Konoha, Training Ground No. 10.
Naruto and Hinata's figures darted and shifted across the training field, every move and strike aimed straight at the other's vital points.
Their speed was fast, their power fierce. This kind of intense battle left the onlookers thoroughly satisfied.
"Hikari-senpai, Hinata is amazing! It's only been half a year, and she's already improved this much. At this rate, she's going to surpass me!" Ino watched Hinata's movements, feeling a little sour inside.
Among those trained personally under Kamizuki Hikari, there were only two women: herself and Hinata. Now, after just half a year, Hinata had surpassed her in taijutsu. Ino felt as if she had fallen out of favor.
"I'd say she's already surpassed you," Shikamaru said mercilessly, completely ignoring the murderous glare Ino shot his way.
"Look at Hinata—she hasn't even used her Gentle Fist yet, and Naruto hasn't brought out shadow clones or the Rasengan. The strength they're showing right now is less than half of what they're capable of!"
Although Hinata's taijutsu was strong, her true strength lay in Gentle Fist—that was her foundation.
And while Naruto's taijutsu was decent, his real foundation was his massive chakra reserves and the Rasengan.
"You two, get serious! Naruto, you can use ninjutsu. Hinata, use Gentle Fist. Today is the day we evaluate your progress. If your performance doesn't satisfy me, I'll properly 'teach' you both afterward!"
To Hikari's eyes, as exciting as their current fight was, it was more of a performance than a real battle.
After half a year of rigorous training, Hinata and Naruto's coordination had improved many times over. What looked dazzling to outsiders was, in truth, the result of countless repeated drills between the two of them.
Hikari's warning reached their ears loud and clear.
Naruto's expression turned bitter. He knew that if he didn't show his real ability now, Hikari would definitely get serious this time.
Thinking back on the punishments he'd endured over the past half year—each one stranger than the last, including one time when he'd been hung from a tree and whipped—Naruto felt a deep, instinctive fear toward Hikari.
"Hinata, let's do this," Naruto reminded her.
Hinata nodded slightly, her gaze toward Naruto becoming far more focused.
With Hikari's punishment hanging over them, even Hinata didn't dare relax. She was a girl, but when Hikari trained people, he never considered whether the other party was female or not.
Just imagining herself being hung from a tree and beaten by Hikari made Hinata's expression instantly grow serious.
She couldn't lose.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!"
Facing Naruto's Multiple Shadow Clone tactic, Hinata directly unleashed the Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms. Originally meant to be used against a single opponent, she now used it to deal with the numerous Naruto clones surrounding her.
In an instant, Hinata's slender yet powerful palms filled every direction—above, below, left, and right.
*Pop! Pop! Pop! ...*
A series of clone explosions echoed out, temporarily suppressing Naruto's clone strategy.
"Hinata, I'm going to use the Rasengan. Be careful!"
Seeing that taijutsu alone wouldn't bring victory, Naruto warned her and then created dozens more clones.
With the Nine-Tails now dormant, Naruto's own chakra was being fully released. In terms of endurance, he now had more than twice what he did half a year ago.
"Bring it on!"
Because she often interacted with Naruto, Hinata no longer had that shy hesitation around him.
"Rasengan!"
Blue Rasengan spheres lit up one after another in the clones' hands, and then each clone launched an attack toward Hinata.
---
In the forest a hundred meters away.
Seeing the many Rasengan in Naruto's hands, Hiashi's face darkened, and he immediately moved to rush forward.
"No! Stop the fight! Naruto's technique is too dangerous!"
Unfortunately, before Hiashi could take a single step forward, Kakashi reached out and held him back.
"Hiashi, no need to rush. Hinata isn't the same as she was half a year ago. You should trust her strength." Tsunade's voice was stern, and with Jiraiya's silent pressure beside her, Hiashi could only abandon the idea of charging in.
Today was Naruto and Hinata's final assessment, which was why Hiashi (as Hinata's father) and Jiraiya (Naruto's current guardian) were observing their battle.
Such an exciting event couldn't be missed by Tsunade, of course—and Kakashi had come as well.
Konoha's most powerful figures—aside from Shikaku and the ever-diligent tool-person Shizune, who were still hard at work—had all gathered here.
"If Hinata gets hurt, I'll definitely give Naruto a thorough lesson myself!"
Hiashi gritted his teeth as he watched the distant battle.
Jiraiya helplessly shook his head. He really wanted to tell Hiashi that, with his current strength, he might not even be able to defeat Hinata, let alone Naruto.
The power of the Rasengan was no joke.
One Rasengan was enough to take out a jōnin.
Back then, the Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato, had relied on this very technique to defeat Iwagakure jōnin. Otherwise, his reputation wouldn't have spread so far.
The number of jōnin in each major hidden village was roughly similar—though the smaller villages had just over a hundred, the larger ones had around two hundred. In a single battle, Minato had killed fifty Iwagakure jōnin, instantly eliminating a quarter or even a third of their high-level combat power.
If Minato had charged in recklessly like the Third Raikage, that would have been one thing. But when he used the Flying Thunder God Technique against Iwagakure, it was pure slaughter.
This kind of overwhelming victory made Namikaze Minato the second person, after Hatake Sakumo, to earn the ultimate respect from enemy villages: shinobi were permitted to abandon their missions without punishment if they encountered him.
Missions were the foundation of a shinobi's existence. Achieving that level of deterrence was the greatest honor an enemy could bestow.
---
Seeing Naruto use the Rasengan, Hinata's expression grew even more serious. Veins began to bulge at the corners of her eyes.
Byakugan, activate!
"Be careful!"
Naruto gave another warning, then his clones began launching suicide-style attacks.
Relying on his enormous chakra reserves, Naruto fought with clones without any concern for consumption—his chakra capacity was equal to several Kakashis combined.
"Gentle Fist: Rotation!"
Chakra burst out from her tenketsu, flowing through a specific Gentle Fist technique to form a kind of 'absolute defense'.
Seeing this, Naruto's clones hurriedly retreated.
They might be Shadow Clones, but unnecessary sacrifices were still best avoided.
As Naruto retreated, Hinata didn't stay in place either. The spinning sphere formed by Rotation continuously slammed outward, and one Naruto clone after another vanished upon impact. In the blink of an eye, more than half of the clones were gone.
Hinata's attack was effective, but her Rotation also came to a stop.
When using Rotation, chakra was released from the entire body. The reason Hinata could maintain it for so long was because her chakra reserves had improved greatly compared to before. Otherwise, she wouldn't have dared to use a defensive technique like Rotation so extravagantly as an offensive move.
Seeing this, Naruto launched another attack. One Rasengan after another mercilessly flew toward Hinata.
Danger had arrived.
Hinata... was in peril!