She practiced Genjutsu continuously, whistling along the way. She thought that whistling might count as a form of performance; in the future, for small-scale performances or simply to buff her companions, she could use whistling to control the range.
This way, she would have three ranges of performance: large, medium, and small.
Practicing until the afternoon, Kakashi came to call Kano to go to Naruto and Sasuke's side. They said they were about to succeed and wanted her to witness it.
She readily agreed and arrived under the tree.
"Kano-chan, watch closely! This time I can reach the top of the tree!"
Naruto's morale soared upon seeing Kano's arrival, and Sasuke, for the sake of information on Itachi, refused to be outdone. The two started at the same time, staring each other down and refusing to yield an inch, fearing the other would overtake them as they sprinted with all their might.
In the end, both reached the top at the same time.
"I won!" "I won!"
"Nonsense, I clearly got here first!"
"You're the one, idiot, you didn't even see that I'd already reached the top!"
The two argued incessantly, clearly on the verge of coming to blows over who was first to claim Kano's reward.
"You two! Get down here quickly and let Kano choose who reached the top first."
Kakashi had already conceded defeat, but he still threw this matter to Kano to see how she would handle it. Would she favor Sasuke or Naruto?
"Kano-chan, tell him, was I the first to reach the top?!"
"Kano, I was faster than Naruto, you saw it!"
Even though they had been called to stop by Kakashi, the two were still glaring at each other, neither backing down.
"You two reached the top together, so I've decided to give you both rewards. It was meant to encourage your training anyway, so as long as you like it, it's fine."
"Wow! Great! I get to eat a bento handmade by Kano-chan again!"
"Kano, can I ask any question about that man?"
"Speak one at a time, don't talk at once. Tomorrow morning, I'll borrow Mr. Tazuna's kitchen to make a bento for you; just look forward to it. Sasuke, whenever you've decided on a question, just come and ask me, but only one, okay?"
Naruto was so excited he almost jumped up, and Sasuke also clenched his fists, calming his excited heart and deliberating on which question to choose.
The four returned to the house together, where the host had already prepared dinner and was waiting for them.
"You're back, sit down quickly while the food is still hot."
Everyone responded and sat down together.
"Naruto, Sasuke, from tomorrow onwards, you will protect Mr. Tazuna."
For the past few days, Kakashi and Kano had taken turns protecting him while those two were in high-intensity training.
Both readily agreed. When they returned, they were supporting each other; the high-intensity training had left them so tired they almost couldn't walk. Kano felt like complaining; they were about to fight while climbing the tree just now, but as soon as the rewards were given, they became best brothers.
Tazuna was very grateful to them; even though he had lied about the mission, they were willing to stay and continue protecting him. Kano and the others all expressed that it was fine, as it was following their own Ninja Way.
But as a child, Inari couldn't listen to it anymore.
"Why! Why do you risk your lives to this extent! Even with training, you can't beat Gato's men. No matter how many pretty words you say, no matter how hard you work! In front of the truly strong, the weak will only suffer a crushing defeat!"
Inari became more and more agitated as he spoke, tears dripping down his cheeks onto the dining table. Kano was somewhat moved hearing this; losing a father at such a young age, and having him cruelly murdered right before his eyes.
Just as pitiful as Naruto.
But Naruto was slumped over the table and responded casually.
"You're so annoying, I'm not like you."
"Shut up, I get angry just looking at you! You don't understand this country at all, yet you love to show off! You don't know anything about painful things! I'm not like a guy like you who's laughing and joking all day!"
Inari completely lost his temper, venting it all on Naruto. Naruto also got a bit angry at being looked down upon like this.
"So you think you're the protagonist of a tragedy, crying every day. idiots like you should just cry all day! Crybaby!"
Kano patted Naruto's head.
"I know you feel wronged too, but he's just a child."
Naruto didn't say a word and went back to his room. Inari also ran out alone.
Seeing this, Kakashi wanted to go out and comfort Inari, and asked Kano to comfort Naruto.
"Sensei, you should go comfort Naruto, deepen your bond with him, and try to understand him more. I'll go find Inari. As a girl, it's easier for me to get close to a child; it's most appropriate for me to comfort him."
Kakashi agreed with Kano's viewpoint; Kano's way of doing things was always reliable.
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