"Good morning, Lord Hokage."
"Morning, Xia Yan."
In Konoha's forest, Xia Yan looked at Minato Namikaze with a smile. Smiling had almost become a habit for him.
What he needed to do was turn that habit into a trademark.
By now, his smile was almost universally recognized among his classmates, but that was still far from enough.
His goal was for everyone who knew him throughout Konoha, and even the entire shinobi world, to know this about him. He needed to make it his definitive trademark.
What surprised Xia Yan, however, was that Minato Namikaze seemed to be in a rather curious state.
He looked somewhat tired and helpless, but beneath those two negative emotions, there seemed to be traces of joy mixed in.
Xia Yan's sensory ability was strong. By this point in its development, he could detect the emotions of those around him even without actively using it.
Though he could not sense good and evil, he could still probe someone's mood.
Xia Yan could roughly understand the fatigue and helplessness. After all, his work as Hokage probably was not going all that smoothly.
Even setting everything else aside, the Anbu alone were probably enough to trouble him.
But where had that joy come from?
Could it be...
Silently calculating the timing, Xia Yan seemed to have guessed the answer.
At this stage, probably only his family could bring him such joy.
"Congratulations on gaining such powerful support, and on completing such a difficult mission." Minato Namikaze had no idea what Xia Yan was thinking. He said directly, "Thank you for your hard work, Xia Yan."
"I was just lucky, and I had Kakashi's help." Xia Yan smiled faintly and said very modestly, "But thank you, Lord Hokage."
Faced with Minato Namikaze's praise, Xia Yan would not take