Konoha Notes

Chapter 359 Between the Palms
"Hinata?"

Naruto wondered if he had misheard. Was that girl who always kept her head down, spoke softly, and seemed to be bullied?
“Um… Brother Shuji,” Naruto said, “could we skip her? She…”

I feel like it's a bit too much to bully someone to even hit her just to get her into the special training.

Ebisu pushed up his sunglasses: "The battle arrangements will be decided by Shuji-sama. Naruto, what you need to consider is not to waste the time that Shuji-sama has given us."

Moreover, although the eldest daughter of the Hyuga clan has never demonstrated Gentle Fist at the Ninja Academy, since she is the first person chosen by this lord, her Gentle Fist is probably not weak.

Shuji simply looked at Naruto calmly, his gaze so serene that it made Naruto swallow back the words he wanted to say.

Naruto scratched his head and muttered, "I understand..."

Just be gentle with yourself.

Thinking this, Naruto perked up again, quickly stuffed the rest of the bread into his mouth, and mumbled, "I'm going to warm up! See you later, Shuuji-nii!"

After watching Naruto disappear, Shuji asked, "Who's on the current special training roster?"

"The exchange students from Kumogakure will return at the end of July, but we still arranged for Atsui to join. From Sunagakure, it's Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara," Ebisu reported. "From our own village, we have Hyuga Neji, Sai, and Uchiha Sasuke."

"The other students are quite capable, but they haven't reached the point where they can't make any progress in regular classes."

At this point, Ebisu hesitated for a moment before adding, "There was another student, and he was very special."

"Oh?"

“Rock Lee,” the special Jonin said, “his taijutsu is exceptional.”

"But he is unable to learn any ninjutsu or genjutsu, so it can be said that he has no room for improvement in these two areas, making him even worse than Naruto."

"By the current graduation standards of the Ninja Academy, he will probably never be able to reach the minimum requirement of being qualified for the Three Body Techniques."

"However, a Jonin has already expressed his willingness to become his instructor, so he will eventually graduate through a special channel."

Xiu Si understood: "Kai has already contacted you?"

"Yes."

“Then include him too,” Shuuji said. “Also, include Deidara and Kurotsuchi from Iwagakure in the special training list.”

Ebisu bowed deeply: "Yes, I understand."
-
The afternoon's practical training session was moved up at the last minute.

The students of Irukaban were called out in twos and threes from the classrooms, the rooftop, and even under the shade of trees, and gathered in the playground in a daze.

"What's going on? I'm not awake yet..."

Is the sudden assembly meant to test emergency response capabilities?

The complaints stopped abruptly when the people standing on the field were clearly seen.

Shuji sat on a bench at the edge of the playground, his elbows casually resting on his knees. He looked relaxed and languid, but the atmosphere of the entire field instantly became quiet.

Iruka stood not far to his side, his expression much more serious than when he was in class.

The students quickly quieted down and automatically lined up neatly.

Iruka sighed inwardly—if classroom discipline could achieve this effect normally, he wouldn't have to work so hard.

"Class," he cleared his throat, his voice louder than usual, "the afternoon's combat training session will begin earlier than scheduled. The first match will be between—"

His gaze swept across the line.

"Naruto Uzumaki, and Hinata Hyuga!"

A slight commotion arose in the ranks.

Many eyes turned to Hinata, who was standing in the front row, unconsciously twisting her fingers with her head down, and then to Naruto, who had finished warming up and was eager to try moving his wrists and ankles.

Hinata? Fighting Naruto?

"With Lord Shuji present... how could they arrange such a battle combination?"

"Silence!" Iruka raised his voice. "Both sides, step forward!"

Naruto strode to the center of the playground, grinned at Hinata opposite him, and said, "Don't worry, Hinata, I'll be careful!" Hinata walked up to him with her head down, her cheeks slightly flushed, and her voice barely audible, "Um... Naruto-kun, nice to meet you..."

She took a deep breath, timidly raised her eyes, and glanced nervously at Xiuji, who sat upright to the side. This was the man even her father treated with utmost respect, and he was looking at her right now.

Hinata bit her lower lip, slowly opening her hands in front of her, assuming the starting stance of Gentle Fist.

In that instant, her habitual timidity seemed to be suppressed by some invisible force. Although she was still nervous, her eyes became much more focused.

"Huh?" Naruto blinked. "Hinata, you..."

"Begin!" Iruka's voice rang out.

"Naruto-kun, please be careful."

The moment the words left her lips, Hinata moved.

Her movements weren't fast, at least not fast enough for Naruto to react. She took a step forward, and her right palm swept diagonally upward, aiming directly at Naruto's unsuspecting right rib.

Naruto almost instinctively slid to the left, while simultaneously reaching out with his right hand to grab Hinata's wrist.

But just before Hinata's hand was about to be touched, she subtly twisted it inward, gently pushing Naruto's hand away with the back of her hand.

—Is it empty?
Naruto was taken aback. In that instant, Hinata's left palm slashed in from another angle, striking his chest.

boom!
The blow, though not particularly heavy, caused Naruto to stagger back half a step.

Hinata took another step forward.

Naruto tried to block, his right hand held horizontally in front of him. But Hinata's right palm slipped into the gap in his defense like a fish, the back of her hand touching the inside of his arm and pulling him to the side.

The defenses were easily breached.

His left palm then slapped his shoulder.

Snapped.

Naruto gritted his teeth and threw a left punch. Hinata slightly turned her body, her right palm smoothly pressing down on his elbow joint—

The force was dissipated.

*Slap.* *Slap.* *Slap.*

The not-so-heavy sounds of striking echoed across the playground.

Naruto grew increasingly frustrated. He could clearly see Hinata's every move, and her speed wasn't particularly fast, yet he just couldn't stop her.

"Damn it..." He gritted his teeth, gave up on defense, and threw a straight punch at Hinata.

Hinata did not retreat, but instead took half a step forward to meet the fist, and her right palm moved from bottom to top to meet Naruto's wrist and deflect it.

Naruto's fist grazed Hinata's ear.

Hinata's left palm stopped in front of his chest.

"Hinata, victory!"

Iruka's voice broke the silence.

Naruto was still a little confused.

He slowly withdrew his fist, looked down at Hinata's hand that was still hanging there, and then looked up at her flushed face.

It felt like I had lost, but for some reason I didn't really feel it. Whether it was anger or resentment, I couldn't muster any emotion.

Then he suddenly remembered something and abruptly turned his head to look in the direction of the bench—

There was nothing there.

Shuji, who was sitting there, had disappeared without anyone noticing.

(End of this chapter)