Can You Let Me Finish?

The Hokage's office building was quiet, a world apart from the bustling streets outside.

Uzumaki Hayashi followed Kakashi Hatake up the stairs, floor by floor, his ninja sandals clacking against the floor.

He looked around as he walked. Picture frames hung along both sides of the corridor, and sunlight slanted through the windows, illuminating every speck of dust drifting in the air.

At the office door, Kakashi Hatake reached out and pushed it open. Instead of entering, he stepped aside and tipped his chin toward the room, signaling for Linshi to go in first.

Uzumaki Hayashi stepped inside.

Then he heard Kakashi Hatake's voice behind him:

"Third, I've brought him here, so I'll just-"

"Kakashi."

The Third's unhurried voice cut off his attempt to take his leave.

"Stay here and listen for now."

The old man paused, then leisurely added:

"Hayashi won't mind anyway—will you?"

Uzumaki Hayashi looked toward the voice. Behind the desk, the Third was smiling at him. After saying that, he even gave him a wink.

Uzumaki Hayashi: "..."

A chill crawled up the back of his neck.

Seriously, old man, what are you winking at me for? Since when were we that close?

But did he dare refuse?

He did not.

Uzumaki Hayashi forced an obedient expression onto his face and nodded. "Mm, I don't mind."

Kakashi Hatake: "..."

In the end, the Copy Ninja could only silently enter and stand beside the desk.

"Tell me about what happened at school today," the Third said, tapping his pipe against the desk and getting down to business.

Uzumaki Hayashi selected the parts he could share and gave him a rough account.

It was simply a matter of some classmates getting into a dispute during recess. He couldn't stand by and watch, so he had gone down to stop them, and somewhere along the way, both sides had started fighting.

After listening, the Third nodded, then suddenly asked:

"So, how do you think you did today?"

Uzumaki Hayashi's heart skipped a beat.

What does that mean?

Is he testing me?

If he said he'd done well, he would sound like he didn't know the meaning of modesty. If he said he'd done badly, what if the old man seized on that and replied, "So you do know"? Who could he complain to then?

After turning it over in his head, Uzumaki Hayashi dryly squeezed out:

"I'm... not really sure."

The Third froze for a moment, then laughed.

"Not sure, eh?" The old man's eyes narrowed to slits as he smiled. "Well, I think you did the right thing."

"When a classmate was being bullied, you stepped forward. Even after taking a hit yourself, you didn't try to seriously hurt anyone." Here, the Third paused slightly. "Though that last move was rather bold."

"No matter how angry you are, you mustn't use ninjutsu against your classmates. Fortunately, Kakashi was there today."

Uzumaki Hayashi nodded obediently, but inwardly, he grumbled.

I was only going to knock him head over heels. I know exactly how far to go... but I can't say that. Forget it. I'll just listen to the old man's lecture.

"Then," the Third asked again, "what would you like done about that boy named Sikong?"

Done about him?

Uzumaki Hayashi's honest opinion immediately surfaced: If it were up to me, that little punk would be strung up and beaten, then made to carry Naruto's foot-washing water for a month-

Of course, he could only think that.

He put on a mild expression and said softly, "I'll leave everything to your judgment, Third."

"Mm." The Third nodded in satisfaction, then changed tack, finally getting to the real subject. "You used that Wind Release quite well today."

Uzumaki Hayashi felt a flicker of delight, then abruptly caught on.

Wait.

How does the old man know I used Wind Release? And that I used it well?

The Crystal Ball!

Good grief, so that whole thing was broadcast live?!

Uzumaki Hayashi's back quietly tensed. He quickly reviewed everything he'd done on the training ground from beginning to end-taking that kick head-on had been an act, and before fighting, he'd been calculating favorability. Oh no. Did the old man see through all that?

Then he reconsidered. No, the Crystal Ball can show images, but it can't hear my thoughts.

Whew.

Then I'm fine.

"That jutsu," he replied casually, reassured, "was pretty simple."

Beside him, Kakashi Hatate's eyelid gave an almost imperceptible twitch.

Someone who had learned a B-rank jutsu in a single day was saying that with a completely sincere expression.

"Oh? Simple, was it..." The Third smiled at him, a hint of interest showing in his clouded eyes. "Then let me ask you: is there anything you want?"

Here it comes!

The real point of the real point!

Uzumaki Hayashi's eyes lit up, and the little abacus in his mind began clattering away.

B-rank scrolls? Maybe two or three to start with? Or should I ask for money outright? How about having the old man write me a pass for free ninja tools for life?

But just as all those abacus beads were clacking wildly, something suddenly dinged in his head, bringing another matter to mind-

Something a hundred times more important than any of those benefits.

Wait.

Rewards can wait.

There's something I absolutely, positively, without fail have to clear up today!

I! Am! A! Boy!

If he didn't clear it up now, he would spend his entire life in Konoha labeled a "she"! As long as that "female" on his file went unchanged, wherever he went, he would be "student Hayashi (female)"!

"Third."

Uzumaki Hayashi took a deep breath, his expression more serious than ever, and opened his mouth:

"Actually, I-"

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone knocked at the door.

Uzumaki Hayashi's words immediately stuck in his throat.

...Again?

Again?!!

It happened at the teacher's desk, and now it's happening again! Did this village have someone watching him specifically, waiting for the very moment he opened his mouth?!

The office door swung open, and a figure walked in.

The newcomer wore a deathly pale mask that concealed his face. His presence was icy, his footsteps utterly silent. After entering, he simply stood ramrod straight, like a stake driven into the ground.

Uzumaki Hayashi narrowed his eyes.

That outfit, that manner...

Root? One of Danzo's men?

How had he, a Ninja Academy student who'd only enrolled two days ago, drawn someone like this here?

The smile on the Third's face faded little by little, his expression darkening visibly.

"Hayashi." The Third raised a hand and gestured toward the door. "You can head downstairs for now."

Huh?

Wait, what about my reward?

I haven't finished talking yet!

But the atmosphere in the office clearly wasn't suited to bargaining. Uzumaki Hayashi could only swallow everything he wanted to say, bow obediently to the Third, and retreat from the office step by step.

The door slowly closed behind him.

Uzumaki Hayashi stood in the empty corridor, staring at the tightly shut wooden door, feeling as though a breath were trapped in his chest, unable to go up or down.

Not only had the reward already within his grasp flown away, but the clarification he'd been longing to make had fallen through too.

Inside the office.

The Third looked at the Root ninja who had entered, his voice heavy enough to drip water.

"What is it?"