Tap, tap, tap…
In a snowy clearing of the forest, the rapid sound of blows landing echoed through the crisp air. Two small figures wearing puffy white "snowman suits" were sparring atop the thick layer of snow, their feet somehow not sinking in.
A black-haired, white-eyed girl wearing white gloves thrust her fingers—surrounded by a faint blue glow—at the black-haired, blue-eyed boy across from her. With what looked like almost precognitive timing, the boy would knock aside the girl's attacking wrist before her chakra-infused strike could pierce his suit and enter his body. Then, taking advantage of that opening, he would land a palm strike, or a straight punch, or even a kick, sending the girl flying backward into a snowbank.
Each time she was hit, the girl would let out a muffled grunt, her face showing obvious pain. But she always crawled back up from the snow and attacked again. No matter how much her body ached or how severely she was injured—sometimes to the point where blood trickled from her mouth—she refused to stop.
These two were Izayoi and Hinata.
"Okay, that's enough."
After who-knows-how-long, Izayoi finally signaled an end to the match. Hinata then plopped down into the snow, panting heavily. Sweat beaded on her face, and blood had stained her torn snowman suit, revealing the normal clothes beneath. On the other side, Izayoi's suit was just as shredded, showing his regular outfit underneath too.
The snowman suits clearly weren't just for show; they were to help Hinata practice striking through layers of material and develop the ability to channel chakra into a target—even through thick clothing. Once she could push her chakra through the suit and cause serious damage to Izayoi's body, it would prove her finger strength and chakra control had truly become formidable.
Hence, every few times he sent Hinata flying, Izayoi would deliberately leave an opening, letting her land a direct hit on him. If the fight became one-sided, she might lose all her confidence, which would be counterproductive to helping her grow. If he wanted Hinata to become more self-assured, he needed her to experience success as well.
Taking off his shredded snowman suit, Izayoi walked over, crouched by Hinata, and used a basic healing jutsu on her. He wasn't sure if such a low-level medical technique could fully fix any hidden injuries, and at his current skill, he couldn't even check if Hinata had any. But Izayoi was certain Hiashi Hyuga would have already noticed his constant "rough" training methods. If Hinata's father still let them keep at it, he probably had other ways of making sure Hinata got proper checkups. Surely the Hyuga clan boasted some capable medical-nin who could detect and heal any lingering damage. And if Hiashi really wasn't aware, well, it was still no big deal. Her young body would recover on its own, and once Izayoi awakened the Tenseigan, he'd gain Yin-Yang Release just like the Rinnegan. He could then help Hinata heal any ailments.
That peace of mind was part of why Izayoi felt free to be so rough.
After healing Hinata, Izayoi grinned. "How about we do some ice-fishing in a bit? We can roast our catch for dinner."
Hinata's eyes lit up at the idea, and she nodded, "Mm!"
Izayoi's familiarity with the Naruto world mostly came from the TV anime—he'd never read the manga or played the games. He only knew a few extra details from short online clips. He wasn't sure if there was anything in the manga about Hinata having a "big appetite," but in the TV version, there was an episode where she absolutely dominated everyone in a ramen-eating contest. That scene gave rise to the fandom's notion of her as a "bottomless eater," a "talent" that many joked was wasted. In all those discussions, though, it was clear that such a "foodie" talent didn't appear as a system entry—just like non-combat professions weren't listed.
Izayoi wasn't sure if Hinata truly had such a monstrous appetite, so one day he took her out to grill fish, secretly observing how much she ate. Turned out her appetite was indeed enormous—twice or even three times as much as his. Izayoi was thrilled. A big appetite means strong digestion, which translates to better absorption of nutrients and thus more physical and mental energy for chakra production. The stronger Hinata's chakra grew, the greater her chances of unlocking her Red-tier entry. Knowing she was a "big eater," Izayoi made sure not to let her talent go to waste. After each training session, he'd take her fishing or hunting so she could eat her fill. Today was no exception.
At first, Hinata was a bit shy about eating too much around him—she wanted to act ladylike. But it didn't take long to notice Izayoi purposely preparing large amounts of food, obviously aware of her "secret," and worried she wouldn't get enough. Realizing that, Hinata dropped any reservations and ate to her heart's content. From that point on, she was actually excited to train with Izayoi because, compared to home, he was the only one who knew her appetite was so big.
Of course, she didn't realize that at home, her meals had subtly shifted away from the usual "individual servings" style and that the Hyuga household was cooking in larger portions. She just assumed it was because of her new baby sister.
If Izayoi knew about the clan's changes, he'd be pretty pleased. Clearly, this Hinata's fate was changing. With his support, along with Hiashi's quiet care, her power and temperament wouldn't be anything like in the original story. Once she finished building her foundation and combined it with Izayoi's chakra, maybe she would even awaken the Tenseigan one day. That would make her a true "Princess of the Byakugan."
…
When you're busy studying, time goes by slowly; on vacation, time flies. All students share that sentiment. Soon, winter break ended, and the calendar flipped to Konoha Year 55. With the new semester starting, the first-year students moved on to their third semester, while the sixth-years approached graduation season.
After two semesters of intense practice, the new first-years had thoroughly shed their inexperience, grown accustomed to chakra, and adapted to both academic and practical classes. As a result, in this third semester, the Academy officially began teaching them the Three Basic Techniques, plus the Konoha Body Flicker and Invisibility Technique. Their "practical class" also introduced survival exercises, meant to train their intelligence-gathering abilities and their ability to creatively use the Three Basics, Body Flicker, Invisibility, and so on.
Aside from the Three Basic Techniques, everything else is pretty simple. Remember how, when the original story started, Naruto couldn't even perform the Clone Jutsu but could still use the Body Flicker and Invisibility to mess with a few chunin in green flak jackets? That's how basic those skills are.
But none of it was even remotely challenging for Izayoi. Observing that the practical sessions still only featured taijutsu sparring—no kunai or blade work, no free-form battles—he decided that, aside from days with taijutsu in the afternoon, he didn't need to attend in person.