"Well, you're right. Let's get going then."
Kakashi had no objections—he'd been wanting to leave for a while now. He was only waiting for Natsuki to pick him up, so it'd be faster.
The two exited the house and quickly found Fu to say goodbye.
Fu looked reluctant. "You're leaving already? Natsuki just got here and hasn't even had a proper meal!"
Natsuki chuckled. "My girlfriend is waiting for me to come home and eat, so I really can't stay away much longer. But Fu, how about you send me off with some local specialties? I'll take them back to make my girlfriend happy."
Fu agreed right away. "Of course! I'll go get them!"
She really went and brought back quite a lot—her enthusiasm was off the charts.
Natsuki didn't just take them for free, though. He handed her a kunai marked with the Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God) formula. "Fu, you've probably seen me vanish out of nowhere before—this is how I do it. As long as you carry this kunai and manage to send me a message, I can appear at your side instantly."
Fu clutched the kunai tightly like a precious treasure. "Thank you! I won't be polite about this!"
Fu was cheerful, but not naïve. She understood that her existence could bring calamity to her village. This kunai from Natsuki might be the key to saving it.
She knew how strong Natsuki was.
A man who could create terrifying giants—there was no doubt he could save the village from disaster!
All she had to do was get a message to him in time.
Of course, Fu hoped the Akatsuki wouldn't show up at all, but she wouldn't count on luck. She'd already planned with Shiki: if the Akatsuki came, she'd go with them willingly and ask them to spare the village—then let Shiki find a way to contact Natsuki. That was the best plan.
"Alright, we're off."
Natsuki waved, and together with Kakashi, vanished in a flash.
Fu continued holding the kunai tightly, silently praying that disaster would never arrive.
Meanwhile, Natsuki and Kakashi reappeared directly inside the Hokage's office. After reporting Fu's situation with the Seven-Tails, they left and headed home.
Natsuki went straight to the ninja tools shop. The moment he stepped in, he called out:
"Father-in-law, father-in-law! Look what I brought you! These are specialty goods from Sunagakure! And these here are from Takigakure! Bet you've never been there, huh? Their local goods are really nice!"
He pulled out one item after another as he spoke.
The shopkeeper actually inspected each item carefully, and a smile unconsciously tugged at the corners of his mouth.
Still, he kept his tsundere act going. "Ahem! You've got some thoughtfulness. Even though these look pretty average, it's the sentiment that counts. I suppose I'll accept them—just this once."
He was clearly happy, but had to pretend otherwise.
Natsuki didn't argue and chatted with his soon-to-be father-in-law for a while before heading straight to Tenten's room.
Inside the bedroom, Tenten wasn't resting—she was tinkering with something.
Natsuki walked over and saw she was working on something like a projectile device.
"What's this?" Natsuki asked, examining it.
"It's a senbon launcher!"
Tenten grinned. "I modeled it after that move used by Sasori of the Red Sand. It's really effective, so I shamelessly copied it. As for poison, I'll just ask Tsunade-sama for some."
Seeing Tenten had already shaken off her previous discouragement, Natsuki smiled.
He gently pulled her into his arms, but his words weren't so serious: "Tenten, I bought some Wind Country-style clothes. Wanna wear them for me?"
Tenten glared at him, cheeks flushed. "You never have decent thoughts!"
Natsuki looked cheeky. "But isn't that a decent thought? If not now, then wear it for me tonight!"
Tenten gave a half-laugh, half-sigh: "Fine, fine! I'll wear them and sleep next to you tonight, happy now? Geez. If you're so free, then come help me—this part's tough to work out!"
Natsuki saluted, looking serious: "Understood, wifey!"
That made Tenten laugh again. The two of them stayed in the room working on the senbon launcher—copying Sasori's design, and even making some of their own variations.
Sure, senbon launchers might become weak later on, but since Tenten was so into it right now, Natsuki naturally kept her company.
Tenten said, "Natsuki, I want you to teach me your fūinjutsu (sealing technique)."
Natsuki blinked. "You want to learn that too?"
Tenten nodded earnestly. "I still don't have access to the Six Paths Tools, so I need to keep getting stronger. I'm not talented in ninjutsu or genjutsu, and I'm not good at medical ninjutsu either. I can learn taijutsu from Guy-sensei, and sealing techniques are the other option. As long as it can make me stronger, I'll learn anything!"
"Good, that's the right mindset!"
Natsuki flicked her cute nose. "Humans grow stronger through constant learning. Look at me—I'm still working hard to study in the Senju archives. If you want to learn, I'll get you the knowledge."
Tenten's eyes sparkled with joy. "You're the best husband ever! As a reward, come here—muah muah muah~!"
What? A couple of cheek kisses?
No way that was enough!
Natsuki wasn't shy at all. He grabbed her and used the Hiraishin to take her home—time for a little crow flies the airplane action.
The next day, Iruka and Ebisu were summoned to the Hokage's office along with the genin.
Tsunade waited until everyone was present before making an announcement.
"This time, your performance in the Chūnin Exams was excellent. After discussion with the upper ranks, it has been decided—you are all officially promoted to chūnin!"
"Yeah! We're chūnin, dattebayo!"
Naruto leapt up and danced with joy, and the others were just as excited.
Finally, they were no longer genin. That was a big deal.
But Tsunade's next words wiped the smiles off their faces:
"In addition, based on recommendations from Guy, Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma, Hyūga Neji and Uchiha Sasuke will be promoted to jōnin. Aburame Shino and Nara Shikamaru will be promoted to tokubetsu jōnin (special jōnin)!"
Nani?! Those guys got promoted to jōnin?!
The others were stunned. They'd just thought they were catching up to their peers, and now some of them were already leaping ahead again.
Shikamaru scratched his head. "Ugh, how troublesome… Asuma always does annoying things like this."
He wasn't happy about the promotion. Even as a tokubetsu jōnin, it meant more work—and that didn't align with his lazy lifestyle.
Natsuki, though, was a little surprised. "Shino, honestly, you should've been made a full jōnin."
Shino shook his head. "I'm still not strong enough. I need to become stronger. Even Tenten is a tokubetsu jōnin—I can't surpass her yet."
So that was the reason.
Seems like his encounter with the Akatsuki had shaken his confidence.
Truthfully, Shino didn't need to be so harsh on himself. The Aburame clan's fighting style was very unique, and some enemies were natural counters. Sasori, for instance, was a full-body puppet—bugs were useless against him.
But Shino had a strong sense of pride. He didn't feel he was ready to be a full jōnin, so he had Kurenai only recommend him for tokubetsu jōnin.
(End of Chapter)
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