Hatake Sakumo and Heizo Hattori greeted Kazemori Masaki politely. He was their teacher, after all. Tsunade, who knew him well, showed no trace of nervousness and boldly declared, "You're so slow, Kazemori! We've been waiting here forever."
"The conversation ran a little long. Sorry," Kazemori Masaki said.
"Honestly." Tsunade looked exasperated. "Sometimes Kazemori gets so caught up in other people's business that he forgets the time. Big Sister Satomi has mentioned it several times."
As conditions in the village gradually stabilized, its focus began shifting toward development. As a jonin, Kazemori Masaki naturally could not stand apart from those efforts, especially when he still needed to lay the village's foundations. Just as Tsunade had said, he could easily become absorbed in his work and forget everything else.
"Still, you should have had plenty of time to get to know one another before I arrived," Kazemori Masaki said. "You're all acquainted now, right? Tsunade, Sakumo, Heizo—is it all right if I call you that?"
"Of course, Teacher Kazemori," Hatake Sakumo promptly replied.
"Yes." Heizō Hattori offered only that single word.
"Good. Let's not stand around. We can sit over there for a while." Kazemori Masaki pointed a short distance away, where simple wooden training equipment stood alongside places to sit.
After leading the three over and sitting down with them, Kazemori Masaki said, "First, let me ask you something. What do you want to learn from me?"
"How to fight head-on." Heizō Hattori answered the instant Kazemori Masaki finished speaking. That had always been his sole objective.
Kazemori Masaki had heard something of the Hattori family's difficulties. He nodded to Heizo and said, "No problem," then turned to Hatake Sakumo and Tsunade. "What about you two?"
What Hatake Sakumo primarily hoped to gain from Kazemori Masaki was the backing of a