"As expected, with the New Year, there are many more familiar faces in Konoha."

On the way home, Shuimu had already greeted several people who passed by. It seemed that people who rarely saw each other could get together. Look, Yamashiro Aoba and Shiranui Genma were walking towards them.

"Shuimu, long time no see!" Yamashiro Aoba greeted Shuimu from a distance.

"It's been a long time since we last met. I've been too busy lately."

"I heard that it's the Chunin Exam. We are almost driven crazy by Lady Tsunade because of the endless tasks." Yamashiro Aoba said with an exaggerated expression.

Shuimu smiled and replied, "You can tell such a joke? I thought only Hayate would do such a thing. What are you and Xuanjian planning to do?"

"Let's go have a drink with Ebisu and Bizukuri!"

"You guys are going out for a drink? You really have a lot of free time. I went to Takigakure and froze to death. I just came back today!"

"Oh, so you're free now? Do you want to go for a drink together?"

"No, I have to go home first." Shuimu declined.

"I almost forgot that you are different from us. You have a family."

Yamashiro Aoba's pretentious expression made Shiranui Genma and Mizuki smile.

"Maybe next time. I'm not home often recently. I need to spend more time with Xiaochun. I'm sorry."

"I understand. This time we are just a bitter exchange between like-minded people." Yamashiro Aoba lowered his voice and said, "In fact, Xuanjian, Leitong, I and others will be the team leaders to teach the newly graduated Genin next year, so we want to talk to Ebisu, an experienced teacher!"

"Then you will be busy in the future."

Especially since a jonin is also a jonin, his ability and qualifications to teach new genin are not a problem.

"Yeah." Shancheng Qingye sighed and said, "Let's not talk about it anymore. Let's talk about it later. The agreed time is almost here."

Mizuki said goodbye to Yamashiro Aoba and Shiranui Genma and quickened his pace to go home.

"I always feel that Yamashiro Aoba's character is getting worse and worse when he's free. His movements and expressions are much more exaggerated than before. Could it be that he was influenced by me?"

…

When Mizuki returned home, it was still early and Xiaochun was staying at home. Surprisingly, Xiaochun was not the only one at home. Karin was also there. When Mizuki pushed the door open, the two were making dinner.

"Senior Shuimu, you're back?"

"It's Karin. I haven't seen you for a while. You seem to have grown a lot taller!"

As Mizuki spoke, he walked into the inner room and put away the things he had with him.

"You're back just in time. It's almost time for dinner. Did the mission go well?"

"It's quite ordinary, nothing special. It's just too far and a waste of time!" Shuimu turned and walked into the bathroom, took a quick shower, changed into clean clothes, and then prepared to eat.

The three of them sat at the same table to eat. This had happened once or twice before. This time, Xianglin was not as reserved as before.

Xiaochun smiled and said, "Shuimu, when you were not around, Karin would occasionally come over to chat with me, which made it not boring. By the way, your disciple Xiaoying also came twice, but you were not there."

"Xiaoying, it shouldn't be a big problem. There should be my clone at the flower shop, so any trouble should be solved."

Sakura came here probably because she had some difficult training problems that needed to be solved. After all, the technique that Mizuki taught her was not so easy to master.

In comparison, the red-haired Karin came more often. Although she had a good relationship with Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino, Karin, who was alone, couldn't always go to their homes to disturb them. And Shizune's home, who took good care of Karin, was also a very good place, but as the assistant of the Fifth Hokage, she had too many things to do and didn't have much time to take care of this little sister.

Therefore, Xiaochun, who has been with her for a long time and is familiar with her, is the most suitable person for Karin to chat with frequently. Just like what she said when she met and chatted at the hospital last time, Karin would come to Mizuki's house to help out when she has time. And when Xiaochun is bored, it is also a good thing to have someone to spend time with.

"Karin, you've really become a lot more cheerful!"

At the dinner table, Mizuki and Kotsubaki ate quietly, but Karin, who was originally timid, began to chatter about the interesting things in her work, the satisfaction of receiving gratitude after using medical ninjutsu to save others, and the joy of being needed and feeling that she was beginning to integrate into Konoha, all of which were fully displayed on her smiling face.

Shuimu watched the red-haired girl gradually reveal the temperament that a child of this age should have, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart. The long-standing values ​​of Konoha are still very friendly. The will of fire that promotes love and justice, as well as the consistent attitude of being the overlord of the ninja world, have created the pride and confidence of Konoha ninjas, which is completely different from the mentality of the small country and few people in the Kusagakure Village. Xenophobia, arrogance, and cowardice are the portrayal of those people.

In Mizuki's eyes, if Taki Ninja was still barely maintaining the dignity of a strong man, then the other small countries and ninja villages were just some scumbags struggling to survive. They couldn't even take care of themselves, so how could they have a good impression of the outsiders who came to them for help? It was common to squeeze out their value and then abandon them.

Only Konoha, which is committed to maintaining the order of the ninja world, has the tolerance to accept all kinds of things. This is not only because of the great value of the Uzumaki family's ability to adapt to the body of the jinchūriki, but also because of the confidence that they can accept and influence the world. Even the other four major ninja villages do not have the tolerance of Konoha.

Jiraiya was able to teach Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan for several years. Even after seeing Nagato's Samsara Eye, he did not rush to bring them back to Konoha, but let them grow freely. If it were in other ninja villages, this would be impossible. Privately teaching ninjas from other ninja villages and taking them as disciples might seriously be considered a traitor. And there is also Kabuto Yakushi. If it weren't for the death of Yakushi Nono, this smart and talented ninja might have become a pillar of Konoha.

"It's great that you brought Karin to Konoha Village."

To save beautiful things from disaster, Shuimu, who has many things to do, will not force it, but doing good deeds can also make him happy.

"Listen to me, Mizuki-senpai, Tsubaki-nee..." Karin couldn't help but show off, "Shizune-senpai told me that if I continue to perform well, he will let me become a formal ninja of Konoha in the future!"

"Really?" Xiaochun was particularly happy about Karin's change. "Well done. When you get the forehead protector, be sure to wear it and let me see it."

"Yes." Xianglin nodded heavily in agreement.