"Grandma?"
Aoba could see the "#" symbol suddenly appear on Tsunade's forehead, and her hands clenched involuntarily.
He quickly advised, "Teacher, Naruto is still just a child."
"Hmph, I already vented my anger yesterday, so I naturally won't hold it against him anymore," Tsunade glanced at Aoba with a meaningful look but soon adjusted her expression.
"Uh…", Aoba shrank his neck, feeling that Tsunade's gaze was somewhat unfriendly.
But seeing that she didn't make any extra moves, he was relieved.
Naruto had already walked up to the group and then froze in place.
'Why are there so many girls around Aoba?'
"Naruto, they are my friends. Let me introduce them to you."
Aoba introduced each of the people present to Naruto one by one.
Then he also introduced Naruto to them while secretly explaining some of Naruto's special circumstances.
However, except for Hinata, the other three already knew of Naruto.
They had only heard bad things about him from others.
But none of them minded, since he was recognized as a friend by Aoba, then he was their friend too. At the same time, they were secretly relieved that, for once, it wasn't another girl.
So, the girls greeted Naruto quite warmly.
Suddenly gaining four new friends, Naruto was extremely happy and eagerly shared his joy, "Aoba! I can use chakra now too!"
"Hmm?", Upon hearing this, both Aoba and Tsunade looked over in confusion.
"How did you suddenly learn it?", Aoba asked directly.
Naruto scratched the back of his head, showing a silly smile, feeling a bit embarrassed as he spoke.
"Yesterday, I saw your fight with Sasuke, it was so cool! So last night, I asked an old man if he could teach me ninjutsu, and he agreed."
Aoba and Tsunade immediately understood, this "old man" was probably Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Then congratulations, Naruto. I didn't expect you to be able to refine chakra in just one night. It looks like your talent is quite good."
"Hehe!"
Naruto kept grinning for a while, but soon he became disappointed.
"But the ninjutsu Grandpa taught me yesterday, I couldn't learn any of them. He even said that I might not be able to learn many jutsu in my lifetime."
"..."
Aoba wanted to say, 'That's the truth. You spent the entirety of Shippuden rubbing one Rasengan from start to finish.'
Although early on, it was because the Nine-Tails was interfering, later on, he realized that no matter what technique he used, none were as effective as a Rasengan.
However, he didn't say it outright. Instead, he comforted Naruto, "It's okay, Naruto. Even if you don't know many jutsu, you can still become very powerful."
"Really?", Naruto's eyes lit up, looking at Aoba with great anticipation.
"Really!", Aoba nodded firmly.
"Then can I beat Sasuke in the future?"
"You'll definitely win!", Aoba cheered him on, though in the future, who would be stronger between the two was hard to say.
"Hehehe!", Naruto grinned foolishly again.
The other girls looked at Naruto and wondered, 'Is he a bit of an idiot?'
In the end, it was Tsunade who lazily spoke up.
"Brat, you can arrange your own time this afternoon, but make sure to set aside some time to go through the materials I prepared for you."
———
Leaving the Senju Clan's residence.
"Aoba, let's practice shuriken throwing!"
"Aoba, I want to hear a new story!"
"Aoba-kun…"
All of a sudden, Aoba felt the atmosphere around him becoming tense.
Just as he was about to speak, someone suddenly tugged on his clothes.
He turned his head, originally thinking it was one of the girls, but to his surprise, it was Naruto.
"Aoba, let's go to the back mountain and train with Sasuke!"
As soon as Naruto spoke, he suddenly felt several sharp gazes stabbing into his back like knives.
He turned his head to look around and found that Tenten and the other three girls were all smiling at him with "kindness."
"Y-You guys… want to come too?"
The four girls smiled without answering.
"Let's all go together. It'll be more fun with everyone," Aoba also spoke up.
Hearing this, Tenten, Ino, Sakura, and Hinata exchanged glances before reluctantly nodding in agreement.
However, in their hearts, they made a mental note. Not about each other, but about Naruto.
———
By the time they arrived, Sasuke was already there, training.
"Sasuke! We're here!", As soon as he saw Sasuke from afar, Naruto couldn't help but shout.
Sasuke, who was practicing throwing techniques, heard this and, though his face remained expressionless, his eyes brightened slightly.
However, when he turned to look over, his expression stiffened a little.
He immediately saw Aoba chatting and laughing with several girls, looking relaxed and carefree. This made him inexplicably irritated.
Of course, it wasn't jealousy.
He had long regarded Aoba as his biggest rival at this stage.
He woke up early and trained late into the night, working tirelessly to improve his strength, all so he could defeat his opponent.
But now, seeing his supposed rival acting so carefree, Sasuke felt upset about Aoba wasting his talent.
Of course, this was just his own overthinking.
He had to remind Aoba, it was his duty. Otherwise, even if he won against him in the future, it would mean nothing.
"Aoba, I challenge you!"
"?"
In the end, Aoba could only introduce the defeated Sasuke to Tenten and the others.
Sasuke's face turned red, and he stammered, unable to speak.
The group burst into laughter, filling the air with joy.
"Hmph! Aoba, remember this. One day, I will surpass you!", Sasuke got up from the ground, threw down his challenge, and went back to training his shuriken skills.
Originally, the girls had thought Sasuke must be really strong when he challenged Aoba, but now, he seemed kind of silly.
"Hmph, Sasuke! If you want to beat Aoba, you have to get through me first."
"You? You're not even my opponent."
Naruto ran over and started bickering with Sasuke.
"Aoba, what should we do now?", Tenten and the other girls looked at Aoba expectantly.
.
.
.
In the end, everyone did their own thing.
Aoba was guiding Tenten on shuriken throwing techniques, with Sasuke listening in nearby.
Ino and Hinata were studying flower arrangement and pressed flowers by the riverbank, occasionally bringing their finished works to Aoba for praise.
Sakura was reading a book she got from Tsunade, asking Aoba for help whenever she didn't understand something.
Meanwhile, Naruto was by the river, sweating profusely. Aoba had told him that if he wanted to surpass Sasuke quickly, the best way right now was to train his body.
It was a peaceful and harmonious scene.
Until a green-clad figure appeared.
The man leaped into the air, did a 360-degree somersault, and landed in front of Naruto with tears streaming down his face, giving him a big thumbs-up, "YOUNG MAN, I RECOGNIZE YOUR YOUTH!"
Under the sunlight, his dazzling white teeth gleamed.
[T/N: Ahoy~ brothers and sisters, check out my latest novel, "One Piece: The Living Devil", an EVIL MC on the Grand Line with devil fruits, danger, and lust. If you're hooked, don't forget to drop a Powerstone and add it to your Collection—every bit of support keeps the journey alive and the story blazing forward]
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