Chapter 278 What Can't Be Taken Away
"Sister Jingyin? Why are you in such a hurry?"
Haruko spotted Shizune running down the street in the morning and took a few steps closer to her, where she stopped.
After catching her breath for a moment, Jingyin answered, "I...I'm going to pick up my junior sister!"
"Junior sister?"
"Oh right, you probably haven't seen it yet."
Jingyin glanced in the direction of the village entrance, calculated the time, and became increasingly anxious.
She waved her hand, "I'll introduce her when I get back. Lady Tsunade is in a hurry to see her right now!"
Sensing something amiss from her anxious demeanor, Haruko asked, "What happened?"
"The Hokage said that the Jinchuriki of Sunagakure had been kidnapped. Lady Tsunade happened to have an urgent mission, so she thought that since her junior sister had returned, she should go instead."
"I'm leaving now!" Shizune said before running out.
Watching her hurried departure, Haruko thought about it carefully.
The Sand Village Jinchuriki? Isn't that Gaara?
Haruko's eyes narrowed in the morning, and she immediately ran in the direction Shizune had come from; she had to ask Tsunade.
...
Inside the Hokage's office, Minato Namikaze, wearing a pure white cloak with red polka dots symbolizing the Hokage, stood up behind the desk.
Looking around at the people present, I saw they were from Class 3, Class 8, and Class 10.
Great, everyone's here.
“Gaara, the Jinchuriki of Sunagakure, has been kidnapped by an organization called Akatsuki. Konoha has more information about Akatsuki, so Sunagakure sent us a request for help.”
"The situation is urgent, and Akatsuki's strength is unpredictable. You three teams, put aside your current tasks and prepare to head to Sunagakure."
"Gather intelligence, report it back to Konoha, and then follow the instructions of Sunagakure to provide them with assistance."
After Minato Namikaze gave the order, everyone answered in unison, "Yes."
Lee Locke looked around and raised his hand to ask, "Aren't Haruko and the others participating in this mission?"
Minato Namikaze nodded. "According to intelligence from various places, the Akatsuki organization may be targeting the Tailed Beasts. Naruto should not get involved."
They all knew about Naruto's special circumstances, so they didn't ask any further questions.
Once outside the Hokage's office, everyone's seriousness dissipated, and they began chattering amongst themselves.
Yamanaka Ino glanced around and said, "Everyone except Class 7 is here for this mission."
Choji Akimichi wrinkled his chubby cheeks. "The thing I least wanted to happen still happened. More people means the mission is especially difficult."
Nara Shikamaru, still casually with his hands in his pockets, thought, "It's a good thing Naruto isn't here, or it would be a huge hassle."
"It's such a shame that I can't go on the mission with Haruko!"
His impassioned yet aggrieved voice was completely out of place with the others. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Lee Rock's dejected face, which looked like a wilted eggplant.
"Huh? Why do you have to go with her?"
Kiba Inuzuka expressed his confusion, but then, recalling Rock Lee's undisguised behavior, he suddenly understood.
"Yeah, you like her."
When Lee Rock's blatant little scheme was exposed in front of everyone, especially with three of his instructors present, Lee Rock's face immediately turned red.
Instead of refuting him, he clenched his fist to encourage himself.
"I will definitely work hard to improve myself and use my abilities to attract Haruko's attention!"
While the other teachers smiled, Matt Kai flashed eight teeth and gave his proud student a thumbs-up.
"Strive for the one you love! Let's write a glorious chapter of youth, Li!"
"Yes, Teacher Kai!"
The image of two people with thick eyebrows and tight-fitting clothes giving each other thumbs up is truly unbearable to look at.
Yamanaka Ino's lips twitched, and she nudged Nara Shikamaru next to her with her elbow, whispering to him.
"Hey, he's in this state, aren't you going to do anything about it?"
"Should I do something?" Nara Shikamaru looked at her strangely.
Thinking to himself that he had absolutely no sense of crisis, Yamanaka Ino silently stretched her lips into a straight line.
"Don't you like Haruko? You lazy bum, if you don't pull yourself together soon, Haruko will be snatched away by someone else!"
In contrast to Yamanaka Ino's disappointed expression, Nara Shikamaru looked relaxed, even calmly waiting to see what would happen.
He chuckled, "You can't take it away."
His relaxed demeanor was full of confidence, as if he had devised a brilliant and inevitable strategy.
Unlike his feigned composure in his childhood, he has developed a strong sense of self-confidence through the passage of time.
Trust is something no one can take away; trust is something you can definitely obtain.
Yamanaka Ino was taken aback, feeling somewhat unfamiliar with the spirited and arrogant Nara Shikamaru in front of her.
Choji Akimichi, who was eating snacks nearby, said, "Don't worry, Ino, Shikamaru's brain has never lost."
Even after getting the answer she wanted, Yamanaka Ino didn't seem to feel any satisfaction.
Her heart was filled with complex emotions, a mix of inexplicable feelings that she could only attribute to the fact that Nara Shikamaru's change surprised her.
"However... Shikamaru, you've really changed a lot."
"Um?"
“If I had joked like this before, you would have been embarrassed and angrily retorted loudly.”
It was precisely because of Nara Shikamaru's denial that Yamanaka Ino was able to derive a secret and unnoticed satisfaction from it.
But things are different now...
Nara Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and casually remarked, "I didn't admit it."
"ah?"
Ino watched him walk away in a daze. After thinking about his words, she belatedly realized that he was referring to the fact that she had not admitted to liking Haruko Hayama.
He didn't admit it, but his attitude didn't seem like a rebuttal at all.
After the other two classes left, Tian Tian, who was holding back her anger, rushed over in a few steps.
"You guys, you can't win a girl's heart just by trying hard, okay?"
Both Might Guy, who only had his eyes on cultivation, and Rock Lee, who was equally matched but a bit love-struck, looked at her and blinked.
Tian Tian sighed and facepalmed, "It's because of your weird behavior that even Haruko's eyes are looking at me strangely now!"
Unable to find common ground with her accusations, Lee Rock humbly sought advice from the only girl in the team.
"Tenten, what should I do to make Haruko like me?"
I scrutinize his appearance every day: his bowl cut, thick eyebrows, stern and uninteresting face, and his ever-present green bodysuit.
Let alone Haruko, no normal girl would like Lee...
Not wanting to discourage his teammates, Tian coughed twice and put on a serious face.
"Most girls like handsome and capable guys. Although Li's appearance is strange and his abilities are all based on passion, but..."
Under the bright, expectant gaze of Rock Lee, Tian Tian finished speaking the rest of her words tactfully.
"But, who knows, Haruko might one day break away from being just another member of the public."
Rock Lee looked at Matt Kay in confusion, seemingly not quite understanding what she meant.
Unlike Matt Kay, who was kind, only pity was evident in his eyes.
With a blank expression, Hyuga Neji answered him directly: "It means that dreaming is faster."
Already in a bad mood, Lee Rock, with a stiff, tearless face, turned into a stone sculpture and shattered on the spot.
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