"No way! I've been training hard on Wind Martyr Fist too! I will master it! And I'm going to become Hokage!"
Naruto roared at the Byakugan girl in front of him, furious. But his reaction didn't surprise Hinata at all. This golden-haired loser was exactly that kind of guy—one who wouldn't give up until the bitter end.
"Hmph! Fine!"
Hinata released his hair and turned to grab one of the three paper bags nearby—medicinal decoctions freshly prepared by the Nara family's pharmacy. The ingredients were all pricey and potent, so the effects were guaranteed.
"This is internal medicine for promoting circulation and healing bruises. Drink it all tonight! It'll make sure you can keep training tomorrow!"
She tossed the bag at the dumbfounded Naruto, then added coldly:
"That way when you lose to me, you won't have an excuse to say I wasn't fair."
Ignoring the stunned look in Naruto's eyes, Hinata picked up the other two bags and turned to leave. One was for her own burn wounds, and the other—electrical burns—was for that other blockhead, Sasuke.
Yes, this was how it had to be.
She would make sure their conditions were completely fair. And then, she'd make them understand—clearly and painfully:
No one's effort surpasses hers.
The two of them, from start to finish, were nothing more than pampered cowards basking in their family names and protagonist halos!
With that thought burning bright in her chest, Hinata sneered coldly.
She would stake her pride and self-worth on this. She would face off against those two damn brats head-on.
And prove who was the one that could reach the top with sheer effort alone!
---
At the end of every action, results await. It's one of the fundamental truths of fate.
Nearly half a month had flown by. Konoha remained peaceful as always on the surface, but behind the scenes, in places no one noticed, there were those grinding toward their futures.
"Puh—!"
Wiping sweat from her forehead with her wrist, Hinata stared down in disgust at the path of burning coal in front of her. Just moments ago, she had walked across it on her hands—again. But this time, her palms had no signs of burns. Just a bit of ash.
When she'd first begun this training, her hands had been cooked raw every day, peeling off layers of charred skin.
Looking down at her hands now, Hinata felt a flicker of shame and anger. She couldn't believe she had actually gone through with this ridiculous training. It had cost her not only half a month of time, but nearly all of her savings as well.
Aside from a small portion spent on coal, nearly eighty percent of her funds had gone toward medicinal herbs. The Nara clan's quality came at a steep price. And because she wanted a fair match, she'd also voluntarily covered Sasuke and Naruto's medicine costs.
The result of all that?
She could now focus chakra into her palms and touch burning coals without being burned. Not just because of the chakra barrier, but also because the once-soft skin on her hands had thickened significantly. They no longer looked like the hands of a teenage girl, but more like those of a middle-aged laborer.
"All my plans—ruined."
Standing up, Hinata's brows furrowed in frustration. She slapped a nearby tree hard—wishing it were Naruto or Sasuke's head.
She had originally planned to finish filming Fox's Tale during this half-month, and level up her Exploding Acupuncture technique to the point where she could pierce rock.
But because she lost her temper, she had let Naruto and Sasuke off for two weeks… and thrown away her original training in the process.
"If it wasn't their stupid protagonist halos lowering my IQ, then my brain must've been kicked by a horse."
Cursing out loud, Hinata decided to immediately cut off their medicine supply—and check if those two morons had actually finished their training. If they hadn't, she'd humiliate them thoroughly. If they had, then she'd drag them back to filming—she needed to recover the eighty thousand ryo she'd spent, fast.
Just as she was about to leave, her eyes caught something on the tree she had slapped.
She stopped in her tracks.
The trees in Konoha were all high-quality hardwood, and this particular one was sandalwood—famous for its density. Even shuriken often couldn't pierce it.
But now? On its trunk was a handprint—burnt into the wood, at least four millimeters deep, tinged with a faint scorched yellow.
"...Could it be?"
Hinata's eyes narrowed.
Leaving such a mark on sandalwood wasn't just about brute force. The tree's density and elasticity absorbed most impacts. Only a force with extreme focus and burst could breach it.
That meant—her earlier slap had surpassed the limits of both elasticity and hardness. Something usually only a sledgehammer could achieve.
Turning back, Hinata shifted into stance, focused, and struck the tree again.
Another palm print. This one even deeper—nearly a full centimeter.
There was no doubt. This was the result of completing the initial training of the Flame-Killing Fist.
To avoid burns, her body had grown used to channeling chakra into her hands constantly. And being in constant contact with heat, her innate fire chakra had begun manifesting. After all, the best way not to get burned is not to resist the heat—but to become hotter than the fire itself.
This power—etched into her flesh through unrelenting pain—was born from the body's primal fear of being burned. In order to never feel that pain again, it had adapted.
"I see now... Even if the Fist was made-up nonsense, the logic behind it was sound: endure pain and overcome it. That's how you gain strength!"
Realization dawned on Hinata, and her head drooped slightly.
Then her whole body began to tremble—with laughter.
"Pffft—ahahahaha~! That's it?! This is what effort gets you?!"
She abruptly stopped laughing, and her eyes gleamed with menace.
"Now… time to see how those two bastards are doing!"
---
As a girl in the prime of adolescence, Haruno Sakura was as starry-eyed as they came. Like nearly every girl in her class, she had a hopeless crush on the most handsome, cool boy in school—Uchiha Sasuke.
And honestly, it wasn't even unreasonable.
Sasuke was attractive, brilliant (top of the class every time), and had a spotless disciplinary record. He was basically the perfect package.
But lately, over the past two weeks, his reputation had taken a hit.
Why? Because he started skipping class.
And not just skipping an afternoon here and there. Sometimes he was gone all day. Sure, his grades remained flawless, but ditching school at their age was a serious offense.
Naturally, many of the girls started distancing themselves from him.
That thrilled Sakura—fewer rivals! But at the same time, she was furious. Those fake fans! So shallow!
Didn't they wonder why Sasuke was skipping class?
He had no family anymore—clearly something was bothering him. What he needed now was a kind, understanding girl to support him.
And that meant—this was her moment!
If she could comfort Sasuke now, he'd realize she was the one who truly cared. He'd see she was the best choice for him!
That night, Sakura was so excited she barely slept. The next morning, with dark circles under her eyes, she cleaned up, made a love-packed bento using the best ingredients from her fridge, and set out—heart pounding and full of romantic delusions.
The Uchiha compound wasn't hard to find. It was just a bit out of the way. But ever since that massacre years ago, the place had become synonymous with death. Most villagers avoided it.
Sakura had never dreamed of going to a boy's house. But if her beloved Sasuke was suffering, she couldn't hold back.
She walked through a few alleys, then stopped in front of the Uchiha compound's gate. She took a deep breath, rehearsing how she would greet him.
Should she go sweet and worried? "Sasuke-kun, I was so worried about you~ I came to see you~"
Or maybe energetic and encouraging? "Sasuke-kun! Don't worry, no matter what happens, I'll be here for you~!"
"Ahhhh~ how embarrassing~!"
Blushing furiously, Sakura covered her face—only to be interrupted by a snarky voice:
"Well, well~ Forehead Girl. I didn't expect it to be you~!"
Bam! A giant anime-style vein popped on Sakura's forehead. She didn't even need to look to know who that smug tone belonged to. Turning her head, she sneered back:
"Oh, look who's here—Pig Ino. What? Crawled out of the woods to get some sun today?"
Standing a short distance away was a beautiful blonde with pale skin and a Western vibe. It was her classmate—and greatest rival in love—Yamanaka Ino.
"Hmph! I don't have time to bicker with you today. I'm here to check on poor Sasuke-kun. Once he eats my special love-packed bento, he'll totally bounce back! You can go cry in a corner, you wide-foreheaded baboon~!"
Waving her fancy bento box proudly, Ino clearly had the same plan as Sakura. The latter scoffed.
"Too bad! I also made a full-of-energy bento. Sasuke-kun will definitely pick mine!"
"He'll definitely pick mine!"