108. Sensei Cooks Today

"Indeed, I came back a bit late today."

Tsunade walked to the sofa, taking off her tea-green coat, revealing a sleeveless top underneath.

Hanekawa glanced up and immediately saw her pale arms and the curves along the side of her outfit.

"Perfect timing!"

Tsunade snapped her fingers and said, "You can try my cooking."

"Huh?"

Hanekawa froze for a moment, then quickly waved his hands, "No need!"

"What do you mean by that?"

Tsunade's face turned cold as she noticed the change in his expression. "Don't want to eat my cooking? Or do you think my food tastes bad?"

"No, no."

Hanekawa shook his head vigorously and came up with a quick response. "Sensei, you just got home. You should rest first."

"I'm not tired."

Tsunade tossed her coat at him. "Take this to my room while I cook. It's been a while since I last cooked, and I want to see if my skills have gotten rusty."

"Uh… sure."

Hanekawa hesitated but finally nodded.

"I'll think about what to make," Tsunade muttered as she walked into the kitchen.

"This is going to be bad," Hanekawa sighed deeply.

He mentally prepared himself for potential food poisoning and silently prayed that Tsunade wouldn't get overly creative with new dishes.

Hanekawa picked up the still-warm tea-green coat and went to Tsunade's room.

As he opened the door, a faint fragrance greeted him.

Walking inside, he noticed some personal clothing casually tossed on the bed.

Can't she at least tidy this up? Hanekawa thought.

Instead of touching anything else, he placed the coat on the edge of the bed and left the room. Returning to the living room, he sat on the sofa, feeling like a prisoner awaiting his final judgment.

After what felt like ages, Tsunade finally came out of the kitchen.

Hanekawa stood up and went to the dining table.

One glance told him

the good news: the food looked decent.

The bad news? It was a new dish.

"Teriyaki chicken and vegetable tofu soup! It's absolutely delicious!"

Tsunade said with confidence.

"Let me try."

Hanekawa skeptically picked up his chopsticks and took a piece of chicken.

"How is it?"

Tsunade leaned forward, resting her weight on the table.

"A bit salty," Hanekawa swallowed and commented.

"I did that on purpose!"

Tsunade said with a straight face. "I knew it'd be salty, so I paired it with a light soup."

Hanekawa didn't buy it.

Who intentionally makes food overly salty? You just messed up the seasoning.

But you're the teacher, and you have the bigger fists.

Hanekawa decided it was better to hold back. He glanced at her and chose to eat without further comment.

"By the way, I want to learn the Bringer-of-Darkness Jutsu," Hanekawa said suddenly.

"How do you know about that technique?" Tsunade asked, slightly surprised.

"Uncle Shinku mentioned it," Hanekawa explained. "He said it's a powerful Genjutsu used by the Second Hokage, but he's not qualified to learn it."

"It is indeed one of my grand-uncle's Genjutsu techniques," Tsunade said thoughtfully. "It shouldn't be a problem. I'll speak with the old man tomorrow."

"Would the Hokage just hand out a technique like that?" Hanekawa asked as he sipped the soup.

"Of course not," Tsunade smirked confidently. "Normally, you'd need merits to earn it. But congratulations, you have a great teacher."

As one of the Sannin and the top medical ninja, Tsunade had accumulated plenty of merit. While Hanekawa couldn't request the technique himself, she could do it on his behalf.

The same logic applied to Minato, who learned the Flying Thunder God Technique at a young age partly because he was Jiraiya's student.

"Impressive as always, Sensei!"

Hanekawa said flatly.

"Not convincing enough. Say it again!"

Tsunade frowned.

"You're too strict," Hanekawa chuckled and added, "Do I even need to say it? My admiration for you should already be obvious."

"Such a smooth talker!" Tsunade laughed.

"Just being honest."

Hanekawa maintained a straight face.

"How about accompanying me to the casino tomorrow?" Tsunade's eyes glinted mischievously.

"Nope."

Hanekawa shook his head. "I'm busy now. I'm the most famous medical ninja at Konoha Hospital."

"Aren't I the most famous medical ninja?" Tsunade asked, resting her chin in her hands.

"That was in the past."

Hanekawa teased, "Do you even remember the last time you visited the hospital?"

"Let's not talk about that," Tsunade coughed lightly. "How's your progress in medical ninjutsu?"

"I've already mastered both the Mystical Palm Technique and Chakra Scalpel," Hanekawa replied.

"That fast?" Tsunade was stunned.

"It's not too fast," Hanekawa said calmly.

Tsunade glared at him. Sometimes his words could be truly irritating.

She prided herself on being the best medical ninja, but at the same age, Hanekawa's skills had already surpassed her.

"I'm full."

Hanekawa stood up. "I'll wash the dishes."

Tsunade glanced at him, walked to the sofa, and plopped down heavily.

She closed her eyes, crossed her legs, and relaxed in a lazy posture.

After washing the dishes, Hanekawa didn't linger. He said goodbye to her and returned to Kurenai Yuhi's house.

---

A new week began.

The scorching weather made the students in the classroom drowsy.

Hanekawa wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He swore that when he became Hokage, he would install air conditioning in the classrooms.

The overhead fan was practically useless.

The bell signaling the end of class rang.

"One more thing."

The teacher, Eichiro, put away his books and suddenly remembered something. "Students who want to graduate early, don't forget to submit your applications."

After he left, the classroom buzzed with energy again.

"Rin, are you planning to graduate early?"

Uchiha Obito asked nervously, "How about we wait until sixth grade to graduate?"

He knew that Hanekawa and others planned to graduate in fifth grade. He didn't care much about graduating himself but worried about being separated from Nohara Rin.

Even if they weren't in the same team, he absolutely couldn't let Rin end up on a team with Hanekawa.

"I've pretty much learned everything the school has to offer," Nohara Rin nodded slightly. "I plan to graduate in fifth grade."

"Ah... Then I'll apply too," Obito scratched his head.

The worst-case scenario shouldn't happen, right?

"Okay."

Rin smiled. "Let's do it together."

"Maybe we'll even end up on the same team!" Obito brightened up immediately.

"Let's write the applications quickly. We still need to visit Kakashi in the hospital," Rin reminded him.

"What's so great about visiting Kakashi?" Obito grumbled.

Since Kakashi had been hospitalized, Obito got to sit next to Rin as her only deskmate. He secretly wished Kakashi would stay hospitalized a little longer.

"Obito, don't say that." Rin handed him a piece of paper.

"Got it."

Obito quickly started writing his application.

---

A few minutes later, a group of students gathered at the classroom door.

"Give me your applications, and I'll submit them to the teacher," Hanekawa said, glancing around.

"Here."

Kurenai Yuhi was the first to hand hers over.

She was followed by Might Guy, Sarutobi Asuma, and Nohara Rin.

"What about Kakashi?" Rin asked worriedly.

"Don't worry," Hanekawa smiled. "I wrote an application for him."

"You're so thoughtful," Rin said with a smile.

Kurenai glanced around, sensing that something felt off but couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Go quickly, we'll wait for you here," Obito said, stepping in front of Rin as if to shield her.

Hanekawa nodded slightly and headed to Eichiro's office.

---

Eichiro wasn't surprised by the applications.

In his opinion, Hanekawa, Hatake Kakashi, and Sarutobi Asuma had been ready for graduation for a while.

After organizing the applications into a file, Eichiro went to the Hokage's office.

"Ah, Eichiro," Sarutobi Hiruzen greeted, taking a puff from his pipe. "It's been a while."

"I didn't expect you to remember me," Eichiro said, flattered.

"You've done a great job," Hiruzen said with a smile. "Asuma often speaks highly of you."

"I'm just doing my duty."

Eichiro stepped forward and handed over the file. "Lord Hokage, this is the list of students from Class 5A applying for early graduation."

Hiruzen glanced at the list and nodded in satisfaction. The quality of this cohort of students was exceptionally high.

"You may leave."

Hiruzen waved him off, already pondering how to assign the teams and which instructors should lead them.

Although the students hadn't officially graduated yet, with their abilities, it was only a matter of time.

"Understood."

Eichiro bowed slightly before leaving.

---

Hiruzen had just picked up his pen when the door burst open.

"Old man."

Tsunade entered unceremoniously.

"…"

Hiruzen sighed. "What is it this time?"

"Nothing much," Tsunade got straight to the point. "Hanekawa wants to learn the Bringer-of-Darkness Jutsu."

"The Bringer-of-Darkness Jutsu?"

Hiruzen looked surprised. "Does he even have the energy to take on more training?"

He was well aware of Hanekawa's recent activities at the Konoha Hospital. After all, becoming an attending physician required the Hokage's approval.

"Geniuses don't need excuses," Tsunade waved dismissively. "Cut the nonsense. You gave Minato the Flying Thunder God Technique. What's a Bringer-of-Darkness Jutsu compared to that?"

"I never said no," Hiruzen said, his mouth twitching. "Hanekawa just applied for graduation. I'll consider it a graduation gift."

"Now that's more like it."

Tsunade nodded in satisfaction but then added, "Hanekawa's teammates will be Kurenai Yuhi and Nohara Rin, with me as their instructor."

"Kurenai is a good choice," Hiruzen frowned slightly. "But are you sure about Nohara Rin? Wouldn't stronger teammates be better for him?"

In his view, Hanekawa's abilities warranted top-tier teammates, like Sarutobi Asuma or Hatake Kakashi. A skilled medical ninja like Hanekawa could significantly enhance his teammates' survival rates.

"This is final," Tsunade said firmly. "No changes."

__

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