"Headmistress, are you going out?"
As soon as Hikawa arrived at the orphanage, he saw Yakushi Nonō hurrying outside.
"Hikawa?"
Yakushi Nonō paused slightly and asked in surprise, "Why are you here? Is something wrong?"
"Nothing. It's Sunday, so I thought I'd come back to the orphanage."
Hikawa waved the picture books in his hand and said, "I also brought them some gifts."
"That's very thoughtful of you."
Yakushi Nonō smiled gently.
"These little gifts are nothing."
Hikawa shook his head. "Everyone has taken such good care of me."
"Then go see them."
Yakushi Nonō stroked his head and said, "I need to make a trip to Konoha Hospital."
"Are you performing surgery?"
Hikawa asked casually.
Yakushi Nonō held three positions: she was the headmistress of the orphanage, a Root ninja, and a doctor at Konoha Hospital.
With her strength, anyone requiring her to operate on them was probably no ordinary ninja.
"I'm attending a meeting."
Yakushi Nonō paused before saying, "Tsunade-sama has returned to the hospital. She's the hospital director."
"Tsunade-sama?"
Hikawa's eyes lit up. "Can I come too? I'm a fan of Tsunade-sama and have always wanted to meet her."
As one of the Konoha Three Ninjas, Tsunade was the idol of many ninjas.
Saying he was her fan would not arouse even the slightest suspicion.
"It's a meeting today, so it wouldn't be appropriate for you to come."
After thinking for a moment, Yakushi Nonō said, "Next Saturday, I'll take you to meet her."
"Okay."
Hikawa could only suppress his curiosity for now.
"I'll be going first. See you next time."
Yakushi Nonō withdrew her hand and headed toward Konoha Hospital.
Hikawa watched her leave, deep in thought.
So Tsunade really was in Konoha during this period.
Unfortunately, he only had Yin Style talent, not Yang Style talent.
His Yin Style talent came from the strengthening of his spiritual power after awakening the memories of his past life.
Then what about Yang Style talent? Physical strength?
Hikawa suddenly thought of the E-Rank Entry he had yet to obtain, 'Strong Physique.' One of its synthesis paths might very well be Yang Style talent.
Whether that was true or not, it was worth trying. After all, exercising had no drawbacks.
After a week of training, the progress bar for 'Strong Physique' had already reached 60%.
Another week should be enough to obtain it.
Perhaps he would not even need a full week.
After all, he was training for longer and longer each day.
Hikawa entered the orphanage, gave the picture books to the children, played with them for a while, and then said goodbye.
As he walked down the street, he wondered when Kabuto Yakushi had arrived at the orphanage.
Though the original story had not specified the exact time, it was certain that it had been after the Third Shinobi World War.
A sense of urgency washed over him.
A shinobi world war was no ordinary danger. Even Kage could fall.
"Hikawa!"
Yuhi Kurenai's voice came from above him.
Hikawa looked up and saw her little feet swinging back and forth.
Under the warm sunlight, they gleamed a brilliant white.
Before he knew it, he had returned to Yuhi Kurenai's home.
There were two trees by her front door: one was a locust tree, and the other was also a locust tree.
"What are you doing up there?"
Hikawa asked.
Yuhi Kurenai put on her shoes and leaped down from the tree.
After landing steadily in front of him, she held out her hand.
Hikawa raised an eyebrow and stared at her, wide-eyed.
"You went out and didn't bring me anything?"
Yuhi Kurenai put her hands on her hips. "You fail!"
"I don't have money."
Hikawa gave a light cough.
But in truth, he had forgotten.
Yuhi Kurenai froze.
Only then did she remember that Hikawa was an orphan with no source of income.
"Here... take it!"
Yuhi Kurenai shoved a wallet into his hands, then turned away, showing him the faintly flushed side of her face.
The wallet was pink, decorated with rabbit-patterned designs.
Hikawa was stunned for a moment. He subconsciously opened it and found a stack of bills inside.
His stomach suddenly felt uncomfortable.
Still, he could not bring himself to live off a pretty little girl.
More importantly, Yuhi Kurenai was not well-off herself.
If it were someone from the Hyuga or Uchiha Clan, he might consider it.
But the little girl from the Hyuga Clan had not been born yet.
And if the Uchiha Clan had produced a little girl, there would have been far fewer problems. With the flashbacks included, the Hokage series would probably have been half as long.
Still, he really should think of some way to earn money.
"No need."
Hikawa grabbed Yuhi Kurenai's wrist, returned the wallet to her, and spoke.
"Hm?"
Yuhi Kurenai tilted her head and blinked her big eyes, looking adorably blank.
Hikawa's heart stirred, and he reached out to touch her head.
Yuhi Kurenai instinctively leaned back, but she still failed to dodge. She could only glare at him.
"You still haven't told me what you were doing here."
Hikawa casually changed the subject.
After rubbing Yuhi Kurenai's hair twice, he withdrew his hand.
Mm, it was smooth and felt nice.
"My dad wants to see you."
Yuhi Kurenai came back to her senses and answered.
"Where is he?"
Hikawa entered the house and changed his shoes in the entryway.
"I'll go get him."
Yuhi Kurenai put away the wallet and skipped toward Yuhi Shinko's room.
Before long, the two of them reappeared in the living room.
"Hikawa."
Yuhi Shinko got straight to the point. "How well have you mastered Chakra extraction recently?"
Hikawa stood up and demonstrated it once.
"Not bad."
A smile appeared on Yuhi Shinko's face. "Your proficiency is already close to Kurenai's."
Hikawa had studied for one week, while Yuhi Kurenai had studied for nearly half a year.
That was simply terrifying.
Yuhi Kurenai gave a soft snort at his words.
She was somewhat displeased, yet could not find any reason to refute him.
Seeing this, Yuhi Shinko only found his daughter adorable.
He reached out, intending to pat her head, but Yuhi Kurenai hopped backward and dodged perfectly.
"Your Chakra has barely reached the standard, so you can start trying to learn genjutsu."
Yuhi Shinko looked a little awkward. After coughing twice, he spoke.
Speak of the devil. Hikawa had just been thinking about becoming stronger.
Hikawa immediately perked up.
Although genjutsu became rather awkward in the later stages, it was still quite useful against ordinary ninjas.
Yuhi Kurenai also became serious.
This concerned the outcome between her and Hikawa in the future.
She could not lose!
"Genjutsu, taijutsu, and ninjutsu are the three fundamental skills of a ninja, but few specialize in genjutsu."
Yuhi Shinko lifted his chin slightly and said with some pride, "Because genjutsu is the hardest to get started with, it requires sufficient talent."
In front of his daughter, he wanted to show off properly.
And he was not lying. In all of Konoha, no one understood genjutsu better than he did.
The Uchiha Clan excluded.
"Uncle Shinko, are you a ninja who specializes in genjutsu?"
Hikawa guessed what he was thinking and asked obligingly.
"I certainly am."
Yuhi Shinko replied with a broad smile.
"Hurry up and teach us."
Yuhi Kurenai urged him.
Right now, she only wanted to learn genjutsu as quickly as possible, defeat Hikawa, and become the big sister.
Yuhi Shinko's expression stiffened.
Was this still his considerate little sweetheart?
Before you continue