Chapter 23

Tenten took a deep breath, her small hands forming seals slowly. Then, she slammed her palm down on the rune. The next second, with a poof, a shuriken appeared on the scroll.

"I-I did it! I have space-time ninjutsu talent!"

Tenten jumped up with joy, her face full of bright smiles. The frustrations she had about her lack of strength, the confusion about her future—all of it was swept away in an instant.

It was like she had finally found her path.

Yes, maybe she really had found her path!

Natsuki watched Tenten's radiant expression, genuinely happy for her.

Even though he already knew Tenten had a natural talent for space-time ninjutsu, being a plot-knower was one thing—seeing it firsthand was another. A cute girl's smile really was contagious.

As for those suggestions he gave earlier—genjutsu, medical ninjutsu—Tenten didn't have any talent in those areas. But he still brought them up so she would try everything and find out for herself. Otherwise, how could she believe it? Luckily, she was still young. Testing talents early meant she could settle on the right path sooner and work toward it with full focus.

Since Natsuki had decided to stick with this little rich girl, he was naturally going to help her however he could. After all, getting stronger together was the ideal outcome.

Tenten carefully returned the shuriken to the scroll, then respectfully handed the scroll back to Shino. She bowed deeply to both him and Natsuki, her eyes filled with gratitude.

"Natsuki, Shino, thank you both so much!"

"You're welcome." Shino's expression shifted ever so slightly. Maybe, just maybe, in that moment, it wasn't about helping Natsuki chase a girl—it was about the joy of helping a friend.

Shino was right. "You don't have to thank us, Tenten," Natsuki said, helping her up and resting his hands naturally on her shoulders. "We may not have known each other for long, but we're already friends. Helping you is the least we could do. If me or Shino ever need help, I'm sure you'll help us too, right?"

Tenten nodded seriously. "Right! We're friends now. If you guys ever need anything, don't be shy about asking me!"

Her smile was even more sincere now.

She probably hadn't realized that a certain someone, with hands on her shoulders, already viewed her as a target to pursue.

After that, Natsuki gave Tenten more detailed advice—like how strengthening her physical body could increase both her physical power and chakra reserves, and how she should practice chakra control techniques such as tree climbing and walking on water. They were foundational skills that she couldn't do yet, but were essential for genin.

By starting her training now, she'd definitely benefit in the future.

In the end, the three of them agreed to train together on their days off—right there at Tenten's place. Even though the training ground was small, it was more than enough for three kids to mess around and improve.

As for the idea of spending money to commission missions for powerful ninja tools, Natsuki advised holding off. Tenten was still too young and weak to collect them now. However, she could start gathering intel—on various ninja tools, and even on summoning beasts. That information would definitely come in handy once she became a ninja.

Tenten trusted Natsuki completely and naturally followed his advice.

As the sun started to set, Natsuki and Shino didn't overstay their welcome and said their goodbyes.

Tenten looked visibly reluctant—probably because she rarely had friends over, and today they'd given her such tremendous help. She truly wanted to spend more time with them.

Despite her dad's grumpy face, she still escorted them both to the door.

Looking at Natsuki's somewhat handsome face, and thinking about everything that happened in the past two days, Tenten's cheeks suddenly flushed.

"I'm heading off now. Once you've tested out genjutsu and medical ninjutsu, don't forget to tell me and Shino. We'll help you figure things out," Natsuki said with a wave.

"Mm. Be safe on the way back."

Tenten waved too. When she turned to look at Shino, something came to mind. She quickly made a small hand sign.

Shino blinked, then returned the sign—Natsuki didn't notice.

Then he followed Natsuki and left with him. But after they parted ways at the street corner, Shino quietly circled back.

Tenten was still waiting at the door.

"Tenten, what did you want to say that you couldn't in front of Natsuki?" Shino asked curiously.

"Well…"

Tenten blushed and hesitated, looking a bit shy. "Shino, maybe I'm overthinking things, but… do you think Natsuki likes me?"

Shino was surprised. "You figured it out?"

Tenten pouted. "I'm not dumb. How could I not notice? Yesterday he came into my store, supposedly to sell ninja tool designs, but he made a beeline straight for me, asked my name right away, and even called me cute. And today was even more obvious—he's been super eager to help me even though we just met, and his eyes are glued to me the whole time. Sometimes he even—touches me…"

At that, her cheeks turned even redder.

Kids in the ninja world matured early. Uchiha Itachi was on the battlefield at age four. Girls as young as five were already dreaming about marrying handsome boys.

Tenten was no exception. She had never thought of herself as cute or pretty—just ordinary. Her dream was to be someone like Tsunade, but she lacked talent, and felt like just a plain girl. She never imagined an outstanding boy would ever like her.

But today… she could clearly feel Natsuki's gaze on her, all the time.

And Natsuki was so impressive—he seemed to know everything, offering advice so confidently and clearly. His suggestions were genuinely helpful and made her feel like the path forward had become clearer.

If a boy like that liked her, how could she not be happy?

Shino saw her reaction and knew Natsuki had this in the bag. He said frankly, "This is something Natsuki should've told you himself. But since you've already figured it out, I won't hide it—yes, he does like you. He even designed those two ninja tools specifically as a way to meet you."

Tenten covered her face. She almost started steaming like Hinata.

But she wasn't Hinata. She was far bolder and braver.

Like she once said in the anime, she hated weak people. So she herself wasn't weak—she was strong and courageous, and would fight for what she believed in.

In that regard, she outshone the other three village beauties by a mile!

Shino asked, "So, Tenten, what do you think of Natsuki? How will you respond to him?"

Though her face was red, Tenten spoke seriously, "Shino, I get what you're saying. I don't want to let Natsuki's feelings go to waste. I plan to spend more time with him and get to know him better. We're both still kids, and we haven't known each other that long. But don't worry—I won't hurt him. I'll respond to his feelings sincerely."

Shino was satisfied—almost moved to tears like a proud wingman.

Being a matchmaker wasn't easy. But now all his efforts had paid off. Natsuki and Tenten both owed him a big one.

"Thank you, Shino. You've been helping Natsuki this whole time—I could tell," Tenten said sincerely.

"You're welcome. Natsuki is my good friend. Now you are too. Friends help each other. I should be congratulating you and Natsuki."

With that, Shino coolly stuck his hands in his pockets and walked off, disappearing completely into the darkening evening.

(End of Chapter)

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