[If we reach 2000PS I will do a 2 Chapter per day schedule on this fic!!]
Coming by often to see TenTen, brushing up on his presence—once TenTen graduated, it'd be perfectly natural to go looking for Guy's team. Wouldn't that be the chance to meet Guy?
But... there were still quite a few years before TenTen graduated. He had to wait.
If only he could bump into Guy someday—then he could shamelessly walk up and make friends, casually ask a few things about taijutsu, and once they got close enough, beg to learn Hachimon Tonkō.
The key problem was... he just couldn't bump into him!
Konoha might be called a village, but it was actually huge. How could you just randomly run into someone?
Sure, he could try asking around, but for a kid to suddenly inquire about a jōnin he didn't know—anyone would find that suspicious. These days, even children could be spies.
All in all, TenTen was his most stable route. He had to hold onto it tight.
Plus, just like TenTen said, if she came up with some good ninja tool designs, she could bring them to sell. Wouldn't that take care of living expenses?
Two birds with one stone, right?
TenTen blushed a little at those words, nodding instinctively. "Mm, we're friends now. You can come find me if you want."
Natsuki smiled with satisfaction and said his goodbye, "Then I'll head home for now. See you!"
After leaving the ninja tool shop, Natsuki finally let out a breath of relief.
Seeing it was getting late, he hurried toward home. But after only a few steps, something felt off. He suddenly turned around—and saw none other than Shino, wrapped up tightly, standing behind him.
"Shi... Shino? What are you doing here?" Natsuki felt oddly guilty for some reason.
"Sorry, Natsuki. I know everything now."
Shino's sunglasses were gleaming. "I didn't follow you on purpose. I just thought you were acting a little weird and got worried, so I followed. I didn't mean to pry into your secret. You have to believe me!"
Natsuki was confused. "My secret? What secret?"
Shino had a look like 'Don't try to fool me.' "You were tailing a girl in a pink vest, just like how Hinata often tails Naruto. Plus, the way you were smiling today was super sketchy—like Naruto fantasizing about Sakura liking him. So, you must like the shopkeeper's daughter from that ninja tool store! Don't worry, I won't tell anyone!"
Natsuki didn't expect to be misunderstood by Shino, and for a moment didn't know how to explain.
Looking back on it... yeah, what he did was kind of shady.
He tailed TenTen, then used the ninja tool design as a reason to approach her. First thing he did when they met was praise her for being cute. Isn't that just like Naruto?
But to be fair, TenTen was really cute, and besides, he was just trying to charm the little girl.
Still, hearing Shino say all that... it really did sound bad. Like, legally questionable bad.
She's only seven years old, for god's sake!
"...But then again, maybe it's not so bad?"
Natsuki rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
Thinking about it, of Konoha's four great beauties—Sakura was just a hopeless romantic, Ino was all about looks, and Hinata was timid and hopelessly devoted to Naruto. Only TenTen had the best personality.
A lot of Naruto fans shipped TenTen and Neji, but honestly, there was never any real romantic development between them. At most, there might've been some mutual fondness, but before anything could happen, Neji died. TenTen never married afterward, which left many fans heartbroken.
But really, even if Neji hadn't died, he probably wouldn't have considered marriage anyway.
He was a victim of the clan's main and branch family system—would he really want to have kids and watch them get branded with the Caged Bird Seal? Better to live alone forever.
As for Naruto's promise to change the Hyūga clan once he became Hokage... what changed, exactly? All that happened was that Naruto's status gave him enough face for the Hyūga clan to avoid branding Boruto and Himawari with the seal. The clan itself stayed the same.
So TenTen and Neji were doomed from the start!
In that case... maybe he still had a shot?
TenTen really was a great girl. And on top of that, she was rich! What's wrong with clinging to a rich girl's leg?
Even better—once she graduated, she'd become Guy's student. As her boyfriend, wouldn't it be totally justifiable for him to learn the Hachimon Tonkō?
Natsuki thought about all that and gave Shino a serious pat on the shoulder.
"Shino, thank you. I honestly didn't think about it like that at first—I really just went to sell some ninja tool designs. But now that you've said it... I really do think TenTen is super cute. So I've made up my mind. I'm clinging to this rich girl for dear life. You've gotta help your bro out, okay?"
Shino stood there blankly. From what Natsuki was saying, had he misunderstood?
But... not really? It sounded like Natsuki was really planning to chase after that girl in the pink vest!
So Shino nodded seriously. "Alright. If you ever need help, just say the word. A friend's lifelong happiness—I won't hesitate to support it!"
"Haha! Thanks, thanks! Come on, let's go get some Ichiraku ramen—my treat!"
The next day after school—
Natsuki dragged Shino along to TenTen's family's ninja tool shop.
The moment the shopkeeper saw Natsuki, he blew up. "Kid, you sure come by a lot! I'm warning you—don't even think about my daughter!"
Natsuki grinned and pointed at Shino. "Shopkeeper-ojisan, this is my friend, Aburame Shino."
Aburame Shino? From the Aburame clan! Judging by his outfit, it really was him!
The shopkeeper immediately toned it down and smiled politely. "Welcome. How can I help you? Looking for any ninja tools?"
Shino spoke coolly, "We're here to see TenTen."
Natsuki quickly added, "I figured a day's time would be enough for her to make those two shuriken I designed, so I came to check them out. Is TenTen back?"
The shopkeeper really wanted to refuse, but since TenTen had already acknowledged Natsuki as her friend, and now there was even a kid from the Aburame clan involved, he couldn't turn them away.
As a civilian, he actually hoped TenTen would make more friends—especially kids from shinobi clans like the Aburame. It'd help her when she became a ninja herself.
So he said, "Those two shuriken are indeed ready. TenTen just got back and is testing them in the backyard. Come with me."
Saying that, he led the two of them toward the rear.
As they walked, Natsuki glanced around, inwardly impressed. As expected of a wealthy household—while the front of the shop looked modest, the backyard was huge. There was even a cleared training area just for TenTen.
At that moment, TenTen was holding a shuriken, aiming at a wooden target. Hearing them approach, she turned around.
"Huh? Natsuki, you're here! And this is...?"
"This is my friend and seatmate, Aburame Shino. We came to check out the new shuriken."
Seeing TenTen's face slightly red, Natsuki found her cuter and cuter. Now that he was actually considering her, he could barely stop himself from smiling.
He casually waved off the shopkeeper, "Thanks, shopkeeper-ojisan, you can go back to the shop now."
The shopkeeper glared at this kid fiercely. Seeing his precious daughter ignoring her own dad and even blushing... he felt his heart crack.
His sweet little girl had already caught some brat's eye at such a young age!
This brat... is so dead!
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