Chapter 40: The Time Skip, the Killer Button, and the Return part-1
The morning Naruto Uzumaki left the village to train with Jiraiya was bright, clear, and emotional. I stood behind a utility pole near the village gates, clutching a bento box I had stayed up all night to make.
(I should give this to him. It has egg rolls shaped like his face. It is a masterpiece of edible art.)
[System Notification: Do it, Host. Probability of tripping is only 40% today because the road was recently paved.]
I took a deep breath. Naruto and Jiraiya were walking through the gates. Sakura was there waving goodbye.
"Naruto-kun!" I whispered, stepping out from behind the pole.
"Huh?" Naruto turned around. "Oh! Hinata!"
He smiled that blinding smile. "You came to see me off?"
"I... I..."
I walked forward. The pavement was indeed smooth. However, I had forgotten one variable. My shoelaces were tied, but the ribbon on the bento box was long.
As I stepped, the ribbon caught on a low-hanging branch of a bush.
The bento box was yanked from my hands.
"Ah!"
The box flew open.
The egg rolls, rice balls, and octopus sausages were launched into the air.
At that exact moment, Jiraiya turned around. "Come on, Naruto! We are burning daylight!"
The food rain descended.
An octopus sausage landed directly in Jiraiya's mouth.
Gulp.
Jiraiya blinked. He chewed. "Mmm. Spicy. A sign of good fortune!"
A rice ball hit Naruto on the back of the head. Poof.
"Hey!" Naruto rubbed his head. He looked down and saw the egg roll shaped like his face lying on the ground.
He picked it up. "Is this... me?"
He looked at me. I was turning fifty shades of red.
"Did you make this, Hinata?" Naruto asked.
I nodded frantically.
Naruto ate the egg roll in one bite. "It is delicious! Thanks, Hinata! I will get stronger! I promise! Wait for me!"
He gave me a thumbs up and ran off into the distance.
I stood there, heart pounding. He ate my face. I mean, the egg roll face.
"Goodbye, Naruto-kun," I whispered.
........................
Time Skip: Year One
The village was quiet without Naruto. But for me, it was a time of intense struggle. Not against enemies, but against biology.
I was training in the Hyuga dojo with Neji. We had reconciled, and he was now helping me develop a new technique.
"Focus, Hinata-sama," Neji instructed, his Byakugan active. "The Vacuum Palm requires a sharp expulsion of chakra. Do not use the bunnies. No foam."
"Right," I said, sweating.
I thrust my palm forward. "Vacuum Palm!"
A blast of air shot out. It hit the target dummy perfectly.
"Excellent," Neji nodded. "Your control is improving."
However, as I pulled my hand back, I felt a strange tightness in my chest.
(My jacket... feels smaller. Did it shrink in the wash?)
[System Alert: Update Downloaded. "Shippuden Physics Patch 1.0" installed.]
[Note: Host has undergone a "Growth Spurt." Your center of gravity has shifted. Please recalibrate your balance.]
"Growth spurt?" I whispered.
Suddenly, the top button of my training jacket—which had been holding on for dear life—could take the strain no more.
PING.
The button popped off with the velocity of a bullet.
It flew across the dojo.
Neji was standing ten feet away, lecturing me about footwork.
The button hit Neji directly in the forehead. Right on his Curse Mark.
THWACK.
"Gah!"
Neji's head snapped back. He stumbled, stepping on the hem of his loose robes.
He fell backward into the weapon rack.
CLANG. CRASH. BOOM.
A dozen wooden staffs and blunted spears rained down on the genius of the Hyuga clan.
I stood there, clutching my now-open jacket.
Neji emerged from the pile of wood, a red mark on his forehead shaped exactly like a button.
"Hinata-sama," Neji said, his voice trembling with suppressed emotion. "Please... buy larger clothes. For the safety of the clan."
........................
Time Skip: Year Two
I followed Neji's advice. I bought a new outfit. A lavender and cream jacket that was loose and comfortable.
Team Eight was on a mission to track a wild bear that had been terrorizing a farm.
"I smell it," Kiba whispered, crouching in the bushes. "It is close."
Shino nodded. "My insects report a large mammal ahead."
I adjusted my Glasses of Invisibility (which I still wore on missions). "I will check with the Byakugan."
I stepped forward to look over the bush.
[System Alert: New Skill Available. "The Trip Trap." Passive. Enemies who chase you have a 50% chance of tripping over nothing.]
"Byakugan!" I whispered.
I saw the bear. It was sleeping.
"It is asleep," I turned to tell Kiba.
As I turned, my foot got stuck in a rabbit hole.
"Eep!"
I fell sideways. I crashed into Shino.
Shino, usually immovable, was knocked off balance. He fell into Kiba.
Kiba fell onto Akamaru (who was now a giant dog, big enough to ride).
Akamaru yelped and bolted.
"Woof!"
The giant dog ran straight into the clearing where the bear was sleeping.
The bear woke up. It saw a giant white dog with two humans piled on top of it.
The bear roared.
Akamaru panicked. He ran back toward me.
"Run!" Kiba yelled.
Akamaru scooped me up as he ran past. I was thrown onto his back, sandwiched between Kiba and Shino.
"We are too heavy!" Kiba shouted. "Akamaru is slowing down!"
The bear was gaining on us.
[System Suggestion: Use your inventory. Throw something.]
I reached into my pouch. I grabbed a handful of items.
I threw them backward.
I threw:
A bag of caltrops.A smoke bomb.A bottle of "Slippery Oil" I had bought from the shop.
The bottle shattered on the bear's nose. The oil coated the bear.
The bear stepped on the caltrops. It tried to stop. It slid.
The bear slid past us like a bobsled, covered in oil, screeching. It slid off a cliff and fell into the river below.
Splash.
Team Eight came to a halt.
.....
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