Strike When the Iron is Hot

The moment the thought of handing over the diary crossed Yugao Uzuki's mind, a powerful sense of crisis washed over her.

Fear flickered in her eyes.

It was as if the mere act of revealing a single word about the diary would result in her immediate death.

Yugao Uzuki suppressed the thought.

Having finished Takasaki's first diary entry and felt the 10% increase in her chakra reserves, she did not doubt for a second that the diary had the power to kill her instantly.

"What are you afraid of?" Hiruzen Sarutobi noticed the fear in Yugao Uzuki's eyes.

His wrinkled face turned grave.

He had assigned Yugao Uzuki to secretly monitor Naruto, the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, within the village.

Yugao Uzuki had always been diligent, and her strength was not to be underestimated.

Could something that made Yugao Uzuki lose focus during a meeting, or even feel fear, be related to Naruto?

Seeming to realize the gravity of the situation, he furrowed his brows and questioned, "Could it be that the Nine-Tails inside Naruto is showing signs of breaking its seal?"

"No, it's not that."

Yugao Uzuki shook her head, quickly coming up with a plausible excuse: "I was just thinking that if I ever encountered Orochimaru, I would definitely avenge the fallen Anbu members, but the moment I think of his strength, I can't help but feel afraid."

Hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as the Nine-Tails hadn't broken through the seal, it was fine: "Orochimaru was, after all, a student I taught myself, and he has mastered some wicked ninjutsu through human experimentation. It is only natural for you to fear him. If you gather any intelligence on Orochimaru in the future, be sure to report it to the organization immediately."

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't dwell on Yugao Uzuki's distraction.

As the moment of silence ended, he emphasized the organizational discipline of the Anbu.

He commended the Anbu members who had performed well recently.

Then, he encouraged those who had been underperforming.

Finally, he concluded the meeting with the Will of Fire.

Yugao Uzuki paid no mind to the clichés spoken during the meeting; until it ended, her mind was entirely consumed by thoughts of the diary.

She had originally assumed the diary was hers alone.

Yet, Takasaki's second entry clearly recorded that Hinata had received an extra reward.

In other words, the diary was not unique to her; at the very least, Hinata possessed one as well.

At that moment, Yugao Uzuki felt a strong sense of crisis.

She read Takasaki's second entry over and over again, convinced that Hinata must have intentionally seduced Takasaki, using the excuse of teaching him the Three Body Technique to make him write her name in the diary more often.

Clearly, Hinata had succeeded.

She had received an extra reward, increasing her stamina by 10%.

Her Konoha-Style Kenjutsu relied heavily on stamina.

If that 10% increase in stamina were applied to her, it would significantly boost her strength.

If she wanted to increase her stamina by 10% through training alone, it would take at least five years.

But by obtaining a reward from the diary, she could gain it in an instant.

Who could refuse such a temptation?

As long as I keep obtaining rewards from the diary, one day I will be strong enough to become the strongest ninja in the Anbu.

When that time comes, even if I face a powerful rogue ninja like Orochimaru, I will have the strength to fight him.

These were the most honest thoughts in Yugao Uzuki's heart at that moment.

Since Hinata had taken the initiative to approach Takasaki once, she would surely do it again.

She couldn't let that happen.

She had to create opportunities to get close to Takasaki as well, so that he would write her name in future entries and allow her to receive rewards too.

Takasaki was currently taking the written portion of his graduation exam, and she felt it was necessary to keep an eye on his movements and look for a chance to approach him.

The meeting dispersed.

As soon as Yugao Uzuki walked out of the Hokage Building, Hayate Gekko caught up to her: "Yugao, you lied to the Hokage during the meeting, didn't you?"

"What do you mean?" Yugao Uzuki asked, turning her head.

Hayate Gekko's expression was stern: "I know you. When you were distracted, you weren't thinking about Orochimaru at all. You must have been thinking about something else."

"Yes." Yugao Uzuki didn't want to hide anything from her boyfriend. She was about to tell him about the diary, but the moment the words reached her lips, that feeling of being shrouded by death spread through her heart.

She was forced to swallow her words and changed her answer: "I was thinking about another man."

"Thinking about a man?"

Hearing this, Hayate Gekko coughed heavily, his footsteps faltering.

His congenital lung disease caused him to cough uncontrollably whenever his emotions fluctuated.

Ever since he and Yugao Uzuki had been together, whenever he coughed, Yugao Uzuki would set aside whatever she was doing to gently pat his back, helping him feel more at ease.

But at this moment.

Yugao Uzuki had already donned her Cat Mask, yet she showed no intention of stopping to show him any concern.

Is Yugao thinking about another man?

A deeply ominous premonition rose in Hayate Gekko's heart.

Yugao Uzuki was his girlfriend, and they had been together for several years, but because they both frequently had to carry out Anbu missions, they spent more time apart than together.

Furthermore, Anbu members were strictly forbidden from engaging in romantic relationships.

Therefore, to prevent their secret relationship from being exposed, he hadn't even held Yugao Uzuki's hand to this day.

He had originally planned that once his lung disease was cured and they both retired from the Anbu, they would be together openly, hold a wedding, start a family, have a child, and live a peaceful, happy life forever.

The problem was, his lung disease hadn't been cured, neither of them had retired from the Anbu, yet Yugao Uzuki was already thinking about another man?

This feeling made Hayate Gekko feel very uneasy.

He did not believe his girlfriend would have a change of heart.

"Yugao! Cough, cough..." Hayate Gekko chased after her.

"Hmm?"

Yugao Uzuki was busy pondering how to approach Takasaki and the rules of the Diary, so she hadn't noticed that Hayate Gekko had just been triggered into a violent coughing fit by her casual remark.

"Which man are you thinking about? What is your relationship with him?" Hayate Gekko asked with a serious expression.

"To be precise, I am thinking about a boy named Takasaki."

"Takasaki? You mean that dead-last in this year's graduating class at the Ninja Academy, the one just like Naruto?"

Hayate Gekko's brows twitched slightly.

Yugao Uzuki could tell that her boyfriend had misunderstood her meaning.

She explained, "Hayate, don't overthink it. I haven't fallen for someone else; I still love you. It's just that I am following the Hokage's orders to monitor Naruto, and since Takasaki and Naruto are both dead-lasts at the Ninja Academy and have a very good relationship, I've been keeping an eye on Takasaki's movements as well."

"So that's how it is."

After Yugao Uzuki's explanation, Hayate Gekko felt more at ease.

As expected.

His girlfriend would not betray him so easily.

He didn't really care about the reason why Yugao Uzuki was thinking about Takasaki, as long as she hadn't developed feelings for someone else.

"Naruto is currently taking the written portion of his final exam at the Ninja Academy. I need to continue monitoring him. Shall we go together?"

"Alright, it just so happens I don't have a mission to carry out right now."

Hayate Gekko put on his Tiger Mask.

The two performed a one-handed seal, simultaneously using the Body Flicker Technique, and vanished from the spot.

Soon.

On the rooftop of the Ninja Academy teaching building.

Yugao Uzuki and Hayate Gekko kept their heads low, watching the activity in the graduating class's written exam room in the building opposite them.

At this moment.

Takasaki had finished his exam early and was walking out of the testing room.

Hayate Gekko remained silent.

He had originally just been silently accompanying his girlfriend on her mission, but gradually, he began to feel that something was off.

Yugao Uzuki's gaze did not seem to be fixed through the classroom window on Naruto, who was still taking the exam.

His girlfriend was tilting her head, bit by bit, focusing on Takasaki as he left the exam room.

He hadn't cared about Takasaki, that dead-last in the graduating class, and only knew of his existence in the village.

The last time he had seen Takasaki was at his parents' funeral.

Back then, Takasaki's height had only reached his chest.

But now, Takasaki's height seemed to be half a head taller than his own.

His features were also remarkably handsome.

Is Yugao really just keeping an eye on Takasaki while monitoring Naruto? Hayate Gekko thought to himself.

He coughed softly and tightened the slightly loose green headscarf on his head, a strange feeling settling in his heart.

He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Takasaki did not notice that he was being watched by Yugao Uzuki and Hayate Gekko.

He was even less aware that because of him, Yugao Uzuki had been distracted during an Anbu meeting, causing her boyfriend to harbor a few suspicions about her.

At this moment, there was only one thing on his mind: to get to Kurenai Yuhi's office as quickly as possible and submit to the fate of being "submerged" by his teacher.

"Takasaki, the exam is still going on. Where are you going?"

Asuma, who had been smoking in the hallway outside the exam room, was preparing to return when he saw Takasaki walking out alone.

"I've handed in my paper, Asuma-sensei," Takasaki said nonchalantly.

"That is completely unacceptable!" Asuma frowned and scolded.

"Sorry, Asuma-sensei, I'll be going now."

Perhaps because he was about to be "submerged" by Kurenai Yuhi, Takasaki still felt a bit guilty seeing Asuma, so he left after dropping that line.

Mainly, he only knew the Three Body Technique and hadn't mastered any other ninjutsu yet, so he couldn't beat Asuma.

Therefore.

When facing Asuma, one must know when to back down.

When facing Asuma's girlfriend, Kurenai Yuhi, one must know when to step up.

Kurenai Yuhi had heard Asuma's angry voice scolding Takasaki from the hallway, so she quickly stood up to check on the situation.

It was a rare opportunity to have some private time with Takasaki; she couldn't let Asuma ruin it.

"What's wrong, Asuma?"

"Nothing, I just saw Takasaki hand in a blank paper and leave. I really feel it's a waste for his parents, who died on the battlefield."

It was no wonder Asuma misunderstood that Takasaki had handed in a blank paper.

Mainly, in the years he had spent as a proctor, he had never encountered a good student who would hand in their paper early during a final exam.

Asuma took a drag of his cigarette and exhaled a long cloud of smoke: "Even Naruto, who is also a dead-last, is sitting there honestly taking the exam. How can Takasaki not even endure this bit of boredom? His attitude toward learning is very problematic."

"Asuma, as a teacher, badmouthing your own student behind their back is not a behavior worthy of praise."

Kurenai Yuhi saw the direction Takasaki had left in—it was indeed the direction of her private office—and felt slightly more at ease: "I don't think there's anything wrong with what Takasaki did. After all, he had basically finished the paper, and his accuracy was very high."

As she spoke, Kurenai Yuhi held out her hand, clutching the very exam paper Takasaki had just turned in.

"He was able to answer the questions on the paper?"

Asuma looked at Kurenai Yuhi with some suspicion, tucked the cigarette between his fingers into his mouth, and took the paper. His expression turned to one of astonishment: "It's almost completely filled out. The multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank sections are done, and only two long-form questions were left blank."

The questions on the paper might have been difficult for most students in the graduating class.

But for Asuma, a Jonin of the Leaf Village and one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, having to think for two seconds to come up with an answer for each question would be an insult to his title as a Jonin.

He started checking Takasaki's paper from the first question.

Multiple-choice: all correct.

Fill-in-the-blank: all correct.

Asuma looked up at Kurenai Yuhi, stunned: "Is this really Takasaki's paper?"

"What else? Can't you recognize his handwriting?" Kurenai Yuhi covered her nose.

She hated the smell of smoke and had told Asuma not to smoke in front of her, but Asuma never listened.

Asuma continued to check.

It was indeed Takasaki's handwriting; there was no mistake.

The key was that Takasaki's two long-form answers were also completely correct, which shouldn't have been possible.

Takasaki was clearly the dead-last in the class; how could he pass so easily?

He quickly thought of a reason: "Did Takasaki cheat?"

"I didn't catch Takasaki cheating."

"That's impossible. With Takasaki's past grades as a dead-last, it's impossible for him to pass. He must have cheated."

This was Asuma's subconscious reaction.

In fact, Asuma's guess was correct.

The key was that Takasaki's cheating process had Kurenai Yuhi's protection, and naturally, Kurenai Yuhi had to continue covering for him: "I was the one proctoring inside just now. Do you think I wouldn't have noticed if Takasaki cheated?"

"Maybe..."

"Maybe you think I was covering for Takasaki?" Kurenai Yuhi's tone suddenly turned cold.

"No, no."

Asuma grinned: "That's not what I meant."

Realizing that Kurenai Yuhi was angry, Asuma understood the severity of the situation.

He had worked so hard to win Kurenai Yuhi over; there was no need to cause trouble with his girlfriend over a dead-last like Takasaki.

His father, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was already getting on in years and was constantly urging him to have a child soon.

"Kurenai Yuhi, don't be angry." Asuma smiled and reached out to grab Kurenai Yuhi's hand.

Kurenai Yuhi turned her body to dodge him.

Logically speaking, she was Asuma's girlfriend now, and holding hands with him should have been perfectly normal.

However, the smell of smoke on Asuma was too strong, and she didn't want to smell it.

Even though she had already held hands with Takasaki several times in the exam hall just moments ago, she didn't want to hold hands with Asuma right now.

"Even a dead-last student might have a day where they turn things around. Asuma, don't look at your students with such stereotypical eyes."

Kurenai Yuhi covered her nose. "Finish this cigarette and don't smoke anymore. Go inside and proctor the exam. I've been watching over them alone for so long and I'm a bit tired, so I'm going back to the office to rest for a while."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Takasaki had already entered her private office.

"Get some good rest. Once the exam is over and I've collected the papers, I'll come find you in your office," Asuma said expectantly.