The three of them looked at each other, a little speechless.
They felt like he was showing off the fact that he had a girlfriend—but they had no evidence.
Still, they didn't expect those two special shuriken to have been designed by Natsuki. Truly a stroke of genius. Against unsuspecting enemies, they'd definitely have a surprising effect.
Rone quickly said, "Boss, boss, can you make more of those for us?"
Megumi added, "Yeah, boss, those shuriken are really good. We're willing to pay for them."
"Uh, about that… I'll have to ask your aneki first," Natsuki said with some hesitation. "I gave the designs to my girlfriend, and she said she wanted them to be exclusive. If I ask her for more, she'll probably give me a few, but not too many."
Rone and Megumi exchanged a look. For some reason, they both got the feeling their "boss" had no say in his own relationship.
Still, they hurriedly expressed their thanks. "Thanks, boss! We'll pay for them."
Aoba didn't want to keep chatting about these trivial matters. Seeing that it was getting late, he spoke up, "Let's call it a day. As your sensei, I'll treat you to some yakiniku tonight. We'll meet back here tomorrow morning at eight. I'll take you all to pick up your mission."
"Whoa! Aoba-nii/sensei, you're the best!"
Before long, Team 9 arrived at Yakiniku Q, only to find that other squads had already beaten them there. They saw Asuma flipping through his wallet with a distressed sigh, Shikamaru and Ino looking bored, and Choji happily stuffing his face.
Clearly, Asuma had underestimated the consequences of treating his students to barbecue.
"Yo! Asuma, your Team 10 is here for some yakiniku too?" Aoba called out as he approached.
With a cigarette between his lips, Asuma gave a dry chuckle. "Hey, Aoba. You treating your students too? Be careful. There might be a bottomless pit among them."
Meanwhile, Natsuki had already started chatting with Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino.
"Shikamaru, Choji, Ino—you guys finished early, huh?"
"Well, it's just the first day. Asuma-sensei just tested our abilities a bit and then decided to treat us. Choji's already eating him into bankruptcy," Shikamaru said, watching Asuma's increasingly thin wallet with a trace of pity. Treating a student like Choji to yakiniku? That was just asking for it. He should've gone to Ichiraku Ramen instead. At least ramen wasn't expensive, and the broth could fill you up. Choji probably wouldn't have eaten much.
"Haha, Choji's going to burn through Asuma-sensei's wedding savings. If he ends up single for life, it'll be Choji's fault," Ino laughed without a care.
"If our sensei's treating, of course I won't let good food go to waste. This is my ninja way!" Choji said, even more carefree.
"You guys! At least think of me for a second…" Asuma looked like he was about to cry.
Natsuki cast a sympathetic glance toward the unfortunate 35-million-ryo victim. Having a student like that—rough luck.
Meanwhile, Aoba had already ordered a few trays of meat and motioned for his students to sit.
He casually started a conversation. "Natsuki, you know Kakashi? When I was at the Hokage's office, he actually praised you."
Natsuki nodded. "My girlfriend is a student of Guy-sensei. Guy-sensei introduced me to Kakashi-senpai, and then senpai passed on the Hatake-ryū Kenjutsu (Hatake Sword Style) to me."
"Kakashi taught you the Hatake-ryū Kenjutsu?!" Aoba exclaimed. "No wonder he praised you so much. Passing down a family technique like that—it means he really sees potential in you. Looks like you're hiding more strength than I thought. I'll have to spar with you sometime and see how much you've learned."
To Aoba's generation, the Hatake-ryū Kenjutsu was a legendary technique.
After all, he had joined the academy the same year as Kakashi. Kakashi had graduated after just one year, earning the title of genius across the village. And with the fame of the White Fang of Konoha, Sakumo, Aoba couldn't possibly be unaware.
What he hadn't expected was for one of his own students to inherit such a technique.
Of course, Natsuki brought it up intentionally. It wasn't something that needed to be hidden. Saying it out loud earned him Aoba's respect—and would give his suggestions more weight within Team 9 moving forward. Once they sparred one-on-one, Aoba would also get a better sense of his strength, and hopefully stop treating him like an average genin.
In the future, when Natsuki made requests—like wanting to learn Dokushinjutsu (Mind Reading Technique)—Aoba probably wouldn't refuse.
All in all, the benefits were many.
"Hey, Aoba-nii, is the Hatake Sword Style really that amazing?" Rone asked curiously, while Megumi leaned in to listen.
"Amazing? It's more than amazing!" Aoba praised. "You two are still young, so I can't tell you everything. But I'll tell you this: Hatake Kakashi graduated after only a year, and he became a jōnin at age twelve. Meanwhile, your teacher—me—is still a tokubetsu jōnin."
"Eh?!"
Both of them were stunned. "That Kakashi-senpai is that amazing? And he passed down his family sword style to our boss?"
Aoba nodded solemnly. "Exactly. So you two better work hard, or Natsuki will leave you in the dust. If you're teamed up with him, you don't want to drag him down, do you?"
"We understand! We'll do our best!"
Rone and Megumi swallowed hard. The pressure was real.
Shikamaru and Ino, who had overheard the conversation, didn't dare to interrupt, but glanced at Asuma, who gave them a confirming nod.
The two of them were shocked. They hadn't expected someone like Natsuki to be taught such a powerful sword technique. If that was the case, then Natsuki was going to keep getting stronger—maybe even surpass their teacher, Asuma.
Would they even be able to remain friends at that point?
Even the usually laid-back Shikamaru felt a twinge of pressure. After all, being left too far behind by a friend wasn't exactly a cheerful thought. As for Ino—she found herself a little envious of Tenten. After all, her boyfriend was getting stronger by the day… and even seemed to be getting more handsome too.
Choji, on the other hand, was still focused on his grilled meat and hadn't heard a word.
Asuma glanced at Natsuki with mild curiosity but didn't think too much of it. Unlike his father, Hiruzen, Asuma wasn't the scheming type.
Just then, the door to Yakiniku Q opened again, and Asuma's eyes lit up. "Kurenai, you brought your students too? Come over here, we've got seats!"
Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino exchanged glances. So that's what's going on.
Shino, Hinata, and Kiba weren't fools either. So that's what's going on.
No doubt about it—Kurenai was stunning. With her beauty and her figure, it was only natural that Asuma would be interested…
(End of Chapter)
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