Naruto: Lost to Hinata on Purpose, and Now Everything's a Mess Chapter 19 19 : I Know Your Secret

Kakashi smiled. "I think it's ti I teach you a Wind Style ninjutsu called Wind Style: Wind Cutter. It's a C-rank technique."

Riku nodded, watching Kakashi with focused eyes.

Kakashi turned to face a large boulder in the distance.

He quickly ford hand seals.

As soon as the sequence was complete, he narrowed his eye slightly and said, "Wind Style: Wind Cutter!"

A blade of wind sliced forward from his position.

Fshht—!

A boulder nearly ten ters away was cleanly severed in half.

The cut was precise, its sharpness undeniable.

Riku's eyes lit up. This was exactly the kind of ninjutsu he liked—fast, deadly, and sharp.

After finishing the demonstration, Kakashi looked over at Riku and smiled. "Try it. I have a feeling you've already got it."

Riku smirked slightly. "Probably."

Facing the sa boulder that had just been cut, Riku blurred into motion, his hands moving rapidly through hand signs. As the sequence concluded, he called out clearly, "Wind Style: Wind Blade!"

Vmmm—!

Shnk—!

Boom—!

A massive blade of wind erupted from him, several ters wide.

The already-split boulder was instantly sliced again like soft tofu.

But the wind blade didn't stop—it tore through the rock and slamd into the cliff wall behind it, carving out a trench dozens of ters long and several ters deep.

The edges of the gash were smooth—eerily so—demonstrating just how sharp and focused the wind blade Riku had released truly was.

It was far more powerful than Kakashi's Wind Cutter, despite using the exact sa amount of chakra.

Kakashi's eye narrowed in realization.

"So it's not that you're struggling with controlling chakra," he said slowly, "it's that your chakra is incredibly high-quality."

He had never believed that soone with Riku's potential would struggle to grasp chakra control.

No—it was simply that Riku's chakra was fundantally different.

"Riku," Kakashi said seriously, "your body… it's not normal. You have to keep this a secret. Don't tell anyone. Not even your closest friend."

There was concern in Kakashi's voice. If word got out about Riku's unusual chakra, it could bring danger—powerful people or organizations might try to use him or eliminate him.

Though Kakashi trusted Riku's judgnt, he still felt the need to emphasize the warning.

Riku blinked as if surprised, then nodded. "Don't worry, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi sighed. "You've known about your chakra, haven't you?"

Riku just smiled silently.

Kakashi chuckled. "Still trying to keep it from , huh? Soone like you only needs to see sothing once or twice to get the hang of it. But your instincts are right. You should protect yourself until you're strong enough."

He wasn't angry at Riku for keeping it hidden. On the contrary—Kakashi was glad the boy wasn't flaunting it.

If too many people learned about Riku's chakra, even he might not be able to protect him.

Riku gave a slightly embarrassed laugh. "Really? I just followed your instructions. I didn't expect the result to be so different."

Kakashi smiled and let the matter rest.

Just then, Might Guy walked over and glanced at the massive scar on the cliff.

"With that kind of destructive force, it's already beyond B-rank power," Guy said in amazent. "Riku, looks like Kakashi made the right call in teaching you ninjutsu. You might really beco soone like the Fourth Hokage soday."

He no longer had any thoughts of taking Riku as his own disciple.

Riku offered a modest smile. "You're flattering , Guy-sensei."

Guy shook his head and replied with complete seriousness, "No. I ant every word. You have incredible talent."

Riku smiled again but didn't respond further.

By now, the sun had begun to dip behind the trees.

They had trained long enough.

Kakashi smiled. "Let's head back. I've got a mission tomorrow."

Guy nodded. "Sa here. Riku, if you ever want help with taijutsu, co find . I know a thing or two."

"I will, Guy-sensei."

Guy still wanted to guide Riku, especially in taijutsu, but deep down, he knew Riku wasn't ant to specialize in hand-to-hand combat.

Very few ninja pursued taijutsu as a core path—those who did were outliers, and Riku clearly wasn't one of them.

That night, Riku returned ho and fell asleep quickly, without dwelling on anything.

Since Kakashi had a mission the next day, Riku was given a few days off.

The next morning, he walked into the classroom like always, indifferent to the noise and chatter around him. He went straight to his seat and sat down calmly.

Just as he was about to take out a textbook, Ino plopped herself down in front of him.

Riku raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Ino grinned. "I know your secret."

Riku wasn't surprised. He simply glanced at her and replied with a flat, "Oh?"

Ino was montarily stunned. "Aren't you worried I'll tell Iruka-sensei? You threw the match against Hinata on purpose—you cheated."

Before she could go on, the bell rang for class.

Ino was visibly annoyed. She had planned to pressure Riku into reacting, but he didn't seem to care at all.

When Iruka entered the classroom, Ino didn't return to her original seat. Instead, she sat next to Riku.

"Don't you want to know how I found out?" she asked.

Riku thought for a mont. "I sensed your presence that day. I just didn't feel like talking to you."

Ino blinked, then scowled when she realized what he ant. "Ugh! Aren't you worried I'll report you?"

Riku chuckled. "You won't."

Ino bit her lip. At six years old, she was still trying to act intimidating.

"Why are you so confident?" she asked.

Riku smiled faintly. "Because if you were really going to tell, you wouldn't be here talking to about it."

"Ugh, you're so annoying."

She felt like she had punched a pillow—completely ineffective.

Since yesterday, she had started paying closer attention to Riku. Before that, she hadn't thought much of him. But now, she realized he might be the hidden ace of the class.

He could even be stronger than Sasuke.

She rembered the assessnt day: Riku hit the bullseye five tis, and four of those were dead-center. The last one barely missed the target—clearly on purpose.

And with the precision he showed yesterday, there was no way he had genuinely lost to Hinata.

Riku was clearly hiding his true strength.

"Riku… why do you hide how strong you are?" Ino asked, curiosity in her voice.

Riku ignored her, focusing on Iruka's lesson.

Ino's face puffed up in frustration.

Farther away, Hinata kept glancing in their direction, her cheeks slightly red and a worried look on her face.

"What are Riku-kun and Ino talking about?" she wondered anxiously. "Could Ino be threatening him? Is it because of ? I didn't an to cause him trouble…"

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