Takasaki-kun Is Still Working Hard, Just as I Thought

Shizune's thoughts were no different from Tsunade's.

She had originally thought that only she and Tsunade had diaries.

Now it seemed that a lot of people had them.

That girl named Hinata had received a whole lot of rewards at once just because she had taught Takasaki the Three Body Technique today, and he had written about it in his diary.

If only I'd been the one to teach Takasaki the Three Body Technique today. I learned a beginner-level ninjutsu like that ages ago. If I'd taught him, I definitely could have done a better job than Hinata. Shizune thought to herself.

That was all well and good.

The problem was, she didn't even know where Takasaki was.

Right then, she heard Tsunade calling from the next room, pounding on the bed frame: "Shizune! Shizune! Go to the Ninja Academy in the Land of Hot Water and help me find someone."

Shizune immediately stashed the diary in her mental space, pushed open the door, and went to Tsunade's room. "Lady Tsunade, who are you looking for?"

"A student named Takasaki."

Just as she'd expected, Tsunade was looking for Takasaki.

But why go to the Ninja Academy in the Land of Hot Water? Had Lady Tsunade already worked out where Takasaki was?

"I'll go right away." Shizune felt a little excited. After saying that, she hurried downstairs, eager to get started.

Watching Shizune rush off to take care of things, Tsunade sighed. "That's my good student. She's getting more and more motivated."

Konoha.

Sakura Haruno's bedroom.

After reading the diary Takasaki had just finished writing, Sakura Haruno put it away in her mental space and sat motionless at the head of her bed, as if pondering something.

A little while later, she took the diary out again and reread its contents, as if confirming something, then put it away once more.

Anyone who understood girls could tell from Sakura Haruno's actions that something had gotten to her, and her emotions were getting the better of her.

"How come..." Sakura Haruno suddenly muttered. "Fine, I didn't get a reward, but why did Hinata get one?! And an extra reward, too!"

Clearly.

She had accepted that the diary wasn't hers alone.

What she couldn't accept was that she wasn't the only one getting rewards from it!

Why had the diary mentioned Hinata from beginning to end without mentioning her even once?

Was Hinata prettier than her? Wasn't her pink hair cute?

Most importantly, Takasaki had actually gone to Hinata himself today and asked her to teach him the Three Body Technique.

Why hadn't he come to her?

She knew the Three Body Technique, too.

If Takasaki had come to her, she definitely wouldn't have refused. Then she might have been the person mentioned most in his diary, and she could have gotten a reward from it.

The more she thought about it, the more Sakura Haruno felt she'd been cheated. She quietly cursed Takasaki under her breath. "If I don't go looking for him, can't he come find me for once?!"

"In his last diary entry, Takasaki said over and over that he'd accept me if I became his lovesick puppy. I still don't really understand what that means, but if he doesn't come near me, how am I supposed to fawn over him?"

"This can't go on."

After enjoying a diary reward once, Sakura Haruno naturally wanted to enjoy another.

Seeing someone else get an extra reward from the diary naturally made her want one, too.

No matter how quickly she got stronger through training, it couldn't compare to the rewards she got directly from the diary.

It wasn't that she couldn't train hard. It was just that the diary's rewards were better value for her effort.

"Tomorrow, I'll find a chance to approach Takasaki and get him to mention my name in his diary a few more times. At least five."

"Actually, I'll just wait outside Takasaki's house tomorrow morning and go to school with him."

After making up her mind, Sakura Haruno's emotions gradually settled.

She took out the diary again and read both entries from beginning to end.

In the first entry, Takasaki had been like some kind of lecher, wanting to marry a bunch of girls and take them home as his wives. The only one he'd left out was her.

In the second entry, Takasaki had seemed a little more sincere, praising Hinata's good qualities over and over. He still hadn't mentioned her.

All things considered, she was treated the worst of all the girls in Takasaki's diary.

Comparing herself to the others, Sakura Haruno felt slighted. "That dead-last Takasaki won't be able to learn the Three Body Technique even if he goes to Hinata for lessons! If I didn't want a diary reward, I wouldn't go to school with him tomorrow!"

It didn't matter that Takasaki had never written that he liked her.

Even if he had, she wouldn't like him.

How could she ever be with a dead last? The only boy good enough for her was Sasuke!

The sun had already set.

The last rays of sunset faded into the night.

The Konoha night market was bustling, and every seat at Teuchi's Ichiraku Ramen shop was taken.

Takasaki had no idea that after his diary had been publicly exposed, Sakura Haruno had cursed him, Hinata had blushed, and Tsunade had grown envious.

Shizune had already found the principal of the Ninja Academy in the Land of Hot Water and asked if Takasaki was a student there. After getting a negative answer, she returned to the inn in disappointment and reported back to Tsunade.

Meanwhile, Sakura Haruno and Hinata had both made the same decision: they planned to go to school with him tomorrow.

In Takasaki's memories, the only time he'd ever experienced having two pretty classmates compete to walk to school with him was in a dream.

He knew he was handsome. The problem was that, in this world of rigid social classes, he'd been born into a civilian family, lost both his parents, lived in poverty, and ranked dead last in his studies. It was hard for girls to like someone like him.

At that moment.

Takasaki was grinding ninjutsu levels at home. Smelling barbecue drifting in through the window, his mouth watered. "That smells amazing. Time to go out for a late-night snack."

Late-night snacks cost money.

Takasaki patted his pockets. They were empty.

He searched high and low, but couldn't find more than a few bills.

There was nothing he could do. He had no income and got by on the meager survivor's benefits his parents had left behind and Konoha's relief payments. He had no spare money for late-night snacks.

Fortunately, there was still a box of instant noodles at home, the same kind Naruto had. They'd expired a few days ago.

Thinking that food less than a month past its expiration date didn't really count as expired, Takasaki decided to turn his hunger into motivation and keep grinding his ninjutsu levels.

"In a few days, I'll find a chance to mooch a meal at Hinata's house. Hopefully I won't run into Neji again."

"Clone Technique!"

Takasaki formed Hand Seals with one hand, and two clouds of smoke appeared beside him at once.

As the smoke cleared.

Takasaki wiped the sweat from his forehead and kept grinding!

"Clone Technique!"

What he didn't notice was that.

A figure wearing a white robe, about as tall as him, had appeared by the window.

Neji Hyuga.

After being harshly scolded by Hyuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuga clan, Neji had come to apologize to Takasaki right away. Seeing Takasaki training hard by the window, he no longer looked at him with the same disdain as before. Instead, there was more admiration in his eyes. "Takasaki-kun really is still working hard. It's hard to imagine how much effort Takasaki has put in over the past six years to shake off the dead-last label. No wonder Hinata was influenced by him. The truth is, even I've been influenced by Takasaki a little."