.
Naruto, on the other hand, was simply overflowing with chakra. His body, torn apart by the heavy weights, had finally given his excess vitality a purpose—flooding his damaged muscles with raw energy to rebuild them stronger.
In other words…
She was training to grow stronger.
Naruto was just redirecting the monstrous power he already had.
In the original story, aside from learning a handful of jutsu and Sage Mode, Naruto had barely improved at all.
From the very beginning, his chakra reserves were a hundred times Kakashi's—and that was with most of it being used to suppress the Nine-Tails. Even his later Kurama Mode was just him finally gaining full control over the power he'd always possessed.
That was what true genius looked like.
"I don't have anything I particularly like right now. Consider this gift an IOU."
"Okay! It's a promise!"
Naruto beamed, his grin stretching ear to ear.
In his limited understanding, friends who exchanged gifts were closer than regular friends—a special bond reserved for those who truly mattered.
Hikari smirked.
I wonder how long it'll take for him to control Kurama? She could hardly wait to find out what the Nine-Tails—a being of infinite chakra—tasted like.
He'd better work harder.
"Train well when you get home. The sooner you master Kurama, the better."
(Of course, she kept the second half of that thought to herself.)
"Got it!"
Naruto's eyes lit up with renewed determination.
With Hikari's help, he'd get stronger in no time. Then he'd finally be able to drive off that annoying Sasuke, making sure he never challenged Hikari again.
That's right.
Earlier that afternoon, Sasuke had left another challenge letter on Hikari's desk.
It had lasted all of two seconds before Naruto—who'd been watching like a hawk—swiped it, tore it to shreds, and tossed it in the trash.
He didn't want Sasuke anywhere near Hikari—just like how Sakura didn't want Hikari anywhere near Sasuke.
Completely unaware of this drama (and entirely focused on Wind Release), Hikari bid Naruto farewell and headed out of the academy.
Might Guy hadn't come to pick her up today.
Partly because she'd earned his trust enough to no longer need constant supervision, but mostly because she refused to let her hard-won living arrangements go up in flames again.
First, dinner. Then, find Kakashi and figure out what the hell's up with Wind Release.
---
The walk from the academy to the Hatake clan's land wasn't far.
At Hikari's pace, it took barely half an hour.
"I'm home!"
Pushing open the door, she immediately spotted Might Guy—apron tied around his waist—locked in a fierce battle with a frying pan in the kitchen.
Oil sizzled and popped as he dodged splatters like a shinobi evading kunai, his spatula moving with the intensity of Eight Gates Guy fighting Madara Uchiha.
"Food'll be ready in five! Wash up and get ready to eat!"
"Got it."
Hikari replied absentmindedly as she pushed open her bedroom door.
Creak—
The old, worn hinges groaned in protest.
Hm?
Her eyes narrowed.
On the desk by the window sat a large scroll. The window itself, usually shut tight, was now wide open, the blue curtains fluttering in the breeze.
"Guy, did you go into my room?"
"Absolutely not! Don't accuse me—OW HOT HOT HOT!!" Guy yelped as he burned himself.
If not Guy… then someone else broke in?
Byakugan—
Activate!
Chakra surged through the veins around her eyes, magnifying every detail in the room.
Footprints on the windowsill. Fingerprints on the desk…
The intruder had come in through the window.
Their steps were deliberate—only traces near the window and desk. Their goal had been clear, and they didn't seem hostile.
Probably not a Hyūga.
Hikari relaxed slightly.
She hadn't forgotten about the two Branch Family guards she'd assassinated.
No traces of a struggle. No witnesses. No murder weapon. Not even bloodstains—she'd washed everything away with Water Release.
With no social connections or grudges to tie her to the crime, even Conan couldn't solve this case.
At most, the timing might raise some eyebrows.
But it didn't matter anymore.
Mastering the Eight Inner Gates meant she finally had real self-defense capabilities. She might not be able to win every fight, but if things got desperate?
She could run.
In just two short days…
She was no longer the same helpless girl.
So who could it have been?
Hikari frowned.
Her Byakugan detected no lingering chakra, no hidden traps, no explosive tags—just the scroll on the desk.
Hmm…
After one last thorough check, she unrolled it.
---
(＾▽＾)