Chapter 11:
At night, moonlight was swallowed by thick clouds.
Hyuga Hinata held her shoes in her hands, walking barefoot from her room with each step placed carefully. Her heart pounded frantically. Only after climbing over the courtyard wall did her tense body relax slightly.
She put on her shoes and searched carefully through the clan compound, finally stopping before an ordinary wooden door.
Hand hovering in the air, Hinata worried she'd found the wrong place and double-checked for a while before gently knocking on the door.
Knock knock.
The sound was almost inaudible, but Hyuga Kiyonari inside hadn't yet fallen asleep and caught that subtle disturbance.
This late? Who could it be?
He got up and walked to the door, pulling it open without much thought.
Outside, moonlight happened to peek through the clouds, coating the small figure standing there in a hazy silver outline.
Hinata kept her head lowered, indigo hair falling to obscure most of her face, but Kiyonari immediately noticed her reddened eyes and tightly pressed lips.
In this moment, it felt like... in his past life, when he'd been about to ride his electric scooter to work and suddenly discovered, tucked inside the thick windshield cover, a small cat curled into a ball, looking up at him with tearful eyes.
A spark of delight quietly leaped into Hyuga Kiyonari's gaze.
Hinata felt his eyes on her and gathered her courage to raise her head, revealing a pair of pitifully endearing eyes.
"Kiyonari-kun... I'd like to invite you to eat barbecue... would that be okay?"
Kiyonari didn't ask questions. He simply looked at those eyes on the verge of shattering and gently nodded.
"Alright. Wait just a moment."
He turned back inside, quickly pulling on warm outer clothing. When he emerged again, he'd gathered everything he needed.
The two left the Hyuga compound without a sound. Konoha's streets remained brightly lit. Entering Yakiniku Q, the lively atmosphere of cooking fires immediately enveloped them, forming a stark contrast to the clan compound's cold stillness.
The moment they sat down, Kiyonari naturally took over ordering duties. After consulting Hinata's preferences, he ordered a large platter of the highest-grade wagyu in one breath.
Soon, a solidly built employee—clearly from the Akimichi clan—approached carrying a wooden platter piled high with bright red meat slices showing distinct marbling, practically forming a small mountain.
The employee set the meat platter heavily on the table, looking somewhat confused at the delicate boy and frail girl before him as he scratched his head.
"Excuse me, do you two have other guests joining you? This portion size..."
Hinata's face flushed bright red in an instant. She lowered her head in embarrassment, index fingers fidgeting anxiously against each other.
Before she could explain, Hyuga Kiyonari had already calmly picked up the grilling tongs, his expression composed as he laid a plump slice of beef on the sizzling grill. Immediately, the meat began releasing an enticing hiss.
"No one else. I'm just a big eater. Thanks for your concern."
"Oh."
The employee acknowledged and, without further questions, turned away with a smile.
Hinata raised her head, staring blankly at Kiyonari as he skillfully turned the meat on the grill, transferring perfectly cooked pieces into her bowl.
"Go ahead and eat, Lady Hinata."
From the moment she'd knocked on his door, Kiyonari's series of actions had been like a warm hand gently smoothing out the wrinkles in Hinata's heart.
She looked at the beef in her bowl—grilled to perfection with slightly charred edges but still tender and juicy inside—and unconsciously swallowed.
"Mm."
Hinata nodded in small movements, picked up her chopsticks, and placed a small bite of meat in her mouth. The meat's warmth and rich aroma exploded instantly in her mouth, and a warm current seemed to flow down her throat into her stomach, soothing her cold, anxious insides.
The two ate quietly for a while. The meat slices on the grill made pleasant sizzling sounds while the noise of surrounding customers became distant background music. In this small sanctuary constructed of barbecue aromas, Hinata's taut nerves finally found a moment's respite.
She set down her chopsticks, her other hand resting uneasily on her knee. After a long hesitation, she asked in an almost ethereal voice.
"Kiyonari-kun... if... if there was a huge difficulty facing me. Something I can't solve at all, something I can't even... can't even understand... what should I do?"
Hyuga Kiyonari looked up, his gaze falling on Hinata's anxious face.
He naturally knew she wasn't referring to academic or ninjutsu training difficulties. In a sense, that crushing burden—heavy enough to break anyone—had been entirely brought on by him.
Only she would never know the truth, and he would never reveal it. He simply transferred the grilled meat to a side plate before answering in a calm, steady voice.
"What's confusing you isn't the difficulty itself—it's the lack of a goal."
Hearing this, Hinata looked over in confusion.
Meeting her puzzled gaze, Kiyonari asked in return, "In the process of learning the Gentle Fist, what would you say counts as mastering it?"
Hinata thought for a moment before answering, "Mastering the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms?"
Kiyonari continued, "Then... the vague concept of 'learning the Gentle Fist' has now become the concrete goal of 'mastering the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.'"
"But you can't possibly skip the process and reach the endpoint directly. So you first master the Eight Trigrams Two Palms, then Four Palms, Eight Palms, Sixteen Palms... and finally Sixty-Four Palms. A difficult training task gets broken down into individual small goals. Prioritize solving the most pressing problems. Start from places you can actually handle. Does that make sense?"
"...Yes."
Hinata nodded emphatically. Though her movements still carried traces of hesitation, she seemed much better than before.
The meat continued its sizzling. Seeing her sink into thought, Kiyonari picked up a piece of grilled meat, wrapped it in fresh lettuce, and stuffed it in his mouth.
"Mmm."
Delicious!
He closed his eyes in satisfaction. Sure enough, the only drawback to quality ingredients was the price. Though he never ate sashimi, no matter how expensive.
Though Kiyonari's words contained no profound philosophy, they were like a key sliding into the tangled lock of Hinata's heart, producing a crisp click.
Following what he'd said, the vague goal of "saving the Hyuga clan" should become the specific goal of "changing the system between main and branch families."
But what exactly were the conflicts between main and branch families, and where should she begin? Hinata still couldn't figure it out. One thing was clear, though—simply removing the Caged Bird seal was definitely not a good idea.
However, the most pressing matter at hand was naturally the approaching Cloud Village delegation. She absolutely couldn't let them die in Konoha.
But what specifically should she do?
Even though mastering the Eight Trigrams Two Palms was already a very detailed goal, you still needed someone to teach you, to guide you through the basics.
Sigh... if only someone could help me think of a solution together.
Hinata clutched her chopsticks in frustration. Just then, a piece of grilled meat quietly appeared in the bowl before her. Her attention was instantly drawn to the chopsticks delivering that meat—and to their owner.
I've got it!
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