On December 21st, Year 54 of the Hidden Leaf Village.
Unknowingly, the second semester had come to an end.
In this semester, the first-year students had undergone noticeable transformations.
During the first semester, which only consisted of academic and physical education courses, they had little to no actual combat experience. They were practically no different from when they had just entered the academy.
However, with the introduction of Taijutsu duels in the second semester, the students learned to grow through pain, shedding some of their immaturity.
There was, however, an unintended side effect—some students had started using violence as a means to resolve conflicts.
Fights broke out at the slightest provocation, whether it was one-on-one duels or group beatings. Bullying incidents also became frequent.
More importantly, neither the teachers nor the academy intervened.
It was clear that in their eyes, weaklings were unfit to be ninjas. Rather than letting them die on a mission after graduation, it was better for them to be bullied into quitting now and choosing the life of an ordinary person.
As a result, instances of delinquent students attempting to bully top-performing students were common across all grades and classes.
Take, for example, Itachi Uchiha, Neji Hyuga, and Sasuke Uchiha.
They all shared certain similarities—they were exceptionally talented, strikingly good-looking, and possessed a cool, aloof demeanor that made them popular among girls.
However, despite their popularity, they showed little interest in forming cliques or socializing, appearing indifferent to both their male and female peers.
This lone wolf attitude rubbed many boys the wrong way, making them eager to put these prodigies in their place.
Unfortunately for the bullies, every single one of their attempts ended in failure, with some even receiving a brutal counterattack.
Getting beaten up was one thing, but the humiliation of failing so spectacularly, even with superior numbers, was unbearable.
Worse still, they would later become targets of retaliation from the fan clubs of their intended victims, leading to further bullying and rejection from female students. Sometimes, even upperclassmen would step in to punish them.
This only deepened their resentment toward these prodigies—so much so that they even began holding grudges against their clan members.
On this particular day, snow had blanketed the village.
Once the snowfall ceased, Hinata, who no longer needed Ino Yamanaka to secretly invite her out, happily dashed out of the Hyuga compound. She was heading toward their usual meeting spot, eager to see Kenjiro.
Hinata was bundled up in a white snowman-themed outfit, with a red scarf wrapped around her neck. Her chubby cheeks and round figure made her look absolutely adorable.
Over the past six months, upon Kenjiro's suggestion, she had intentionally let her hair grow longer. It now reached her shoulders.
She had tied it into twin tails, intending to grow it to waist-length before changing her hairstyle again.
Her baby-fat-filled cheeks were slightly flushed in the cold weather, making her look irresistibly pinchable.
To avoid attracting attention, Hinata did not knock on Kenjiro's door. Instead, she waited at the open training ground outside the Ninja Academy, as was their unspoken routine.
"Hey, isn't that kid from Neji's clan?"
"White eyes—there's no doubt."
"Let's teach her a lesson!"
As Hinata stood waiting, she suddenly overheard the voices of some boys.
When she turned around, three boys, who appeared to be one or two years older than her, were approaching at a quick pace.
Their faces bore mischievous and hostile grins.
"Um… Do you need something?" Hinata asked gently.
Her voice was soft and kind, but if one looked closely, they would notice she was not lowering her head in submission—just curiously looking at the three boys.
"Damn those eyes, just like Neji's!" one of the boys shouted angrily as if recalling a bad memory. "You white-eyed freak, who said you could look at me?! Kneel down and apologize!"
Hinata tilted her head slightly, puzzled.
However, upon hearing her cousin's name, she asked in confusion, "Are you Neji's friends?"
"Friends?!" another boy immediately retorted. "We're his enemies!"
"Hurry up and kneel! Say you're sorry, and apologize on Neji's behalf! Otherwise, we'll beat you up!"
The last boy reached out, attempting to grab Hinata's shoulder and force her down in humiliation.
Hinata's gaze suddenly changed. Her small, gloved hand swiftly extended, her index and middle fingers striking the boy's chest faster than he could react.
"Ahhh—!"
Despite wearing gloves, Hinata's fingers felt like sharp needles piercing through his thick winter clothing. He screamed in pain and collapsed to the ground.
She then turned and struck the other two boys with the same speed and precision.
They, too, let out cries of pain before falling to the ground.
"It hurts! It hurts so much! Waaaah!"
They clutched their chests, trying to ease the pain, but the discomfort only intensified.
Looking up at Hinata, they saw the shadow of Neji in her stance—powerful and unyielding, looking down at them from above.
They were so terrified that they burst into tears and scrambled away in a panic.
Hinata tilted her head again, slightly confused.
She hadn't even infused chakra into her strikes, so why did they cry?
Could they really be Neji's enemies with such poor skills?
Clap, clap, clap…
Just then, the sound of applause reached her ears.
Turning towards the source, Hinata's face immediately lit up with joy.
"Kenjiro-kun, you're here!"
"Hinata, that was really impressive," Kenjiro praised as he walked up to her, also clad in a white snowman-themed outfit. Giving her a thumbs-up, he said, "When dealing with ill-intentioned people, you should strike decisively. Otherwise, they'll only become more emboldened, maybe even turn into habitual bullies."
"Mmm!" Hinata nodded enthusiastically, looking completely adorable.
Seeing her like this, Kenjiro felt a deep sense of accomplishment.
In the original story, Hinata had been bullied multiple times by her peers.
The fact that a noble clan heiress could be pushed around by a few commoner boys was absurd.
Even more ridiculous was that, by that point, she had already started learning Gentle Fist.
If she still got bullied despite that, then the problem wasn't her strength—it was her personality.
But now, Hinata had turned the tables, making the bullies cry instead.
This was proof that Kenjiro's influence had worked.
Through continuous sparring, Hinata had become more resilient—not giving up so easily.
She was still kind, but no longer at the expense of herself. Her attacks were instinctive, her response swift and resolute.
Unlike the delinquent boss Hinata from the Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, this Hinata was gentle yet strong-willed.
It had only taken half a year to shape her into this. Kenjiro felt immense satisfaction.
Thankfully, he had started early—if he had waited until Hiashi Hyuga and Neji shattered Hinata's confidence, changing her would have been much harder.
Even Hiashi must be grateful to Kenjiro.
Granting Hinata more freedom to go out was proof enough.
"Let's go train."
"Okay!"
The two small figures, dressed as snowmen, headed toward an abandoned training ground.
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