[Hokage] Summer Festival

After returning to Konoha, I stayed in the hospital for two weeks. After the examination, Shinichi said:

"It didn't hurt the vitals, but the incision was very deep. In addition, the treatment was too hasty before, and there was too much bleeding."

He gave a few words of rest as usual, and then left with the nurse.

The moment the door closed, I turned over and closed my eyes. There were so many things in my mind that I wanted to think about, but I just felt like a mess, and I couldn't sort them out one by one.

The first thing to consider should be the follow-up of this mission. Although Captain Orochimaru is responsible for submitting the report to Hokage, Hinata Osamu who is acting with me doesn't know what to say to him.

Even the three Chunin couldn't deal with it.

Was actually stabbed by a ten-year-old child.

These two points can be said to be incomprehensible to a Jonin.Especially the latter, no matter how careless he is, it is impossible to make such a low-level mistake.

However, it was another thing that clearly jumped into my mind at this time. The scattered memory fragments suddenly gathered from all directions to form a complete picture.

It happened at the beginning of last month. That day I was waiting for Ah Duan in front of the meatball shop on the street. There were a few ninjas resting inside, and one of them was talking about his opinions and predictions on this war. la la.

Then someone interjected to the person next to him and asked:

"The kid from last time, did you let him go?"

A voice familiar to me answered:

"Well, the mission didn't say to kill him."

The eloquent person stopped, but another voice said in a tone of disapproval:

"That child is endowed with talent, and he will definitely become Konoha's formidable enemy in the future. He should kill the weeds as soon as possible."

Others also echoed:

"In a few years when he grows up, I'm afraid few of our younger generations will be his opponents."

"You are too kind, Shuo Mao."

The dark blue door curtain was swayed by the wind, I turned my head, just in time to see the silver-haired young man smiling to his companion and saying:

"Konoha also has talented children, trust our juniors."

He said it so naturally, as if he firmly believed that no matter how powerful the enemy was, it would not be able to stop Konoha from having a bright future.

I suddenly thought of this, and wondered if I wanted to comfort myself that I had done nothing wrong.This kind of thinking inevitably contains a bit of self-deception, but I feel more and more alienated from this world.

It seems that no matter how hard you try, you can't turn yourself into what "Natsuko Kato" should be.

At the beginning, I thought that as long as it was Xia Zi's job, I would do it for her. Now it seems that I may have overestimated myself and overestimated myself.When encountering a situation that conflicts with previous ideas, you will hesitate to move forward, but you cannot estimate and control the consequences of your hesitation.

On the second day in the hospital, I unexpectedly saw Hinata Osamu come to visit. When he left, he held the doorknob and turned his back to me and said:

"Although I shouldn't say these words, Xia Zi..."

"It's a ninja's taboo to be soft and merciful in the mission center. I think you should relearn the ninja experience."

I stared at the white ceiling and didn't know how to answer. Even if I memorized more than 100 ninja experiences, I can't guarantee that I can fight like a ninja.

However, you can't do nothing and let yourself be a burden to others.Maybe he's right, whether it's useful or not, I should really memorize those crucial rules in the ninja world.

Whether it was the previous life or this life, what I hate the most is being a burden to others.

***

The number of wounded sent back to the hospital from the battlefield gradually increased, and there were not enough hospital beds. Some ninjas who were not seriously injured had to lie on the floor of the corridor to receive treatment.

After discussing with Shinichi, I was discharged from the hospital ahead of schedule.Although it would be shocking to see the bloody hole in my abdomen when changing dressings every day, compared with those ninjas who were sent back covered in blood at the last moment of the war, my wounds are nothing.

Duan has not returned from the mission, and I am alone in the room, copying and reciting the ninja experience in Xiazi's bedside cabinet until it is fully reflected in my heart.

But my heart became more and more irritable, like many crows were crowing noisily, and they couldn't calm down no matter what.

In fact, I am the clearest. The thing I lack the most now, besides adapting to and accepting everything that conflicts and contradicts this world with my past life from the bottom of my heart, is - strength, Orochimaru is full of praise the power to become the strong.

Even if you can't become a strong person, at least don't become a weak person, especially a weak person who will drag others down.

One day when I met Naruki on the street, the grinning boy pointed to the ninja forehead on his forehead, raised his chin and said proudly:

"I graduated and am already a ninja!"

That look is like a child who has done a great thing and is waiting for an adult to praise him.

If simple praise can make a child happy, why not do such a simple thing.So I smiled and said:

"It's amazing, congratulations."

His face was filled with joy and pride, his eyes were shining like obsidian, and he smiled happily and said:

"Oshemaru-sensei is my guide Jonin!"

Is the mentor Orochimaru, one of Konoha's two super geniuses, no wonder he is so excited.

It is said that a famous teacher produces a good apprentice, and Naoki may really become a good ninja as powerful as Hokage in the future.

***

The house where A Duan and Natsuko live is the ancestral house of the Kato family, and there is a room in the basement that stores family scrolls.I followed Ah Duan in the past, and I also have the key to that room.

The bookshelves built against the wall are full of scrolls. It may be because there has been no ventilation for many years, and the sunlight cannot reach it. The room is cold, and there is a faint smell of moldy paper.

I was flipping through the scrolls of the Kato family's secret arts, and it was recorded that it would take at least three to five years to practice these ninjutsu proficiently, and it would take ten or eight years to practice these ninjutsu proficiently.

All are calculated on a yearly basis.

I understand the principle of haste makes waste, but now it is a war, where there is still a lot of time for practice.

It won't take three to five or eighty years. According to my current situation, I'm afraid I will die in the mission within a year or two.

I sighed and closed the scroll, and when I turned my eyes, I saw a wooden box covered in dust in the corner.When I got closer, I noticed that there was a copper nameplate inlaid on the top of the box, with two words engraved on it——

——【Forbidden Technique】

***

It was already April when Xiaochun came to see me, and the roads in the village were lined with cherry trees in full bloom, forming beautiful pink flower clouds in midair.

I've been waiting for her for a long time, and I've been waiting for her to find me since I came back from the last mission.

Xia Zi is her student, she will not stand by.I'm waiting for her to question my Jōnin's famed strength, and my indecision in the mission will continue.

I have no way of knowing what was written in Orochimaru's mission report, but Hinata Osamu will probably tell Hokage and the others about the abnormality at that time.

If I disappoint her, all I can say is sorry.For her or Natsuko, I'm sorry.

Surprisingly, she didn't mention the mission of Yunyin Village, but analyzed the current war situation with me and the problem of too many Konoha injuries and insufficient combat power. Then she said that not long ago, a teacher from the ninja school was killed The intruder was too seriously injured to continue working.

"The teaching of the ninja school cannot be interrupted, but now there are no redundant teacher ninjas to send to the school."

"Xia Zi, you are still injured and can't perform tasks involving combat. Just temporarily replace him as an instructor. You can only make arrangements after finding a suitable candidate after a while."

I was stunned for a moment, and after thinking about it, I felt that such an arrangement was both good and bad for me.

The joy is that I don't have to face the battlefield and killing naked for the time being, but the worry is that I don't know what I can teach those children.

They are the future pillars of the village. I am afraid that I, a person who follows the beliefs of another world, will accidentally misunderstand the children.

Moreover, I don't know how to communicate with children as a teacher.

The teachers of ninja schools are generally Chunin, some are special Jnin with expertise in education, and some are not suitable for cruel tasks and apply to stay in the school to teach.Under normal circumstances, they will go through training and testing before taking office, and those who pass are qualified to teach young juniors who have unlimited futures.

But now it is a different matter during the war. The shortage of Konoha's combat power is a big problem. How can there be enough manpower and time to organize the training and testing of instructors.

But from another point of view, even if the front line is tight, it is necessary to ensure that the teaching order in the rear will not be disturbed. This kind of village made me immediately admire it.

"What do you think, Xia Zi?" Xiaochun asked.

I nodded and said, "Yes."

It was already the second week of school, and I read their textbooks several times, only to feel that they were far from the education I received in the previous life.

Practical courses accounted for [-]% of the proportion, while theoretical courses only accounted for [-]%.

But it is not difficult to understand, after all, this is a world that advocates strength and the strong.

One hour before class, Hokage called me to the office. In addition to him and Xiaochun Menyan, there was a red-haired girl, about six or seven years old, with big eyes and a pretty face, wringing her hands nervously. .

"This child is transferred to your class today, please take care of her."

Hokage, who was not yet forty, smiled inexplicably kindly, and patted her shoulder and said to me comfortingly.

The girl looked at me with wide eyes, and immediately lowered her head when I looked over.The long red hair slid from her ears with her movements, covering most of her cheeks.

To be able to get Hokage to come to me specifically to say "please" and "take care of me", this little girl must have come from a difficult background.

Although I was puzzled, I wouldn’t ask too much. In short, I’ll just do what Hokage says, and seeing the unusually serious expressions on Menyan and Xiaochun’s faces, I also understand that what they didn’t say is something I shouldn’t know, so He only answered "yes" and stopped making a sound.

Curiosity killed the cat.I belong to the kind of person who is not very curious, so I will not be that unlucky cat.

When I was in class, I looked at the immature but energetic faces under the podium, and I couldn't help imagining what these children would look like when they grew up.

They are not lucky, they will face the threat of war at a young age, and their parents, brothers and sisters are ninjas, I am afraid they will have to go through life and death on the battlefield.

But they have a village that has not forgotten them even in the face of war.The front is full of gunpowder, but they can still stay safely behind where the elders have blocked the flames of war for them.

"I am the substitute teacher Natsuko Kato, and I will lead your class until the new teacher arrives."

She winked at the girl standing at the door, and she walked up to the podium with her right hand clutching the skirt of her chest.

I held her shoulders and said to the children below:

"This is the classmate who transferred to study with everyone from today."

Then I remembered that Hokage didn't seem to tell me her name, so I lowered my head and asked:

"What's your name?"

She instantly raised her head to look at her classmate with piercing eyes, and said in a crisp voice:

"Uzumaki Kushina."