Naruto: Lost to Hinata on Purpose, and Now Everything's a Mess Chapter 11 11

Because Kakashi had been away on a mission, Riku's daily routine remained unchanged.

There wasn't much difference—he still spent ti watching the shinobi train at the village's practice grounds.

But one thing had subtly shifted: Hinata seed to have started noticing him more.

She was always watching him.

A week later, Riku received a ssage from Kakashi saying his mission was complete and asking him to et at the rear mountain after school that day.

As soon as school ended, Riku left the classroom without hesitation.

Hinata paused in surprise. "Riku-kun seems to be in a hurry today… I wonder what he's up to."

Her small hands fidgeted nervously.

"Should I follow him and check it out? But if Riku-kun finds out, he'll definitely be mad, right?"

Over the past few days, Hinata had beco increasingly aware of Riku, often watching him quietly. Unknowingly, her attention toward Naruto had started to wane.

After a mont's hesitation, Hinata made up her mind. "I have to take a look. Riku-kun might be in trouble."

With that thought, she grabbed her schoolbag and dashed out of the classroom.

Riku wasn't exactly rushing—he simply walked at a brisk pace along the street. But not ten minutes after leaving school, he frowned slightly.

"Hinata? Why is she following ?"

He didn't quite understand her intentions but chose not to confront her.

He kept walking and turned a corner.

Hinata trailed after him carefully, but just as she turned the corner—Riku was gone.

She froze, glancing around. No trace of him. In that mont, she knew she'd been discovered.

"Riku-kun's perception really is sharp… He must've noticed and used the Body Flicker Technique to vanish."

Coming from a prominent clan, Hinata naturally knew about the Body Flicker Technique. Though it wasn't an advanced jutsu, it was notoriously difficult for Genin to master. So far, she'd only seen it used by skilled clan mbers.

"I wonder what's going on with Riku-kun… Why was he in such a hurry?"

Her thoughts were filled with the image of his serious expression as he left.

It left her inexplicably worried.

anwhile, Riku had used the Body Flicker Technique twice, reappearing hundreds of ters away.

He soon arrived at the entrance of the rear mountain.

Staring at the dense forest ahead, he frowned. "Walking through this will take too long. Let's try moving through the trees instead."

Without hesitation, he leapt onto a tree tens of ters tall.

Chakra focused beneath his feet, adhering him to the bark.

He launched himself from one broad trunk to the next, landing smoothly each ti.

At first, his movents were slightly unsteady, but he quickly got the hang of it. His speed increased as he adapted, until he reached the typical pace of a trained shinobi moving through the forest.

In just ten minutes, he covered several kiloters and erged from the woods.

Compared to the last ti he'd entered the forest, he'd saved more than twenty minutes.

As he exited the trees, he saw Kakashi standing casually in a grassy clearing, reading his little book.

Sensing Riku's approach, Kakashi glanced up with a smile. "Oh? You're already able to move through the forest like that."

Riku approached him with a grin. "Kakashi-sensei, your hobbies haven't changed."

He glanced pointedly at the book in Kakashi's hands.

Slightly embarrassed, Kakashi tucked the book away with practiced ease and smiled. "This week, I want to see how far your training with the Great Fireball Technique has co."

Riku didn't waste ti. He walked to the edge of a nearby pond and quickly ford hand seals.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Boom!

Fwoosh—!

A massive eight-ter fireball erupted from his mouth and shot forward, slamming into the waterfall ahead.

Steam burst into the air as the flas clashed with the cascading water. It took five full seconds for the waterfall's force to extinguish the flas.

The power was even greater than what Kakashi had demonstrated previously.

Riku turned and smiled. "So, Kakashi-sensei—how was that?"

Kakashi kept a calm expression, though inwardly he was stunned. "Not bad. Clearly, your training ti wasn't wasted."

"Today, I'll teach you a Water Style jutsu."

Riku nodded. Having learned a Fire Style technique before, he was eager to explore Water Style next.

Kakashi began thodically explaining the fundantals of Water Style chakra nature.

As before, Riku listened intently, absorbing every detail of what others might consider dull theory.

To him, this knowledge was invaluable.

Once the explanation was over, Kakashi smiled. "Alright. That's the foundational theory behind Water Style: Water Surface Wave. It includes several important principles for all Water Style jutsu. Mastering these will help you handle other techniques down the line."

Riku nodded seriously.

"Now," Kakashi said, "watch how the Water Surface Wave is perford."

Riku focused as Kakashi began to form hand seals. This ti, he returned to his usual fluid, effortless pace.

"Water Style: Water Surface Wave!"

Whoosh!

A broad, waterfall-like torrent of water burst forth, spraying tens of ters ahead. When it landed in the pond, the water level visibly rose by nearly a ter.

Riku chuckled. "This jutsu could probably put out the Fireball Jutsu if used well."

"Both are C-rank jutsu," he continued. "One Fire Style, one Water Style. It almost feels like they were designed to oppose each other."

Kakashi smiled. "You're not wrong. But under normal conditions, the Water Surface Wave doesn't quite overpower the Fireball Jutsu—especially if it's from a mber of the Uchiha clan."

Riku laughed. "That's just because the user wasn't good enough. If soone more skilled used the Water Surface Wave, they could definitely counter a Fireball Jutsu."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Confident, are we?"

Riku didn't respond. Instead, he began forming seals rapidly—so fast that only afterimages were visible.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed. "That speed… it's on par with mine at full speed. How did you train this much?"

Riku said nothing.

Once the seals were complete, he narrowed his eyes, directing a surge of chakra toward his mouth.

"Water Style: Water Surface Wave!"

BOOM—!

From his mouth, a high-pressure blast of water shot forth with far greater force than Kakashi's. It smashed into the waterfall, piercing through the rushing water in an instant and carving a deep crater several ters wide into the rock face behind it.

Kakashi's eye twitched slightly. "…That's Water Style: Water Surface Wave?!"