December 21, Konoha Year 54.
Before anyone realized it, the second semester had come to an end. During these months, the first-year students all underwent a huge transformation. In the first semester, they'd only had academic subjects and PE, with no real combat experience—hardly any different from kids who hadn't enrolled yet. But in the second semester, with the introduction of taijutsu sparring, they got their first taste of pain and began shedding some of their childishness.
That said, there was a side effect: certain students learned to use violence to solve their problems. Fights, brawls, and bullying became pretty common. Even more noteworthy was that the teachers and the school wouldn't intervene, apparently believing that "the weak have no place becoming ninjas." Better they quit now and go back to being ordinary civilians rather than risk being killed on missions after graduation.
Hence, it wasn't unusual for underachievers to try bullying top students. Think about Itachi Uchiha or Neji Hyuga, or Sasuke Uchiha in later years—there was a pattern. They were all good-looking geniuses with a cool, distant attitude and had a big fan base, especially among girls. But precisely because they were so popular and showed little interest in joining any group—treating both girls and boys with apparent indifference—some of the other boys just couldn't stand them and tried to teach them a lesson.
Unfortunately for those bullies, they never succeeded. Usually, they wound up getting beaten badly themselves. As if that wasn't bad enough, being overpowered by one person in front of so many onlookers was embarrassing, and they'd then get targeted by that genius's fan club. The girls in class (or sometimes even older girls) would ostracize these bullies, turning the tables and leaving them humiliated. This only made them resent those "popular stars" all the more, and sometimes they'd take it out on the genius's clan as well.
…
On this particular day, snow was falling heavily. Once the snow finally let up, Hinata—who now enjoyed the freedom to go out on her own—ran out of the Hyuga compound, eager to meet Izayoi at their usual place. She wore a puffy white "snowman suit" and a red scarf around her neck, making her look super cute and round. Over the past half-year, at Izayoi's suggestion, she'd been growing out her hair, and it now hung to her shoulders. She'd even tied it into two little pigtails, planning to style it differently once it reached her waist.
Her cheeks still had baby fat and had turned a little pink in the cold, tempting anyone watching to pinch them. Naturally, Hinata didn't go directly to Izayoi's house—she didn't want to draw attention—so she stood in the open space near the Ninja Academy, waiting for him as usual.
Suddenly, she heard a few boys' voices behind her.
"Isn't that Neji's clanmate?"
"She's got those white eyes—no doubt about it."
"C'mon, let's teach her a lesson!"
Hinata turned to see three boys who looked a year or two older than her jogging over. They wore unfriendly grins.
"Umm…can I help you?" Hinata asked politely. Her tone was gentle, but if you looked closer, you'd notice she wasn't bowing her head in fear; she just seemed puzzled by these three.
"Those eyes…they're as annoying as Neji's!" one of the boys spat, apparently recalling some unpleasant memory. He yelled, "What are you looking at, you white-eyed freak? Don't you know that's rude?!"
Hinata tilted her head, confused. She did recognize the mention of her cousin's name, so she asked, "You guys…are friends with Neji-nii-san?"
"Friends with that jerk?!" another boy retorted loudly. "We're his enemies!"
"Now hurry up yell out that you're sorry, and apologize on Neji's behalf—or we'll beat you up!"
A third boy reached out to grab Hinata's shoulder, presumably to force her to the ground so they could mock her. But as soon as his hand drew near, Hinata's expression changed. With two gloved fingers—her index and middle—she struck him in the chest faster than he could react.
"Ah…!"
Even through thick winter clothing, her Gentle Fist attack felt like a needle piercing his chest. The boy shrieked, dropping to the ground. Hinata then swiftly jabbed the other two, who each let out pained cries before collapsing as well.
"It hurts, it hurts…wahhh…"
They clutched at their chests, trying to rub away the pain that radiated outward from the impact. But that ache wasn't going anywhere. Looking up at Hinata, they saw the same intimidating aura that Neji had—powerful and proud. They froze, then burst into terrified sobs and ran away, crawling and stumbling in the snow.
Hinata, who'd just reacted instinctively, tilted her head again, mystified. She hadn't even channeled much chakra into them, so why were they crying so loudly? Could they really call themselves "Neji-nii-san's enemies" after that?
…
Just then, someone started clapping. Hinata turned and immediately beamed.
"Izayoi-kun, you're here!"
"Hinata, that was pretty cool," Izayoi called out, also wearing a white "snowman suit." He gave her a thumbs-up. "That's exactly how you handle people with bad intentions—hit them fast and hard. Otherwise, they just get worse, and bullying becomes a habit."
"Mhm!"
Hinata nodded with a bright, obedient look. Izayoi felt a surge of pride welling up in his chest. In the original story, Hinata got bullied by kids her own age—an utterly bizarre situation for the eldest daughter of a major clan, especially since she'd already been practicing Gentle Fist. Her getting bullied to the point of tears was purely a personality issue. But now, she was the one beating up bullies. It showed how Izayoi's "retraining" had succeeded.
After repeatedly taking hits in their sparring sessions, Hinata's personality was no longer so timid—she was stronger and more decisive, refusing to give up easily. She was still kind, but she'd learned not to sacrifice herself just to spare someone else's feelings. If she had to retaliate, she'd do it on instinct. She wasn't the punkish "bad girl" from that alternate "Limited Tsukuyomi" story, but she had an inner toughness. Izayoi was proud he'd managed to bring about so much change in just half a year. Had he waited until Hiashi and Neji had broken Hinata's spirit, turning her into the self-doubting girl from canon, it would've been much harder to fix.
Hiashi was surely grateful. Granting her permission to go out on her own was the best reward.
"All right, let's go train."
"Yeah!"
The two kids in their matching white suits headed off toward the old training field.