"Didn't I tell you yesterday? Today's exam won't take long, you didn't have to bring me food."
Kenjiro deactivated his Byakugan and stepped out of his room.
The moment he entered the dining area, he saw Hinata already sitting at the table, a few bento boxes placed neatly in front of her.
Despite what he had just said, he sat down without hesitation and started enjoying the breakfast Hinata had prepared.
"I wasn't going to, but I forgot to remind Hanabi yesterday," Hinata said with a smile, resting her hands on the table. "She woke up even earlier than I did today and made you a special lunch for the exam."
"I see. Hanabi really is thoughtful."
Kenjiro nodded in understanding. His gaze landed on a rice ball inside one of the bentos, decorated with seaweed to spell out "Success in Exams." Instantly, his appetite grew.
Seems like spoiling his little sister-in-law all these years hadn't been in vain.
"You should eat too. I can't finish all of this by myself," he said between bites.
"I already ate at home," Hinata replied, shaking her head. She then got up, walked to the fridge, and took out a bottle of milk. Pouring a glass for each of them, she placed one in front of Kenjiro before taking a sip from her own.
From waking him up to pouring his milk, everything Hinata did felt completely natural, as if she had been living here all along.
And in a way, she had.
It had been years since they last met up at their childhood hangout. Though Kenjiro had never stepped foot in the Hyuga compound, Hinata and Hanabi had long since treated his home as their own second home.
Both sisters had a spare key to his place, and they often visited whenever they had free time.
The fridge was always stocked with groceries they bought, and the house was either cleaned by Hinata or by the three of them together.
It was simply their routine now.
After finishing breakfast and washing the dishes, Kenjiro and Hinata left the house, heading toward the Ninja Academy.
A striking young man and a beautiful girl walking together naturally drew plenty of attention.
Over the past six years, Kenjiro had not only grown into a handsome young man but had also reached an impressive height of 163 cm.
That might not be anything special in the Cloud Village, where most people were tall and muscular, but in Konoha—where the average height for boys their age was around 150 cm—he stood out like a giant.
Hinata was no exception.
Kenjiro had long forgotten how tall Hinata was in the original story, but one thing was certain—this Hinata was far beyond her original self in every way.
With an enormous appetite, a well-nourished childhood, and an extremely active lifestyle, Hinata had already grown to 155 cm—about six or seven centimeters taller than most girls her age.
Just a few more centimeters and she would be as tall as her Shippuden counterpart.
And with that height came... other developments.
Even in her loose white trench coat, her figure was unmistakable.
If she were to unzip it, revealing her tight black mesh undershirt while leaning forward... well, that would be quite the sight.
That was precisely why Kenjiro's gaze had been drawn to her the moment he woke up earlier.
More than once, he had marveled at how only in an anime world could someone this age have such an unbelievable figure.
[T/N: Hell nah ☠️]
"Good morning, Kenjiro, Hinata!"
"Morning, Minako."
"Still inseparable as ever, huh? Are you two sure you're not dating?"
Today was March 21st. The first- to fifth-year students had already taken their end-of-year exams the day before.
The graduation exam for the sixth-years was scheduled a day later.
As a result, the school grounds were quieter than usual, with only graduating students present.
At the entrance, several parents stood waiting, having personally escorted their children to school. Some were even staying behind to anxiously await the results.
For many of these families, today was the day their child would either step into the world of shinobi or remain ordinary civilians.
Of course, the parents waiting outside were all from civilian backgrounds or lower-ranked ninja families.
Children from major ninja clans didn't have parents waiting for them. For them, today's exam was just a formality.
They had already secured their ninja headbands.
Even if they somehow failed the exam, they had their clan's secret techniques to fall back on and could still be placed in specialized roles within different ninja departments.
On their way to class, Kenjiro and Hinata ran into several classmates, both boys and girls, who greeted them warmly.
Some even teased them about their close relationship.
Kenjiro simply smiled and said nothing.
Hinata, on the other hand, blushed slightly and lowered her head.
Despite being one of the most outstanding students at the academy, Kenjiro was nowhere near as popular as Sasuke Uchiha.
The reason? The girl walking beside him.
Since their first year, they had been desk partners and were practically inseparable.
At first, some of the girls in class would still try to approach Kenjiro.
But after repeatedly being turned down and noticing how differently he treated Hinata compared to them, they gradually stopped trying.
Of course, if Hinata were just an ordinary girl, jealousy and bullying would have been inevitable.
But Hinata wasn't just any girl.
She was the heiress of a prestigious ninja clan, ranked in the top three academically, and a terrifying opponent in close combat.
Her mastery of Gentle Fist and acupressure techniques made her the undisputed queen of sparring matches.
No one feared getting punched or kicked as much as they feared having one of their pressure points struck, leaving them paralyzed or writhing in pain.
Almost every student in the class had experienced it firsthand at some point.
So, none of the girls dared to antagonize her.
Besides, if Kenjiro was unavailable, there was still Sasuke Uchiha. He was their backup option.
And so, over time, Kenjiro found himself surrounded by a peaceful bubble, free from unwanted attention.
Having Hinata as his personal shield meant he no longer had to constantly come up with excuses to turn down invitations or entertain pointless conversations.
By the time they arrived at the classroom, many students were already there.
Some were whispering to each other, while others sat stiffly in their seats, fists clenched, their nervousness written all over their faces.
Even Naruto Uzumaki—who had spent the previous day defacing the Hokage Monument and dragging the entire class into an impromptu transformation jutsu test—was uncharacteristically quiet today.
Kenjiro and Hinata took their seats and immediately began chatting in hushed tones.
Watching them, a girl sitting beside Hinata couldn't help but feel envious.
Being an honor student really did come with confidence.
Unlike her—she had been nervous since yesterday, barely managing to sleep last night.
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