Early the next morning, when Izumi arrived at the training ground, he spotted a small figure in the distance.
Although Hinata had said yesterday that she would come find him today, Izumi hadn't expected her to arrive so early. Winter in Konoha was still chilly, and seeing Hinata's little face flushed red from the cold, Izumi took off his outer coat and draped it over her shoulders.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." In his mind, making a lady wait was a serious breach of manners.
"N-No, I… I just got here too." Feeling his coat settle around her, Hinata grew flustered, stumbling over her words in a way that was almost endearing.
"In the future, if you come to find me, you don't need to come so early. Even Itachi-nii doesn't arrive this early. Hinata, can you refine chakra yet?"
The Hyūga clan's fighting style was heavily based on taijutsu—Gentle Fist, combined with the Byakugan's pinpoint accuracy. Those were things Izumi couldn't help her with. What he could teach her was chakra refinement and control.
"I… I can refine chakra," Hinata answered softly.
"Good. Then let's start with tree climbing. Gather chakra into the soles of your feet and stick to the tree trunk—this trains your chakra control. I can't help you with the Hyūga clan's fighting techniques, but I can at least teach you this. Oh, and if you're interested, I could also teach you shurikenjutsu."
Even as he said it, Izumi doubted shurikenjutsu would suit the Hyūga. The Uchiha's prowess with shuriken was tied closely to the Sharingan—its "eye of insight" could read even the smallest movements, making fine projectile control much easier.
"I… I understand. I'll do my best."
With that, Hinata began channeling chakra carefully into her feet to attempt the climb.
The Hyūga clan were naturally skilled at chakra control—without that, techniques like the Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms would be impossible. Even so, Hinata was only four years old. The fact that she could refine chakra at all was impressive; controlling it with precision was far harder.
Following Izumi's instructions, she took her first try at climbing. As expected, even for a Hyūga, the first attempt only got her about half a meter up before she slipped down—but that was still better than Izumi's first try, which had lasted only a single step.
> Ding. System message: You're worse than a little girl. Honestly pathetic.
"You've got to be kidding me, system. This is not the time for commentary…" Izumi muttered, exasperated. With a system like this, he still wasn't sure if he was blessed or cursed.
Not far away, Izumi found his own tree and began practicing the climb himself—completely unaware that a masked silver-haired figure was watching from a short distance.
"The Hyūga clan's little princess, huh? Looks like this Uchiha Izumi is more interesting than I thought." Kakashi's trademark half-lidded gaze shifted briefly before he pulled out his beloved Icha Icha Paradise. He had promised the Third Hokage he'd keep an eye on Izumi, but if there was a chance to slack off, Kakashi was the type to take it.
By the end of the morning, Izumi had managed to reach the top of his tree. He'd cleared the first stage of chakra control. Hinata, meanwhile, was still working hard—panting from the heavy chakra expenditure, but refusing to give up.