Is This the Charm of a Treasure Loli?

"I'm heading back. See you tomorrow."

"Mm-hmm, see you tomorrow."

The two parted ways outside Ichiraku Ramen.

Inuzuka Kiba crouched alone by the roadside like a defeated dog, unnoticed from beginning to end.

"Something's not right. Why do Tsunade and Watanabe look like they went on a date?"

"When did they get so close?"

Inuzuka Kiba couldn't make heads or tails of it. Watching the two of them gradually disappear into the distance, he didn't even know which one to follow.

After hesitating for a moment, Inuzuka Kiba decided to find Watanabe and ask him what was going on. But then he changed his mind and stopped.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"Watanabe can't hold a candle to Tsunade. There's no way she'd go on a date with him, heh heh heh... I was just imagining things."

Inuzuka Kiba mocked himself, convinced that Tsunade must have had a special reason for eating ramen with Watanabe tonight.

There was an insurmountable gulf between the two of them in strength, status, and standing. Inuzuka Kiba would sooner believe that his dog, Green Maru, could fly than believe that they were dating.

"Impossible or not, Watanabe is still suspicious. Starting tomorrow, I'll keep a closer eye on him. I can't let him bother Tsunade anymore."

Inuzuka Kiba made up his mind in silence.

As he walked home, Watanabe eagerly looked forward to sparring with Tsunade tomorrow.

He wondered how much his vitality would increase after tomorrow, and whether it might break a thousand.

In this ninja world where the strong preyed on the weak, he had to seize every opportunity to improve his strength.

"Things took an unexpected turn, but overall, today went pretty smoothly. Tsunade and I should be friends now."

Watanabe thought to himself. Making friends with Tsunade had come at a bit of a price: it had cost him eight hundred ryo.

But compared to what he'd gained, that eight-hundred-ryo investment had absolutely been worth it.

Then Watanabe thought of something and looked at his right hand.

"Come to think of it, Tsunade's development is a little slow..."

Watanabe felt a bit worried for Tsunade's future children, concerned they might go hungry. After all, the cafeteria was so small.

"They probably won't go hungry. Tsunade's still young. Maybe it'll get a bit bigger in a few years, once she's grown..."

Back home, Watanabe washed up, climbed into bed, and went into his usual slacking-off mode.

He kept slacking until three or four in the morning. The vitality he gained was roughly equivalent to being punched by Tsunade five times. Watanabe was wide awake, so he forced himself to sleep to keep himself balanced.

At exactly seven, his alarm woke him. He tidied up his appearance in the bathroom, then headed to the Ninja Academy full of energy.

The benefits of increased vitality were obvious. Watanabe felt strong and light on his feet, as if he had endless energy. He was the picture of a sunny young boy.

By the time Watanabe arrived, quite a few students were already in the classroom. The one who caught his attention most was Tsunade.

Today, Tsunade wore a pale yellow dress that made her fair skin look even more radiant. Her golden hair was still tied in two ponytails, and she was a pleasure to look at.

"Good morning, Tsunade."

Watanabe greeted her with a bright smile.

Tsunade replied coolly, "Mm."

She was neither distant nor friendly, treating him about the same as the other students.

Inuzuka Kiba, who was watching them from the sidelines, breathed a sigh of relief. If he'd seen Tsunade act differently toward Watanabe, he really would have questioned his grasp on reality.

"Damn Watanabe. Tsunade clearly doesn't want to talk to you, and you're still forcing yourself on her. You're shameless!"

What Inuzuka Kiba didn't see was Tsunade unconsciously gripping the corner of her schoolbag beneath her desk.

Inside the bag were three ninjutsu scrolls she'd prepared for Watanabe.

Last night, Watanabe had said he had nowhere to learn advanced ninjutsu. Tsunade didn't even know what had come over her. This morning, on an impulse, she'd picked out three scrolls and brought them along.

If the person who'd said he wanted to learn advanced ninjutsu had been Jiraiya, Tsunade would probably have just sneered, "Hmph! You're not even worthy of learning the Three Body Techniques!"

"Watanabe, my mom steamed some extra buns this morning. Would you like one?"

A girl's cheerful voice came from the row behind him.

"Is that okay? Thanks."

Watanabe's stomach was already uncomfortably full, so he accepted his classmate's kindness.

"Hehe, you're so polite, Watanabe!"

"..."

Tsunade unconsciously raised an eyebrow. She suddenly realized that Watanabe might not even be worthy of learning the Three Body Techniques.

Annoyed, she took out her book and reviewed her Medical Ninjutsu knowledge. Just then, a little white-haired boy walked into the classroom, beaming. "Tsunade-chan..."

"Get lost!"

"Right away."

Jiraiya scurried off.

School hours were always leisurely and brief. The whole morning passed in the blink of an eye.

After class, Tsunade didn't give Watanabe so much as a glance. She slung her schoolbag over her shoulder and headed straight out.

Watanabe followed right after her. Tsunade had promised the night before that she'd spar with him again today, and he'd been looking forward to it all morning.

"There it is! The legendary tailing!"

Inuzuka Kiba, watching from the sidelines, was utterly shocked.

From where he stood, Watanabe was shamelessly glued to Tsunade's side, saying something to her while she barely responded and didn't look at him once.

"Harassment. This is definitely harassment!"

"Watanabe is shameless! He even dares to harass Tsunade. I have to teach him a serious lesson!"

Inuzuka Kiba was furious. He kept his anger in check and continued following the two of them.

"Tsunade, are you heading home?"

Watanabe caught up with Tsunade, who was walking briskly, and asked curiously.

Tsunade said nothing.

Watanabe was puzzled. "Tsunade?"

Tsunade acted as if she didn't know him.

Watanabe was confused. Had Tsunade gone home last night and gotten angrier the more she thought about what had happened?

That didn't make sense. They were both still kids. A couple of touches wouldn't make anything fall off.

After thinking it over, Watanabe fell silent too, deciding to wait and see what happened.

He could tell Tsunade wasn't heading home, because she was walking toward the small grove.

Before long, the two of them entered the grove.

To avoid being spotted, Inuzuka Kiba hid behind a big tree.

Reading her expression, Watanabe asked, "Tsunade, are you in a bad mood today?"

"Who says? I'm in a great mood."

Tsunade finally answered him and took off the schoolbag on her back.

Watanabe breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. If something's bothering you, you can tell me."

At that, Tsunade got even more annoyed. She'd been holding back a question all morning, and now she really wanted to ask Watanabe if the bun had tasted good.

Maybe even she thought her reason for being upset was ridiculous. In the end, she didn't ask. Instead, she took the three scrolls from her bag and handed them to Watanabe.

"What are these?"

"Ninjutsu scrolls," Tsunade replied coolly.

"I've got plenty of those at home. Since you treated me yesterday, I'll give you three scrolls with some techniques at random. Take your time studying and practicing them."

Watanabe: "..."

Behind the tree, Inuzuka Kiba wore an utterly bewildered expression.

"???"

What the heck? She was just giving him three ninjutsu scrolls?

Even an ordinary C-rank ninjutsu scroll could fetch several thousand ryo on the black market.

Watanabe was astonished. He'd only mentioned in passing while eating ramen with Tsunade last night that he had nowhere to learn advanced ninjutsu. He'd never imagined she'd give him three scrolls the very next day.

Was this the charm of a treasure loli?