"Izayoi-kun, we did it! It worked!"
Leaving the Hyuga compound with Izayoi, Hinata couldn't contain her excitement, her voice trembling slightly.
"Easy, now," Izayoi teased with a smile. "Don't let your dad's guards hear you—they might be tailing us in secret."
Hinata quickly clapped a hand over her mouth, glancing around nervously, her expression adorably cautious.
"Come on, I'm taking you somewhere."
Unsure if guards were indeed following, Izayoi kept his Transformation Technique active. Leading Hinata away from the bustling central streets, he headed toward a training ground in the wilderness.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Once they entered the forest, Izayoi summoned a Shadow Clone, which vanished with a Body Flicker.
Moments later, he dropped the Transformation Technique.
Seeing this, Hinata's face lit up. "Izayoi-kun, does that mean no one's following us?"
"Yup, all clear," Izayoi confirmed with a grin. "I'm going to teach you a trick today. Practice it at home, and if your dad sees, he might ease up on keeping you locked away."
Hinata's smile grew brighter at the prospect.
Transforming into Ino Yamanaka to invite Hinata out—that was Izayoi's plan. If he'd gone as himself, there was no chance she'd be allowed to leave. At best, he'd waste his time; at worst, Neji Hyuga might be sent to warn him off, or Izayoi could be reassigned to a different seat—or even a different class.
Kids might not grasp the implications, but Izayoi understood. This was how adults played their games.
In a world with daimyo and nobles, class divisions were starker than in his previous life. Hinata was the heiress of a prestigious ninja clan; Izayoi, a surname-less orphan, was a mere civilian. A chasm separated them.
If he were a girl, he might've had a shot at being Hinata's friend. But as a boy, the Hyuga—Hiashi and the main branch elders—would never let them get close, fearing Hinata might develop feelings or that their Kekkei Genkai could leak. Unless, of course, Izayoi proved his worth.
A prodigious civilian genius might earn the chance to marry into the clan. Someone like Naruto Uzumaki—a village hero or savior of the ninja world—could claim the main branch heiress outright.
Until he demonstrated such value, Izayoi had to resort to subterfuge.
Ino Yamanaka, heiress of the Yamanaka clan and part of the new Ino-Shika-Cho trio, was destined for influence, even if her combat skills lagged. Her clan's secret techniques guaranteed a future in intelligence, wielding real power. The Ino-Shika-Cho alliance was unbreakable, making Ino the ideal candidate among the Nine Rookies to be Hinata's friend.
Only by posing as Ino could Izayoi secure Hinata's freedom with a high chance of no escorts trailing them.
If not for his growing strength widening the gap with Hinata, making her red-tier entry harder to claim, Izayoi wouldn't have risked this. Once the first major exam arrived and he seized top honors, he'd have some leverage.
Still, Hinata's red entry—the Princess of the Byakugan—outweighed Naruto's and Sasuke's in his mind. Awakening the Tenseigan would render all obstacles irrelevant.
He couldn't afford to waste this break.
At the abandoned training ground, Izayoi turned to Hinata. "Have you learned the Three Basic Techniques yet?"
"Not yet," she replied, shaking her head. "Father wants me to focus on Gentle Fist. I can only practice other ninjutsu when the academy teaches them, and even then, just in my spare time."
"In that case, I won't teach you those."
Izayoi smiled. "I'll show you a technique to boost your chakra control. It'll make training your clan's Gentle Fist—or learning Shadow Clone Technique—a lot easier."
Hinata's eyes widened, stunned. "Izayoi-kun, you're… going to teach me Shadow Clone Technique?"
"You got it," he nodded. "My real body won't be at school much, but you can come here to find me anytime. Or learn Shadow Clone and do what I do—send a clone to class while your real body trains with me."
Hinata's heart stirred.
Ever since learning Izayoi used a clone at school, she'd wanted to master the technique—not for any grand reason, but to keep from falling too far behind him.
As she'd said, though, Hiashi restricted her to Gentle Fist, forbidding other techniques. Forget Shadow Clone—she hadn't even learned the Three Basic Techniques.
Now, hearing Izayoi offer to teach her, promising daily training together in this secret haven, blending friendship with the freedom she craved, Hinata was utterly captivated.
Her expression betrayed her thoughts, and Izayoi knew he had her.
"Follow me. I'll show you how to improve your chakra control."
Grinning, he led her to a massive tree requiring several people to encircle it. Forming a single Ram hand sign, he said, "Focus your chakra to your feet through the seal, push past your fear, and do this…"
Under Hinata's wide-eyed, astonished gaze, Izayoi stepped onto the tree trunk with his right foot. Before it fully settled, he lifted his left, both feet now gripping the bark.
Defying gravity, his body aligned parallel to the ground before her. Step by step, as if strolling on flat terrain, he climbed from the base to the treetop.
Turning to face Hinata below, his body formed a right angle against the trunk. "Tree-climbing with your feet—that's the trick I'm teaching you."
"That's… incredible!" Hinata gasped, awestruck by his casual defiance of gravity.
Descending, Izayoi chuckled. "Tree-climbing's just the first step. There's a tougher one: walking on water. Master both, and techniques like the Three Basics, Shadow Clone, or Body Flicker will be a breeze."
"C-can I really do it?" Hinata's voice wavered with doubt.
"Don't underestimate yourself. You're the Hyuga heiress," Izayoi said, clapping her shoulder encouragingly. "Give it a try. Don't worry about falling—I'll catch you."
He added with a playful smirk, "But if you lag too far behind, I won't wait up."
The teasing jab struck a chord. Hinata's resolve hardened, and she nodded firmly. "Okay!"
She'd already disappointed her father. She couldn't bear to let Izayoi down too—or lose her only friend.
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