"Well, I have another candidate, but I'm not sure if he's in the village."
"Yo, Nawaki, come over here."
Out of the blue, Tsunade let out a shout, scaring the two slacking off.
Figuring they'd been busted for slacking off, Nawaki immediately handed the wooden sword to Minato and walked over to his sister with a smile.
"What's up?"
"Is your teacher in the village?"
The other candidate Tsunade had in mind was Orochimaru. He was the Third Hokage's most outstanding disciple.
When it comes to his teacher's attainments in Ninjutsu, Orochimaru not only learned quickly but could also draw inferences from one instance.
It's no exaggeration to call him a genius.
At this moment, Kawaki's eyes lit up. He'd actually forgotten about such an important figure.
"Teacher said he'll be back tomorrow and stay for a while."
Nawaki honestly shared information about Orochimaru. One was his older sister, and the other was his future brother - in - law.
There was no need to hide anything.
"Tomorrow we'll go visit your teacher together."
Tsunade made the decision right away.
"Teacher will definitely be happy."
"He also said Aniki's horse - stance is truly amazing, and his swordsmanship is extraordinary."
"He'll come to visit the Hatake family if he gets the chance."
On one hand, Nawaki was glad he hadn't been caught slacking. On the other hand, these were the people closest to him.
Their getting to know each other was worth celebrating.
"Really? Your teacher has good taste."
Kawaki had buttered everyone up, singing praises of Orochimaru while also giving himself a pat on the back.
"Alright, go practice."
Just like Kawaki, Tsunade quickly picked up the trick of using people and then dumping them.
Nawaki got a bonk on the head and jumped right up. Only then did he realize his slacking had never escaped his sister's eyes.
At this time, Sakumo and Natsuki returned, with the Ghost Mastiff following behind, looking listless.
When they spotted Kawaki, both of them lit up visibly. Whether the training was successful or not didn't matter; as long as he was okay.
They sat down at the stone table with the Ghost Mastiff.
"Did they castrate the Ghost Mastiff?"
Kawaki was the first to speak. His malicious thought made the Ghost Mastiff glare at him.
It really felt like chomping on this dude.
"Nah, Aniki and I took him home to breed."
"The Ghost Mastiff is one of the few fierce dogs in my Inuzuka family."
Natsuki explained their purpose of going out.
Seeing the Ghost Mastiff looking half - dead, Kawaki figured it must have gone at it a lot. Poor pooch, it was wiped out.
"How was your training in Immortal Jutsu?"
Now that Kawaki had returned safely, Sakumo was curious about the result of his training.
"I nailed it in one day. I'm such a genius. Why don't you call me Aniki to celebrate?"
Tsunade spat out her tea on the ground. She just couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
"You won't quit until you've ticked me off, right?"
"Let's have a duel, brat."
For so many years, Sakumo had only been able to suppress Kawaki with the title of Aniki. How could he possibly agree to call him Aniki?
That'd be like throwing his last bit of dignity out the window.
He gulped down the tea, then grabbed Kawaki by the collar and hauled him to the middle of the martial arts training hall with a scowl.
"Do they always carry on like this?"
Tsunade still hadn't recovered. She pointed at her temple with her middle finger.
Natsuki sighed. She was used to it after seeing it so many times.
At first, I thought there was a history of mental illness in the Hatake family.
"They've been through thick and thin together. They're just used to horsing around."
Listening to Natsuki's words, Tsunade looked at the luxurious mansion and the spacious martial arts training hall.
You call this "going through thick and thin together"?
It's more like they're living in the lap of luxury!
"Oh."
All her thoughts were condensed into this single word.
She wasn't interested in the two guys dueling on the field at all.
Those two were just slashing at each other with their swords, which was utterly unimpressive.
Before the two women had even finished two cups of tea, Kawaki returned.
As expected, when Kawaki didn't hold back, Sakumo could never reach his level.
But not calling him "Aniki" was Sakumo's bottom line.
After Kawaki sat down, Sakumo also returned and sat down at the stone table.
He let out a disgruntled snort and muttered, "So, Aniki isn't worth you holding back?"
You useless good - for - nothing piece of trash!
After the farce ended, the group quickly started chatting.
Sakumo gradually regained his composure. He realized that getting angry with Kawaki, he would not even have nine lives to spare.
～～～～～Dividing Line～～～～～
Early the next morning.
Kawaki held a fine sword he'd fetched from the Hatake Weapon Shop, with Minato trailing behind him.
They met up with Tsunade and Nawaki at the Senju family's place and went to visit Orochimaru together.
"Orochimaru's back in the village. What about Jiraiya?"
Kawaki remembered this lecherous sage. Since he'd stolen Dan Katō's chance at romance, he felt no guilt at all.
"He's gone to Mount Myoboku to train."
"Probably to master the Sage Art."
At this time, the disciples of the Third Hokage still got along well, so it was normal for Tsunade to know Jiraiya's whereabouts.
"I'm afraid it won't be that easy for him to learn it."
Kawaki knew that Jiraiya had probably spent ten years mastering the Immortal Jutsu. He is a hardworking ninja.
"He's the most hardworking ninja I've ever come across."
This was high praise from Tsunade. Jiraiya was born into a commoner family and didn't have outstanding talent, but his hard work was obvious to all.
It was just that Jiraiya's personality didn't suit her at the moment. Otherwise, there'd be no place for Kawaki.
Just then, Kawaki noticed a cat pouncing on him.
What a fat cat, decked out in gold and silver. He wondered which wealthy lady in Konoha it belonged to.
He reached out and grabbed it by the scruff of its neck.
But he felt another hand touch his, then quickly withdraw.
What incredible speed!
Kawaki looked up.
In front of him stood a young man in a green jumpsuit, with shiny black hair parted in the middle.
"Genin Matt Dai pays his respects to Lady Tsunade."
The newcomer turned out to be Guy's father and the first man to master the Eight Gates.
"Hello."
Tsunade clearly didn't recognize this genin who was still doing low - level missions. She just replied out of courtesy.
"Hello, I'm Kawaki. Nice to meet you."
Kawaki, on the other hand, was quite interested in him.
"Hello, hello."
Matt Dai, being a genin, had never been treated so politely by a ninja before, especially since Kawaki clearly came from an unusual family.
He was a bit nervous when he spoke.
"You were trying to catch this cat, right?"
Kawaki held out the fat cat in his hand.
"Thank you, Lord Kawaki."
Matt Dai casually took it and turned to leave. He never thought that a noble person would offer to help him.
"Wait. I see you're very fast. Your Taijutsu should be good, right?"
Kawaki was asking rhetorically. How could someone practicing Eight Gates be bad at Taijutsu?
"Not bad."
Dai showed his bright white teeth and grinned foolishly.
"With your skills, why are you still doing Genin missions?"
Kawaki wondered why this tough guy, who would later be able to open the Eight Gates and almost wipe out the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist, was only a Genin.
"I only know Taijutsu, so I can't pass the Chunin exam."
Currently, the promotion system in Konoha is still very rigid, and it's difficult for commoners without certain conditions to get ahead.
If Dai were from a big family, he would have been promoted long ago.
"I see. I'll try to help you."
"Let's be friends. Come and visit the Hatake family when you're free."
Kawaki didn't mind helping Matt Dai. This guy would be a great partner.
"Thank you very much."
"May youth always be with you."
With the iconic thumbs - up and shiny white teeth.
No wonder he's Guy's father.
Nawaki and Minato were stunned. This weird guy seemed to be quite popular with Aniki (their teacher).
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