Uzumaki Hayashi looked at the anxious Gekko Hayate. Rather than panic, he simply watched him quietly.
The man in the hospital bed had panic and lingering fear in his pitch-black eyes.
It was as though saying certain words too late would leave him drowning in endless regret for the rest of his life.
"What...?"
"What do you mean, someone wants to assassinate Hayashi!"
"He's such a good kid! Who could he possibly have offended!"
Uzuki Yugao rose from her seat beside them and looked at Uzumaki Hayashi in disbelief.
Then she gripped Hayashi's hand tightly, scrutinizing the child before her to see whether he was hurt anywhere.
Using techniques from her ANBU days, she pressed along his arm inch by inch, from wrist to shoulder.
Only after confirming that his body really wasn't missing anything did her tense shoulders relax a little.
"It's okay, Yugao."
"It's all thanks to the information Hayate-sensei brought back."
"I'm fine now."
Uzumaki Hayashi reassured Uzuki Yugao, then pressed her back down into her seat.
"Besides, Hayate-sensei is still in a hospital bed."
"Cough... cough..."
Gekko Hayate suppressed his coughing and looked at Uzumaki Hayashi.
"So Lord Hokage knows about this?"
"Yes, Hayate-sensei."
"Grandpa Third and Kakashi-sensei both know."
"Everyone in Konoha has already sprung into action."
"Trust me. All you need to do is recover."
"Nothing will go wrong for me this time."
As Hayashi spoke, he gazed at Gekko Hayate with a smile.
There wasn't a trace of gloom in those eyes, as though tomorrow really held nothing more than an ordinary exam.
The breeze outside the window was so cool, but with Hayashi's vow woven into it,
it seemed to turn warm.
But what was going on?
Gekko Hayate first felt an extremely faint warmth on his exposed arm.
Yet that warmth