Tsunade, Be Good, Don't Make Trouble!

"What a pile of junk!!"

As he retrieved the kunai one by one, Hikaru found that quite a few had already cracked. He grumbled under his breath.

These kunai really couldn't take much punishment. Even casual training wore them out at an alarming rate. If the craftsmen who made them knew about this, they'd probably be so depressed they'd cough up blood.

How many ninja used kunai and shuriken repeatedly? With such frequent use, how could they not break?

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Hikaru discarded the unusable kunai. He glanced at the sun, which was about to disappear behind the mountains, then packed away his Ninja Tools, picked up the ingredients he had bought, and headed home.

The money from his two stipends wasn't much, but it was enough to support him until graduation. The only issue was how quickly he was burning through Ninja Tools...

It had only been two days, yet he had already replaced an entire batch of Ninja Tools. And Ninja Tools were not cheap.

If Hikaru kept training at this rate, his expenses would only grow. That was without using Explosive Tags; otherwise, it would cost even more.

After calculating his finances, Hikaru walked down the street absentmindedly. He wondered whether he should graduate early. Once he graduated, even if he became part of a wild team or a drifter, he could still earn a decent amount by taking on the lowest-level D-rank missions. That was the only way he could sustain his expenses.

Wild teams and drifters were labels most easily attached to ninja who graduated early.

Because graduating early might mean that you couldn't be assigned to a suitable team. You could only wander around alone, taking on relatively easy missions. Of course, if you were strong enough, acting alone was also an option.

But by then, you would find a few burdensome tagalongs at your side.

When you were part of a wild team or a drifter, you could rely only on yourself most of the time. Once you became stronger, though, you would need to lead weaker ninja on missions and teach them.

Those were the rules. They were just that damn fucked up.

There were plenty of mediocre drifters in Konoha, especially Genin, who were the most numerous.

Don't underestimate those D-rank missions. Most ninja who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy didn't want to do them, thinking they were boring. But if those missions were released openly, plenty of people would fight to take them.

Giving some decent missions to teams was also a form of cultivation by the village.

There were plenty of ninja searching everywhere for missions to cover their expenses and make money. Most of the time, the more immature the kid, the less they knew what was good for them.

Graduating early had its benefits. It allowed one to encounter the cruelty of the outside world sooner and temper oneself faster. But if one couldn't get assigned to a suitable team and became a drifter, the problems would be even more troublesome.

That was what Hikaru cared about most. A wild team was worse than acting alone. When strangers were thrown together, who would dare entrust their back to the others?

Hikaru wasn't arrogant, but he wouldn't hand his safety over to someone else either. People who truly held that kind of mindset usually didn't end well. They died horribly.

As for the way the major ninja villages constantly fostered coordination and trust between ninja, Hikaru had nothing to say about it. In any case, he couldn't do it himself.

Distracted by his thoughts, Hikaru failed to notice that not far away, Tsunade was standing with her hands on her hips, glaring at him angrily. The little backpack on her back made it clear that she had not gone home after school. She seemed to be waiting specifically to block him. This was the route Hikaru liked to take back to the Uchiha territory.

"Hm?!!"

As Hikaru walked along, pondering whether he should graduate early, he suddenly found his path blocked. He instinctively looked up, only to see Tsunade's angry little face.

Without thinking, Hikaru raised a hand and pushed her aside. "Be good, Tsunade. Don't make trouble. Uncle will take you to see goldfish when he has time."

"..."

After searching for him without success, Tsunade had finally chosen to wait in the road. Yet Hikaru's thoughts had drifted off into the clouds. When he noticed that she was blocking his way, he simply raised a hand, pressed it against her face, and pushed her aside, adding:

"Be good, Tsunade. Don't make trouble. Uncle will take you to see goldfish when he has time."

No matter how she heard it, it sounded like something an elder would say to coax a little girl. Tsunade's mind went completely blank, not to mention that Hikaru's hand had actually pressed against her face.

Tsunade's fair little face turned red at a visible speed.

"Uchiha Hikaru!!!"

Possessed by the roar of the Lioness of Hedong, Tsunade blushed and let out a furious roar. Hikaru, who still hadn't processed what was happening, was startled and jumped aside with a shiver. A second later, he was glad his reaction had been so fast.

Holy shit!!! This girl is ruthless!!!

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