Naruto: Reborn as Neji Hyuga After Dying in One Piece-Chapter 55. Do You Want a Hug?

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On his way back to the Hyūga compound, Neji passed by one of the family's private training fields.

He paused.

There, alone in the fading light, was a small, familiar figure.

Hinata.

She was training hard, face flushed, breathing heavy, fists trembling as she pushed herself through the final motions of her form. Her eyes were locked in concentration, so focused that she hadn't even noticed Neji's presence.

So he didn't announce himself.

Instead, he simply sat nearby, watching in silence.

(Note: Observation Haki, also known as Kenbunshoku Haki, comes in many forms. Some allow visual projection across vast distances, like Usopp's sniper shot in Dressrosa.)

Hinata let out one last soft kiai and struck forward. Her palm thrust landed, but it was clear she was at her limit.

She gasped for breath, wiped sweat from her brow, and froze.

A handkerchief had appeared in front of her.

She followed the hand to its owner and nearly stumbled backward in surprise.

"Neji-niisan! Wh-When did you—?"

He caught her gently, steadied her, and without a word, began wiping the sweat from her face with the handkerchief.

"I've been watching for a while now," he said softly. "Your awareness is still far too weak. That needs work."

"I-I was home... so I..."

Flick.

A light bop to the forehead made her eyes well up slightly, not from pain, but from reflexive embarrassment.

'Of course, I didn't notice him! I've lived with his presence my whole life, his chakra feels like home... how could I be alert to that?'

"I heard Kurenai signed your team up for the Chūnin Exams."

"Y-Yes," Hinata replied softly, almost like she was apologizing. "She thought... we were ready."

Neji raised a brow but said nothing. His silence made Hinata squirm under his gaze.

Then he reached out and gently pinched her cheek.

"I'm not blaming you," he said.

'You say that... but your hands say otherwise,' Hinata thought as he tugged both cheeks lightly.

Still, she didn't pull away.

Neji's expression softened.

"I'm just worried," he admitted. "The Chūnin Exams this year aren't just internal. We've got foreign genin coming in, including shinobi from the Sand."

"Mmn... N-Neji-niisan... I can't talk if you keep doing that..."

Only then did he release her, smiling faintly as he led her toward the porch. They sat down beneath the shade of the awning, bathed in the warmth of the sunset.

Hinata tilted her head.

"...You seem different today," she said.

"Different?"

"You feel more... grounded. Not like before. You used to feel distant... like clouds I couldn't reach. You were always there, but never really here."

Neji glanced at the sky, arms behind his head.

"Maybe I let go of something," he said quietly. "Maybe I'm just tired."

Or maybe, he thought, I'm having one of those rare days where everything doesn't feel so damn heavy.

Hinata looked away, hugging her knees, eyes downcast.

"...Are you worried about the exams tomorrow?"

"A little. It's... a pivotal moment."

The world was shifting. The fate of villages and nations would spiral from what happened tomorrow.

Even Orochimaru's movements weren't fully predictable anymore; Neji had tampered with the timeline too much.

The story no longer obeyed logic.

It was becoming real.

That was the difference.

Not a script. A storm.

And no one could script a storm.

Beside him, Hinata fell into silence. Her arms tightened around her legs. Her voice, when it came, was barely a whisper.

"...I know I'm weak."

Neji turned his head.

Hinata's voice trembled. "I'm not like you. I'm not strong. I'm not brave. You've always protected me, always been ahead of me. I keep disappointing the people who care about me..."

She turned her head away, quickly wiping her eyes.

"I don't want you to see me like this..."

Neji frowned. Even without looking, he could feel her emotions spiking, observation haki catching the pulse of sorrow in the air.

"Hinata?"

She buried her face in her arms.

"...I'm fine."

Neji exhaled, shifted, and reached out fingers gently brushing through her damp hair.

"You're doing it again," he said. "Taking on burdens that aren't yours."

"That's not true..."

"Oh, please. You can't even lie properly."

He kept combing her hair, slow and comforting.

"You've come a long way. But you're still too hard on yourself."

She didn't respond.

So he smiled.

"Honestly, I'm worried. If someone from another village hurts you, I'd feel terrible."

"...Neji-niisan..."

"I mean... someone might break you, and then I'd have to break them."

"...You're teasing me."

"Not entirely. But..." He sat up and smiled down at her.

"You're still ridiculously cute. That's why I worry."

Hinata stiffened.

"I'm not a kid anymore," she said suddenly, turning her head. "Don't treat me like one."

"...Fair point."

Neji blinked.

'Wait, was she just humoring me all those years? Oh God... that makes everything I've said sound ten times weirder in hindsight.'

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Alright. You're not a kid. But I'm still going to say this seriously: watch your back. Stay sharp. And don't get reckless."

"...I will."

They sat there a moment longer in the dying light.

Then Neji offered, voice gentler than before:

"...Do you want a hug? Like we used to?"

Hinata hesitated.

"...Yes."

He pulled her in.

The quiet weight of her in his arms brought a strange kind of peace.

Maybe all that effort to build her confidence... hadn't gone to waste after all.

He leaned down and whispered with a grin, "Hinata, you stink. You really need a shower."

A puff of white smoke nearly rose off her head.

"S-Sorry! I was training all day, I didn't—"

"Wait! Wait!"

"Don't faint! Stay with me!"

Off to the side, hidden just around the corner, a tiny pair of white eyes watched them with a giggle.

"Hehehehehe....."

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