Chapter 139 Little Li, the Ostracized

"Eh—why do I have another mission?" Haruko Hayama looked at Tsunade on the Hokage throne, very indignant. "Wasn't it said that I wouldn't have to go on missions until my medical jutsu reached the next stage?"

Tsunade scratched her face guiltily, "They specifically asked me to go, but as the Hokage I'm busy, so only my beloved little apprentice can go!"

"...Wipe the sauce off your mouth first." Haruko Hayama pointed at her face speechlessly.

Why did she have to run into two teachers with questionable professional ethics?

Tsunade reassured herself that she wasn't embarrassed, coughed lightly, and became serious. "Besides, this trouble was caused by Naruto. He brought back three injured people before, and it turned out that he came all the way from the Oxalis Gold Mine to request a mission."

"Naruto?" Haruko Hayama was taken aback, and her lips twitched.

After summoning Hyuga Neji, Rock Lee, and Tenten, Tsunade explained the situation to them as well.

"The Oxalis Gold Mine is one of the major mining villages in the River Country. However, I heard that half a year ago, under the guise of protecting the village, a group of scoundrels calling themselves the Black Shovel Family infiltrated the village. They took control of the village and indiscriminately killed innocent villagers at will."

Upon hearing Tsunade's explanation, Rock Lee exclaimed indignantly, "That's outrageous!"

Tsunade gave the instructions: "Your mission is to wait until the three of them have recovered their strength, then send them back to the Oxalis Gold Mine, and also eliminate the Black Shovel Clan."

"That sounds alright." Haruko Hayama breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, it wasn't a particularly troublesome task.

"Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee, Tenten, and... that guy who was eavesdropping!"

Tsunade threw a kunai at the ceiling, and Naruto Uzumaki fell down with it along with the tiles.

Under everyone's gaze, especially Haruko's curious stare, Naruto quickly stood up, smiled sheepishly, and dusted off his bottom.

"What? You want to go too?" Tsunade sat back down and looked at him with amusement.

"Well..." Naruto glanced at Haruko Hayama subconsciously, then said righteously, "After all, I brought those three people back, so it's only right that I take responsibility for them! Can I go with them?"

Tsunade sighed, "Go ahead, go ahead. You'll only cause me trouble if you stay in the village anyway. This time, the four of you will go on a mission with Haruko as the team leader."

"yes!"

...

"The leader of the Kurokuchi family is one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?" Haruko asked incredulously as she ate her ramen.

Sitting on the farthest edge from her, Lee Rock looked around and flashed her a bright smile. "Hmm! My respected teacher, Kai-sensei's exclusive information!"

"I wonder if Teacher Kai's information is reliable or not," Tian Tian sighed.

"Who are the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?" Naruto asked, puzzled.

Haruko sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Naruto, we fought one of them in the Land of Waves before, the one who used PUA on Haku."

Naruto Uzumaki suddenly realized: "Oh! That muscular guy Zabuza, right!"

"And there's Kisame Hoshigaki, who fought Kakashi-sensei. Both of them are known as the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!"

While seriously delivering the intelligence, Rock Lee also made a heart shape with his hands for Haruko Hayama.

“...Haha.” Haruko turned her head away, letting Tenten and Naruto Uzumaki on either side shield her from view.

It seems that everyone except Rock Lee himself forgot about his drunken confession last time, so the seating order at the ramen shop became:

Naruto Uzumaki, Haruko Hayama, Tenten, Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee.

Rock Lee, who was ostracized: Haruko, look at me! Look at me!

"If it's that level, then it might be a bit troublesome for us to fight back." Haruko Hayama frowned as she thought of Kakashi and Sasuke, who had been injured before.

Naruto, however, slurped his ramen nonchalantly, "What's there to be afraid of? I'll take them on one by one! Besides, Haruko, you're starting to sound just like Shikamaru now."

"Hmm? Really?" Haruko Hayama recalled what she had just said and realized that she had indeed picked up Shikamaru's catchphrase.

Could it be that spending too much time with Nara Shikamaru has made him, who was originally just trying to stay out of trouble, start to avoid getting into trouble?

"Don't be afraid, believe in our strength!" Tian Tian clenched his fist and cheered, his eyes full of determination.

Hyuga Neji stood up. "I'm leaving now."

"Huh? Neji left so soon?" Haruko Hayama put down her chopsticks and looked at him.

Hyuga Neji glanced at her, then turned his gaze to Uzumaki Naruto, who was still shouting "Another bowl!" next to Hayama Haruko. "Although I'm very reluctant to be with someone, I still have to prepare properly for the mission."

Haruko wipes her sweat: Could the Great Demon King be talking about me?

I chuckle to myself every day: Neji really does love to put on a sour face.

Rock Lee moved his position: He's one step closer to Haruko!

Naruto, who was truly targeted: Another bowl, please!

After packing her backpack, Haruko and Naruto headed to the village entrance to meet up with them, and on the way they happened to run into Sasuke Uchiha.

Seeing that they were clearly about to embark on a long journey, Uchiha Sasuke blocked their way. "Are you going on a mission?"

“Yes, it was originally supposed to be Tsunade-sensei who went, but she was too lazy to go, so she had me lead the team.” Haruko could speak more freely when facing the two of them.

Sasuke Uchiha looked at Naruto Uzumaki with displeasure and said, "Only this super-duper idiot is with us?"

"What idiot?!" Naruto squinted at him. "Oh, you're just jealous that I get to go on missions with Haruko!"

"Who's jealous of you!" Uchiha Sasuke exclaimed, clearly annoyed that he'd been caught out.

Haruko patted their shoulders with both hands. "Alright, since Naruto brought back this mission, Master gave him special permission to go along, and Tenten and the others are going with him too."

Naruto, who had been stopped, crossed his arms, snorted, and turned his head away.

Sasuke Uchiha grabbed Haruko Hayama's wrist, which was resting on his shoulder, and hesitated before speaking, "I..."

"What's wrong, Sasuke?" Haruko asked him, puzzled.

"No...it's nothing. Take care on your journey."

In the end, Sasuke Uchiha said nothing, watching helplessly as the two of them walked side by side, getting further and further away from him.

Naruto Uzumaki said something to Haruko Hayama that made her laugh, but Naruto himself was stunned for a moment, then his face turned red, and he grinned and scratched his head.

Sasuke Uchiha clenched his fist, his sharp gaze fixed on Naruto Uzumaki's nonchalant back.

It seems that without realizing it, Naruto Uzumaki started to get closer to Haruko Hayama than he did, especially after Haruko Hayama was promoted to Chunin. She spent less time with the two of them and instead went to lead other people on missions.

Originally, he and Naruto were both waiting for Haruko to return from her mission and reunite with Team 7, but why?

Why should that idiot Naruto be allowed to go with her?

Why is it that she seems to have less and less of herself in her eyes?

On what grounds?!

Uchiha Sasuke lowered his eyes, trying hard to suppress the jealousy that had turned from envy in his heart.