Chapter 103: Discussing Graduation Teammates (Part 1)
After the barbecue, Tsunade was completely drunk.
Hoshikawa watched her stumble, swaying unsteadily, and stepped forward, offering his hand.
Tsunade tilted her head, giving him a blank, dazed look.
"Don't fall."
Hoshikawa prompted her gently.
She seemed to understand, and instead of taking his hand, she draped her arm over his shoulder.
A heavy, soft weight pressed down on him.
Seeing that she hadn't grabbed his hand, Hoshikawa wrapped an arm around her waist instead.
"You—you did—you did a good job—today!"
Tsunade smiled with her eyes and ruffled his hair.
"Yeah."
Hoshikawa gave a perfunctory reply.
"You have such a sweet face, but you're—you're so un-sweet!"
Tsunade poked his cheek with her finger.
"Yeah."
Hoshikawa eyed her finger, resisting the urge to bite it.
"Seriously—can't you say anything else?"
Tsunade rested her head on his shoulder, her warm breath caressing his face.
"Let's get you home to rest, Sensei."
Hoshikawa's eyes shifted slightly, catching the faint sheen of oil on her lips.
"Okay."
Tsunade closed her eyes, letting Hoshikawa guide her slowly back to her house.
Thump.
The moment Hoshikawa let go, Tsunade collapsed onto her bed.
He shook his head with a sigh, helping her take off her shoes.
"I'll come by tomorrow."
Hoshikawa let her know, then closed the door and left.
Soon, he arrived at Kurenai Yuhi's house.
It was late, but not yet bedtime, and the lights were still on inside.
Hoshikawa raised his hand and knocked.
Though he had a key, it had been so long since he'd been home that just walking in might startle them.
"Who's knocking at this hour?"
Shinku Yuhi sounded puzzled.
"Maybe it's Hoshikawa."
Kurenai hopped off the couch. "I'll get it."
She ran to the entrance and opened the door.
When she saw that it really was Hoshikawa, she froze.
The next second, Kurenai lunged, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug.
Hoshikawa was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and reached up to pat her head.
Her long black hair was incredibly soft, and a faint, sweet scent hung in the air, a completely different feeling from Tsunade.
"Ahem, ahem!"
Shinku's face darkened at the sight, and he coughed loudly.
"Shinku-ojisan, do you have a cold?"
Hoshikawa blinked innocently. "I know a bit of medical ninjutsu. I can help you."
"You brat!"
Shinku couldn't help but glare at him.
"Dad, why are you yelling at him?"
Kurenai asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
Shinku was speechless.
"Hoshikawa, why are you coming home so late?"
Kurenai looked at him, her ruby eyes crinkling into happy crescents.
"I just took my sensei home."
Hoshikawa smiled.
"Alright, you two, come inside and talk. It's windy out there by the door."
Shinku sighed.
Even though his daughter was already falling for someone else, he still had to act like a responsible father.
"Yeah."
Hoshikawa patted Kurenai's back, a signal for her to let go.
Kurenai finally realized what she was doing, and a blush instantly spread across her cheeks.
She quickly took a step back, putting some space between them.
So cute.
Hoshikawa grinned, closing the door and walking with her into the living room.
"What kind of mission was it? Why were you gone for so long?"
Shinku sat across from them, curious.
He knew Hoshikawa often went on missions with Tsunade, but they were usually low-rank, mostly B-rank. They'd always be back in two or three days, rarely more than a week. This time, it had been almost two weeks.
"Sorry."
Hoshikawa shook his head. "I can't talk about it. It's village protocol."
"You can't—it was A-rank?"
Shinku suddenly had a thought, his eyes widening.
Generally, A-rank and S-rank ninja missions were classified unless the Hokage granted special permission.
"It was S-rank."
Hoshikawa corrected him.
"Huh?"
Shinku froze, a look of disbelief on his face. "Are you serious?"
Even he, a jōnin, hadn't completed many S-rank missions. The number was low not only because S-rank missions were rare but also because they were incredibly difficult. For example, the official data books show Asuma Sarutobi completed only twenty S-rank missions. And Kurenai Yuhi, just fourteen. Only true elite-of-the-elite like Jiraiya and Orochimaru had completed over a hundred S-rank missions.
The fact that a ten-year-old Hoshikawa could complete an S-rank mission was a huge shock to Shinku.
"Hoshikawa is definitely telling the truth!"
Kurenai said, a total fangirl.
"My sensei and Sakumo-ojisan were with me."
Hoshikawa patted her head. "They were on the S-rank mission. My part was probably more like an A-rank mission's difficulty."
After using her Dark Medical Ninjutsu, Yomitsu's power was on par with a jōnin. But besides her immense chakra, she knew no other ninjutsu, so her overall strength had to be discounted. Even so, saying it was an A-rank mission was no exaggeration.
"Even A-rank is impressive."
Shinku couldn't help but sigh. "Students these days are getting stronger with each generation."
After saying it, he found it a strange combination of words. A student completing an S-rank mission was unbelievable.
Shinku let out a breath.
He watched Kurenai and Hoshikawa's closeness, feeling a mix of relief and complicated emotions. Regardless, his family was definitely coming out ahead.
"Get some rest early. You have class tomorrow."
Shinku snapped out of his thoughts and reminded them.
"Okay."
Hoshikawa nodded slightly.
He was indeed exhausted after spending two hours dealing with a drunk Tsunade.
After a shower, Hoshikawa said goodnight to Kurenai and headed to his room.
The moon rose and fell, and a new day began.
"Hoshikawa!"
Kurenai's voice jolted him awake.
He rubbed his eyes, changed into his clothes, and opened the door.
Today, Kurenai was wearing a thin, white tracksuit with what looked like a long-sleeved shirt underneath. Her black hair was tied back in a ponytail. She looked full of youthful energy.
"Let's go for a run!"
Kurenai was overflowing with motivation.
It had been almost two weeks since she'd run with Hoshikawa, so she was naturally excited.
"Yeah."
Hoshikawa nodded slightly.
To raise his Taijutsu affinity, he and Might Guy often went on morning runs. But Hoshikawa couldn't stand the green spandex. One day, a brilliant idea struck him, and he invited Kurenai to join them.
As a ninja, even if you weren't a Taijutsu specialist, training your body was always a good idea.
Might Guy wholeheartedly welcomed Kurenai and even offered her a green spandex suit, which she ruthlessly refused.
Hoshikawa seized the opportunity and also demanded not to wear the green spandex.
With a two-on-one advantage, he and Kurenai won.
"Hoshikawa!"
Might Guy's eyes lit up when he saw them. "You're finally back in the village!"
"Yeah."
Hoshikawa ran side-by-side with him.
"To celebrate your return, let's have a youthful showdown today!"
Might Guy's voice was filled with excitement, and a fiery glow ignited in his eyes.
"We have class today," Hoshikawa quickly refused. "Intense exercise isn't a good idea."
"Fine."
Might Guy hesitated for a few seconds before finally giving in.
Hoshikawa let out a sigh of relief.
It wasn't that he was afraid of losing to Might Guy, but because the man was so energetic, he'd want to keep going even if he won. Hoshikawa could now truly understand how Kakashi Hatake felt in the original series; most people simply couldn't handle Might Guy.
After running three laps around the village, the sky was already starting to brighten.
Hoshikawa and Kurenai said their goodbyes to Might Guy and headed home.
...
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