Examination Ends 1/2

With that, this year's graduation exams came to a complete end.

Two medical ninja carried Rock Lee away, while another examined Hayato. The conclusion was: nothing wrong with him. Just drink more hot water.

It wasn't like his period had come.

So apparently, in the world of Naruto, drinking more hot water cured everything.

Still, Hayato knew his own body best. He had indeed suffered internal injuries, but they were not serious. He had forced himself to cough up that blood; it was all clotted blood, and getting it out was actually beneficial.

Aburame Shishin ran over, circled Hayato once, then stroked his chin. "Are you really Hayato? This is the first time I've seen you so fired up. Are you sure you're not someone else using the Transformation Technique to impersonate you?"

Hayato spat out one word. "Scram!"

Aburame Shishin's eyes lit up. "That 'scram' had such rhythm and flavor. Confirmed—you're definitely the real Hayato."

Hyuga Neji arrived a step later, his expression complicated as if he wanted to say something but held himself back.

He followed behind Neji like a little wife.

Hyuga Neji asked, "Are you all right?"

"How could I be all right?" Hayato said. "You know how heavy Lee's fists are. My bones are practically falling apart!"

Having sparred with Rock Lee often, Hyuga Neji understood Lee far better than Hayato did. He nodded. "Most people can't take Lee's punches."

Hayato smiled. "You mean I'm not most people, right? I'll take that as a compliment."

Neji turned his head away. "Whatever you say."

Aburame Shishin wore a thoughtful expression and muttered, "Could this be the legendary tsundere?"

Aburame Shishin's "muttering" reached everyone's ears, every single word of it.

Neji's face went black.

He puffed out his cheeks, holding back a laugh.

Hayato burst out laughing, though he also looked at Aburame Shishin helplessly.

Just keep it up. You'll cry one day, you oddball of the Aburame clan!

Hayato suddenly tilted his body, his gaze passing over the others.

There was a tree not far away, and half a head poked out from behind it. Yellow hair, two whisker-like marks on his cheeks—who else could it be but Naruto Uzumaki?

Hayato waved him over.

Naruto immediately ran up, his face full of admiration. "Boss Hayato, you're so strong."

Hayato smiled and asked, "Was I that impressive?"

"Yeah!" Naruto nodded heavily and gave a thumbs-up. "Super impressive!"

Hayato said, "The Hokage is a hundred times stronger than me. If you want to become Hokage, you'll have to work even harder."

Naruto asked, "Is that pervy old man really that strong?"

Huh? Pervy old man? It seemed he had discovered something incredible. Come to think of it, Naruto probably hadn't learned the Harem Technique yet, had he?

Hayato said, "Of course. A Kage is the strongest person in a village. If you want to become Hokage, you have to become the strongest person in Konoha."

Naruto pounded his chest. "No problem! I'll definitely become Hokage!"

Hayato pretended to scold him. "Then what are you still standing around here for? Go train already! Do you think you'll grow stronger by doing nothing?"

"Yes!" Naruto turned and ran. "I'll work hard, Boss Hayato!"

After running a short distance, Naruto came back and set down a handful of grass. "This is plantain. Whether it's diarrhea or bruises, boil it in water and drink a bowl. You'll definitely be fine the next day."

Hayato did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Plantain could clear heat, improve eyesight, and expel phlegm, but it had no healing properties whatsoever. Naruto's rapid recovery came from the yang-natured chakra leaking from the Nine-Tails inside him. It had absolutely nothing to do with plantain.

Naruto often had diarrhea because the bakery owner frequently sold him milk and bread that were about to expire on purpose.

After sending Naruto away, Neji's expression turned ugly. Under the Byakugan, he had seen an enormous mass of ominous chakra.

Aburame Shishin trembled. The Kikaichū were extremely sensitive to chakra, and the faint trace of Nine-Tails chakra leaking out had frightened them like ants on a hot pan. That fear was then passed on to their host.

Neji frowned. "He is...?"

Hayato cut him off. "That's right. Exactly what you're thinking."

Aburame Shishin said, "I was so scared I nearly pissed myself. No, I think I already leaked a few drops! But it won't happen next time. The Kikaichū are highly adaptable. After a few more encounters, they'll be able to devour any chakra."

The children of ninja clans differed from civilian children. They knew a little about the truth and did not regard Naruto as some terrifying monster. Their attitude was neither to approach nor reject him. The ones who often abused Naruto were instead the civilians who worshipped the Fourth Hokage.

He said, "What are you talking about? Why can't I understand any of it?"

Aburame Shishin said, "We..."

"Shut up!" He shot Shishin a glare. "I know what you're talking about, you dead pervert."

Aburame Shishin covered his face and squatted in a corner, drawing circles, his entire background gray and gloomy.

Neither Neji nor Hayato wanted to continue this topic.

So Neji directly asked, "Are you also practicing Eight Trigrams Palm: Rotation?"

"Yeah." Hayato did not deny it. "The groundwork is more or less complete, and I've entered the practice stage. Well, maybe I'll be able to use it in real combat next time."

The first step in performing Eight Trigrams Palm: Rotation was releasing a large amount of chakra from all over the body.

When Rock Lee entered the Reverse Lotus and attacked at full strength, Hayato released large amounts of chakra from all the chakra points in his body, forming a flowing chakra armor that buffered and redirected the force.

Compared with Rotation, the flowing chakra armor consumed more chakra and could only defend. It was not like Rotation, which could both attack and defend. Moreover, the flowing chakra armor had severe limitations. If Rock Lee had pinned Hayato to the ground and beaten him during the Reverse Lotus instead of suspending him in the air, it was hard to say who would be lying in the hospital now.

After resting for a while, Hayato clapped his hands. "I want to visit Lee at the hospital. Are you coming?"

Of course no one refused. Everyone present actually liked Rock Lee very much.

The four of them made their way grandly to Konoha Hospital.

This was Hayato's second time here. Last time, he had run into Morita Tomomi, Hasebe Kazuaki's female subordinate. This time, faced with so many wards laid out in nearly identical fashion, Hayato was once again dumbfounded. "Do you know which ward Lee is in? Should we ask someone?"

He said, "Follow me," looking completely familiar with the place.

After turning several corners, they arrived at an office.

Inside, a busty woman in a white coat was working.

"Big Sis Feifei," he said affectionately. "This is my cousin, Feifei. She's an outstanding medical ninja."

Feifei said in surprise, "Why are you here?"

"Hello, Big Sis Feifei!"

One fake innocent boy and two genuinely innocent boys spoke in unison.

Feifei looked over the three of them. "The one with messy gray hair is Hayato, the one with long brown hair is Neji, and the one wearing sunglasses is...?"

Aburame Shishin's eyes filled with tears. It was this again!!!

Feifei laughed. "Hahaha, just kidding. You're Shishin, right?"

Aburame Shishin nodded woodenly. Big Sis, were you playing with me?

He said coyly, "Big Sis Feifei..." Then he explained why they had come.

Feifei looked confused. "Which Rock Lee?" She clearly had no impression of him.

He said, "Watermelon haircut, green jumpsuit."

Feifei suddenly understood. "Oh, that thick-browed kid. He's in 04. Go on yourselves, I'm busy." With that, she picked up Make-Out Hall and read it with great interest.

[PS] Thanks to the lovely "Japanese My Love" for the recommendation ticket, "Trench Coat Joke" for 1 recommendation ticket, "Bread and Salted Fish" for 1 recommendation ticket and a thoughtful comment, and the big shot "Guarding Core, Guarding Feelings" for two consecutive batches of 7 recommendation tickets, 14 in total—a new record.

I've remembered the ID "Trench Coat Joke." I hope the lost-path germ left behind not only your recommendation ticket, but also your heart.

Next chapter, 6:00 PM. Stay tuned.