Pa pa pa...
In a snowy patch of the forest, the sound of rapid and continuous strikes echoed.
Two small figures wearing snowman suits could be seen. Their feet did not sink into the thick snow but instead stood steadily on top, attacking each other without pause.
The black-haired, white-eyed girl, her hands covered in white gloves, had blue flames of chakra coiling around her fingers. With a sound like cutting through the air, she kept stabbing toward the boy opposite her.
Meanwhile, the black-haired, blue-eyed boy seemed to predict the girl's attacks in advance. Each time, just before her fingers could pierce his snowman suit and inject chakra into his body through the clothes, he would knock away her wrist with the back of his hand, neutralize the attack, and then seize the opportunity to strike back — sometimes with a palm strike, sometimes with a straight punch, or sometimes with a kick, knocking the girl flying and sending her crashing into the snow.
Each time she was hit, the girl let out a muffled grunt, her little face twisted in pain and discomfort.
But even after falling into the snow, she quickly got back up and continued charging at the boy.
Even though her whole body was wracked with pain, and even when her internal injuries grew so bad that blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, she never stopped.
These two children were none other than Izayoi and Hinata.
"Alright, let's stop here."
No one knew how long they had been fighting before Izayoi finally spoke, ending the duel.
Hearing this, Hinata sat down in the snow, gasping for air, her face covered in sweat. Blood had already stained the torn snowman suit red, revealing the normal clothes underneath.
Across from her, Izayoi's white snowman suit was also tattered, showing his regular clothes inside.
Of course, these snowman suits were not just for decoration. They were meant to help Hinata practice "striking through objects" — to improve her ability to inject chakra into the human body and to strengthen the power of her strikes.
When she could inject chakra into Izayoi's body even through the thick snowman suit and cause significant damage, it would mean her finger strength was extremely powerful and her chakra control was very strong.
That was why, after knocking Hinata away a few times, Izayoi would intentionally leave an opening for her to hit him.
Otherwise, if it were one-sided beating all the time, although it would create an image of invincibility, it could also crush Hinata's confidence.
If he wanted Hinata to become confident, he needed to let her taste success.
Taking off his torn snowman suit, Izayoi walked to Hinata and squatted down, using the most basic healing jutsu to treat her.
He didn't know if basic healing jutsu could cure hidden injuries, nor could he check Hinata's body condition right now.
But he believed that his behavior of "violently beating up Hinata" had already been noticed by Hiashi Hyuga.
Since Hiashi still allowed Hinata to train with him, Izayoi believed he would find some excuse to have Hinata undergo a medical examination.
The Hyuga Clan surely had excellent medical ninjas. Whether Hinata had hidden injuries would definitely be discovered and treated.
Even if Hiashi didn't know or didn't arrange for a checkup, it didn't matter.
A young body, even if burdened with many hidden injuries, would recover quickly.
Izayoi only needed to awaken the Tenseigan, and just like the Rinnegan, it would automatically grant him the power of Yin-Yang Release.
At that time, Izayoi could use Yin-Yang Release to adjust and heal Hinata's body.
This was the reason he had no worries at all.
After finishing the treatment, Izayoi smiled and said, "Let's go ice fishing later. We'll have grilled fish today."
Hinata's beautiful eyes immediately lit up, and she nodded quickly. "Mm!"
Izayoi's understanding of the Naruto world came entirely from the TV anime.
He hadn't read the manga or played the games. The few extra bits of information he knew came from short videos.
He didn't know whether the manga mentioned Hinata being a "big eater."
But in the TV anime, there was a scene where Hinata demolished everyone in a ramen-eating contest.
That scene made Hinata's "big eater" trait famous across forums, with many fans saying it was a waste of talent.
After all, in a fantasy world, being a big eater was considered a very powerful gift.
However, just like life skills talents, it didn't appear in the ability list.
Izayoi didn't know whether Hinata truly had this "Big Eater" trait.
So, one day, Izayoi deliberately took Hinata fishing and grilling, secretly observing her appetite.
Then he found out — Hinata could really eat a lot. Her meal size was two or three times his own.
This discovery made Izayoi extremely happy.
A big appetite meant strong digestion, greater nutrient absorption, and stronger body and mental energy inside her cells.
This meant that Hinata's future chakra reserves would far exceed those of her peers.
The stronger Hinata became, the higher the chance of her unlocking a red-level talent.
Now that Izayoi knew she had the Big Eater trait, of course he wouldn't let her waste it.
So after every training session, Izayoi would always take Hinata to fish or hunt, making sure she ate to her heart's content.
Today was no exception.
At first, Hinata was shy about eating too much in front of Izayoi, wanting to maintain a "ladylike" image.
But gradually, she noticed that Izayoi always prepared a lot of food — clearly aware of her secret and even worried she wouldn't have enough — and so she stopped holding back.
At the same time, Hinata looked forward even more to training with Izayoi.
Because even her own family didn't know about her big appetite.
Hinata herself didn't realize that at home, the meals were slowly no longer served individually, and the overall amount of food being prepared had quietly increased.
She thought it was because of her new little sister.
Izayoi had no idea about this.
If he did, he would definitely smile with satisfaction.
Hinata's fate in this life had undoubtedly changed.
With his help and Hiashi's silent support, both her strength and personality would definitely not follow the tragic path from the original story.
Once her foundations were solid, and combined with Izayoi's chakra, she might even awaken the Tenseigan one day.
By then, Hinata would become the true Byakugan Princess!
…
When studying, time always passed slowly.
When on vacation, time flew by. This was a common feeling for all students.
The winter break ended, and time entered the era of Konoha Year 55.
First grade entered the third semester, and sixth grade students welcomed their graduation season.
After two semesters of grinding, the new students had undergone their transformation. Those who stayed had already awakened chakra and had gotten used to the intensity of academic and practical lessons.
Thus, in the third semester, the ninja academy officially started teaching them the Three Basic Techniques, the Konoha Body Flicker Technique, and the Cloaking Technique. Survival exercises were also added to the practical classes.
The survival exercises mainly trained the students' information-gathering skills, as well as their use of the Three Basic Techniques, the Body Flicker, and the Cloaking Technique.
Except for the Three Basic Techniques, the other basics were very simple.
When Uzumaki Naruto first appeared in the original story, he couldn't even do a proper clone jutsu, yet he could use the Body Flicker and Cloaking Techniques to mess with chunin wearing green vests.
But for Izayoi, all of these were no difficulty at all.
Seeing that practical classes still only involved taijutsu duels, with no kunai or sword combat yet, and no "everything-goes" free-for-all matches either, Izayoi continued to not attend school in person — except on afternoons when there was a taijutsu match.