Kushina Uzumaki The Sage Of The Yuri Path

The morning air was crisp, the lingering chill of winter still clinging to the trees surrounding Konoha. The secluded clearing where Raven had taken Hinata was transformed overnight—a thin layer of frost covered the ground, and the small pond that sat at the center of the space had become a solid sheet of ice.

Hinata, despite her petite frame and exhaustion, stood firm. She had spent hours last night refining her Ice Release under Raven's instruction, and though her body ached, she refused to stop.

Above her, Raven watched from a nearby tree branch, legs crossed, looking completely unbothered.

"Your chakra control has improved," Raven mused, her violet Rinnegan eyes glowing faintly as she observed Hinata's energy flow. "But if you want to fight, you'll need more than that."

Hinata swallowed hard. "I—I'll do whatever it takes."

Raven smirked. "Good. Because today, I'm going to make you suffer."

Yuumi, lounging nearby, chuckled. "So dramatic."

Raven snapped her fingers, and the ground trembled.

Wooden figures—dozens of humanoid puppets, all reinforced with Raven's Rinnegan infused life energy, emerged from beneath the ice. Their joints creaked, their lifeless eyes gleamed, and their movements were unnervingly smooth as they took their places around the clearing.

Hinata stiffened, her Byakugan activating instinctively. She could see them—see the flow of chakra in each one. This wasn't just training. This was combat.

"Rules are simple," Raven said casually, floating down from her perch. "If a single one of them lands a hit on you… we start over from the beginning."

Hinata's breath hitched.

Yuumi snickered from the shadows. "Oh, this is going to be fun."

Hinata moved first, activating her Gentle Fist stance as she charged the nearest puppet. She aimed a precise strike at its chest, intending to disable it in a single hit.

But the moment her fingers made contact—

Clank!

The puppet didn't even flinch.

Hinata's eyes widened in horror as its wooden limb lashed out faster than she could react—slamming into her side and knocking her backward.

She gasped, barely rolling out of the way as another struck downward, splintering the ice where she had just been standing.

Raven sighed dramatically. "Well, that was disappointing. Reset."

Hinata stared at her, horrified. "W-what?! But—"

"No excuses." Raven waved her hand, and the puppets reset their positions. "Start over."

Time blurred into an endless series of attempts.

Again and again, Hinata dodged, countered, and struck, trying desperately to land even a single hit without being touched.

Each time she failed, Raven forced her to start over.

Her fingers went numb from the ice, her arms shook with fatigue, but Raven never let her stop.

"You think your father's training was hard?" Raven taunted. "You think getting scolded makes you tough? Tough means not breaking, no matter how many times you fall."

Hinata clenched her fists, her breath fogging the air. She wouldn't break. She wouldn't stop.

Back at the Hyūga compound, Hiashi Hyūga stood in silence, glaring at his daughter's empty room.

It had happened again.

Despite quadrupling the guards, despite setting up rotating shifts, despite assigning ANBU-level trackers, Hinata still somehow disappeared every single night—only to be found back in her bed by morning, as if she had never moved.

One of the Hyūga elders cleared his throat. "She is growing stronger, Lord Hiashi."

Hiashi's eyes narrowed.

"That is what concerns me."

The guards he had posted were all high-level Byakugan users. None of them had seen anything.

The only logical explanation was Genjutsu manipulation—but that was impossible.

Hiashi glanced back at Hinata's sleeping form, his frown deepening.

"I will find out who is influencing her."

But no matter how many guards he stationed, no matter how much security he reinforced—Hinata always escaped.

And Hiashi never knew how.

Hinata panted heavily, hands on her knees. The puppets remained motionless, awaiting Raven's command.

She had failed 36 times.

Her muscles ached, her vision blurred, but she refused to stop.

Raven watched her carefully, arms crossed.

Hinata clenched her fists. She had to think differently.

"Water Chakra bends… but Ice holds."

"If I can shape it…"

Her Byakugan flared, focusing not on her opponent's chakra—but her own.

For the first time, she saw it clearly—the way her Water Chakra flowed, the way it shifted too easily under pressure.

"What if I don't let it? What if I force it to stay?"

She exhaled slowly, molding the energy exactly like Raven had taught her.

The moisture in the air froze, wrapping around her hands—solidifying her fists in a layer of reinforced ice.

Raven's eyes gleamed.

"There it is."

The puppets charged.

This time—Hinata didn't panic.

She didn't rush forward. She let them come.

At the last second, she pivoted, moving fluidly like water—but striking with the weight of ice.

Her frozen palm struck the puppet's chest—and this time, it cracked.

Hinata's eyes widened in shock—but she didn't stop. She twisted mid-air, delivering a second blow to another incoming puppet—sending it skidding back across the ice.

The clearing went silent.

Raven grinned.

Hinata stood frozen, barely believing what she had just done.

Raven stepped onto the ice, stretching. "Alright, little princess. You figured out the first step. Now let's see how well you can use it."

Hinata swallowed hard. "W-wait, against you—?"

"Don't hold back," Raven smirked. "Because I won't."

She moved in a blur, lunging forward—too fast for Hinata to track.

Hinata reacted on instinct, twisting just barely in time, and thrusting her Ice-Fist forward.

Contact.

Her frozen palm landed against Raven's shoulder, forcing her to slide back slightly.

Hinata froze.

Raven paused, rubbing her shoulder thoughtfully.

Then she smirked.

"Not bad, little princess."

Hinata stared at Raven in awe.

Her heart pounded, her face turned red, and she suddenly forgot how words worked.

Yuumi, watching from the sidelines, snickered. "Looks like someone's got a crush."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Hinata immediately snapped her head to the side, flustered. "N-nothing!"

Raven shrugged. "Whatever. Training's over for today."

As she turned, Hinata clutched her chest, eyes wide.

"She's amazing…"

Yuumi's chuckling only got louder.

Back at the Hyūga compound, Hiashi examined his daughter closely.

She had changed.

There was a confidence in her movements, a subtle shift in the way she carried herself.

"Who is teaching you?" Hiashi thought darkly.

He would find out.

He had to.

But Hinata simply smiled, secretly clutching a tiny sliver of ice in her hands.

She had finally taken her first step forward. Her first step towards Raven she created her first justu Ice Style Piercing Fist.

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