Chapter 72

Chapter 72 - 72 Natsuki didn't really care about whatever was going on between Asuma and Kurenai. He just waved and called out, "Shino, you guys are here too! How's it going?" Shino quickly walked over to Natsuki's table, nodded at the others, and replied, "So you're having yakiniku too. Things are going well—Kurenai-sensei is a great teacher." "That's good. Our teacher, Aoba-sensei, is really skilled too..." The two of them started chatting naturally. After all, they'd been deskmates and close friends for years. No need to be formal. Aoba glanced over at Natsuki again. Natsuki's profile clearly stated that he had good relationships with several shinobi clans' children. It seemed he really was good at socializing. A genius who could also make friends easily... Natsuki's future looked bright indeed. The group quickly finished their yakiniku, and Aoba reminded them one last time of the meeting time and place for tomorrow, then disappeared in a flash. Seeing it was getting late, Natsuki asked Rone to walk Megumi home while he himself hurried off to the ninja tools shop. Sure enough, Tenten was already home waiting for him. As soon as she saw Natsuki, she ran into his arms with excitement. "Mmm! Smells like grilled meat. Looks like your teacher treated you guys too," Tenten said, clearly pleased. After all, Yakiniku Q wasn't cheap. For a teacher to treat students on the first day of a newly formed squad showed generosity—definitely the sign of a good teacher. Since her boyfriend had a good teacher, as his girlfriend, she could be at ease. Natsuki nodded to his future father-in-law, then began reporting, "I got assigned to Team 9. My teammates are Yamashiro Rone and Kato Megumi. Our jonin leader is Yamashiro Aoba. Aoba-sensei's from the Intelligence Division, a tokubetsu jōnin. He's not the strongest, but he's skilled in many fields, a real all-rounder. His taijutsu isn't any weaker than Guy-sensei's..." It didn't take long for Natsuki to recount the events of the day. The main purpose was to put Tenten at ease. After hearing it all, Tenten nodded. She would've preferred Kakashi to lead Natsuki—after all, she'd seen Kakashi's strength firsthand—but Aoba seemed solid too. And besides, this was the Hokage's arrangement—no one could really question it. Meanwhile, the shopkeeper father-in-law pretended to dust the counter with a feather duster, but he was secretly eavesdropping the entire time. He was even more invested in his future son-in-law's affairs than he thought. "All right, Natsuki, you must be tired. Go take a bath. Want me to help scrub your back?" Tenten said as she playfully shoved him toward the bathroom. "Scrub my back? Really?" Natsuki asked, full of anticipation. "No way! You're both still kids!" the shopkeeper roared from the counter. The outburst startled both Natsuki and Tenten. The two of them stuck their tongues out at him in response. Fine, no back scrubbing—but did he have to yell so loud? Though to be fair, he was right. They really were still young. And now that they were entering puberty, taking a bath together just wasn't appropriate. Of course, the shopkeeper didn't know that later that night, Tenten snuck into Natsuki's bed again. Natsuki sighed in a mix of affection and helplessness. "Tenten, you're a young lady now. You really shouldn't be climbing into my bed like this. Don't tempt me into doing something wrong." But Tenten just murmured, "Natsuki, it's been a long time since you've given me an 'electric jolt'..." Natsuki couldn't help but laugh and cry. "Didn't you already learn to do it yourself...?" "I want you to help! Pretty please?" "Okay, okay! Just stop squirming! It's dangerous!" The night passed peacefully. Natsuki woke up the next morning refreshed. Thankfully, after the little jolt, Tenten returned to her own room, or he really wouldn't have been able to sleep. He might've ended up heading out with dark circles under his eyes. After breakfast, the couple shared a bite of meat bun from each other's lips and parted ways at the shop entrance. Natsuki soon arrived at the designated meeting spot. Rone and Megumi were already there—but for some reason, they both seemed a little shy around each other. He didn't pay much attention to that, instead handing each of them some special shuriken. These had been approved by Tenten, so there was no issue. But the price? Yeah, he wasn't going to give them any discounts. At exactly eight o'clock, Aoba arrived. Not a second early or late—he was impressively punctual. He immediately led the trio to the Hokage's office, where they received their first D-rank mission: wheat harvesting! Rone was dumbfounded. "Aoba-nii, isn't this, like, farmhand work? Why would ninjas be sent to do this?" Megumi was also confused. "Yeah, Aoba-sensei... how is this even considered a mission?" Aoba didn't explain. Instead, he looked at Natsuki. Sighing, Natsuki stepped up. "Alright, you two. A mission is a mission. Don't complain. Since you're so confused, I'll explain a bit." "D-rank missions are mostly village chores. One, because there aren't that many dangerous missions to go around. Ninjas still need to earn a living, and D-rank missions are a decent source of income. Two, they help new squads build teamwork and bonds, letting rookies get used to working together. And three—and this is the most important part—they help us practice disguises." Disguises? They kind of got it... but not really. "You two need to start thinking," Natsuki continued patiently. "In the future, we might need to infiltrate enemy territory. That means pretending to be locals. And locals have all kinds of jobs. Right now, harvesting wheat is teaching us how to act like farmers—so we don't get found out when we're undercover. Got it?" Suddenly, it all made sense. "Ohhh! So that's how it is! As expected of boss—you know so much!" Natsuki forced a smile. For some reason, being praised by these two didn't make him feel very happy. Meanwhile, Aoba was chilling. He remembered what Kakashi had said: having Natsuki in the team would make things easier. And it was true—he didn't need to say a word. Just throw the issue at Natsuki and let him handle it. After all, Natsuki was the leader of the team. At that moment, Natsuki suddenly turned to him. "Aoba-sensei, how about we play a little game?" Aoba raised an eyebrow, amused. "What kind of game?" "Simple. You don't go to the mission site right away. Let the three of us go first. We'll disguise ourselves, and then you try to find us. If you can't see through our disguises, we win—and as a reward, you teach us a new jutsu. If we lose, you get to assign a punishment. Deal?" "Heh, sounds fun. Alright then, you go first. I'll head over in twenty minutes." Aoba found the idea quite amusing. As Natsuki had said, D-rank missions were good chances to practice disguises. And as a teacher, he did need to provide some guidance. This little game would do nicely. It was fun and educational. Natsuki really did make for a great team leader. Aoba could already tell he'd have a much easier time as a sensei going forward. ...That said, those three little brats seemed to have forgotten one thing: He was a tokubetsu jōnin from the Intelligence Division. Trying to fool him with disguises? They were way too green. (End of Chapter) [Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][/zaelum] [+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter] [Thank You For Your Support!]