Chapter 294: Finishing What You Start

"Haaa~~~"

Walking towards the ninja academy, Shishou yawned.

Yesterday's big battle had drained him considerably, leaving him feeling fatigued.

Thud, thud, thud!!!

The sound of running came from behind Shishou, and suddenly, a figure leapt onto his back.

"Shishou, did you miss me this weekend?"

Ino Yamanaka clung to Shishou's back, smiling playfully.

"No," Shishou replied, shaking his head while carrying Ino.

He had chosen to fight the White Snake Sage on Sunday, and today was Monday.

"You need a spanking!"

Ino pouted fiercely, grabbing Shishou's shoulders and shaking him vigorously.

The two playfully bickered as they soon saw Hinata waiting by the roadside, and the three of them walked to school together.

Upon arriving at the classroom,

"Haaa~~~"

Shishou yawned again as he took a seat in the back row, causing Ino and Hinata to look at him curiously.

Hinata took out her textbook and asked, "Shishou, didn't you sleep well last night?"

It wasn't just that he didn't sleep well; he hardly slept at all.

Internally, Shishou grumbled but nodded and made up an excuse, "I stayed up late watching something and lost track of time. So, I didn't get much sleep."

Ino, on the other side, suggested, "Do you want to take a nap?"

In Ino's opinion, since Shishou was already skilled enough to graduate from the ninja academy, attending classes was more of a formality.

Shishou waved his hand, "It's alright, I'll nap in the afternoon. I don't want to get scolded by Iruka-sensei, and I don't like sleeping on the desk."

Hearing this, Hinata and Ino didn't say more.

Before long,

Naruto, the habitual latecomer, rushed into the classroom just in time, and Iruka followed with his textbook, stepping onto the podium.

"Class begins!"

...

At lunchtime, Shishou lay down to nap under the shade of a tree on the playground, while Ino and Hinata stayed by his side, swatting away annoying bugs and reading their respective manga and medical books.

At the entrance of the school building, Tenten, carrying her kunai, was about to go practice when she noticed Shishou and the others.

She changed her direction and approached them.

Seeing Shishou asleep, Tenten whispered to Hinata, "Is Shishou sleeping?"

"Yes," Hinata moved aside to make room for Tenten in the shade.

"Tsk!" Ino, still reading her manga, glanced at Tenten with mild irritation.

She was not pleased with this older girl who seemed interested in Shishou.

"Since Shishou is asleep, I won't disturb you. I need to go practice."

Perhaps sensing Ino's slight hostility, Tenten waved her hand and left.

She was about to undergo her graduation exam and needed to practice diligently.

Only by achieving excellent results could she, as a civilian student, hope to be assigned to a skilled jōnin for further training.

Watching Tenten walk away, Ino sat up, frowning as she saw her heading towards the training grounds.

'Practicing in this heat? She sure is dedicated.'

Ino thought to herself, then glanced at the medical book in Hinata's hands and her own romance manga.

Comparing the two, Ino suddenly felt like she wasn't making any progress...

'I need to start working harder too. It would be embarrassing if I couldn't even beat Hinata in the future.'

Ino resolved internally.

Then, she continued lying on the grass, reading her manga.

Though she felt the need to work harder, Ino decided to finish her manga first.

One must finish what they start, after all. She could start working hard tomorrow.

Ino thought contentedly.

She then immersed herself in the manga, imagining Shishou as the male lead in a romantic tale with her.

...

The Land of Lightning, Kumogakure.

On Turtle Island, a three-story wooden house.

"Yugito, get up already..."

Samui entered Yugito's room and pushed open the door.

But seeing the disarray inside, Samui quickly closed the door and retreated.

She didn't need to guess to know what had happened.

Shishou had certainly visited last night.

A few minutes later, Yugito came out yawning.

"What's up, Samui?"

Yugito stretched, showing off her curvy figure.

Samui glanced at Yugito and said, "I just wanted to ask how things went."

Samui and Mabui both knew about Yugito helping Shishou in the battle yesterday.

Though they wanted to help Shishou to get closer to him,

They didn't have as much chakra as Yugito, who could use a large number of shadow clones to speed up her Sage Jutsu training.

So their Sage Jutsu training was just one step away from completion, and they couldn't help yesterday.

All they could do was cover for Yugito, keeping it a secret from the Fourth Raikage.

Yugito smiled, hugging Samui, "Of course, it went well. Shishou is amazing. The final move he used was like it could destroy the heavens and earth."

Remembering Shishou's massive Rasengan, Yugito felt envious and awed.

She hoped to master such a powerful technique herself.

'He really killed the White Snake Sage...'

Hearing Yugito's confirmation, although she had guessed it, Samui was still stunned.

"Did you record it?"

At this moment, Mabui, dressed in her professional attire, approached and asked.

Samui also looked at Yugito, wanting to see what ultimate move Shishou had used to impress Yugito so much.

Yugito shook her head regretfully, "I didn't think of that at the time. But when Shishou visits us again, you can ask him to replay it for you."

Yugito, Samui, and Mabui had all experienced Shishou's 3D genjutsu movies, which were very realistic and thrilling.

"In that case, it might be a bit troublesome."

Mabui bit her right thumb's nail, frowning.

Yugito and Samui turned to Mabui, puzzled.

"Mabui, what's wrong?"

Mabui said seriously, "The village's chakra cannon has been developed."

**********

This fanfiction is complete on my Pa treon. If you want to read it, you can find it at patreo n.com Betek.