Hideki had spotted the little item Dan Katō was hiding behind his back at a single glance.
So he impatiently waved him off.
“Sensei is busy right now.” “No one’s allowed to disturb her.” Hearing that, Dan glanced toward Tsunade’s tent, as if he wanted to say something.
But Hideki had already made his position perfectly clear.
Continuing to press the matter wouldn’t accomplish anything.
In the end, Dan could only turn around and leave with a dejected expression.
“Who were you talking to outside just now?” After Hideki returned to the tent, having finished washing up, Tsunade looked up and asked.
“Just some irrelevant clown.” “Nothing worth worrying about.” Hideki answered casually before sitting down to eat.
As one of the highest-ranking commanders in the camp, Tsunade naturally received much better meals than ordinary shinobi.
The dishes contained a balanced mix of meat and vegetables.
The taste, however…
Left much to be desired.
After all, this was the front line of a war.
Being able to fill one’s stomach was already a luxury.
Expecting delicious food would have been asking far too much.
Tsunade glanced at Hideki, who was eating with obvious enjoyment, before returning her attention to the documents spread across the table.
In truth…
She had heard every word of the conversation between Hideki and Dan outside.
She simply hadn’t said anything.
Originally, she had held a somewhat favorable opinion of Dan.
After all, he had been the only person at the Jonin meeting to openly support her proposal.
However…
After listening to Hideki’s analysis yesterday, her opinion of Dan had plummeted.
In her eyes, he had gone from being a respectable colleague…
…to a stranger with questionable motives.
In that sense…
Hideki’s description of him as an “irrelevant clown” wasn’t entirely inaccurate.
After finishing breakfast, Hideki walked over behind Tsunade to see what she was writing.
After a quick glance, he realized it was the proposal they had discussed the previous day.
Tsunade had expanded it considerably, adding several ideas of her own.
As one of the greatest medical shinobi ever to fight on the battlefield, her practical experience was second to none.
All she needed was a direction.
Once she had one, she could quickly develop it into a complete and detailed plan.
As Hideki continued reading…
His attention gradually drifted away from the document…
…and settled on the graceful neck partially hidden beneath Tsunade’s long golden hair.
Most of it remained concealed.
Only a small portion of her fair skin was exposed.
That subtle glimpse somehow made it even more captivating.
Naturally, Tsunade sensed that the gaze behind her was becoming increasingly suspicious.
To prevent the situation from escalating any further…
She casually assigned Hideki an errand and sent him away.
Hideki could only leave the tent with a disappointed sigh.
Still…
There was one piece of good news.
In the past, Tsunade would never have handled the situation so indirectly.
She would have simply solved it with a punch.
In a way…
That alone proved their relationship had already begun to change.
Hideki wandered aimlessly around the camp.
Watching shinobi constantly coming and going, he couldn’t help yawning.
He was beginning to miss Konoha.
Life here was painfully dull.
There wasn’t anywhere interesting to go nearby.
Along the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind…
There was nothing but endless stretches of sand.
“Hideki?” A familiar voice suddenly called out from behind him.
Turning around, Hideki saw Minato Namikaze walking toward him with a pleasantly surprised smile.
“So it really is you!” “It’s been a long time.” “I never expected you’d end up here too.” Minato stopped in front of him, his warm smile unchanged.
“I was assigned to escort a logistics unit here.” “Since my teacher also happens to be stationed here, I decided to stay a while and see if I could help with anything.” “I see.” Hideki nodded.
“I came here with my teacher as well.” “Oh, right.” “I never had the chance to congratulate you on becoming a Chunin.” He smiled sincerely.
“As far as I know, among everyone from our graduating class, you’re still the only one who has been promoted.” “That’s really impressive.” “It may be a little late…” “But if you don’t mind, please accept this.” Minato handed him a brand-new ninja tool pouch.
“Thank you.” Hideki accepted it with a smile.
Thinking about it…
This was already the third congratulatory gift he’d received for becoming a Chunin.
The previous two had come from Kushina and Mikoto.
In truth, Hideki and Minato had never been particularly close during their days at the Academy.
Because Kushina had never approved of Minato’s overly gentle way of handling things…
Hideki’s own relationship with him had remained little more than that of ordinary classmates.
Even so…
Seeing Minato’s genuinely happy expression made Hideki feel that the man really was an exceptionally kind person.
The two found a quiet place to sit together.
Before long, they were chatting about all the interesting experiences they’d had since becoming shinobi.
No one knew how much time had passed before a loud, carefree voice interrupted their conversation.
“So this is where you are, Minato.” “And who’s this?” Hideki turned toward the voice.
Standing there was a tall, broad-shouldered man wearing wooden sandals, a forehead protector bearing the kanji for “Oil,” and long white hair flowing behind him.
He was looking at Hideki with obvious curiosity.
Minato immediately stood up.
“Jiraiya-sensei.” “This is my friend, Hideki Sato.” “He’s the only Chunin from our graduating class so far.” “He’s an outstanding shinobi.” Then Minato turned toward Hideki.
“Hideki, this is my teacher, Jiraiya.” “He has helped me tremendously throughout my life as a shinobi.” “You could say he’s been the guiding light on my path.” “Hahaha!” Jiraiya laughed proudly.
“You’re giving me far too much credit.” “I’m not nearly that amazing.” Then he looked toward Hideki.
“So you’re Tsunade’s student.” “You look pretty capable.” Hideki stood up as well and met Jiraiya’s gaze.
“So…” “You’re the author of Icha Icha Paradise?” The moment those words were spoken…
Minato’s face immediately turned bright red with embarrassment.
After all…
Having one’s teacher write that kind of novel wasn’t exactly something to brag about.
Jiraiya, however…
Reacted in the complete opposite way.
His face lit up with pride.
“Oh?” “So you’ve actually heard of it?” “That means you’re one of my readers!” “How about I give you an autograph?” Hideki snorted dismissively.
“Hmph.” “Aside from your writing style being fairly decent…” “Icha Icha Paradise is a complete mess.” “It’s nowhere near worthy of being called a great work.” The moment Jiraiya heard that…
He instantly exploded.
( End of Chapter ) CREATORS’ THOUGHTS imyou23 Creation is hard, cheer me up!
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