Back at the training ground, Izumi, fearing that the Ninja would come looking for her, dragged her injured arm and left the training ground.
"I need to treat this, it hurts so much." Izumi hurried towards her home.
Just then, someone appeared in front of Izumi.
"Izumi."
"Ah?" Izumi exclaimed in surprise, "Eh? Itachi. How do you have time? Are you on vacation?"
Uchiha Itachi nodded, "Yes, I'm on vacation."
Uchiha Itachi looked at Izumi, noticing her holding her arm, and then he looked at her arm and gasped, "Ah! How did you get injured?"
He grabbed Izumi's hand and said, "Come to the Hospital with me."
"Eh?" Izumi found his grip tight and didn't struggle, quickly saying, "Ah, no, it's actually not serious, I can recover on my own."
Uchiha Itachi said seriously, "How can that be! This serious injury must be treated at the Hospital, otherwise, if you have lingering effects, it will affect your Ninja career."
Izumi still wanted to say something, but Uchiha Itachi directly picked her up and rushed towards the Hospital.
"Eh, eh?" Izumi's head was spinning, she hadn't expected to be carried in a princess carry.
Izumi felt uncomfortable all over and said shyly, "Ah, Itachi, um, I can walk by myself."
"Don't talk, we'll be there soon." Uchiha Itachi glanced at Izumi, then immediately looked towards the Hospital, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, getting closer and closer to the Hospital.
Izumi was indeed a bit embarrassed to be held by him like that, and although she felt a slight resistance in her heart, her body didn't struggle, letting him hold her obediently, though her body was tense and rigid.
"He's quite aloof, isn't he?" Izumi looked at Uchiha Itachi's unperturbed expression and inwardly told herself, "Calm down, Izumi, this guy will kill you in the future!"
Izumi then calmed down and carefully looked at Uchiha Itachi.
Meanwhile, the outwardly calm Uchiha Itachi was actually panicking inside; he didn't know why his head had gotten hot, and then he had uncontrollably picked her up, and now he couldn't put her down, so he could only hold her, looking straight ahead, though his little heart was thumping wildly.
"So light, so soft, and a faint fragrance on her, it smells so good."
Finally, they arrived at the Hospital, and both sighed in relief. Uchiha Itachi put her down, registered her, found a doctor, and had her wound bandaged.
"Thank you, Itachi."
Upon hearing this, Uchiha Itachi immediately said, "It's nothing, we're friends, it's what I should do."
"..."
Both fell into silence, not knowing what to say next.
At this moment, two nurses whispered beside them, "Hey, did you see that? Those two kids, the boy carried her over, and it was a princess carry! I'm this old and no man has ever carried me!"
The other nurse immediately looked at the two and asked in surprise, "Really? How old are they?"
"Of course it's true, kids nowadays are really something!"
"Yeah."
...Listening to the two nurses' whispers, both Izumi and Itachi lowered their heads in embarrassment.
"Ah, how embarrassing, how could I encounter something like this?" Izumi felt like everyone was looking at her.
Izumi said to Itachi, "Itachi, I'll go back first. Thank you so much."
Uchiha Itachi quickly said, "It's nothing, go back and rest well, don't train, and recover soon."
"Mhm." Izumi prepared to jump off the bed, and Uchiha Itachi immediately supported her, gently helping her down.
The nurse nearby immediately praised, "Ah, that little boy is so gentle."
"Yes, he's so caring at such a young age."
...
Izumi cleared her throat twice, intending to let those nurses see what kind of person he was, so she said to him, "I won't ask you for a gift this time, but next time, give me the gift you owe me, Itachi. It's too cheeky of you to always not give it to me."
Itachi was also nervous because of the nurses and blurted out his thoughts, "Next time."
"Do you know what kind of person he is now?" Izumi glanced triumphantly at the nurses nearby, then said to him, "Why is it always 'next time'?"
"Because, because..." Uchiha Itachi stammered, unable to speak.
"Mhm?" Izumi looked at him and said proudly, "Hmph, do you dislike me?"
He quickly added, "No, that's because if I gave you the gift, you wouldn't ask me for it, and I like it when you actively talk to me, it's very cute."
Izumi froze, quietly looking at Itachi, her body unconsciously leaning backward.
"Ah, ah, ah! That's too romantic!"
"He's already flirting at such a young age!" Several nurses excitedly watched the two, screaming with stars in their eyes.
"Ah!" Izumi heard them, snapped back to reality, covered her blushing face, and ran out in embarrassment.
"Oh no, how could I say that when I got nervous!" Uchiha Itachi wished he could slap himself and also ran out shyly.
After leaving the Hospital, both disappeared in a flash.
Izumi squatted on the ground, kicking the wall in embarrassment, "This guy actually flirted with me in public, how annoying! Ah, why am I blushing!"
"Ah ah ah ah! So many people saw it, and I actually blushed and ran away, it's too embarrassing, ah ah ah ah!"
Izumi snorted, "I've decided, Uchiha Itachi, if the Uchiha Clan isn't wiped out, I'll spare your life, but if it is, I'll kill you."
"How can I kill you in a more interesting way? I need to think about it carefully."
Uchiha Hazuki had originally planned to ask her daughter about the sake, but then she found her daughter injured, so she immediately took her into the house and thoroughly examined her.
"I told you it's nothing serious, just a training injury, it'll heal quickly, you don't have to worry. Dad's bloodline is still very powerful, and my body's recovery ability is very strong."
"What? Sake. Ah, this is my trophy. After I opened it, I found it very fragrant, so I took a sip. After drinking it, my body felt very comfortable."
"Ah, yes, yes, yes, I won't drink again until I'm an adult."
It took Izumi a long time to deal with her mother, handing over the remaining half-jar of sake to her mother, and then she lay on the bed to rest.
After her mother left, Izumi immediately sat up and began to practice.
"I still have too few collected talismans, I need more powerful talismans."
"I should go to the black market when I have time."
A few days later, Izumi accepted Sarutobi Muraki's invitation for everyone to have a meal together.
The four gathered to eat seafood.
Yamamoto Kawa looked at the lavish seafood, clapped his hands, and drooled, "Wow, Sensei really splurged this time, it's so luxurious!"
Akido Jiro, the big eater, kept his eyes glued to the food, just waiting for Sensei to give the order to start eating.
Izumi also looked at the abundant seafood with great interest, ready to enjoy a good meal.
Sarutobi Muraki said to everyone, "Let's eat!"
As soon as he spoke, the few of them immediately began to eat. Izumi, being a girl, ate more gracefully. Sarutobi Muraki, being an elder, was also very restrained, while Yamamoto Kawa and Akido Jiro even started fighting over the food.
Izumi couldn't help but laugh when she saw them arguing.
After everyone finished eating, Sarutobi Muraki said, "Mhm, you've all been working together for almost a year now, and although Izumi joined later, she's also made rapid progress. I've decided to let you participate in this Chunin Exams."
"Eh? Really?"
The few of them were a little excited, not expecting to be able to participate in the Chunin Exams.
Sarutobi Muraki nodded, "That's right, you can participate this time. I've already signed you up."
"Yay!" The three clapped their hands in celebration.
Sarutobi Muraki said, "So you must also train well. I will be even stricter with you, understood?"
"Yes!"
Izumi hummed a song and skipped away from there, returning home alone.