Gathering Material

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura picked up their teacups and took a sip.

They also felt there was too much tea.

But they didn't put down their cups because of the bitterness.

They had stayed up all night, and a cup of bitter tea was just the thing to wake them up.

Besides, even from the smell, they knew this was good tea, just a bit too much of it.

The Third Hokage took another sip, and he tasted something wrong.

"Hinata, this tea..." The Third Hokage's voice trembled slightly.

"Oh, I got it from the cabinet."

Hinata took out the tea canister and pointed to the cabinet.

The Third Hokage snatched the tea canister, his hands shaking as he opened it. He found that a visible layer of tea leaves was missing from inside.

"Little Hinata, just how much tea did you put in?"

Hinata held up two fingers. "Two spoonfuls."

The Third Hokage's eyes went dark. You're supposed to use a spoon to measure tea?

The Third Hokage felt a pang of heartache. This was a type of tea with a very low yield.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura pretended not to see or hear anything, continuing to drink their tea as if they knew nothing.

"I saw you teachers looked very tired, so I made you a strong cup of tea to help you wake up."

The Third Hokage was speechless. His disciple was showing filial piety, and the tea was a gift from her father.

"I'm very sorry, Hinata. I was so busy with paperwork that I forgot to look after you."

The Third Hokage put the tea back in his desk drawer and locked it.

"It's nothing. But teacher, what exactly are you looking at?"

Hinata only needed a glance at these documents to know they were from Root. Was there something important about Root that needed her attention?

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura exchanged glances. Theoretically, Hinata was the Hokage's disciple, and she should be privy to some secrets. But the problem was, she was too young.

"Oh, this. It's Danzō," the Third Hokage rubbed his tired eyes. "Root conducted a dangerous experiment, but luckily it failed. And within Root, there is some very important information for the village."

Then, the Third Hokage told Hinata about the First Hokage.

At the same time, he also told her about the First Hokage's Cells.

"So, you teachers are looking for experimental data on the First Hokage's Cells?"

"That's right," the Third Hokage nodded.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura looked at each other. Information about the First Hokage's Cells was a top secret within Konoha.

Even though Hinata was the Hokage's disciple, it was unlikely that the Third Hokage would answer her questions just like that.

Did the Third Hokage really intend to train Hinata as the next Hokage?

They could no longer see through the Third Hokage's intentions.

As soon as she heard they were looking for experimental data on the First Hokage's Cells, Hinata lost interest.

"Hinata, you've come at the right time. Go and get your senior disciple. I originally wanted him to rest more, but it seems that's not possible now."

"Okay, teacher."

After Hinata left, the Third Hokage and the others continued to immerse themselves in the sea of documents.

They had only looked through half of these documents.

Walking on the streets of Konoha, Hinata paused. She had forgotten to ask where her senior disciple Jiraiya lived.

But...

"Could he be there..."

Recalling her senior disciple's hobbies, Hinata's mouth twitched. She knew where to find him.

Konoha Hot Springs was a major feature of Konoha.

Since the last test a few days ago, Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Shino, Sakura, Kiba, and the others had been meeting frequently.

Besides becoming friends after the test, More importantly, they were discussing how to pass the monthly tests.

Sasuke originally didn't want to join them, but his family strongly supported him discussing matters with his classmates.

And his family didn't teach him how to pass the test. He wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but after hearing that he hadn't passed the test, his mother showed a hint of relief.

"Sasuke, I strongly support the school's tests. I am not disappointed that you didn't pass the test; in fact, I am very happy. Because even if you fail a hundred or a thousand times at school, it will not endanger your life. On the contrary, it will become nourishment for your growth. But once you graduate, you will only have one chance to fail, and the price will be your life."

When he asked his brother for advice, he didn't teach him anything either.

However, he had his own ideas!

He wanted to graduate!

"Since you guys won't teach me, I'll discuss how to graduate with my friends... cough, classmates... classmates!"

One day, for some unknown reason, Naruto's circuits got crossed, and he actually suggested going to the hot springs.

"Woof woof woof~"

As soon as he heard "hot springs," Akainu, the little white dog on Kiba Inuzuka's head, immediately agreed.

"Akainu agrees, I have no objections either."

Sasuke was also tempted; he hadn't been to a hot spring in a long time.

"Hooray, let's go to the hot springs!"

"Naruto, you actually come up with good ideas sometimes." The two girls certainly wouldn't object.

"So troublesome~"

Shikamaru found it troublesome and didn't want to go.

"Choji, you should go too, it's a good chance to lose some weight."

As soon as he heard the word "weight loss," Choji stopped the motion of putting potato chips into his mouth.

His eyes lit up.

Every fat person has a desire to lose weight.

"We're going too."

Shikamaru had a bad feeling. Who is "we"? Choji, you're only one person! Who exactly is this "we"?!

With Neji, Rock, and Tenten from the upper grades joining them, they headed to the Konoha hot springs the next day.

Originally, Rock didn't want to go; he still wanted to train with Might Guy. But when he heard Guy say, "Hot springs are also a form of training!"

He was instantly filled with fighting spirit.

The next day, everyone looked at Rock, who was full of fighting spirit. If they didn't know better, they would think he was about to duel someone.

Naturally, the group wasn't taking a mixed bath.

The ones most disappointed that it wasn't a mixed bath were not the boys, but the two girls, Sakura and Ino.

"Damn it, such a good opportunity."

The two bit their handkerchiefs, looking reluctantly at Sasuke as they walked into the women's bath, looking back three times.

Sasuke was covered in cold sweat under their gazes.

He almost thought he was going to be eaten.

When the few boys entered the men's bath, they saw a sneaky guy peeking over the wooden board separating the men's and women's baths.

"Ah, I found one... mmmph."

Naruto suddenly shouted, but before he could finish, his mouth was covered.

"Hey, kid, don't talk nonsense if you don't understand. I'm not peeking, I'm gathering material."

Jiraiya released his hand from Naruto's mouth.

"Isn't that still peeking?"

Jiraiya covered Naruto's mouth again.

"Don't be so loud, I told you I'm gathering material, not peeking!"

Naruto might have just thought the person covering his mouth was a pervert, but the others weren't as clueless as Naruto.

The few exchanged glances and, while Naruto was arguing with him, they suddenly rushed forward.