Chapter 7: Hinata's Transformation
Hinata was under the giant tree, forming the Ram hand seal, controlling the chakra inside her, and condensing it under her feet as Izayoi instructed.
Then she raised her right foot and placed it on the trunk of the tree.
Hinata felt as though the soles of her feet had been glued onto the tree bark, sticking tightly together.
Sensing this, Hinata felt a bit relieved, and then raised her left foot and stepped onto the tree trunk.
The same as Izayoi had done, Hinata's body suspended in the air.
Hinata held her breath and took her third step.
"Ah."
The next second, Hinata's expression changed, and she cried out in surprise.
Her feet, which were initially sticking to the tree bark, suddenly relaxed, and she was about to fall to the ground.
Two arms caught Hinata and straightened her body at this moment.
Izayoi laughed, "Don't be afraid, I said I'd catch you."
"Izayoi-kun, I'm sorry."
Hinata said with her head down, as if she had disappointed him.
"Why apologize to me?"
Izayoi patted Hinata's shoulder again and encouraged her, "Failure is normal. It is already wonderful that you managed to plant both feet on your first try. When I trained, it took more than a dozen tries to get it in."
This was a lie!
Izayoi had passed on his first try and even ascended many steps.
Neither Naruto nor Sasuke had chakra control in their talent attributes.
And both Izayoi and Hinata's chakra control had attained blue level.
With such talent, not to mention tree climbing and water walking, even medical ninjutsu, sensor ninjutsu, sealing jutsu, and barrier jutsu were simpler to master than for people lacking chakra control talent.
Gentle Fist, which imparts chakra into the human body, is a type of chakra control.
As long as Hinata had enough chakra and an instructor to teach her, she should be able to master tree climbing in no time.
"Keep going, I think you'll be climbing to the top of the tree in no time."
"Okay."
Encouraged again, Hinata felt her confidence growing.
She made the hand signs once more, concentrated chakra at the bottoms of her feet, placed a foot onto the tree trunk, and her body was once more suspended in air.
Perhaps it was the sense of security Izayoi gave her, but Hinata didn't hold her breath this time and took her third step naturally.
The phenomenon of not being able to control the chakra in the other foot when she took the third step, losing her balance and causing the chakra in both feet to disappear, did not take place.
Hinata controlled the chakra in her feet well, and the soles of her shoes stuck closely to the trunk of the tree.
Fourth step, fifth step, sixth step.
Only when she finished the eighth step and took the ninth step did Hinata lose her rhythm, and the chakra in her feet lost balance once again, causing her body to fall downward.
Contrary to one's expectations, Hinata was not scared at all, nor did she scream in surprise.
She even had a hint of anticipation in her heart.
As expected.
Her body did not touch the firm ground but dropped into a warm hug.
Izayoi, who scooped up Hinata with both arms, princess-carried her and looked down at her, praising her extravagantly, "Excellent, Hinata, you could walk to that height on your second try. You're a genius."
"Hehe."
Hinata did not blush but smiled happily.
She had received more compliments today than she had in the past few years combined.
Is this what it feels like to be recognized?
Hinata, whose personality had not become as insecure and easily discouraged as in the original story, was even more confident and motivated.
Her beautiful eyes sparkled, and she rarely took the initiative, "Izayoi-kun, put me down, I want to try again."
"Okay."
Izayoi saw Hinata change.
Seeing the girl become confident, Izayoi was happy for her too.
The elegant eldest daughter of a wealthy family indeed became that weak and humble in the original novel, which was a reflection of the high-pressure atmosphere in which she was brought up.
Since he had transmigrated into this world and chosen to intercept Naruto and Toneri, Izayoi wanted to change this girl.
Even if she did not end up like that delinquent big sister in the Infinite Tsukuyomi, she ought not to waste the genes of the Otsutsuki clan like in the original plot.
Starting from changing her personality, Izayoi wanted to raise her into his ideal person!
Hinata's talent was top-notch. After all, she was the only heiress of a wealthy family among the four girls of the twelve Konoha rookies and possessed one of the three great dojutsu, the Byakugan.
All she lacked was self-confidence.
Once she regained her confidence, she would be radiant.
Tree-walking and water-walking did not require much chakra but only control technique.
This controlling ability either came from hard work or was just talent.
Naruto and Sasuke from the original were the former, and Sakura was the latter.
And Izayoi and Hinata were the latter as well.
Hinata, who on her second try had managed to walk seven or eight steps, didn't regress on her third try. Instead, she got better again, taking more than ten steps before tumbling down again.
Izayoi still caught her with regularity.
By the fourth time, Hinata didn't fall again. She finally reached the top of the tree.
"Izayoi-kun, I did it."
Hinata didn't appreciate the view around her at the top of the tree, but informed Izayoi on the ground about her joy.
"Amazing, you climbed to the top of the tree on your fourth try. You're much stronger than me."
Izayoi gave a thumbs up, complimenting her lavishly.
"Hehe."
Praised, Hinata smiled happily once more.
That they were both offering her advice made Izayoi give her an entirely different impression from that of her father.
Receiving Gentle Fist training from her father at home, Hinata only felt pressure. Even if she accomplished the homework assigned by Hiashi Hyuga, she wouldn't receive a word of praise.
Sometimes, she would even get scolded about not being as perfect as her cousin.
Yet, she earned the admiration she had always wanted from Izayoi.
The carefree nature that was different from nervousness and the thrill that was different from fear seemed to purify Hinata's heart, and she fell in love with cultivation.
Walking down from the treetop as if on flat ground, Hinata looked at Izayoi hopefully and asked, "Izayoi-kun, is water walking the same as tree climbing?"
"Yes, but it's more difficult."
Izayoi smiled and nodded, "Tree walking only requires sticking to the tree trunk, but water is flowing. To stick to the water surface, your control ability should be several times stronger."
"I'm not going to instruct you now, but you can try going home and practicing by using a bathtub or water tank. When your chakra level is high, I'll instruct you in real water walking and the Shadow Clone Jutsu."
"Okay, okay." Hinata nodded repeatedly.
Seeing Hinata so obedient, Izayoi finally shed his disguise and grinned, "Next, I'll teach you taijutsu battles! By the way, let me experience your Hyuga clan's pressure point jutsu."
"Okay."
Innocent Hinata naturally didn't know Izayoi's true motive.
Having battled many times with her cousin at home, she still nodded obediently, not considering that it was inappropriate to practice taijutsu duels that the school hadn't learned yet.
(End of this chapter)
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