Hinata
The next day.
Naruto continued spending his days completing a large number of D-rank missions. Sakura, following Naruto's advice, discussed with Kakashi how to begin her journey in medical ninjutsu.
Kakashi introduced Sakura to a teacher from the medical squad, named Yuu.
Yuu was a medical ninja from the same generation as Kakashi, part of Konoha's "Golden Generation." Although medical ninjas from that era had a high survival rate, surviving to the present day made Yuu one of the elite.
While not as famous as Tsunade, Yuu was still more than capable of teaching Sakura, especially since Kakashi had no knowledge of Tsunade's whereabouts. As a high-ranking ninja, Yuu was well-qualified to mentor Sakura.
"Kakashi, is this your disciple?" Yuu asked, wearing the medical ninja uniform.
Sakura looked nervously at Yuu, a man in his early twenties, wearing a white medical ninja uniform and a cap with a large red cross on his chest. Some other medical ninjas in similar uniforms looked over at Kakashi.
"Nice to meet you, please take care of me," Sakura said, bowing respectfully. "My name is Sakura Haruno."
"Oh, Kakashi, your disciple is much more polite than you," joked another medical ninja named Hō.
"Quiet," Kakashi replied with his trademark deadpan expression.
Another voice chimed in, "I heard Kakashi brought a disciple?" A medical ninja named Sū walked out, wearing a square white cap.
"A cute girl, too. Rare indeed," added a stern-faced medical ninja, Gotou, coming out from one of the examination rooms.
"Is she joining our medical squad?" asked two medical ninjas carrying a stretcher as they turned their heads.
"That'd be great," said a ninja on the other side of the stretcher, Baicao, smiling. "We've been short-staffed lately; she'd be a big help."
Sakura blushed, taken aback by so many people talking to her and looked uncertainly at Kakashi.
"Don't be afraid," Kakashi reassured her. "They're always like this. I've been injured so many times that I've gotten to know these guys well."
Sakura nodded and, somewhat bewildered, embarked on her journey of medical training.
However, Kakashi didn't have time to train all three of his students. He left Sakura with the medical squad and didn't need to worry about Naruto for now, who was still doing D-rank missions.
At this point, the only one he focused on training personally was Sasuke Uchiha. Maybe it was due to their shared use of the Sharingan, but Kakashi had a particular interest in Sasuke.
After all, there weren't many users of the Sharingan, and Obito's eye embedded in Kakashi's body was still functional. At the moment, Sasuke was undoubtedly his favorite disciple.
---
While Team 7 was busy training, one outlier of the "Will of Fire" education was lying in a hammock, fast asleep in the Konoha forest.
Since the mission in the Land of Waves, Naruto was punished for his recklessness and had to complete twenty D-rank missions alone before rejoining Team 7. Up to now, he'd only completed five, including last night's mission to find Mrs. Yamanaka's cat in a bamboo forest.
And then, he gave up.
"How long will it take to finish twenty missions? Might as well pay someone to do it." Lying in the hammock and looking at the sky through the trees, Naruto muttered.
And he really did that. He found a D-rank garbage collection mission at the Hokage's office and paid 50,000 ryo to an academy student to complete it.
"I'm helping underprivileged students find part-time work. I'm practically Konoha's philanthropist," Naruto murmured, stretching out comfortably in his hammock.
Now completely carefree, he no longer cared about hiding his Lava Release. It was likely that Kakashi had already reported it.
Of course, he also didn't bother hiding his wealth. Even if the village suspected him, they couldn't trace anything back to him, since all of Gato's treasure was stored in his system's warehouse.
Besides, it wasn't unusual in Konoha for ninjas to make extra money during missions. Task payouts alone weren't enough to support most ninja families.
He had to admit, doing nothing felt good.
With his eyes half-closed, he suddenly opened them, noticing a figure standing in front of him.
"H-Hinata? When did you get here?" Naruto jumped, coughing in surprise.
The young girl, wearing a light purple hooded cloak, looked startled by Naruto's reaction and nervously averted her gaze.
*[Nine-Tails Approval: 2.3%]*
A mechanical voice sounded in Naruto's head, and he froze for a moment. He hadn't done anything, so why did his favorability rating increase?
"I returned to the village yesterday," Hinata said, blushing and closing her eyes tightly. "Kurenai-sensei said we won't take on any missions for now and should prepare individually for the Chunin Exam."
Hinata's small body trembled slightly, as if very nervous.
"Oh, so we're free for now?" Naruto asked, smiling.
"Mm," Hinata nodded.
"By the way, how did you find me, Hinata?" Naruto asked, scratching his head. "This is a pretty hidden spot."
"Byakugan." Hinata lowered her head shyly.
"Oh, Byakugan?" Naruto leaned in, fascinated.
"Naruto-kun," Hinata backed away slightly, trying to avoid his gaze, "It's... not that interesting."
"It's actually pretty cool."
"Huh?" Hinata's eyes widened in surprise. "N-Naruto-kun, what did you say?"
"Looking closer, I think the Byakugan is pretty neat," Naruto smiled.
Hinata's heart warmed. Villagers in Konoha often saw the Byakugan as a bad omen, even within the Hyuga clan, where its presence caused great strife. The "caged bird" seal, that blue-green mark…
"Hinata, wait here for a moment," Naruto said, running off.
Hinata stood there in a daze, unsure of what to do.
After about half an hour, Naruto returned, carrying a small bundle on his back, filled with various things.
"Let's go! I'll take you somewhere!" Naruto said, taking her hand and leading her away without further explanation.
He's... holding my hand?
Hinata felt a bit dizzy, her face reddening again. She didn't ask where he was taking her, letting herself be led along.
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