A few minutes later, Hinata and Hanabi came out of the room.
Izayoi, who had already loaded film into the camera, felt his eyes light up as soon as he saw them, offering them non stop praise: "You both look fantastic—absolutely stunning."
Before this, dressed in kimonos, Hinata and Hanabi had exuded the aura of distinguished, old-world ladies. But now, in these outfits, they radiated modern youthfulness and cuteness, enough to make Izayoi feel he was stepping back into his past life's urban campus days.
Hinata's gift box held a white sailor-collar shirt, a dark-blue bow tie and pleated skirt, plus black thigh-high stockings. At 155 cm tall, possessing a figure that could make many adult women jealous, Hinata hardly looked her usual twelve years in that outfit. She was more like a baby-faced, busty high-schooler—enough to make Izayoi's heart race.
Yes, this was precisely the "school idol" image he'd fantasized about.
Meanwhile, his little sister-in-law was equally charming. She had on a scaled-down matching version of the same outfit—a white sailor-collar top, a dark-blue bow tie and pleated skirt, offset by white stockings (instead of Hinata's black), and her hip-length hair done in twin-tails. Adorable to the extreme.
"Onii-chan, do you like it?"
Hanabi stepped in front of Izayoi, hands clasped behind her back, batting her eyes playfully.
"It's super cute!" Izayoi gave a thumbs-up.
"Heehee… I think the outfit you made looks great too, Onii-chan." Hanabi twirled once in front of him, though a hint of regret crept in. "But it's so thin, and the skirt's short—really not suited for wearing outside or for battle."
"It's all right. We can improve it next time. This was my first time making clothes," Izayoi replied with a laugh.
"I-Iza… Izayoi-kun—there's no outer coat for this, right?" came Hinata's voice like a whisper, delicate as a mosquito's buzz.
She was standing beside Hanabi, her slender hands folded protectively in front of her, cheeks flushed pink, gaze avoiding his. Her voice trembled. This was Hinata's typical shy behavior.
Seeing her like that, Izayoi couldn't help wondering: "Is the fit off somehow?"
He had accounted for her measurements carefully. Could she have grown again?
"N-no, it fits perfectly… it's just too… conspicuous," Hinata said weakly and lowered her hands, revealing how the white sailor blouse tightly outlined every bit of her figure—not much less than that black mesh top once did.
Izayoi cleared his throat. "Ahem… yes, there's supposed to be a jacket, but I lacked both materials and time, so I didn't get around to it."
"Oh…okay," Hinata said, blushing deeply and lowering her head.
"No more about that—let's snap a picture first!"
Izayoi, eager to shift topics, lifted the camera with excitement.
Soon enough, the camera captured a photo of all three standing in a row, Hinata and Hanabi on either side, each hooking an arm around Izayoi's while flashing a 'V' sign with their free hand, smiling brightly.
After that, Izayoi took the camera back from his shadow clone—dispelling it with one punch—then began instructing Hinata and Hanabi on different poses, snapping one picture after another.
They took a shot of Hinata and Hanabi close together, forming a heart shape with their hands. Another had them back to back, "firing" invisible pistols at Izayoi. After a series of photos, at Hinata and Hanabi's request, Izayoi changed into his newly received snowman outfit and white robe so he could pose for group photos with the Hyūga sisters.
Interestingly, Izayoi didn't rely on a shadow clone to take the pictures this time—he taught Hinata herself, who, along with his clone previously, had been learning the basics of photography.
Eventually, the three shifted to the dining area to cut the cake. A variety of moments were captured:
All three raising glasses of juice in a toast, eyes crinkling in bright smiles.
The sisters feeding Izayoi with a forkful of cake and him feeding them in turn.
Hanabi smearing Izayoi's face with cream, giving a mischievous cackle while Izayoi smiled wryly with one eye shut.
Hinata quietly wiping frosting off Izayoi's face with a napkin.
In the beginning, it all went very sweetly, full of lovely snapshots. Yet gradually…
A shot of Hanabi, her face painted with cream like a cat, pretending to bite Izayoi's hand, while Hinata gave her a playful little "knuckle rap" on the head.
Another with Hinata's face accidentally struck by a piece of cake, shifting her expression from gentle to stern in an instant.
Followed by a series of chaotic "cake-fight" shots.
The final photo showed Izayoi coming out on top—seated in a chair, tilting his head back in triumphant laughter, while Hinata and Hanabi looked frustrated at their newly donned sailor outfits, now spattered with cake, with the rest of the dining room in total shambles.
That night, Hinata and Hanabi stayed until after nine o'clock, each bathing and changing back into regular clothes before heading home.
"Seems I still don't have enough reputation," Izayoi muttered.
Standing out on the balcony, waving goodbye to the two sisters and glimpsing the clan member assigned to guard them (and discreetly ensure the clan heiresses didn't spend the night away), Izayoi murmured, "Don't worry—very soon, no one can stand in our way."
…
June 23rd, Konoha Year 60.
At the Naka River on Konoha's outskirts, two voices could be heard exchanging spirited shouts:
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
Two massive fire dragons—one from each side—collided over the river, detonating into a spectacular burst of sparks. Beneath that fiery light, two male figures of noticeably different heights clashed in close combat atop the water's surface.
On the far bank stood a white-eyed girl wearing a white kimono patterned with flower petal designs. Camera in hand, she carefully searched for angles, quietly snapping photos of the taller boy's valiant poses.
Boom!
Normally, when his two-tomoe Sharingan was active, Uchiha Sasuke could manage dozens of exchanges before fatigue wore him down and he lost the upper hand. But now, in only a few moves, Sasuke's swirling Sharingan eyes flared in shock as the taller youth's swift punch impacted, warping Sasuke's handsome features. The blow sent him flying across the water's surface.
The punch wasn't especially powerful—Sasuke's improved resilience was enough that it didn't knock him out with one hit. Ordinarily, he'd spring right back up. This time, however, he remained seated on the water, gazing at Izayoi with wide eyes:
"That…was Lightning Release?"
At the last moment, Izayoi's speed had abruptly skyrocketed—visible to Sasuke's Sharingan, but leaving his body too slow to react. Sasuke had stood no chance against that punch.
"What you saw was lightning-nature chakra," Izayoi fibbed without blinking. "I'm perfecting a self-made jutsu and asked Hinata to find a scroll on Lightning Release nature training. By chance, I realized that lightning chakra can stimulate cells to drastically enhance speed."
In truth, Izayoi's clone had turned Kurosuki Raiga into a human puppet, and using the Tenseigan to watch how Raiga wielded twin lightning blades, he easily figured out the principle.
After awakening the Tenseigan, Izayoi had at least six nature transformations in hand. The ultimate move he was working on was a far bigger deal—manipulating lightning chakra to boost physical speed was a trivial side skill.
Naturally, Sasuke knew none of this. His eyes instead focused on Izayoi with a look of astonishment: "You…invent your own jutsu?"
Izayoi teased, "You want to learn it?"
"That one you invented?"
"Get real. I'm talking about the lightning-chakra speed-boosting technique," Izayoi said, rolling his eyes. "If I hadn't seen you mastering tree-climbing and water-walking, also having lightning affinity, I wouldn't even consider teaching you such a risky trick."
"I want to learn. Teach me," Sasuke said, standing up immediately—no sense of modesty.
Over these years, he'd long been in awe of Izayoi's strength. Whether it was a one- or two-tomoe Sharingan, Sasuke simply couldn't best him.
Among classmates, only Naruto matched Izayoi's extraordinary chakra volume, but he was "dead last." Sasuke felt that was nowhere near Izayoi's level. Hence, he'd genuinely acknowledged Izayoi as his first real friend.
~~~
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