Tsunade Arrives for the Gathering

"Thanks, Tenten. Then I won't stand on ceremony!"

Hikari grinned as he accepted the scroll, then solemnly tucked it into his clothes.

This was a girl's heartfelt gift. How could he possibly waste it?

Kurenai Yuhi looked at Hikari as though he were trash, while Neji Hyuga looked at him with envy, jealousy, and resentment. People always learned to cherish things only after losing them.

Might Guy remained unmoved. To him, women's beauty was probably less important than a single strand of Kakashi's hair.

Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane: 'Hikari, forever the GOAT!'

If the situation had been more appropriate, the two of them would already have knelt down and begged Hikari to accept them as disciples.

As veteran single dogs, Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki were not like Guy and Kakashi, who had no desire for women. It was not that they did not want to find someone; their own abilities were simply too limited.

"Tenten, you'll have to work hard again today. Guarding the gate isn't easy!"

"For the safety of the Hidden Leaf Village, you have to keep watch over every passerby, enduring the blazing sun, wind, and rain. When I return, I'll definitely bring you a souvenir."

Tenten's face flushed red. Looking at Hikari's solemn expression, she shyly poked her fingers together.

"Senior Hikari, you don't need to be so polite."

"Of course, if you insist on buying something, please don't spend too much money. Only after working did I realize how difficult Senior Hikari's job is. You get the lowest pay while doing the hardest work!"

Kurenai Yuhi nearly rolled her eyes into the sky.

She really wanted to tell Tenten that the senior she thought so highly of was actually the author of 'yellow' books, with a fortune worth several hundred million. And as for the hardship she understood, this guy would slack off whenever he could and would never stand if he could sit.

But then she remembered that Tenten was not her disciple. Even Tenten's own teacher had said nothing, so if she spoke up, she would only make herself a joke.

Neji Hyuga looked unhappily at Tenten.

He had always found Tenten rather annoying before, but now, he suddenly felt that she was cute and pretty. More importantly, she was considerate. She was completely a fine candidate for a wife.

Although the Hyuga Clan forbade its women from marrying out, it did not forbid its men from marrying women from outside.

Over the years, if the Hyuga Clan had relied solely on its own people marrying and reproducing within the clan, it would have gone extinct long ago.

And most importantly, the one diligently working at the gate had clearly been him, Neji Hyuga. This little rich girl, Tenten, claimed that girls had to stay beautiful and could not let their skin get too dark, so she simply hid indoors and refused to come out.

He did all the work, yet Tenten received all the praise.

Was there any justice left in this world?!

Was there any reason left under heaven?!

Heavens, why had you treated me so poorly?

'Neji, don't lower your head, or your crown will fall. Don't open your eyes, or the tears will flow!' Encouraging himself silently, Neji Hyuga stared resolutely at Hikari.

He had decided. Starting today, his goal would be to defeat Hikari.

As the genius of the Hyuga Clan, he refused to believe it.

With his hard work, could he really not defeat a giant salted fish like Hikari?

He had already mastered the Hyuga Clan's Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. Defeating this salted fish would happen today.

"Lady Tsunade is here!" Hikari reminded them, casually patting Tenten's twin buns. "Be good and wait in the Hidden Leaf Village. If there's any ordinary danger, just let Neji handle it."

"If you encounter something you can't deal with, go find Kakashi. He's your teacher's brother—not related by blood, but closer than family. If you have any problems, he'll definitely help!"

Guy also turned back and said, "That's right. Just find Kakashi if anything happens!"

"Besides that, make sure to keep an eye on Rock Lee. Don't let him train too much before he has recovered."

"Tell him that if he gets injured again before his body has recovered, he truly won't be able to become a ninja anymore!"

Who said Guy was bad with words?

Just listen to that.

For Rock Lee, being unable to become a ninja in the future would hurt worse than starving him.

"Okay, Sensei!"

Though Tenten sometimes snapped back at Guy, she respected him greatly most of the time.

No one was stupid. Although Guy did not understand ninjutsu, he poured his heart and soul into teaching them. Compared to him, the other Jonin and Special Jonin were nowhere close.

Many team leaders only cared about completing missions.

They merely taught their teams a few ordinary techniques. As for ninjutsu and training methods, they would not even mention them.

The reason the Konoha Twelve Ninja rose to prominence also had much to do with their teachers.

A master could lead one through the door, but cultivation depended on the individual.

Without a master's guidance, even a genius like Minato Namikaze would have only become an ordinary weakling.

Of course, although the old Third Hokage guarded the position of Hokage rather tightly,

he still placed great importance on the future of the Ninja Academy.

Basically, anyone with potential would be assigned a good teacher. The so-called system of dividing classes by grades was merely an excuse.

Take Sakura, for instance. If she had not ranked first in academic subjects and possessed decent Chakra control, how could she have been assigned to a team with Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki?

If one wanted to grow in the Hidden Leaf Village, one could not remain an ordinary person. Only by letting those above see one's value would they put effort into nurturing them.

Compared to clan ninja, whether it was the Third Hokage or someone else serving as Hokage, they would all be happy to see such people rise. There appeared to be only a little over a hundred active Jonin in the Hidden Leaf Village.

But if one counted the true number of Jonin, there would be at least twice that many.

Most of the remaining Jonin were clan ninja. This was also a rule established by the Hokage to balance power and prevent clan ninja from controlling the Hidden Leaf Village.

Of course, the benefit of this arrangement was that the Hokage did not have strict control over clan ninja. Unless it was wartime, he could not directly issue orders to clan Jonin.

Where there was gain, there was loss. That was perfectly normal.

The clans were happy with this arrangement as well.

To them, if they committed all their Jonin to the Hidden Leaf Village, and the Hokage played tricks by sending them all to dangerous places to carry out missions, then once all the Jonin died, that clan would be finished.

It was a terrifying matter. In this regard, the Hokage and the clans had reached a tacit understanding.

"You all came quite early!"

Tsunade arrived at the gate with Aoba Yamashiro and Genma Shiranui. When she saw Hikari looking lifeless, the smile on her face became even brighter.

Hikari's misery was the source of her joy.

That big-chested woman finally came. Now I really have to leave the Hidden Leaf Village. I'm so tired. I don't want to go out. I really want to stay in the Hidden Leaf Village!

I love the Hidden Leaf Village!

This guy might be a little lazy, but his heart was still with the Hidden Leaf Village!

Tsunade felt greatly comforted.

It would be great if they left me here to guard the gate. Then I could flirt with little beauty Tenten. Once she grows up, I could have her bear me two children.

No more than that. Raising children is such a troublesome thing!

Tsunade's face darkened. 'Sure enough, I knew this bastard couldn't be trusted!'