A Problematic Qinglong

For several days straight, Qinglong had been running around the village, carrying out D-rank missions. He was so busy he barely had time to stop and breathe. He'd finally earned some money, but didn't even have time to spend it.

He still hadn't taken a single step outside the village gates. Qinglong couldn't help wanting to complain to Tsunade.

Truthfully, Tsunade had already been itching to get out of the village and have some fun.

"A village as big as Konoha, and it doesn't even have a casino!"

This was the Nth time she'd complained about it over the past few days. Her gambling itch was getting so bad she wanted to start cursing!

Seeing her student complete several D-rank missions perfectly, she'd impatiently gone and accepted a C-rank mission.

"Qinglong, guess what kind of mission your teacher accepted for you?"

How childish!

Qinglong pursed his lips. "Don't tell me it's a cat-finding mission?"

The old lady's cat, Little Tiger, ran away every day. It was practically a veteran at this point!

The D-rank missions in the Hokage Building had all been taken, except for the endless stream of missions to find Little Tiger.

"Watch your tone!"

Tsunade chided him with a hint of displeasure.

"D-rank missions in the village are meant to look after new Genin. You don't want to do them, but the older Genin would love to take them and can't!"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Qinglong put on a suitably chastened expression.

"Then guess what kind of mission I accepted for you this time?"

Tsunade leaned forward with a smile, as if coaxing a little kid.

"You guess whether I'm going to guess!"

Guess my foot. Qinglong ignored her. Judging by her expression, either she'd picked a mission to play a trick on him, or she'd chosen one she liked that he would like too.

"Kids are no fun at all!" Tsunade stopped grinning and prepared to announce the mission.

"It's a mission outside the village, right?"

Qinglong said it calmly.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. Well, he'd guessed it already, after saying he wouldn't!

"Correct. In that case, little guy, you can pack your things and get ready for a mission outside the village!"

"Woohoo!"

As soon as Tsunade finished speaking, Qinglong let out an excited shout and vanished in an instant, leaving her standing there in a daze.

Qinglong hurried home, grabbed the backpack he'd bought but hadn't had a chance to use, and quickly packed his things along with the Shinobi World travel map he'd prepared long ago.

It took him less than ten minutes.

Tsunade had already caught up by then. She stared at Qinglong, who had finished packing, and was at a loss for words.

"Um, missions don't start until tomorrow. Why are you in such a hurry?"

"This is your first mission outside the village, and it'll take a while. If you have any good friends or a little sweetheart, go say goodbye to them today."

"Uh..."

Qinglong checked the time. There was plenty of time, so he decided to go chat with his friends.

Naruto and Sasuke had already set off on their adventure in the Land of Waves. Naruto had said goodbye to him yesterday, and Qinglong had told him that if he met someone named Haku, he could go easy on him.

Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino were still pulling weeds in the village, while Hinata, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino were looking after the village's pets.

After telling them about his mission outside the village, Qinglong went to see Hanabi. He'd eaten so many of her bento lunches without paying her back. Since this was his first mission away, he had to treat her to a big meal.

Hanabi's cheeks were rosy as Qinglong ordered a table full of dishes for her.

"The food here is pretty good. You're still growing, Hanabi, so make sure you eat plenty!"

"Mm!"

Hanabi nodded, looking delighted.

"Let's eat!"

Hanabi's appetite was already starting to show the makings of a champion eater. She was rapidly catching up to Hinata and becoming the second-biggest eater in the Hyuga Clan!

With Qinglong's encouragement over the past few years, Hinata had almost completely embraced her natural appetite. Only a little bit of her poor, lingering restraint kept her from eating without abandon and helped her maintain a ladylike image at the table.

Even Hiashi had accidentally let the truth slip in front of other people, admitting that he needed to marry off his daughters soon, because those two girls were about to eat the family into poverty!

Hanabi ate with good manners, but she ate quickly. If she ate too slowly, she was always afraid Qinglong would finish everything himself!

But this time, Qinglong was eating with good manners too.

"Qinglong-kun, why did you stop eating?"

Hanabi asked in confusion. Compared to how he usually ate, Qinglong's polite eating barely counted as eating at all.

"Go ahead, Hanabi. I ordered this whole table for you!"

Hanabi blushed, feeling a little embarrassed. She looked around to make sure there were no familiar faces nearby, then looked back at Qinglong in confusion.

"I've more or less passed the stage where I need to replenish my energy by eating a lot, so my appetite can be about the same as a normal person's."

Qinglong smiled.

"But you're still growing, Hanabi. You should eat more!"

"And remind your sister to eat more too. Naruto's about to enter a period of rapid growth in strength. If she wants to catch up with him quickly, tell her not to go hungry."

"Hmph!"

Hanabi was a little unhappy when Qinglong brought up another girl—even if that girl was her sister.

She turned her sorrow into appetite and, to the astonishment of the Hyuga guards, really did finish all the food on the table.

As expected, a champion eater's little sister was a champion eater too!

After that, Qinglong gave her a few pointers. For example, with the Byakugan, she should avoid unnecessary close combat when possible. Why not use long-range attacks instead?