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Hyuga Compound,
"Miss Hinata, you finally arrived." One of the Hyuga servants spoke delightedly when he saw Hinata walking toward the house.
"Can you prepare food and tell my father about my arrival? I will talk to him after a bath." Hinata gently spoke with a smile and walked toward her room.
The Hyuga Servant was stunned for a moment. For the first time, he saw Hinata speak without even stuttering.
It was confusing but delightful.
Hyuga Branch members love Hinata because of her kind nature. But they also know with her lack of strength, she wouldn't become the Heiress of the clan.
After receiving the orders, he immediately followed them.
Hinata took a bath and walked out of her room in new clothes. The guard had already informed her about the meeting with her father.
As she walked into her father's room, she met the gaze of two people. It was her father and her sister.
"Elder Sister!" The little girl rushed toward her sister with an excited expression.
"Hello, Hanabi!" Hinata gently smiled and held her little sister in her arms.
"Hanabi, sit down!" Hiashi Hyuga sternly spoke.
Hanabi had no choice but to come down from her sister's embrace and sit beside her.
"Greetings, father!" Hinata bowed gently and sat down.
This made Hiashi and Hanabi confused and surprised. Hiashi in particular stared at her and asked.
"What happened?"
Hinata didn't understand the question but still replied.
"I was training with my teammates which is why I was late, father."
Hiashi was once again surprised by her tone and asked.
"Have you noticed some changes in you?"
Hinata tilted her head in confusion as she asked.
"I do not understand the question, father. Are you saying I'm an imposter?"
Hiashi's eyebrows twitched upon her blunt answer but he still kept his stern expression and said.
"No, I do not mean you are an imposter. Haven't you noticed that you are not stuttering anymore?"
Only then did Hinata notice something. She hadn't stuttered even once after she entered the Hyuga compound.
"Yes, Elder Sister! And, you sound very confident as well."
Hinata didn't know how to answer as she blushed slightly at the thought of Naruto. But, she had no answer nonetheless.
"N-n-n-Naruto-kun told me that despite my confidence issue, my Taijutsu was the strongest in the class, even surpassing Rookie of the Year Sasuke Uchiha."
"As we trained during the day, I was slowly able to get rid of my confidence issues. However, I still won't be able to fight my sister with all of my strength."
Suddenly, Hinata fiercely blushed and thought.
'Not to mention, he even outright insulted his crush for me. If he has such confidence in me, how can I remain weak?'
Hiashi didn't know whether to feel grateful to Naruto or smack him in the balls.
That boy did something that he had been trying for years and couldn't succeed.
Suddenly though he was attracted by her words.
"Wait, you are teammates with Naruto Uzumaki? I thought your teammates were going to be from Aburame Clan and Inuzuka Clan."
Hinata was surprised at this revelation and asked.
"So, does every clan head know about this?"
Hiashi nodded his head.
"We discussed this a few days ago. Kurenai even asked me to get you on her team. So, which team are you in?"
"My team is Team Eight led by Kurenai Sensei. My teammates are Naruto-kun and Shikamaru-kun."
Her voice was filled with shyness when she said Naruto's name.
Her action confused Hanabi. She still didn't understand how Hinata changed so much in a single day and why would she still blush at Naruto's name.
Hiashi was genuinely surprised as he asked.
"Do you have any information about this change?"
Hinata paused for a moment and nodded.
"This change was made after Naruto made a point about the imbalance between the three teams. Team Seven and Team Ten lacked tracker while Team Eight was full of one."
"Team Ten had great chemistry which was good for teamwork but it wouldn't push their individual skills further. And, Team Seven was an odd team."
"Due to the difference between Naruto-kun and Sasuke Uchiha, they wouldn't work together unless it was a life-and-death situation. And, due to her personal feelings, Sakura Haruno would illogically listen to Sasuke."
"He also made a note that Team Eight was a highly political team while Team Seven was basically two orphans and one civilian."
Hearing her words, Hiashi wasn't mildly surprised. No, he was astonished. He didn't think a genin would make such a good point for the team selections.
He looked at Hinata with a little bit confused look and asked.
"If I am not wrong, this is still the same dead last of the class 'Naruto Uzumaki' you are talking about, right?"
Hinata was a bit furious at her father for calling her love dead last but she didn't raise her voice. Instead, she sarcastically answered.
"Yes, the same dead-last who can make a thousand shadow clones and perfect Tree Climbing within sixteen hours."
Surprises after surprises. It was a constant flow of surprises for Hiashi. Seeing her daughter answering his question in such a sarcastic tone didn't make him angry at all.
No, in fact, it only made him surprised and even happier.
But after Hinata noticed her tone, she immediately turned pale and apologized.
"I apologize for my tone, father. I didn't mean to say it like that."
Hiashi shook his head and said.
"So, I assume that he was dead last for a reason?"
Hinata nodded her head and said.
"Naruto-kun's Taijutsu seemed non-existent between our spar. He was gradually improving in his speed and strength."
"At the same time, due to his Kage Level Reserve and almost non-existent Chakra Control, he wasn't able to perform basic techniques."
"So, after getting the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique, he was improving at a fast pace, leaving most of our former classmates in the dust. In all honesty, current Naruto-kun could even tie if not defeat Rookie of the Year Sasuke Uchiha."
Hearing those words, Hanabi suddenly asked.
"Father, is it really possible to improve at such an extreme rate?"
Hiashi paused for a moment and said.
"If what Hinata said is right then it makes sense to improve at such a fast pace. The difference between Academy Student and Genin is their skill in basic techniques."
"At most, some clan genin can use their class jutsu. To become a Chunin, one must have leadership skills, a tactical mind, and some new Jutsu, especially Elemental Jutsu."
"But, the difference between Jonin and Chunin is extremely high. Not only Chakra Reserve, Chakra Control, mastery over basic techniques, and tactical mind but also a large amount of Jutsu. Jonin has two to three Elemental Releases."
"With Multi-Shadow Clone Technique and Kage Level Reserve, it is possible to close the gap between himself and other Genin in just a day or two. But, I am confused about his intelligence."
"If I am not wrong, the boy didn't seem that intelligent before. So, I am perplexed at the fact that his reasoning was good enough to change the team selection. Of course, his reasonings were indeed good but that's exactly why I am confused."
Hinata could easily understand her father's confusion. After not only him, she couldn't understand how he got intelligent.
At least, that was the case at first. But, as they trained, she learned more and more about his intelligence.
"Naruto-kun is much more logical than intelligent. His knowledge of theoretical classes that we took during our academy is still low but due to his shadow clones, it is constantly growing."
"That being said, he said that he changed after he ...….. killed a certain traitor."
When she said that, it was hard to come out of her mouth but it eventually did.
Hanabi paled upon hearing that. Although she had trained a lot and was stronger than her sister at least when she was not serious, she was still a child.
Hearing about the murder made her feel bad.
On the other hand, Hiashi was surprised at first but understood the situation instantly.
"Is that so? The first kill always changes people. I was hoping you would also change after your first kill but now, I don't think that kind of change is necessary."
Hinata paled at her father's words. She couldn't understand how her father expected her to kill a person.
She might have gained some confidence but she was still the same old Hinata. She was as kind as an angel though in other's minds.
So, hearing about the killing made her blood turn cold.
Hiashi might be a stern and serious father but he was a loving father as well. Seeing his daughter's reaction, he gently smiled for a moment and said.
"It doesn't have to be now. A ninja must go through this process so you don't have to worry. Right now, you can just focus on improving your skills as a ninja."
Hinata and Hanabi were stunned when they saw that smile on his face. Their eyes beamed as they looked at each other and then asked.
"Father, did you just smile?"
Suddenly, that smile disappeared, replaced with a stern look.
"This talk mustn't reach outside."