Naruto: The new beginning

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Sakura felt as if her entire body had been struck with countless small hammers, leaving her powerless to fight back.

When Hinata finally stopped her assault, Sakura's strength gave out, and she collapsed to the ground. The chakra she usually controlled with ease now refused to respond.

What's going on? Hinata, a girl who is usually so quiet and reserved, has become so strong!

"I lost," Sakura admitted, barely managing to prop herself up as she sat on the ground, her voice filled with disappointment.

Hinata quickly trotted over, offering her hand to help Sakura up. "I'm sorry, Sakura! Are you alright?" she asked softly.

"It's alright, Hinata. You're amazing. What was that just now? I feel completely drained."

"Ah, yes," Hinata explained shyly, "It's the Gentle Fist technique of the Hyuga Clan. It disrupts the flow of chakra by targeting specific tenketsu points. I just sealed 32 of your chakra points, but I'll unlock them for you right away!"

Hinata, who had just been precise and decisive in battle, reverted to her usual timid demeanour as she began unsealing Sakura's chakra points.

Naruto, watching from the sidelines, was amazed. In terms of coolness, the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist is definitely among the best.

When Hinata was using the Gentle Fist, each move was so fluid and elegant—it looked especially graceful.

Compared to the slow-motion martial arts films that have been popular in the last few years, this was far more impressive.

The graceful young warrior look that Hinata displayed was miles above what anyone would expect.

Even Sasuke was taken aback. Is this the Gentle Fist of the Hyuga Clan? Sakura couldn't even put up a fight.

Sasuke had always thought of Hinata as just a shy girl who barely made her presence known.

Kakashi, however, wasn't particularly surprised. He had seen the Gentle Fist many times before.

Hinata's level is decent among her peers. He couldn't help but wonder how she would measure up against Neji Hyuga, whom Gai often praised.

As Hinata helped Sakura off the stage, Kiba rushed forward to praise her, with Akamaru barking excitedly at his side.

Hinata felt embarrassed by the praise and occasionally stole glances at Naruto to gauge his reaction.

Sakura noticed Hinata's shy looks and smiled knowingly, like an aunt who just figured something out.

"Alright, the third match next is Shino Aburame versus Sasuke Uchiha!"

The next battle was incredibly intense, though Naruto couldn't remember much about it afterwards.

No one seemed to remember who won.

When Naruto later asked Sasuke about it, Sasuke just grumbled, "It's none of your business. I didn't lose, alright?"

Oddly enough, no one thought to ask Shino, who was also in the battle... but why not?

After the three matches were over, Naruto slyly suggested, "How about a battle between the teachers?"

Kushina cracked her knuckles and smiled. "I wouldn't mind."

Kakashi immediately raised his hands in surrender. Why does this kid always try to get me in trouble? 

"I'll pass. I have some training to do," he said, slipping away into an inconspicuous corner.

Naruto wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he felt that the area where Kakashi was "training" looked much brighter than usual.

Naruto then turned his attention to Team 8's training.

Hinata is throwing Gentle Fist strikes at a wooden dummy with a determined expression, though she occasionally seems a bit distracted.

Shino is busy practising his insect manipulation, all while dodging surprise attacks from Kushina.

In many ways, the Aburame Clan is similar to the puppet masters—they both relied on manipulating something other than their bodies in battle, making their main bodies vulnerable.

Kiba's training is the most intense. Not only was he running around on all fours like Akamaru, but his mimicry of Akamaru's attacks was incredibly precise.

The most shocking, though, is Akamaru's airborne dynamic marking technique.

Akamaru would leap high into the air, spin 720 degrees, and accurately spray his target. It is truly terrifying—a psychological blow more than anything.

Naruto silently vowed: If Kiba ever uses that move on me, I'll end him, and not even Kushina will be able to save him!

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke continued their usual training routines. However, while Naruto is practising his sensory abilities, he has a sudden, unconventional idea.

He remembered how Luffy in *One Piece* had learned Observation Haki by being blindfolded and dodging attacks from Rayleigh.

Luffy had been forced to develop his ability through sheer practice.

So, Naruto gritted his teeth and blindfolded himself, asking Kushina to attack him from different directions so he could sense her movements and evade.

As for how Kushina managed to guide Team 8 while helping Naruto train... Kushina is a master of Shadow Clones, so multitasking wasn't an issue for her.

But that wasn't all. Naruto created 100 Shadow Clones, scattered them throughout the forest, and had them pull down their headbands to cover their eyes.

They played a high-stakes game of blindfolded tag. If a clone sensed another, they would strike, but the challenge was to avoid being detected themselves.

One by one, the clones were taken down—except for Naruto, who kept getting pummeled.

How was Kushina's punch? Everyone who's experienced it would agree—it was no joke.

Naruto's screams could be heard echoing across the training grounds.

Meanwhile, Kakashi's lightning was flashing brighter, Kiba's training was more lively, and Hinata seemed to be spacing out more often.

After more than 30 clones were "killed" in the game, Naruto finally managed to dodge one of Kushina's punches for the first time.

Feeling proud of his accomplishment, he got excited—only to be hit again.

Two hours later, only one clone remained in the forest. It let out a sigh of relief.

This time, the clone didn't disperse on purpose—surviving the game was a reward in itself.

Compared to the clones' joyful game, Naruto had to endure not only the painful memories of his clones being defeated but also the physical pain of the punches himself.

Kushina is a true mother, serious about anything related to training, and she didn't hold back when it came to disciplining her son.

As she put it, "It's better to be beaten and cry at home than to be killed outside."

Fortunately, the afternoon wasn't wasted. Naruto finally awakened the Kagura Mind's Eye, though it was still unstable when he got too excited.

Naruto felt like a bronze-tier player in some online game, constantly reminding himself to watch the minimap but getting ganked every time he focused too much on one thing.

As evening approached, everyone wrapped up their training. Kushina clapped her hands and announced, "Alright, that's enough for today. Hinata, wait a moment. You made some mistakes in your movements earlier—I'll go over them with you. The rest of you can head out!"

Everyone else dispersed, but Naruto waited around so he could walk home with Kushina.

Kushina spent a little extra time coaching Hinata before glancing at the sky. "Oh, it's gotten late. Hinata, it's not safe for a girl to walk home alone at this hour, but I need to stop by the store..."

Kushina tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Naruto, why don't you take Hinata home?"

Naruto blinked in surprise. "Huh?"

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