Change

After returning to Konoha and turning in the mission, Tenka gave the three of them two days off!

After returning home alone, Hizashi, knowing he had two days off, immediately assigned him a task!

He was to guide Hinata and Hanabi in their training. To that end, Hiashi even went to Kurenai Yuhi specifically to ask for leave for Hinata!

"Big brother, don't you think Tenka has changed a little lately?"

"Mm!"

"He isn't as cold as before!"

"Looks like your plan had some effect after all!"

Hizashi nodded in relief. At last, the weight in his heart had lightened somewhat!

"It's good as long as it worked!"

"At first, after hearing about the changes he'd brought to those three little ones, I'd nearly lost hope!"

Hizashi cared even more about the team Tenka led than Tenka himself did, keeping a constant eye on them!

When he saw Tenka leading the three of them around killing people nonstop, he had nearly despaired!

Not only had he failed to change Tenka, Tenka had nearly turned out three more little killing stars!

Fortunately, despite Tenka continuing to lead Team 7 on extermination missions for so long,

he rarely acted himself now, and he was no longer alone every day. At least, he had changed somewhat!

"If I'd known, I would've put Hinata into Team 7 no matter what!"

Hiashi truly regretted it somewhat. Over the past two months, he had been extremely attentive toward Hinata and had not scolded her even once!

He made sure she ate her fill every time, and Hinata's confidence had gradually begun to grow!

The talent she displayed made Hiashi want to slap himself to death for holding her back for so many years!

Still, Hinata's talent was one thing, but that gentle temperament of hers simply could not be changed!

Hiashi did not dare say anything now. In fact, he hoped Hinata could become like those three from Team 7!

"Get out!"

"Hinata absolutely cannot be turned into that by Tenka!"

Hearing that, Hizashi flew into a rage. Hinata was the apple of his eye, and he had been personally teaching her for the past two months!

He especially loved Hinata's obedient and gentle nature. When Neji, his own son, hit a little too hard during a spar with Hinata,

Hizashi dragged him away for solo training all afternoon. Now, the thing Neji feared most was sparring with Hinata!

Because as long as he accidentally hurt Hinata even a little, he would get beaten up. Even Hinata pleading for him was useless!

Neji was terribly frustrated. He himself could not bear to hurt Hinata, but how could there be no bumps and bruises in a spar?

Because of this, Neji had spent two months painstakingly training his control over his strength, and it had unexpectedly improved him quite a bit!

Meanwhile, the three members of Team 7 wandered down the street, feeling bored!

"Ugh!"

"Teacher, seriously!"

"Why give us time off?"

"We've already rested for so long this past month!"

"And now he gave us two whole days off. I've only been walking around for a little while, and I'm already bored!"

Naruto kicked a pebble by the roadside away and complained bitterly to Sasuke and Sakura.

Sasuke and Sakura deeply agreed, nodding in unison!

The three of them now felt bored whenever they did not have missions to do!

For two months, the three of them had stayed together constantly and had not interacted with anyone else, not even their other classmates.

It was as though their world had suddenly become much smaller!

"Sakura!"

"Ino!"

"What are you doing here?"

"I heard your class was on break, so I came to invite you all to a gathering!"

"A gathering?"

"Really?"

Naruto's eyes lit up when he heard there would be a gathering. A gathering was good too—it could kill some boring time!

And with lots of people, it would be lively! One reason Naruto had always wanted to do missions was because whenever he was not on a mission, he was alone!

It was lonely, making him feel as if he had returned to those days when not a single person acknowledged him.

Missions were different. He had two companions who acknowledged him by his side. Even if he was exhausted, he was still happy!

"It's true. Tomorrow!"

"Everyone had wanted to get together long ago, but your class has been absolutely insane!"

"You've been doing missions nonstop for two months, and they were all C-rank. We're sick to death of catching cats and dogs every day!"

"We couldn't even find you if we wanted to!"

"That's why it got delayed until now!"

"Sure, sure!"

"Do we need to prepare anything?"

Naruto was looking forward to it. Being able to fill up an entire day was truly wonderful!

Otherwise, if he got too bored, he had been planning to find Sasuke, that ice-cold-faced guy, and train together!

"No need. We've prepared everything!"

"Gather by the little river at noon tomorrow!"

"Why noon?"

"Wouldn't morning work?"

"In the morning, Hinata has to train in her clan's techniques with your teacher!"

"This time, it'll be Team 7, Hinata's Team 8, and our Team 10!"

Ino explained with a smile. Hinata had come and told her about it.

Otherwise, Ino would not have known so quickly that Team 7 was on break.

The next day, Konoha's Nine Rookie gathered beside the little river, with all kinds of snacks piled high!

Naruto kept tending to the various meats on the grill, working until he was sweating profusely!

There was no helping it. Since he had lived alone since childhood, he was the best at it among them.

Back when they were in school, he had often skipped class with Shikamaru and the others to come out and grill fish!

"Sakura!"

"Is your class getting ready to take B-Rank Missions?"

"I don't know. Everything we do, including what missions we take, is entirely arranged by our teacher!"

"I'm so jealous of you!"

"You've been able to leave the village almost every day for two months. Since I was born, I can count the villages I've visited on one hand!"

"I thought becoming a ninja would let me go outside, but instead, I'm stuck in the village doing those boring missions every day!"

"It's pretty good staying in the village too!"

"The outside world... how should I put it?"

"It isn't as beautiful as we first imagined. It's dangerous too!"

Sakura's words made all the rookies aside from Naruto and Sasuke stare at her. Was this really the same Sakura from before?

Team 7 had changed far too much, and far too quickly. They still had not quite adjusted to it!

"Sakura, do you regret cutting your hair?"

Ino looked at Sakura's hair. She knew just how obsessively Sakura had once cared for it!

Sakura shook her head and looked at Ino!

"Ino, I feel like I'm already blooming now!"

"And I'll continue blooming ever more brilliantly, becoming ever more dazzling!"

"You need to work hard too. Don't forget our promise!"

"Okay!"

The nine of them talked about the past, chatted about the future, shared amusing stories about their respective teams, and brought up one another's embarrassing moments!

They felt completely at ease. Everyone knew that days like this would only grow fewer in the future, and they all cherished the time they could still gather together!

They would each begin their own lives. Perhaps... that was the price of growing up!

There would be more worries and more sorrow!

Only less time, less freedom, and less happiness...

As long as people felt happy, time always seemed to pass quickly!

This brief, happy time eventually came to an end...