This Hair Is So Naughty

Today was another day of Teacher Masahiro's mental collapse.

Because the newly enrolled children were too stupid, and because the newly enrolled children were too smart.

The stupid ones made up the majority. Although they listened attentively, they learned very slowly.

There were only two smart ones, but after barely half a lesson, they skipped class one after the other and slipped away. There was no chance to stop them.

Chishima Chiba gave the entire class and Takezawa Masahiro a lesson called "The Self-Cultivation of a Genius."

Yesterday, Takezawa Masahiro had only covered the theory of how to refine Chakra. He had not yet explained how to put it into practice.

Yet today, right in front of Takezawa Masahiro and the entire class, Chishima Chiba demonstrated how to refine Chakra.

He even went up to the front and wrote out more than a hundred commonly used characters from memory under the agonized gazes of a bunch of Half-grown Children.

Then...

He once again used a stomachache as an excuse to leave the classroom first, with Tsunade following close behind.

(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻!

Flip the table!

Takezawa Masahiro felt miserable. He was even considering giving Chishima Chiba and Tsunade private lessons. Otherwise, faced with those two genius students, he seemed utterly useless...

He could not even establish his authority as a teacher!

With worries on his mind, Takezawa Masahiro continued teaching the "stupid students," who had already been stunned senseless by Chishima Chiba's blows.

Outside the Ninja Academy gates.

Tsunade finally caught up with Chishima Chiba.

"Stop right there!" Tsunade shouted, irritated beyond belief. She had clearly sworn not to speak to Chishima Chiba all day today.

Chishima Chiba said nothing, but slowed down and waited for Tsunade to catch up.

"Why did you pinch my arm when you asked for leave just now?!" Tsunade pulled a stern face and leaned toward Chishima Chiba with a dangerous look in her eyes.

Still saying nothing, Chishima Chiba raised a hand and gestured.

(〃＞皿＜)!

Tsunade got angry. "Say something!"

Chishima Chiba continued gesturing, provoking Tsunade's little pink fists to rain down on him.

"Didn't you decide not to talk to me today? I was helping you, yet you're blaming me instead."

"..."

Tsunade was left speechless. She shot Chishima Chiba a resentful glance, the meaning in her eyes obvious.

You do not even know how to give in to me!

"Alright, alright." Chishima Chiba stopped while he was ahead. "I was teasing you. I could never bear to go a whole day without talking to you."

Chishima Chiba stuffed a piece of candy into Tsunade's hand, but she merely glanced at it before turning her head away.

With a soft laugh, Chishima Chiba carefully unwrapped the candy and held the hard sweet to Tsunade's lips.

"Hmph!"

With a light snort, Tsunade opened her mouth and swallowed the candy, then viciously bit Chishima Chiba's finger.

Chishima Chiba gave up the chance to pinch Tsunade's little tongue and let her bite him before pulling his finger back and blowing on it dramatically.

"Chiba, if you dare make me angry again, if punching you does not work, I'll bite you!"

"I won't. You're prettiest when you smile. I don't want to see you angry."

Chishima Chiba had surrendered, and Tsunade's mood improved considerably. She felt as though she had won a battle, when in truth...

She had been utterly defeated!

Quietly taking Tsunade's soft hand, Chishima Chiba saw that she did not resist and happily dragged her forward at a run.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Our secret base!"

"Secret base? How come I don't know about it?"

"You'll know when we get there!"

Chishima Chiba kept her in suspense, pulling Tsunade along for quite a distance before stopping in the little grove where they had spent time yesterday.

"Here?" Tsunade curled her lips. "This doesn't look anything like a secret base..."

"There isn't one yet, but there will be eventually."

Chishima Chiba patted his chest and promised, "I'll spend ten years building a secret base that belongs only to Tsunade and me!"

"Pah, who's building it with you? Annoying brat."

Tsunade spat lightly, then abruptly changed the subject. "Why did you skip class again today?"

"Tsunade, it's not that Teacher Masahiro teaches badly, but you and I are simply too talented. Learning under Teacher Masahiro would undoubtedly be wasting our gifts."

Chishima Chiba was not humble in the slightest, but he had voiced Tsunade's innermost thoughts.

Pride was not exclusive to the Uchiha Clan. The Senju Clan had no shortage of it either!

The former displayed it openly, while the latter was simply more restrained.

"That's true."

Tsunade nodded with a serious smile, her expression extremely earnest. "I learned everything Teacher Masahiro has been teaching a long time ago."

"Exactly..."

"Exactly what?!" Tsunade glared at Chishima Chiba. "What does me knowing it have to do with you? I can skip class, but you can't."

"If you teach me, then I'll know it too, won't I?"

"But why should I teach you?"

"I bet you won't teach me. One thousand ryō!" Chishima Chiba's eyes spun mischievously.

Tsunade's eyelashes fluttered, but she ultimately could not resist the temptation. "I won. Pay up!"

"Tsunade's Gambling Techniques have improved again. I accept my loss willingly."

As he spoke, Chishima Chiba respectfully presented a thousand-ryō note with both hands, wearing an utterly ridiculous expression.

Tsunade accepted it with a beaming smile, but the more she looked at the thousand-ryō note Chishima Chiba had handed her, the more familiar it seemed.

How could it not be familiar? This was all money she had lost to Chishima Chiba...

After stuffing the note into her pocket, Teacher Tsunade officially came online. "Chiba, what do you want me to teach you?"

"After you learned to refine Chakra and understood the route Chakra took through the body, what did you learn next?"

"Hand Seals, and the Chakra flow routes corresponding to each seal," Tsunade said.

"Then I want to learn that too. Please teach me, Teacher Tsunade!"

Given Chishima Chiba's eagerness to learn and his amusing behavior, Tsunade would have taught him properly even without the bet.

Tsunade chuckled a few times and entered teaching mode. Chishima Chiba immediately became obedient, calming his mind and listening carefully.

Time passed quickly during the lesson, and Chishima Chiba learned quickly too. In basically one morning, he had mastered all kinds of Hand Seal gestures. All that remained was repeated practice to build muscle memory.

Of course, he also had to improve his hand speed. A good outcome would be reaching Uchiha Itachi's speed, but the truly absurd feats were releasing seals one-handed and clapping both hands together to make whatever you wanted appear.

The former could still be achieved through hard work and talent, but the latter depended on luck...

Still, there was no need to feel discouraged.

Chishima Chiba secretly glanced at Tsunade's delicate face, and his heart stirred slightly.

He reached out and slowly brushed aside a naughty strand of hair that covered Tsunade's Bright Brown Eyes, tucking it behind her ear.

Tsunade's Little Face instantly reddened, and she did not dare meet Chishima Chiba's gentle gaze.

But in the next second, Tsunade suddenly found her courage. She glared at Chishima Chiba and raised a hand to smack the top of his head.

"Pay attention to the lesson!"

"Yes, Teacher Tsunade."

But after that little incident, the atmosphere between them became subtly different, and neither of them was quite focused anymore.

"Hungry?"

Chishima Chiba was ultimately the one to break the deadlock. "What do you want to eat? My treat."

"Beggar's Chicken!"

Tsunade immediately perked up and held up two fingers. "I want two!"

As she spoke, the little canine tooth peeking out beside her lips gleamed brightly.