Chapter 7: Hinata's Change
Hinata stood under a large tree, forming a seal with both hands. She mobilized the chakra within her body, gathering it at the soles of her feet just as Sixteen Nights had instructed.
Then, she lifted her right foot and placed it on the tree trunk.
Immediately, Hinata felt as if the sole of her foot had been glued to the bark, sticking to it tightly.
Feeling this, Hinata relaxed a little and then placed her left foot onto the trunk as well.
Just like Sixteen Nights had done earlier, Hinata's body was now horizontal in mid-air.
Holding her breath, Hinata took her third step.
"Ah…"
The next moment, Hinata's expression changed drastically, and she let out a surprised cry.
Her feet, which had been stuck to the tree bark, suddenly lost their grip, and her entire body began to fall.
At that moment, two arms caught Hinata, steadying her body.
Sixteen Nights chuckled lightly and said, "No need to be afraid. Like I said, I'll catch you."
"I'm sorry, Sixteen Nights-kun…"
Hinata lowered her head as she spoke, looking like she had let him down.
"Why are you apologizing to me?"
Sixteen Nights once again patted Hinata on the shoulder and encouraged her, "Failure is normal. Being able to stick both feet on your first try is already impressive. When I practiced, it took me more than a dozen tries before I succeeded."
This was a lie!
Sixteen Nights had succeeded on his first try and had even walked up many steps.
Neither Uzumaki Naruto nor Uchiha Sasuke had chakra control among their innate talents.
But both Sixteen Nights and Hinata had chakra control at the blue grade level.
With this level of talent, not only tree climbing and water walking, but even medical ninjutsu, sensory techniques, sealing techniques, and barrier techniques were all easier to practice compared to those without chakra control talent.
Gentle Fist, which injects chakra into the human body, is itself a form of chakra control.
As long as she had enough chakra and someone guiding her, Hinata should be able to learn tree climbing very quickly.
"Keep going. I believe you'll be able to reach the top of the tree very soon."
"Mm."
Encouraged, Hinata's confidence surged.
She once again formed a seal with both hands, gathered chakra at the soles of her feet, and stepped onto the tree trunk. Her body soon became horizontal in mid-air again.
Perhaps because of the sense of security Sixteen Nights gave her, Hinata did not hold her breath this time. Instead, she naturally took the third step.
The previous issue, where she lost control of the chakra in one foot after taking the third step and then lost control in both feet, did not happen this time.
Hinata maintained firm control over the chakra in both feet, her soles sticking tightly to the tree trunk.
Fourth step, fifth step, sixth step…
By the time she took the eighth step and moved on to the ninth, Hinata lost her rhythm. The chakra in both feet lost balance again, and her body began to fall.
Strangely enough, Hinata wasn't scared at all and didn't cry out.
In fact, a hint of anticipation flickered in her heart.
As expected…
Her body didn't crash onto the hard ground, but instead landed into a warm embrace.
Sixteen Nights caught Hinata in his arms in a princess carry. Looking down at her, he praised without hesitation, "Impressive, Hinata. To get that far on your second try—you're a genius."
"Hehe…"
Hinata didn't feel shy, but instead laughed happily.
She had received more praise today than she had in the past few years combined.
So this is what it feels like to be acknowledged?
Hinata, whose personality hadn't yet become the timid and insecure version seen in the original work, immediately felt more motivated and confident.
Her beautiful eyes sparkled as she took the rare initiative to say, "Sixteen Nights-kun, put me down. I want to try again."
"Alright."
Hinata's change did not go unnoticed by Sixteen Nights.
Seeing the girl grow more confident made Sixteen Nights genuinely happy for her.
A proper young lady from a prestigious clan had become so timid and insecure in the original story, which showed just what kind of high-pressure environment she had grown up in.
Since he had come to this world and chosen to intercept Uzumaki Naruto and Ōtsutsuki Toneri, Sixteen Nights was determined to change this girl.
Even if she didn't turn into the delinquent queen of the Infinite Tsukuyomi version, she shouldn't end up like the original, wasting the genetic gifts of the Ōtsutsuki clan.
Starting with her personality, Sixteen Nights was going to raise her into the kind of person he wanted her to be!
Hinata had great talent. Among the four girls of the Konoha 12, she alone came from a noble clan and possessed one of the three great dōjutsu—the Byakugan.
All she lacked was confidence.
Once she regained her self-confidence, she would shine brilliantly.
Tree climbing and water walking didn't require large amounts of chakra—just control.
That control could either be achieved through hard work and practice or purely through talent.
In the original story, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke belonged to the former; Haruno Sakura belonged to the latter.
Sixteen Nights and Hinata also belonged to the latter.
Hinata, who managed to take seven or eight steps on her second attempt, didn't regress on her third. Instead, she made further progress, taking more than ten steps before falling again.
Once again, Sixteen Nights caught her steadily.
By the fourth time, Hinata didn't fall at all—she successfully reached the top of the tree.
"Sixteen Nights-kun, I did it!"
Standing atop the tree, Hinata didn't admire the surrounding scenery from that height. Instead, her first instinct was to share her joy with Sixteen Nights below.
"Amazing! You reached the top on your fourth try. Hinata, you're way better than I was."
Sixteen Nights gave her a thumbs-up and praised her without holding back.
"Hehe…"
Hinata laughed happily again upon receiving his praise.
Even though both were giving her guidance, the feeling Sixteen Nights gave her was completely different from her father's.
When learning Gentle Fist from her father at home, Hinata always felt nervous. Even if she completed Hiashi Hyūga's assigned tasks, she wouldn't receive a single word of praise.
Sometimes, she would even be criticized for not being as perfect as her cousin.
In contrast, with Sixteen Nights, she finally received the praise she had always longed for.
The relaxed atmosphere, so different from the nervous tension she was used to, and the joy replacing her usual anxiety, seemed to cleanse Hinata's heart and made her love training.
Walking down from the treetop as if on flat ground, Hinata looked at Sixteen Nights with eager eyes and asked, "Sixteen Nights-kun, is walking on water the same as climbing trees?"
"Yeah, but it's more difficult."
Sixteen Nights nodded and said with a smile, "For tree climbing, you just need to stick to the trunk. But water is fluid. To stick to the surface of water, your control needs to be several times more precise."
"I won't teach you that now, but you can go home and try using a bathtub or water jar. Once your chakra increases, I'll teach you real water walking and the shadow clone technique."
"Mm, mm…" Hinata nodded repeatedly.
Seeing Hinata so obedient, Sixteen Nights finally revealed his true colors and grinned, "Next, I'll teach you how to fight with taijutsu! Let me also experience your Hyūga Clan's Gentle Fist strikes."
"Okay."
Naive Hinata had no idea what Sixteen Nights' true intentions were.
Having already sparred many times with her cousin at home, she obediently nodded, not realizing there was anything strange about practicing taijutsu combat—which wasn't taught at the academy yet.
(End of Chapter)