Chapter 70: Misunderstanding
Inside Naruto's room, Hinata sat obediently on her knees in front of him.
The thick wooden club was gripped tightly in her hands while her Byakugan stared fixedly at Naruto's face.
Yet after staring for a little while, Hinata's thoughts couldn't help drifting.
Naruto-kun looks so handsome when he's quiet like this too…
Meanwhile, at the Hyūga clan estate—
"What?!"
Hiashi Hyūga, who had been peacefully brewing tea with the calm composure of a deeply cultivated clan head, instantly activated his Byakugan in fury.
His hand tightened unconsciously.
Crack.
The teacup in his hand shattered on the spot.
Yet even the scalding tea pouring over his hand failed to draw Hiashi's attention.
Forcing down the urge to immediately rush to Naruto's apartment, Hiashi stared toward the branch family member reporting Neji's message.
His expression shifted darkly.
"Calm down, Hiashi. You must calm down."
"Didn't you already prepare yourself for this?"
"After all, he is that person's son…"
"Though this is earlier than even him, as they say, the student surpasses the master…"
The branch family member kneeling below watched Hiashi sit there with veins bulging around his eyes, muttering to himself.
Finally, he couldn't help reminding him:
"Clan Head, blood…"
"What?! They've already drawn blood?!"
"These children are too young—"
"No, Clan Head!"
The branch member hurriedly corrected him.
"I mean your hand is bleeding!"
Only then did Hiashi look toward his hand, still gripping fragments of the shattered teacup.
Blood flowed from cuts made by the broken porcelain.
"Ah!"
Hiashi cried out in pain and immediately covered his face with his other hand so no one else could see his expression.
Just as his subordinate thoughtfully pulled out the emergency medical kit all shinobi carried and prepared to bandage the clan head properly—
Hiashi continued muttering:
"That was my favorite…"
"Cup."
"And it's leaving me this early…"
The subordinate quietly wrapped bandages around his hand while inwardly complaining.
The clan head definitely isn't grieving over the cup.
He's absolutely using it as a metaphor.
And judging from this attitude…
He's already accepted it.
"Papa, is Big Sister not back yet?"
At that moment, tiny Hanabi Hyūga wandered over from her room and looked up at her father with bright, adorable eyes.
After finishing Hiashi's bandage, the subordinate read the atmosphere perfectly and quietly excused himself.
Looking at his beloved little daughter, Hiashi beckoned her over.
Hanabi obediently nestled into his arms.
Holding his precious daughter, Hiashi's expression finally softened slightly.
He gently stroked her hair.
"Mm. Why is Hanabi still awake this late?"
"Tomorrow, Papa will be checking whether you slacked off on your homework~"
"Hehe! Papa, I already practiced properly after dinner!"
Hanabi smiled proudly.
"As expected of Hanabi. So obedient."
Hiashi sighed.
"Unlike your sister…"
"Ah… when your sister comes back tomorrow, don't ask her what happened tonight, alright?"
"Hm?"
Hanabi blinked blankly.
"What does that mean, Papa?"
She clearly didn't understand the completely unrelated jump in topics.
Hiashi, however, said nothing more.
He simply sighed inwardly.
With faint resentment mixed in.
Just how did that lord teach his son?
So precocious?
And even if he truly couldn't wait…
Shouldn't he at least give me an explanation?
And thus—
The misunderstanding inside Hiashi's heart grew deeper and deeper.
Some time later—
"... Naruto-kun, I'm sorry!"
The wooden club slammed down hard toward Naruto's head.
The intense pain instantly jolted Naruto awake.
He clutched his head and shouted:
"That hurts!"
"Naruto-kun, are you alright?"
Hinata immediately threw the club aside and hurriedly helped Naruto up.
"S-Sorry! Did I hit too hard?"
"It's fine, it's fine."
Naruto waved his hands quickly, still looking frightened as he recalled what just happened.
The experience of having his consciousness turn into stone was honestly terrifying.
He couldn't move.
Couldn't think.
Yet he still somehow remained aware of time passing.
It was a torture beyond description.
"Naruto-kun, were you really training just now?"
Hinata hesitated.
"I couldn't…"
During the entire hour Naruto remained motionless, Hinata had activated her Byakugan more than once to observe the flow of chakra within his body.
But perhaps her Byakugan wasn't strong enough yet.
She couldn't see any change whatsoever in Naruto's chakra.
If she had to describe it—
During that hour, Naruto's chakra resembled a calm lake without a single ripple.
As steady as ever.
"It really is training."
Naruto was just about to explain when—
Grrrrr.
His stomach suddenly growled loudly.
Embarrassed, he scratched his head.
"I'm starving."
"Let's eat first."
Naruto prepared to stand up and take out the cup ramen he had prepared beforehand.
Only to discover he couldn't stand at all.
His legs simply refused to listen.
Almost as though they were still petrified.
"Eh?"
"Strange…"
"Hm…"
"Wait…"
"I can't move?"
Naruto knocked on his legs with his hands.
The muscles still had elasticity and weren't as hard as stone.
Yet to his own senses, both legs still felt like rocks.
"Naruto-kun, maybe your legs just went numb from sitting too long."
"I'll go get it."
"Oh, okay."
"Sorry to trouble you, Hinata. It's right over…"
Hinata very considerately followed Naruto's instructions and found the cup ramen before preparing it.
While doing so, she thoughtfully glanced toward the entire cabinet filled with cup ramen.
After eating his fill, Naruto slapped his legs again.
Sensation had finally returned.
At the very least, he could stand now.
Seeing that Naruto seemed mostly fine, Hinata quietly sighed in relief.
Naruto glanced toward the sky outside the window before turning back to Hinata with a grin.
"There's still some time."
"I'll go one more round."
"After that, I'll walk you home!"
"Okay."
Though her family curfew was nearly upon her, Hinata—who could never refuse Naruto—obediently gripped the wooden club once again.
As Naruto's consciousness sank back into the inner world, he opened his eyes and looked toward Kurama with some uncertainty.
"That thing just now…"
"Was that really how I'm supposed to train my ultimate move?"
"Of course."
Kurama, who had been waiting in the inner world the whole time, appeared perfectly calm and composed.
"You don't trust this old man?"
"Oh no, no."
Naruto quickly shook his head.
"As long as it's normal, that's fine."
"Hiss…"
"Hinata-chan really hit hard…"
Naruto rubbed the back of his head, grimacing in pain.
"Only enough pain shocking the body can forcefully awaken the mind."
Kurama explained confidently.
"And the reason your legs couldn't move earlier was because after your mental state remained petrified for some time, your physical body was affected too."
"You just needed a short recovery period before moving normally again."
"But here in the inner world, it's merely mental petrification. Your life won't be in danger."
"If you train like this in reality, one wrong step and you really will become stone."
"This training method was devised by this old man."
"And this old man anticipated all of this in advance."
"That's why I told you to find someone to care for you beforehand."
Kurama's confident tone gave Naruto enormous trust.
"Yosh!"
"Then let's continue!"
Truly—
One dared to speak.
The other dared to believe.
Kurama selected another natural energy sphere slightly smaller than the last one and waved it toward Naruto.
Bang!
As expected, the instant the natural energy larger than Naruto's body wrapped around him—
Naruto's stone statue made its second appearance.
The road ahead was long and difficult.
While Naruto continued his training—
At the same time, near the border of the Land of Water—
"Stop!"
"Who are you?"
Kakashi, carrying two blades on his back, lifted his head toward the Kirigakure border shinobi flickering among the trees.
Scratching his messy white hair, he answered in a relatively serious tone:
"Konoha Jōnin, Kakashi Hatake."
"I'm here on a mission to meet Elder Genji of Kirigakure."
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