Konoha: The Diary's Exposure Sent the Kunoichi into a Tailspin

"Maybe we really can become good friends someday."

Ino Yamanaka went on.

Kurenai Yuhi caught the implication, and her toes curled with embarrassment.

Sure enough,

the thing she had dreaded most had happened.

It was all that bastard Naruto's fault.

Otherwise, how could she have ended up being teased by a kid like this?!

"What a pain."

Shikamaru Nara rubbed his head.

Ino was usually so polite. Why did she seem like a different person today?

Women—

they were impossible to understand.

"Kurenai, since we've run into each other, why don't we train together?"

Seeing that Kurenai wasn't angry, Asuma Sarutobi let Ino's choice of address go and invited her to train with them.

"No, thanks. My team finished training for today."

Kurenai turned Asuma down flat.

She wanted nothing to do with a man like him.

"Then how about dinner tonight?"

After being rejected, Asuma tried again.

"No, thanks."

Kurenai was getting impatient.

Was this how that guy had pursued me in the Original Story—by refusing to take no for an answer?

"Kurenai, you seem a little upset today. Did I do something to offend you?"

Asuma spoke as he reached for Kurenai's hand.

But the next instant,

he saw her raise her leg and drive a vicious kick at him.

She's fast!

Kurenai moved so quickly

that Asuma barely managed to raise his arms in front of his chest.

A moment later,

he went flying backward like a kite with its string cut.

What strength.

Asuma shook out his tingling arms, shock written all over his face.

As far as he knew,

Kurenai was a Jonin who specialized in Genjutsu.

He had never expected her Taijutsu to be this strong!

He hadn't been prepared, but he was an Elite Jonin.

Yet Kurenai's attack had nearly caught him before he could react.

"Asuma, I know how you feel, but I don't feel anything for you. Stop bothering me."

"Otherwise, I'll go to the Third Hokage myself and make things clear."

With that, Kurenai left with Hinata Hyuga and the others.

Asuma remained where he was, his face dark with humiliation.

He had been used to throwing his weight around since childhood. When had he ever had to swallow an insult like this?

For a moment,

Asuma glared at Kurenai's retreating figure and spat on the ground.

"Hmph!"

"Kurenai, you're playing with fire."

"As long as you still want to be a Konoha Ninja, you won't escape my grasp."

Asuma muttered the words toward her retreating figure.

Ino Yamanaka, who had watched silently from the side, looked at Asuma with even greater disgust.

She had once felt sorry for him, knowing he would die at the hands of Akatsuki.

Now,

she saw no need for sympathy.

This is so annoying.

Why couldn't I have been assigned to Naruto's team?!

An Ordinary Person

"Kurenai, you were so cool back there."

After saying goodbye to Kiba and Shino, Hinata Hyuga gazed at Kurenai Yuhi with open admiration.

The sight of Kurenai sending Asuma Sarutobi flying with one kick had been incredible.

"Hinata, you're making me blush."

Kurenai smiled and ruffled Hinata's hair when she saw the admiration in her eyes.

"I'm only telling the truth."

"You nearly beat the Hokage's son with a single move. That was amazing."

Hinata's words made Kurenai pause.

She had been so angry that she hadn't noticed it at the time.

Thinking back, she really had moved much faster than before.

"It must be the diary's reward,"

Kurenai said softly.

As a Ninja who specialized in Genjutsu, that was where her greatest strength lay.

Taijutsu had always been her weakness.

Besides,

although she was a Jonin, she wasn't particularly strong compared with other Jonin.

As for Asuma...

As irritating as he was, he truly had the strength of an Elite Jonin.

Yet today,

she had sent him flying several meters with a single kick.

Before this,

that would have been impossible.

"Doubled physical strength..."

"What an absurd reward!"

Kurenai couldn't help marveling at it.

If it happened a few more times,

even the Kage of the other villages might not be able to beat her.

No. I need to make sure Naruto notices me more often.

Merely being mentioned a few extra times in his diary had transformed her strength.

She couldn't let an opportunity like this slip away.

"Hehe... Kurenai, now you see how wonderful Naruto-kun is, don't you?"

"Once you become Naruto-kun's wife, you'll get plenty more benefits like this."

Hinata laughed as she spoke.

"Huh?"

"You little rascal, you're getting bolder by the day."

"I'll teach you a lesson!"

Teased by her own student, Kurenai flushed with embarrassment and began tickling Hinata mercilessly.

Still,

despite her indignant expression, Kurenai couldn't help feeling a faint sense of anticipation.

Hmph!

With my looks and figure, that great big pervert Naruto will fall head over heels for me, won't he?

"Rasengan!"

At Naruto Uzumaki's low shout, a tree so thick that several people would have had to link arms to encircle it snapped in half.

Boom!

A thunderous crash sent dust billowing into the air. Naruto stood where he was, excitement lighting his face.

The Rasengan was even more powerful than he had imagined.

It took very little Chakra to unleash tremendous force.

Most importantly,

the Rasengan could be used instantly, without Hand Seals.

A Ninjutsu like that

was rare and precious even across the entire Shinobi World.

The Rasengan might not have looked especially impressive in the Original Story, but that was misleading.

As a Ninjutsu that required no Hand Seals, its greatest strength was that it could be unleashed without warning.

That made it almost impossible to guard against in battle.

The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had fought in a way that brought out the Rasengan's true power.

Charging straight at an enemy with a Rasengan in hand, as Naruto Uzumaki had done in the Original Story, was painful to watch.

After spending a little time familiarizing himself with the Rasengan, Naruto practiced his Taijutsu.

Thanks to the rewards he had earned from writing in the diary, he had mastered dozens of Ninjutsu of various chakra natures.

Beyond that,

his Taijutsu had reached the level of an Elite Chunin.

Combined with the powerful body granted by the Perfect Sage Body and the heightened perception of the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, he would be hard-pressed to find an opponent among the Chunin.

"It's just a shame I still lack combat experience."