Naruto: Lost to Hinata on Purpose, and Now Everything's a Mess Chapter 16 16 : Guy Comes To The Door In Person

Riku sighed. "Don't thank . Even if I hadn't stepped in, at most they'd just rough you up a little. They wouldn't dare seriously hurt you. But have you ever thought about it? You have the strength to escape."

"Is it really okay to just let yourself get caught?"

"You can't always wait for soone else to save you, can you?"

"Think about it yourself. I've got to go."

With that, Riku vanished from the alley.

Hinata stared at the four unconscious boys, then frowned slightly as she recalled Riku's words.

"Riku-kun… dislikes . But how can I beco stronger?"

She still lacked confidence.

In truth, Hinata's talent wasn't weak.

But her personality was far too gentle.

She still found it difficult to truly retaliate against others—even against people like those four.

What she didn't know was that, from across the street at the flower shop, Ino had witnessed the whole thing on her way ho from the Academy.

She was utterly stunned. "I didn't expect Riku to be that strong. Those four were upperclassn… and he wiped the floor with them."

"Then why did he lose to Hinata during the last sparring assessnt?"

As Hinata slowly walked out of the alley, still lost in thought over Riku's words, Ino called out, "Hinata! Co sit with for a bit!"

Snapping out of her daze, Hinata looked up. "Ah, Ino! W-What are you doing here?"

She walked over hesitantly.

They sat inside Ino's family flower shop. Even at six years old, Ino had already started helping run the store.

She poured a glass of water for Hinata, then sat beside her with a sly smile. "I saw what happened just now. Hinata, are you dating Riku?"

Hinata's face turned bright red. "Ino! W-What are you saying?"

In this world, children matured early. Even at six, they already understood things like crushes—though only in a shallow way.

Ino giggled at her reaction. "Still pretending? With ? I saw everything. There's no way Riku's that weak. He let you win during that sparring match."

"And just now, the way he jumped in to save you like a knight in shining armor—ugh, it nearly made fall for him."

"I was about to rush out and help you, and then poof! Riku suddenly appeared. I was seriously worried for him at first."

"But then he completely blew those guys away—it left speechless. He's so strong."

"That kind of strength? He's definitely above academy level. I think he could even take the graduation exam already."

Ino's expression was filled with excitent.

She had just uncovered a huge secret.

But Hinata looked worried. "Ino, don't say anything. I'm not involved with Riku-kun like that… and he doesn't like people talking about him. He really doesn't. So please, don't tell anyone. Okay?"

Ino smiled and patted her on the shoulder. "If there's really nothing going on, then why did he let you win? Why did he show up out of nowhere to protect you? Why do you care so much about talking about him?"

Hinata opened her mouth but couldn't co up with a response. "Ino, just… please don't say anything."

Then, mustering up rare courage, she looked up and locked eyes with Ino—her expression unusually serious.

Ino blinked in surprise.

"Hinata, you were actually kind of scary just now."

Hinata grabbed Ino's hand and pleaded softly but firmly, "Please, Ino. Promise ."

Ino stared at her for a mont before sighing. "Alright, I won't tell anyone. But in exchange, you've got to answer one thing honestly."

"Do you like him?"

"Or does he like you?"

That question made Hinata's face turn crimson. "W-What are you saying?! I told you already—there's nothing going on between and Riku-kun!"

Ino stared at her knowingly. "Oh, I get it now. You're crushing on him, aren't you?"

Hinata squeezed her hand tighter. "You—stop saying weird things!"

Ino finally understood what was going on. Judging from Riku's blunt exit earlier, he clearly didn't harbor romantic feelings for Hinata.

It seed Hinata had developed a crush on him.

"Alright, alright," Ino laughed. "I won't say anything. It'll be our little secret."

"But seriously, I didn't realize Riku was so powerful. Especially the way he kicked those guys around… that was hot."

"I'm starting to think Riku might even be more handso than Sasuke! Well—Sasuke's still the most handso overall, but Riku has this cool, mysterious vibe that Sasuke doesn't."

"You've got amazing taste, Hinata. While everyone else ignored Riku, you were already paying attention. I'm actually kind of jealous."

Hinata blushed harder and harder with every word.

Then Ino asked, "Why do you think Riku was in such a hurry to leave just now? Actually, he's been rushing off after school every day lately. It's like he's busy with sothing."

Hinata nodded. "Yeah… I've noticed that too. He leaves right after class ends, like he's in a rush."

"I tried following him at a distance a few tis, but… every ti, Riku-kun noticed and shook off."

She said it without thinking, which made Ino burst into laughter. "And you still insist you don't like him? You've been following him!"

Hinata realized she had slipped up, and her face turned bright red.

anwhile, Riku had no idea what Hinata and Ino were talking about.

Although, truthfully, he had noticed Ino watching him earlier. He just didn't care.

He'd only beaten up a few delinquents—no big deal.

After spending more than ten minutes walking through the forest, Riku finally arrived at his destination.

There, waiting for him, were Kakashi—and another familiar figure.

The man was doing one-handed push-ups, his other hand behind his back, body balanced perfectly.

Riku recognized him imdiately.

Might Guy.

As soon as Kakashi noticed Riku's arrival, he lowered the book in his hand.

"You're here."

Riku walked up to him calmly. "Kakashi-sensei."

Before Kakashi could introduce them, Guy zood forward, grabbed Riku's hand, and shouted with uncontained enthusiasm, "My na is Might Guy! And you must be Riku!"

"You're a perfect candidate for training in taijutsu! Train with ! If you do, I guarantee you'll surpass one day and beco Konoha's next master of taijutsu!"

Riku turned to Kakashi, giving him a look that clearly said: Who is this guy?

Kakashi sighed. "Riku, this is Might Guy—a Jonin of Konoha and a taijutsu specialist. I told you before about soone who wanted to take you under his wing for taijutsu. That's him."

"I heard you weren't very interested in taijutsu, so he insisted on eting you in person."