"Hanabi, are you going to see him again?"
In the Hyuga house.
After a full day of training, Hinata saw her little sister dart into the kitchen and couldn't hide the worry on her face.
Ever since Hanabi had met that boy, this had become a daily occurrence for the past two months.
Every day, after they completed their training tasks, Hanabi would run into the kitchen, prepare food, and then head off toward the forest outside the village.
Their father had already warned her multiple times—and punished her a few as well—but Hanabi always found a way to sneak out of the compound.
"Mhm, Nee-chan, he's like us. He's training in taijutsu too—though not Gentle Fist.
But his appetite is insane, even bigger than Dad's. Autumn's almost here, and it's getting way harder to hunt in the forest. If I don't bring him food, he'll go hungry."
While she spoke, Hanabi's hands didn't pause for a second.
Standing on a stool, she firmly molded rice into balls. After wrapping them in seaweed, she placed them carefully into a bento box.
She didn't even bother wiping the sweat running down her cheeks before starting the next one.
Looking at her sister, who hadn't even changed out of her training clothes, Hinata opened her mouth but hesitated for a moment.
"But... didn't you say he's never eaten anything you brought?"
Hanabi's nimble hands suddenly paused. Her expression dimmed, and she gave a soft "Mm..."
"Then why do you still…"
"I know, Nee-chan. I know in his eyes, what I'm doing probably seems unnecessary—or even annoying... But every time I see the way he is, I just can't stop worrying."
Two whole months.
At first, he would still say a few words to her—telling her not to come, that it wasn't needed.
But after a while, he couldn't even be bothered. He ignored her completely, continuing his training like she didn't exist. Once he finished, he would leave without saying a single word.
From beginning to end, it was like she wasn't even there—like air.
Maybe it wasn't just her. Maybe in his world, there was no room for anyone else at all.
That realization made Hanabi feel genuinely sad.
"I'm heading out now, Nee-chan. I'll leave father to you!"
After stuffing the bento full, Hanabi perked back up, waved at her sister, and quietly slipped out the door.
———
In the forest behind the mountain.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
———
The sound of fists and feet pounding wooden stakes echoed through the trees.
Ryuma's clothes were already soaked with sweat.
Under full gravity suppression, every punch he threw required exponentially more stamina than it would under normal conditions.
But it was precisely this hellish training that had made him much stronger compared to two months ago.
To put it simply—an ordinary person couldn't withstand even a single full-force punch from him. It would cause internal injuries at the very least, maybe even break bones.
But even so, he was still far from meeting the requirements for training in the Navy's Six Styles—Rokushiki—which demanded more.
The Six Styles were incredibly powerful and practical, designed specifically to push the limits of human physical strength. They were one of the core foundations of the Navy's might.
Even among Navy officers, many spent their entire lives mastering just one or two techniques. Very few ever reached complete mastery or could use all six with true proficiency.
"Ryuma, that girl from the Hyuga clan is here again."
While Ryuma trained, the mongoose by his side twitched its tail and turned to inform him.
"She brought two people with her this time. Both are Chunin."
Its tail swayed like an antenna picking up signals, and the mongoose gave Ryuma a precise headcount.
"Hmph."
Exhaling sharply, Ryuma immediately released the gravity suppression across his body.
Hanabi wasn't wrong—her presence was indeed a nuisance.
The Gravity Fruit was his secret. Until he was strong enough, he had no intention of letting anyone know, especially not in a village where Danzo still existed.
And the Hyuga clan's Byakugan was universally acknowledged as the most powerful detection ability in the entire ninja world—one of the two great Dojutsu.
So long as Hanabi was around, he couldn't train the way he normally did.
It wasn't Hanabi herself he was worried about. The problem was the two retainers that always followed her.
A short while later, sure enough, a small figure appeared at his training spot.
She glanced at the untouched rice balls from the day before, her eyes dimmed slightly, then forced a smile and pulled out a fresh bento box, offering it to him with both hands.
"You must be hungry. Eat something before continuing your training…"
The mongoose, seeing this, couldn't help but leap onto Ryuma's head, circling his scalp as it muttered.
"Hey, Ryuma, maybe you should just eat it. Who knows, if you do, maybe she'll finally stop showing up."
Even this unreliable creature, after witnessing Hanabi's unrelenting persistence for two months, couldn't ignore the sincerity in her heart.
It had started to like the girl whose eyes looked like snowflakes, and now it was nudging Ryuma to act.
Ryuma lowered his hands and began walking toward the direction Hanabi had come from.
Seeing this, Hanabi clenched her hands and her heartbeat sped up—thinking maybe, just maybe, her persistence had finally reached him.
But when Ryuma walked right past her, her hands and feet suddenly went cold.
"You're in the way."
Even after Ryuma had walked off into the distance, Hanabi remained frozen in place.
Her snow-white eyes turned red with tears, her heart overwhelmed with hurt. She wanted to cry—loudly.
'Don't cry, girl. That guy's a piece of crap. He even bullies animals—he never gives me meat to eat…'
The mongoose couldn't stand it anymore. It floated over in front of Hanabi, spitting and sputtering as it tried to comfort her.
But realizing she couldn't hear a word it was saying, it could only sigh and float back toward Ryuma in frustration.