"Izayoi-kun, this is great—we pulled it off!"
Once they'd left the Hyuga grounds, Hinata could no longer hold back her excitement, her voice trembling slightly.
"Stay calm. Be careful not to let your father's guards—if they're secretly following us—overhear that," Izayoi reminded her with a playful smile.
At his words, Hinata instantly clamped a hand over her mouth and glanced around cautiously—looking pretty adorable.
"Alright, let's go. I'll take you somewhere."
Izayoi wasn't entirely sure if there might be guards in stealth mode, so he kept his Transformation Jutsu active. Leading Hinata away from the busy central streets, they headed toward an old, unused training ground on the outskirts.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Once they were in the forest, Izayoi created a shadow clone. The clone vanished with a swift Body Flicker, and moments later, Izayoi released his transformation.
Seeing this, Hinata's eyes lit up. "Izayoi-kun, so…nobody's following us?"
"Yup, it's confirmed. No one's trailing us."
Izayoi nodded. Grinning, he said, "Soon, I'll teach you a little trick. If you practice it at home and your father sees, maybe he'll stop forbidding you from going out."
Hinata's expression grew even brighter when she heard this.
Disguising himself as Ino Yamanaka to invite Hinata out had been Izayoi's plan from the start. If he'd tried asking her himself, she likely never would have been allowed out. Best-case scenario, he'd have wasted a trip; worst-case, Neji might've shown up with a warning, or the elders would have forced Hinata to switch seats or even move her to another class.
Other kids might not get it, but Izayoi knew exactly what was up. This world has nobles and feudal lords, so social hierarchies are even more rigid than in his old life. Hinata's the heiress of a prestigious ninja clan; Izayoi is just a clanless orphan. There's a huge divide between them. If Izayoi were a girl, befriending Hinata might be okay. But since he's a boy, the Hyuga—especially Hiashi or the main-clan elders—would never want him getting too close. They'd worry about Hinata falling for him or leaking their Kekkei Genkai.
Unless…Izayoi proves himself massively valuable. If he's a top-tier civilian prodigy worth roping in, he might be allowed to "marry in." Or if, like Naruto, he becomes the hero of Konoha and savior of the ninja world, then he could marry the Hyuga heiress. But before proving his worth, he has to rely on little tricks.
Ino Yamanaka, however, is the daughter of the Yamanaka clan, part of the future Ino-Shika-Cho formation. Even if she's not super strong, she'll be a big deal in the intelligence department thanks to her family's mind-based secret jutsu. Ino-Shika-Cho is also a tightly knit alliance. If any of the "Konoha 9" is qualified to hang out with Hinata, it's definitely Ino. So transforming into Ino was the perfect way to invite Hinata out—and stand a good chance of not being followed.
If Izayoi wasn't worried that his power-ups would widen the gap between him and Hinata—making it even harder to unlock her red-tier talent—he wouldn't have dared try something so risky. Once the upcoming big exam rolls around, if he can snag the title of top student, he'll have at least a little credibility. But honestly, he's more interested in snagging Hinata's red-tier entry than Naruto or Sasuke's. If Izayoi can awaken the Tenseigan, he won't have to worry about much else. That's why he doesn't want to waste this vacation.
…
Reaching the old training ground, Izayoi turned to Hinata. "Hinata, have you learned the Three Basic Techniques yet?"
"No…" she answered, shaking her head. "Father wants me to focus on the Gentle Fist. He said I can only learn other ninjutsu once the Academy starts teaching them."
"In that case, I won't bother teaching you the Three Basics." Izayoi smiled. "I'll teach you something else instead—something that'll boost your chakra control. It'll help you get better at the Gentle Fist, or even learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu faster."
Eyes going wide, Hinata blurted, "Izayoi-kun, are…are you going to teach me the Shadow Clone Jutsu?"
"Yup."
Izayoi nodded. "From now on, I'll rarely come to school in person. You can come find me here anytime—or just learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu and send a clone to class, like I do, while your real body trains with me."
Hinata was obviously tempted. Ever since she'd learned Izayoi was only sending a clone to school, she'd wanted to learn that jutsu herself—mainly so she wouldn't get left too far behind. But, as she said, Hiashi was forcing her to focus solely on the Gentle Fist style. He wouldn't teach her anything else. She couldn't even do the Three Basics, let alone the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Now Izayoi was offering to teach it, meaning she could come here and train with him in secret every day—getting both friendship and the freedom she longed for. Of course she was dying to say yes.
Seeing her face, Izayoi knew exactly what she was thinking. "Come here; I'll show you how to work on your chakra control."
He smiled and led Hinata over to a massive tree that would take a few people to circle with their arms. Forming a single "Ram" seal, he said, "Gather chakra in the soles of your feet and fight your fear of falling. Do it like this…"
Under Hinata's astonished gaze, Izayoi planted his right foot on the tree trunk, then lifted his left foot so both were on the trunk. His body was now parallel to the ground, in front of Hinata's wide eyes. Step by step, he walked straight up the tree, as if strolling on flat land, until he reached the top. Turning to look down at her, Izayoi stood there at a right angle, smiling. "Climbing a tree with your feet—that's the trick I'm teaching you."
"That's…that's amazing!"
Hinata was frozen in wonder as she watched him seemingly defy gravity.
Walking back down the trunk, Izayoi added, "But walking on trees is just the first step. After that comes water-walking. If you master both, it'll make learning any technique—whether the Three Basics, Shadow Clone, or even Body Flicker—way easier."
"Do…do you really think I can learn this?" Hinata asked uncertainly.
"Don't sell yourself short. You're the Hyuga heiress, after all."
Izayoi patted her shoulder encouragingly. "Go ahead and try. Don't be afraid of falling—I'll catch you. But if you let me get too far ahead, I won't wait up for you."
The playful tone of that last sentence made it sound a bit like teasing, but it was enough to firm Hinata's resolve. She nodded hard. "Right!"
She might have already disappointed her father, but she absolutely couldn't disappoint Izayoi too. Nor did she want to lose the only friend she had.
~~~
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