Moreover, the small object Kato Dan had hidden behind his back was instantly spotted by Hayato Ren.
Hayato Ren then waved his hand impatiently.
"The teacher is busy right now, no one can disturb her."
Hearing this, Kato Dan glanced toward Tsunade's tent as if wanting to say something.
But since Hayato Ren had made his position so clear, persisting further wouldn't lead to any good outcome.
Thus, he turned and left looking utterly dejected.
"Who were you talking to outside just now?"
Tsunade asked Hayato Ren as she watched him return to the tent after finishing his washing up.
"Just some irrelevant clown, nothing worth paying attention to."
After casually responding, Hayato Ren began eating his meal.
As one of the highest-ranking commanders in the entire camp, Tsunade's meals were naturally quite lavish.
The balance between meat and vegetables was well maintained, though the taste left something to be desired.
After all, they were at the front lines of the battlefield.
Having food that could fill their stomachs was already quite good - pursuing flavor would be too luxurious.
Tsunade glanced at Hayato Ren eating with relish before returning to the work before her.
She had actually overheard the entire conversation between Hayato Ren and Kato Dan, but didn't pay it much mind.
She had originally held some slight favor toward Kato Dan, since he had supported her proposal against opposition during the Jonin Meeting.
However, after Hayato Ren's explanation yesterday, her opinion of Kato Dan had plummeted, transforming him from a likable colleague to a stranger with ulterior motives.
So Hayato Ren's description of him as "irrelevant" was actually somewhat fitting.
After finishing his meal, Hayato Ren moved behind Tsunade to see what she was writing.
After a quick scan, he realized she was compiling the suggestions he had given her yesterday, to which she had added several of her own ideas.
After all, as a Master Medical Ninja who had actually been on the battlefield, Tsunade's practical combat experience was quite substantial.
Just give her a direction, and she could quickly develop a complete plan.
As he continued watching, Hayato Ren's attention shifted from what Tsunade was writing to her neck hidden within her hair.
Tsunade's smooth neck was concealed within her thick golden hair, though some parts remained exposed.
This hazy quality made it even more attention-grabbing.
Naturally, Tsunade noticed the increasingly inappropriate gaze from behind her. To prevent the situation from developing in a worse direction, she casually assigned Hayato Ren a task and sent him off to find somewhere else to be.
Hayato Ren could only leave the tent grudgingly, though there was some good news.
In the past, Tsunade wouldn't have used such an indirect approach but would have directly thrown punches.
In a certain sense, this could be considered a result of the changing relationship between Hayato Ren and Tsunade.
Hayato Ren wandered aimlessly through the camp, watching the ninjas coming and going as he let out a bored yawn.
He somewhat wanted to return to Konoha - this place was rather dull, with nowhere interesting to visit nearby.
Here at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, there was nothing but endless sand as far as the eye could see.
"Hayato?"
Just then, a somewhat familiar voice called out from behind Hayato Ren, prompting him to turn around.
He saw Namikaze Minato approaching him quickly with a pleasantly surprised expression.
"It really is you, Hayato! Long time no see. I didn't expect you to be here too."
Minato stopped in front of Hayato, wearing his warm signature smile.
"I previously accepted a mission to protect a logistics team, which brought me here. Since my teacher happens to be here too, I decided to stay and see if there's anything I can help with."
"I see. I came here following my teacher Tsunade. By the way, I haven't congratulated you on becoming a Chunin yet. Actually, you're the only one from our class who's been promoted to Chunin so far - that's truly remarkable. Though it's a bit late, please accept this pouch if you don't mind."
Minato handed Hayato a brand new Ninja Tool Pouch.
Hayato thanked him and accepted the pouch.
Come to think of it, this was actually the third congratulatory gift he'd received for his promotion to Chunin - the first two naturally came from Kushina and Mikoto.
However, his relationship with Minato during their school days hadn't been particularly close.
Since Kushina didn't think much of Minato's ways of doing things, Hayato had only maintained a casual acquaintance with Minato by extension.
Looking at Minato's genuinely happy expression for him, Hayato felt that this guy was truly a good person after all.
For the next while, Hayato and Minato found a place to sit and began chatting about various interesting things that had happened since becoming ninjas.
After some time had passed, a boisterous voice suddenly interrupted their conversation.
"So this is where you've been, Minato. And who might this be?"
Hayato turned toward the voice and saw a burly man wearing wooden sandals, with a forehead protector bearing the character for "oil," and long white hair looking at him with curiosity.
Minato immediately stood up and said:
"Jiraiya-sensei, this is my friend Hayato Ren. He's the one I mentioned before - the only Chunin from our class. He's an excellent ninja."
Then Minato turned to Hayato.
"Hayato, this is my teacher Jiraiya. He's provided me with much guidance throughout my ninja career, serving as a guiding light on my path of growth."
"Hahaha, you're exaggerating too much, Minato! I'm not that great. So you're Tsunade's student, kid? You look pretty decent!"
Jiraiya first let out a proud laugh, then turned his attention to Hayato.
At this point, Hayato also stood up and looked at Jiraiya.
"Are you the author of 'Make-Out Paradise'?"
Hearing this, Minato's face immediately showed an embarrassed expression. After all, having his teacher write that kind of novel wasn't exactly something to be proud of.
But Jiraiya was the complete opposite. His face broke into a proud smile.
"Oh? You actually know about that? It seems you're a fan of my books. Would you like an autograph?"
Hayato Ren's face showed a disdainful expression.
"Hmph, aside from the passable writing style, your 'Make-Out Paradise' is an utter mess that can't even be considered proper literature."
Hearing this, Jiraiya immediately became upset.