The Hot Spring Pools

A hot spring was a type of spring water. Strictly speaking, it was naturally occurring water that flowed up from underground. If its temperature was significantly higher than the local annual average but no higher than 45 degrees Celsius, it was called a hot spring. Mineral springs also contained trace elements beneficial to human health. Today, many places also drilled wells by artificial means, usually to depths of 600 to 2,000 meters, then used deep-water pumps to draw up groundwater rich in various beneficial minerals. The water was generally above 20 degrees Celsius, and these were also called hot spring wells.

The boys and girls each entered their own outdoor hot spring pool. Under Adou's influence, Akamaru and the other little male dog followed the girls, displaying absolutely no restraint.

Kiba had spent ages grumbling to Kamizuki about it. At last, Kamizuki got fed up and said irritably to him:

"Quit yapping. I'm sure if you could go with them, you'd be just like those two heartless little beasts..."

Hearing Kamizuki say that, Kiba thought it over. He felt that Kamizuki made a lot of sense, and he was left speechless.

Once the boys had entered the pool, Shikamaru and Shino leaned back comfortably against the edge, lazily enjoying the soothing warmth of the hot spring.

Ever since Kamizuki had first seen the real-life version of Choji, the little chubby boy had never once failed to have a bag of snacks in his hand or something to chew on. If Kamizuki ever saw him without either, he'd assume someone else had used the Transformation Technique to impersonate him.

The little chubby boy who'd come along this time was clearly the real deal. He had a towel draped over his head, a bag of chips in his hand, and was crunching away nonstop.

Seeing the little chubby boy unable to stop stuffing his face even while soaking in a hot spring left Kamizuki at a loss. He kept as far away from the little glutton as he could, lest he end up soaking in the water along with crumbs.

Meanwhile, Kiba stuck to Kamizuki like a shadow. Even when Kamizuki tried to shake him off, he said:

"Your Adou's the one who ran off with my Akamaru. So without Akamaru, I've got no choice but to stick with you until my Akamaru comes back to me."

Seeing Kiba shamelessly cling to him like that, Kamizuki was defeated. He decided to just let Kiba tag along.

Over in the girls' pool, they'd all been as ladylike as could be when they first got into the water, moving quietly and carefully.

But they didn't keep up that ladylike act for long. It wasn't clear whether it was Sakura Mangetsu or Ino Yamanaka, but one of them got mischievous and sneakily pinched one of the very perky, springy white rabbits on Mai Shiranui's chest.

Just like that, the girls began splashing and playing around in the water. The two little male dogs, who were perched at the edge of the pool without getting in, watched the lively girls frolicking naked in the water with appreciative looks.

It was hard to understand how animals like dogs, with four legs and paws, could appreciate the beauty of the human form.

Just as the girls were having a wonderful time, the boys in the adjacent pool heard their laughter and shouts and wore all sorts of expressions.

The hot spring had made Shikamaru drowsy, and he'd been about to find a comfortable position to doze off when the girls' racket suddenly drove away his sleepiness. His expression turned so gloomy it was almost frightening.

As for Shino, he'd always been easy to overlook, so there was no need to pay him any mind.

Kamizuki and Kiba stared at the fence blocking their view, their faces full of resentment as they wondered who knew what.

Just then, several wild monkeys came bounding out of nowhere from the woods and climbed onto the fence.

Kiba watched as one of the monkeys shook its bright red rump at him, tauntingly swaying from side to side on the fence.

Seeing how brazen the monkey was, Kiba felt a surge of mischief rising to his head. Somehow, he found a tiny pebble, no bigger than a fingernail, and threw it at the monkey's rear.

Kiba was a proper student of Konoha's academy, having passed all sorts of rigorous exams to become a Genin. He wasn't particularly strong, but his grades in throwing weapons had been pretty good.

With a whoosh, the tiny pebble shot from Kiba's hand toward the wild monkey, which was still wiggling its red rump.

The monkey let out a shrill scream, clutched its rear, and leaped into the girls' pool.

As the monkey splashed into the girls' pool, a chorus of even louder screams rang out. The girls had been startled by the sudden intrusion.

Once the screaming died down, Mai Shiranui picked up the paper fan she'd left by the pool. She gave a low cry: "Ninja Art: Flower Butterfly Fan!"

The fan flew from Mai Shiranui's hand, spinning rapidly through the air toward the monkey that had fallen into the water.

In the blink of an eye, it struck the mischievous monkey squarely on the head. Then, like a boomerang, it instantly flew back into Mai Shiranui's hand.

A huge bump immediately rose on the head of the monkey that had been struck by the fan.

The other monkeys still on the fence saw their companion being bullied by humans and began screeching. Their roars grew louder and louder.

Before long, Kamizuki and the others saw a great many wild monkeys bursting out of the woods and racing down the mountain toward the hot spring pools.

In an instant, a huge troop of monkeys surrounded the entire outdoor hot spring. The sight gave Kamizuki and the others the creeps.

After surrounding the whole outdoor hot spring, the monkeys split into two groups at the roar of a monkey that looked like their leader. They launched a fierce assault on the boys and girls in the two pools.

As the monkeys charged, the boys and girls fought back with their own skills.

About ten minutes later, the little ninjas from Konoha had wiped out the monkeys. Those that could run fled, while the stunned ones were dragged away by their companions.

Once the little ninjas had driven off the troublesome monkeys and everyone had breathed a sigh of relief, the boys and girls realized that, at some point during the fight, the fence between their pools had been smashed to pieces.

The boys and girls all stared blankly at each other, completely naked.

It took about a minute—and a scream from Ino Yamanaka loud enough to burst someone's eardrums—before the dazed boys and girls realized that the other side had seen them completely naked.

Hinata, who was already very shy, turned red as the setting sun the instant she came to her senses, then fainted.

After that, chaos erupted. It was the first time the boys and girls had encountered such an awkward and embarrassing situation, and they all panicked.

In the end, Mai Shiranui took charge. All the boys ducked underwater and turned their backs to the girls. The girls went ashore first and entered the changing room. Only after that did the boys get out of the pool and head to the changing room.

The troop of mischievous monkeys had ruined their hot spring outing. The boys and girls returned to the village with sour expressions, tinged with embarrassment.

There was nothing I could do. I was new to this, and my education wasn't extensive. Trying to write a novel of at least 600,000 words well was, well... "Heh."

So, if the writing wasn't good, all I could do was have a good attitude.

I couldn't be like those great authors who could stop updating whenever they wanted and ignore readers' comments. To this day, I'd carefully read every comment readers had left me, and I'd replied to each one.

Heh. I've read novels for years, and I've never seen an author like me, who replies to every single reader's comment.

All right, I've said too much. I only said all this because I hope everyone can understand. I've really been stuck these past two days and can barely squeeze out a few words a day.

I'm not Jehovah—no, even Jehovah can't make everyone like him. So if you still have faith in this book, please keep looking forward to it. I'll write it with all my heart. If you don't like it, you can drop it. I'm sorry I couldn't keep you reading.