Trouble That Comes Knocking Automatically
"Lin Ke, finished another mission~"
Ichiraku Uncle greeted him cheerfully.
Lin Ke responded with a smile. In reality, ninja missions were supposed to be confidential, but as a Genin, his missions were just...
He'd spent the last while hauling trash out of the river, right in plain sight of everyone.
Plus, he had a habit of coming to Ichiraku Ramen for a big meal after completing a mission, so how could the owner not know he'd finished another one?
"The usual, Uncle," he said familiarly, grabbing an ice-cold cola from the nearby refrigerator.
Summer had just begun, and the weather was getting hot, so something cold was always welcome.
"Alright~" Ichiraku Uncle responded loudly, "Good work, Lin Ke."
"Yeah, yeah."
Lin Ke replied perfunctorily. He'd just sat down and opened his cola when he noticed someone staring at him. He turned his head to see—
A mop of spiky blond hair, clad in an orange jacket and pants.
It was none other than the child of prophecy—Uzumaki Naruto. The kid seemed to be drawn to the Forehead Protector tied around his arm, his eyes constantly glancing over with an envious expression.
Ah, I think he's failed the Genin exams for three years now.
Lin Ke thought to himself. Since he'd also taken two years to become a Genin, he could understand the other boy's feelings, so—
If he wants to look, let him look.
He took a sip of his ice-cold cola with great pleasure. Ah, it feels so good to have someone envy me for being a Genin, providing emotional value.
Soon, his ramen was served. He put his hands together. "Thanks for the food~"
Maybe it was because someone was envying him, or maybe it was because he'd soon have a large sum of money from his mission, but today's ramen was especially delicious.
"'Burp~' Full and satisfied, Lin Ke sat for a while to digest, his belly slightly bulging. Then he got up to go home.
He still had laundry to do.
On the way back, he felt like some sneaky guy was following him. Taking advantage of a break in the street, he quickly glanced back.
It was indeed Uzumaki Naruto.
Ah, does this guy have nothing better to do? Why is he following me?
Lin Ke muttered to himself, deciding to ignore him. He figured the kid would get bored and leave soon enough.
Still, I have to say, the child of prophecy's tracking skills are terrible. His ability to conceal his presence isn't even as good as Yuan Wei and Kasumi's...
He hadn't even considered the option of getting closer to Uzumaki Naruto.
The protagonist was a trouble magnet. Not to mention the villains outside who coveted Uzumaki Naruto, the higher-ups in Konoha Village were definitely keeping a close eye on the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki.
The Third Hokage was busy as could be every day, handling village affairs, communicating with the Land of Fire, and still often sitting in the mission assignment office handing out tasks. He also frequently went to see Uzumaki Naruto, probably spying on him every day with his Telescope Technique.
Lin Ke didn't think that getting on good terms with the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki would really benefit his own development.
Even before discovering his golden finger, his goal had been to latch onto Konohamaru's coattails, indirectly latching onto the protagonist's coattails. Directly contacting the protagonist could very well lead to his own demise.
Therefore, he deliberately ignored Uzumaki Naruto, who was sneaking around behind him, and went home as if nothing had happened. He did his laundry, changed into a clean set of sportswear, polished, cleaned, and stored his ninja tools, and then, seeing that it was a little after one-thirty, he went out.
But as soon as he left, that clumsy feeling of being followed returned.
Is this never going to end?
Lin Ke really wanted to rush over and give Uzumaki Naruto a couple of slaps, telling the brat to go play by himself, but after thinking about it, he restrained his impulse.
Acting on impulse might feel good in the moment, but it would be hard to deal with the aftermath.
On the way to the Seventh Training Ground, he seriously reflected on the situation, strongly suspecting that Ichiraku Uncle had said a few things about him in front of Uzumaki Naruto.
Younger, became a Genin, performs well on missions = gets recognition.
Don't let Uzumaki Naruto's good, gentle shonen manga protagonist core fool you. As a child, especially during his time at the Ninja Academy, he was a complete brat.
And brats, like some brats who like a girl, don't know how to express their feelings, so they pull her hair instead—
Lin Ke felt like he was the one about to have his hair pulled out.
Pure violence would only make the brat clingier, and might even lead to him snatching the heroine (Uchiha Sasuke)'s rival position ahead of time.
What virtue or ability did he have to get involved with the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki?
So, with a complex state of mind, Lin Ke arrived at the Seventh Training Ground, where his two teammates had already arrived.
"Boss!" Yuan Wei raised his hand and shouted, his face full of smiles, "Good afternoon~"
Xia hesitated for a moment, then followed suit, "Boss, good afternoon."
Lin Ke felt that the gazes spying on him were even more, uh, filled with strange hostility?
That's right, calculating their ages, Yuan Wei and Xia were Uzumaki Naruto's classmates.
He quickly remembered why, scratching the back of his head with a bit of realization, and walked over, saying, "Good afternoon." He didn't think too much, discarding the discomfort in his heart, and added, "Shall we start now?"
"Boss," Xia said softly, gesturing with her eyes that someone was spying on them.
Yuan Wei clenched his fist, eager to try.
The three of them had been together for more than a month, so simple eye contact wasn't a problem.
Lin Ke shook his head slightly and said softly, "Let him watch if he wants." He paused and continued, "You two..."
He began to talk about the problems that his two teammates had encountered during this period, from small to large. After finishing one, he would have them demonstrate it and correct it on the spot.
In the bushes, Uzumaki Naruto scratched his ears and cheeks, occasionally cupping his hand to his ear to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Chakra... like this..."
"Feet... stepping on water..."
"Concealment..."
Fragmented words made his head spin. Just as he was about to fall asleep, the three of them would move, demonstrating their sparring, which made his eyes light up again.
Lin Ke put the matter of Uzumaki Naruto following them to the back of his mind. Let him watch if he wants to, what else could he do?
He could smear the Hokage statues and steal the Book of Seals, so what's wrong with tracking a Genin? It's perfectly fine, bro, I'll just pretend you don't exist.
After summarizing their problems for nine days, he had covered about a third of the material in roughly two hours (including demonstrations and corrections), which made his mouth dry. He swallowed his saliva and said, "That's it for today. You two practice on your own. Tomorrow morning at eight, we'll continue here."
After all, it was impossible to pour everything into their brains at once. They needed time to digest it properly.
Tomorrow morning, he would correct them again while teaching them something new, taking it slowly.
Lin Ke stood on his tiptoes and patted Yuan Wei's shoulder, preparing to leave. Seeing the strange expression on Xia's face, he also went over and patted her shoulder.
Then, ignoring Xia's even stranger expression, he turned and left.
As a temporary teacher, he had to treat everyone equally.
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