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After the shopkeeper left, Natsuki walked up to Tenten and asked, "Have you tried out the shuriken yet?"
Tenten shook her head. "I just got them. I was about to test them out when you showed up."
Natsuki nodded and turned to Shino. "Shino, try it with a shadow clone."
Without a word, Shino raised his hand, and a swarm of insects flew out, startling Tenten so much that she hid behind Natsuki. But then, the insects quickly gathered and formed into a humanoid shape, eventually taking on Shino's appearance.
Natsuki gently reassured her, "Don't be afraid. The Aburame clan specializes in insect techniques. Shino is a strong and trustworthy comrade."
Tenten gave Shino a curious look, no longer as scared. When the insect clone gestured for her to attack, she raised her poison shuriken and threw it.
The insect clone blocked with a kunai, but with a loud bang, the poison shuriken exploded, releasing toxic smoke that engulfed the clone.
Then Tenten tossed several wire shuriken, embedding them precisely around the clone. As the mechanisms activated, steel wires shot out, successfully hooking onto the clone's clothing.
"Just like I imagined. These two types of shuriken are perfect for ambush and restraint. From now on, they're going to be my exclusive tools."
Clearly pleased, Tenten smiled with satisfaction.
Shino dispelled the insect clone and commented, "The design of these two shuriken types is quite ingenious. If the enemy is unaware, they can be very effective. Tenten's throwing technique is also excellent, especially her precision control with the wire shuriken—almost every strand was used effectively."
Tenten placed her hands on her hips, beaming with pride like a little girl. "Hmph! I might not be good at everything, but I am the best when it comes to throwing ninja tools!"
Natsuki chimed in with praise, "Yes, yes, our Tenten is the master of ninja tools!"
"Who's 'our' Tenten?!"
Tenten blushed, too shy to continue.
Natsuki found himself at a bit of a loss. After all, in both his lives, this was his first time trying to pursue a girl. The problem was, the girl was just seven years old. Even if early relationships weren't frowned upon in this world, it still felt too young...
Fortunately, Shino stepped in to help: "By the way, Tenten, you're in second grade, right? Do you know someone named Hyūga Neji?"
"You mean Neji-kun? Yeah, he's in my class."
Tenten looked curious. "Why are you asking all of a sudden? Don't tell me you've got beef with him?"
Shino's sunglasses turned toward Natsuki, as if to say: I set you up, now go for it.
Natsuki quickly responded, "No beef. But remember a few days ago when there was that big school fight? Shino and I had some friends who got picked on by some second-years, so we stepped in. Later, we found out that those second-years were angry because they lost to Neji in a sparring match, and took it out on random students—who just happened to be our friends."
Tenten's expression turned stormy. "So that's what happened! Those guys came back to class whining and playing the victims. Turns out it was their fault! Hmph! Just because they couldn't handle Neji's Jūken, they went and bullied underclassmen? Pathetic!"
"Exactly! And honestly, they weren't that strong. They couldn't even beat me and Shino. So we were wondering—just how strong is Hyūga Neji?"
"Neji-kun? He's really strong..."
As she spoke, Tenten led them into the living room and even kindly prepared drinks and snacks.
Maybe it was rare for her to have friends over, because she seemed genuinely happy and eagerly continued the conversation about Neji. Though she didn't know much about the Byakugan or the Gentle Fist technique, she clearly had a high opinion of Neji: cool, strong, handsome.
In class, Neji had the same status as Sasuke—popular with the girls and admired (or envied) by the boys. But unlike Sasuke's arrogance, Neji was just cold, thanks to the curse of the Caged Bird.
As for Tenten, she wasn't like the love-struck girls. What she felt toward Neji was more like admiration.
She admired Neji's strength, his powerful clan techniques and bloodline, and the fact that he was well-liked.
"My dream is to become a kunoichi as amazing as Lady Tsunade. But after two years at school, I've realized my talent is just average. Only my throwing techniques are anything to brag about. I don't even know how to get stronger, sigh..."
As she spoke, Tenten couldn't help but sigh. For someone her age, she thought way too much.
Most girls at this age were focused on playing with friends, dressing up nicely, or which boy looked cute—like Sakura and Ino.
But once Tenten set her dream, she had been working hard ever since.
Unfortunately, with limited talent and no famous teacher to guide her, her progress had been slow, which was why she was so troubled.
Now that the topic was here, Natsuki had something to say. He casually patted her shoulder. "Tenten, talent is important, and hard work is important, but choosing the right direction and method is even more important!"
Tenten blinked. "Direction and method?"
"Exactly. Let me explain."
Natsuki sat down beside her, speaking seriously. "First, direction. You need to figure out your strengths and weaknesses, and then move forward in a way that maximizes your strengths and overcomes your weaknesses. For example, Jiraiya-sama, one of the Legendary Sannin like Lady Tsunade, was a total idiot as a kid. He couldn't learn a single ninjutsu properly. Even with shuriken, all he could do was a move called 'Throw All the Shuriken at Once no Jutsu.'"
Throw All the Shuriken at Once no Jutsu?
What kind of move was that?!
Tenten giggled. She didn't expect one of the Sannin, Jiraiya, to be so amusing.
Even Shino was surprised. "Natsuki, are you saying Jiraiya-sama was a fool as a child? Is that true?"
Natsuki nodded solemnly. "Totally true. You can ask around. Jiraiya-sama was trained by the Third Hokage, and it's said even the Third tried every trick in the book but still couldn't teach him properly. Later, Jiraiya-sama learned the Summoning Technique and accidentally summoned himself to Mount Myōboku—one of the Three Great Sage Lands. There, he trained under the Toad Sage and eventually returned with great strength. He later proved himself on the battlefield!"
Tenten listened with fascination.
When she was little, all she ever heard was how amazing and legendary Lady Tsunade was, and that's why she wanted to be like her.
She never imagined that Jiraiya, also one of the Sannin, had such a legendary underdog story. A true example of a fool rising to greatness.
Natsuki was right. Picking the right direction really was important.
Jiraiya-sama was once so hopeless that even the Hokage couldn't teach him, yet he became powerful at Mount Myōboku.
So what about her? Where was her direction? Who should she learn from?
Tenten couldn't figure it out just yet, so she simply asked Natsuki directly, "Natsuki, what do you think are my strengths and weaknesses? And how can I get stronger? Come on, Natsuki, tell me! I'll treat you to a feast!"
(End of Chapter)
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