There were far too many people gathered in front of the Hokage Building.
That was Hayashi's first thought. As the morning sun rose, the thin mist faded, and the noise of the crowd grew louder by the second. It became so chaotic that Hayashi had to strain his ears just to hear what Nawaki was trying to say.
He had never missed the quiet efficiency of the Anbu this much, but on a day like this, even they wouldn't step in to disperse the ninjas who had gathered to send off the departing forces.
"Hayashi, you must watch Kato Dan closely. Don't let him go looking for my sister!" Nawaki had to raise his voice, nearly shouting over the crowd.
"Didn't you give him the letter?"
Nawaki's expression twisted with helpless frustration. "I did! But who could've guessed he'd be thick-skinned enough to show up anyway?"
He looked completely defeated. With a sister as beautiful as Tsunade, how could he allow just anyone to casually approach her? Since Tsunade struggled to reject people directly, the role of the overprotective sibling naturally fell to him.
Hayashi was silent for a moment. Then he replied, "If he's that persistent, what can I do? I can't just stop him from approaching Tsunade-sama."
"I'm not asking you to block him," Nawaki insisted. "Just follow my sister secretly and see what she's up to."
"Follow Tsunade-sama," Hayashi repeated, frowning. Then louder, "Secretly?"
"You might as well call it stalking…" Hayashi said, shaking his head. "If she finds out, it won't just be my dignity that gets crushed."
Losing dignity was manageable. But if Tsunade got angry enough to hit him, he'd probably spend half his life in a hospital bed. If she got truly furious… he might not survive at all.
Still, Nawaki looked strangely confident. "It's fine. She never pays close attention to her surroundings. She won't notice."
There were several suspicious points in that statement. Before Hayashi could ask, the small traitorous fox—Kushina—leaned toward him and casually exposed all of Nawaki's secrets one after another.
"Hayashi, I've often seen Nawaki hanging around under Tsunade-sama's window late at night."
"…!" Nawaki froze in place, horrified.
Holy crap. Hayashi instantly awarded him the title Konoha's Number One Sister Complex.
With this level of obsession, even calling him a sister complex was being polite.
He wasn't going to start growing chest hair and tracking people like some wild animal, was he?
Kushina glared at Nawaki sharply. "Nawaki-san, be serious. You can't interfere with Tsunade-sama. So what do you think you're doing wandering around her place at night?"
"Because I like my sister too!"
"And what does wandering outside her room in the middle of the night mean?" Kushina asked, her expression turning dangerously cold.
"Because I like my sister too!"
He repeated it with the stubborn resolve of a fool.
"…You should just fall into a hole somewhere."
Kushina dragged Hayashi away from him immediately, putting distance between them.
"Kushina, be careful," Hayashi warned quietly. "I think Nawaki has some serious stalking tendencies."
"Okay, okay, I know. If he tries it again, I'll punch him for sure." She pumped her fists confidently.
Hayashi glanced at her, then asked in a softer voice, "Your relationship with that fox… it's good, right?"
"Very good! The big fox is usually well-behaved. I like it a lot." Kushina nodded happily.
Hayashi nodded. "Good. Talk to it more. If you ever encounter danger, let it help you."
"Yes! We're already friends," she said with a bright smile.
Inside her, the Nine-Tails flicked its tail and gave a dismissive snort, but unusually, it didn't argue.
After speaking with Kushina, Hayashi turned to Mikoto.
She stood in front of him like a shy young bride, gently fixing the collar of his clothes.
"This is the bento I made for you," Mikoto said softly as she took a scroll from her pocket. "There are also some of your daily things sealed inside. When I'm not with you… you have to take good care of yourself."
"I will."
Hayashi accepted the scroll. Mikoto had always looked after his daily life, and now that they were separating, he wasn't sure if he would adjust easily.
"I've left some snakes around you. If anything happens, let them find me right away," he whispered near her ear. After patting her head, he straightened up.
"Please be careful," Mikoto said quietly.
"I know."
"Hayashi! Don't forget to write to me!" Kushina shouted from behind.
He waved his hand in acknowledgement and walked toward his assigned squad.
...
With the Third Hokage's announcement, the troops finally began their march out of the village. After a brief period of peace, returning to the battlefield brought a complicated feeling. Leaving the village meant returning to a state of constant vigilance.
While thinking about this, Hayashi climbed onto a supply wagon with his team. This wasn't his first deployment, so everything felt familiar.
"Captain, give us a proper introduction," Taki Toru called out, visibly restless from the long journey ahead. They were still close to the village, so it was safe enough for conversation. The unfamiliar captain made the perfect target.
"I already introduced myself earlier," Hayashi replied.
Taki Toru glared. "Yeah, we know your name and your cool title, 'Konoha's Lightning,' but nothing else! No harm in telling us your abilities, right?"
Hayashi lifted his hands helplessly. "Alright, alright."
Even Hyuga Himeji turned her attention toward him. She hadn't fought him since their second year, and she looked genuinely curious.
"I'm best at genjutsu. For ninjutsu, I'm skilled with Lightning Release, Fire Release, and Wind Release. My taijutsu is also pretty good. I guess you could call me an all-rounder."
In the ninja world, an all-rounder didn't mean mastering all five chakra natures, but being proficient in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu.
Though in Hayashi's case, he truly could use all five elements—even if Earth and Water Release weren't his specialties. And on top of that, he had even studied sealing techniques. Other than medical ninjutsu, he knew at least a little of everything.
Before him, only Hashirama, Tobirama, Hiruzen, and Orochimaru could truly be called all-rounder shinobi.
But Taki Toru clearly didn't believe him. "This is the first time I've heard a ten-year-old call himself an all-rounder!"
Trying to provoke me now? Hayashi sighed inwardly. "If you don't believe me, does that mean you want to test it?"
"I'll do it," Himeji said as she stood up, as straightforward as ever.
"Alright," Hayashi nodded. "Look into my eyes."
Himeji nodded, activating her Byakugan instead of using her normal vision. The veins around her eyes bulged slightly as she aimed her Byakugan directly into his Sharingan.
Thanks to the Byakugan's superior chakra control, most genjutsu didn't work on Hyuga clan members—they dispelled them instantly.
That was why Hayashi hadn't used genjutsu against her back in their second year.
However…
Within less than a second, Himeji's Byakugan deactivated, her expression went blank, and she slumped forward into a deep sleep.
"…"
Everyone stared.
_____
The rate at which I get little to no power stones, lol💀
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