Ino: Little Hinata, You Are a Part of Our Play

"Slightly injured... or dead?"

Sasuke frowned, a chill running down his spine.

Naruto and Sakura were also taken aback.

But after confirming they hadn't misheard, Naruto stammered, "Teacher Cangwu... Teacher Cangwu must be joking, right?"

No one answered him.

"Death... To become a ninja, do we have to face missions of this danger level?" Sakura swallowed, clasping her hands together at her chest, her face full of unease.

"Alright, see you tomorrow, my three ninjas who can now stand on their own." Cangwu's voice faded as his figure disappeared in a flash of golden light.

"Huh?!"

"Teacher Cangwu wasn't joking!"

Naruto jumped up, his shoulders trembling slightly.

"Could it be... we have to face demons?!"

"Hmph, idiot." Sasuke snorted coldly and stood up, hands in his pockets.

Cangwu was gone, so there was no need for him to stay and entertain these two idiots.

Meanwhile, after Cangwu left, he was "caught."

He looked at the two people approaching him.

Cangwu's mouth twitched.

No wonder the Jonin Instructor selection had changed.

System, was this your doing?

I didn't! It wasn't me! It wasn't me!!

"Yo~ Cangwu!"

The first to speak was the green watermelon rind.

"Cough... Cangwu, long time no see."

Only then did the sickly Kakashi speak.

Kakashi took a few deep breaths to make his voice sound more normal.

"Cangwu, what do you think of Team 7?"

"Quite good, reasonable." Cangwu's reply was clearly perfunctory.

"Reasonable?"

"How is it reasonable?" Kakashi narrowed his eyes slightly.

He had only recently realized that Cangwu, whom he hadn't paid much attention to before, seemed rather surprising.

"Naruto is handsome, Sasuke is sunny, and Sakura is powerful."

Kakashi: "???"

"Is that so... Very good, it seems Sasuke is a great match for our third class~!" Might Guy gave a thumbs-up, revealing his dazzling teeth.

Kakashi shook his head, "Stop messing around."

Cangwu smiled, then replied calmly:

"Sasuke is pretentious, but he's a normal person. Apart from this harmless little habit of being pretentious, he has no other flaws."

"Sakura... let's skip her. I doubt you're interested in my evaluation of her."

"As for Naruto... I think he's the one you're most interested in."

Kakashi remained silent, merely looking at Cangwu calmly.

Whether his heart was calm was another matter.

"If I were Naruto, I might have really considered taking the Scroll of Seals and defecting a few days ago, only to return after mastering it."

"All in all, he's not exactly a normal person."

"What normal person would be bullied and ostracized by the entire village since childhood, yet still smile every day?"

"He even shouts about becoming Hokage and gaining everyone's recognition."

"Cangwu!" Kakashi said in a low voice, then shook his head at Cangwu, signaling him to stop.

At the same time, Kakashi's heart was profoundly shaken.

He had never expected that, in the eyes of an outsider, this inheritor of the Will of Fire would say such things. It truly caught Kakashi off guard.

Might Guy turned his head away, pretending not to hear anything.

Actually... he didn't understand what was going on either. He just noticed Kakashi had become serious.

He couldn't understand it, he couldn't do it, so he decided to pretend he knew nothing.

"In fact, an unfortunate childhood is almost standard for a Jinchuriki."

"But who is he?"

"Uzumaki Naruto? Or... should I call him Namikaze Naruto?"

"For example, only a few people left the village at that time, yet the news about the Jinchuriki spread like wildfire."

"And for example, are the dark rats and scarecrows unworthy of their teacher's mother's love?"

Kakashi's pupils constricted sharply.

He looked at Cangwu with disbelief all over his face.

To be honest, many people knew about this matter, but very few spoke of it. They were all old foxes.

However, many people didn't know.

At least, in Kakashi's understanding, Cangwu shouldn't have known.

This was wishful thinking.

A cold sweat broke out on Kakashi's forehead, and he had no idea how to respond.

Such remarks were too dangerous in the village.

Of course, what made Kakashi most ashamed was Cangwu's last sentence.

Cangwu glanced at Kakashi, who was lowering his head in silence, and smiled, "Guess who Naruto thinks treated him well?"

"Oh dear... this is really troublesome, this Team 7... it's truly a difficult task, but those three are not bad."

"Let me think, if I 'gloriously' kick the bucket in the future, there won't even be anyone to visit my grave. Of course, if I leave behind a little one, someone should help take care of them."

"In short, the overall feeling is much better than the previous Team 7."

With that, Cangwu walked past Kakashi and Might Guy.

Kakashi's mind went blank.

Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Might Guy simply smiled and waved goodbye to Cangwu.

Actually, it couldn't be entirely blamed on Kakashi.

But, that's just how things are.

He wasn't completely without a chance to change, to make amends.

"Cangwu!"

Suddenly, Kakashi turned back and called out.

Cangwu stopped but didn't turn around.

"I'm counting on you..."

Cangwu waved his hand and walked away.

After passing through a few deserted alleys, he arrived at a bustling street.

Cangwu felt a gaze locked onto him.

He glanced sideways and saw a beautiful middle-aged woman smiling at him.

His gaze moved up, to the Yamanaka Flower Shop.

Seeing Cangwu look over, the beautiful middle-aged woman beckoned to him.

Cangwu also noticed two figures behind the beautiful woman.

Ino, and... Hinata?

When did they become so close?

Was it because of the incident where she fainted at the school gate last week?

Cangwu smiled and walked over.

"Long time no see, Teacher Cangwu."

Ino's mother, Yamanaka Rino.

She was a beautiful woman exuding an air of nobility.

Perhaps this description lacks visual impact... she was like a presence similar to Angie Chiu.

"Hello, Mrs. Yamanaka."

"Teacher Cangwu~!" Ino greeted him enthusiastically, of course.

"Te-Teacher Cangwu..." Hinata lowered her head, her small hands unsure where to place themselves.

The little girl's face flushed slightly, as if she was thinking about something.

"My Ino always talks about you lately."

"Oh, and Haiichi mentioned a couple of days ago that you seem to have become one of the Jonin Instructors for this batch of graduates."

Under the astonished gazes of Ino and Hinata, Cangwu nodded slightly.

"Congratulations~" Yamanaka Rino offered her congratulations.

"Teacher Cangwu, you're a Jonin Instructor?!"

"Then which team are you in charge of?"

"Why haven't I seen you today?" Ino asked hurriedly.

"Team 7."

Ino: "..."

So jealous of Sakura x2

"Boss, how much are these flowers?"

Hearing a customer had arrived, Yamanaka Rino gave Ino an encouraging look before bowing slightly to Cangwu.

"Excuse me for a moment."

Cangwu had intended to take the opportunity to say goodbye.

Ino directly pulled Hinata and walked out with him.

"Teacher Cangwu, you promised Hinata you'd 'cure her illness' last time."

"Just in time, I need a cure too~"

"Ino... Ino~!" Hinata blushed and tugged on Ino's sleeve.

"Alright, I'm a bit hungry too, so let's go eat lunch... I mean, get cured together." Cangwu chuckled wryly.

Hinata's face was about to steam.

Ino quickly added fuel to the fire.

Blushing, she leaned close to Hinata's ear and whispered:

"Hinata~"

"You're also part of my and Teacher Cangwu's play~"

Mmph~!