"Ah!"
Startled by the sound so close, Hinata jumped, and her white pupils instantly misted over with panic.
She turned around in a fluster, and when she saw Naruto's smiling blue eyes, her entire face instantly turned red like a ripe tomato.
"N-Naruto-kun! I... um..."
She nervously twisted the corner of her clothes, her voice as thin as a mosquito's buzz.
"Big Sister came to watch you train."
A childish voice came from below.
Hanabi had gotten up at some point, standing next to Naruto with her hands on her hips, looking up seriously as she added, "She comes every day recently, you know!"
"Hanabi!"
Hinata was so embarrassed she nearly fainted.
Naruto squatted down to meet Hanabi's gaze, smiling as he ruffled her hair: "Thanks for telling me this secret."
He then looked up at Hinata, his gaze gentle: "If you want to train with me, you should just say so. It just so happens that I also want to see the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist!"
His tone was sincere and encouraging. "Hinata always seemed a bit constrained when sparring during practical classes. You were probably afraid of hurting your classmates, right? I also practice Taijutsu, and my body is quite sturdy, so Hinata can attack me without worry."
"I... I..."
Hinata's face grew even redder, her fingers tightly twisting the corner of her clothes, her heart pounding as if it were about to burst out.
She both yearned to train with Naruto-kun and feared that her clumsy performance would make him look down on her.
Seeing her older sister stammering, Hanabi grinned mischievously, suddenly raised her little hand, and spoke clearly: "If Big Sister doesn't want to, can I spar with Big Brother? Hanabi knows Gentle Fist too!"
As she spoke, she even struck a proper starting pose for Gentle Fist, her small face filled with anticipation and eagerness.
"Hanabi..."
Hinata softly tried to stop her, her tone carrying helplessness and a trace of subtle envy.
When would she be able to express her inner thoughts like Hanabi?
Naruto looked at the bold and adorable little girl in front of him, his smile growing brighter.
He nodded solemnly: "Of course you can. My name is Uzumaki Naruto."
"Then Hanabi will call you Big Brother Naruto from now on!"
Little Hanabi announced happily, then added, tilting her head, "Big Brother Naruto is much more straightforward than Big Sister!"
"Let's go, Big Brother. Let's start sparring!"
Saying this, Hanabi, as if afraid Naruto would change his mind, first glanced at the still-frozen Hinata with a hint of triumph, then actively grabbed Naruto's big hand and pulled him toward the center of the training ground.
Naruto let her lead him, smiling gently.
Once they reached the center of the field, he gently withdrew his hand from Hanabi's small grip, formed a simple hand sign, and dismissed the Shadow Clone that was currently training on the field.
With a soft "poof," the clone turned into white smoke and vanished.
Afterward, he bent down and picked up the scattered Kunai and Shuriken one by one, carefully placing them back into the ninja tool pouch on his waist, clearing the space for sparring.
Having finished this, he turned to look at Hinata, who was still standing in place looking worried and bewildered, pointed to a long bench under the shade of a tree by the edge of the field, and said gently, "Hinata, you can sit on that bench and watch."
Naruto rubbed his nose.
"Don't worry, I'll go easy on Hanabi. There's no need to fear she'll get hurt."
His words were meant to comfort Hinata, but they immediately drew dissatisfaction from Little Hanabi.
"Then I'll go easy on Big Brother Naruto too!"
Little Hanabi immediately put her hands on her hips, lifted her small face, and declared defiantly with a "I'm very powerful" look, "Big Sister doesn't need to worry, Big Brother Naruto won't get hurt either!"
This childish declaration and her serious little demeanor made Naruto pause for a moment, then he couldn't help but burst out laughing, his mood becoming even more cheerful.
"Hahaha, alright!"
He cooperatively adopted a fighting stance, his eyes twinkling with amusement, "Then Hanabi must go easy on me."
"W-Wait..."
Just as Naruto and Hanabi were preparing to start sparring, a faint but firm voice came from the side of the field. Hinata stood with her hands tightly clasped in front of her chest, her cheeks flushed crimson, as if she had used all her strength to finally muster the courage to speak:
"Hanabi is still too young..." She didn't dare look directly into Naruto's eyes, her gaze flickering toward the ground, yet her voice clearly carried over. "L-Let me... spar with Naruto-kun instead!"
Hearing her older sister finally speak her mind, Naruto and Hanabi instinctively exchanged a glance, both seeing amusement in the other's eyes.
Little Hanabi even quickly and secretly gave Naruto a thumbs-up, her small face radiating the triumph of a "plan successful."
Hanabi smiled, skipping over to sit on the public bench under the shade by the training field, swinging her little legs, adopting a posture ready to watch the show, and cheering on her older sister with a clear voice:
"Big Sister, you have to try hard! Don't lose too quickly!"
"Mmm... mmm..."
Hinata lowered her head deeply, almost burying her chin in her collar, walking toward Naruto with extremely stiff movements, arms and legs moving on the same side.
She tremblingly raised her hands and formed the Seal of Confrontation alongside Naruto, then reluctantly adopted the starting stance of the Hyuga Style Gentle Fist.
"Naruto-kun... P-Please teach me! Come on!"
Her voice was faint as gossamer; rather than a pre-battle declaration, it sounded more like a plea for help.
Naruto also seriously formed the Seal of Confrontation and responded gently, "Let's begin."
The two immediately began their movements.
However, the atmosphere of this spar was unusually strange.
Naruto was clearly holding back, his movements several beats too slow and full of openings, practically conducting a slow-motion lesson.
Hinata, meanwhile, was completely overwhelmed by shyness. Every palm strike was weak and soft, lacking any power or accuracy, and her eyes darted everywhere, completely unable to focus on Naruto.
This "spar" between the two, which resembled morning exercises performed by elderly grandparents, made Hanabi, who was sitting on the bench, yawn repeatedly, her small face clearly expressing boredom. She even started swinging her legs and looking around.
However, Hinata's feelings during the spar were completely different.
Being this close to Naruto-kun... being able to feel his breath... This thought caused her brain to nearly overheat, and invisible wisps of smoke seemed to rise from her head, her cheeks burning hot.
In this state, her strikes became even more distorted and lacked any structure. Rather than executing the Gentle Fist, it looked more like she was frantically waving her hands to shoo away the air in front of her.
When Naruto saw Hinata completely immersed in shyness, lacking any fighting spirit, and merely waving her arms randomly, his own interest in sparring completely vanished.
This wasn't a spar at all.
Spotting an opening, he decisively raised his hand and firmly blocked Hinata's unstructured, soft swinging arm, stopping her from continuing these meaningless movements.
At the same time, the gentle smile on his face faded, and his voice deepened: "Hinata."
He looked directly into those still-evasive white pupils.
"If you feel tired, or if your condition isn't good, go rest on the side for a while."
"Let Hanabi do it."
Although the words were direct, they acted like a basin of cold water, gently splashing onto Hinata's overheated mind.