After glaring at Hayato Ren, Yuhi Kurenai and Nohara Rin each ducked into a bush.
Not long after, two miserable retching sounds "yue~" were heard.
At this moment, Konan stepped forward, took Hayato Ren's hand, and said softly:
"Brother Ren, you really have a twisted sense of humor..."
Hayato Ren responded by patting Konan's head:
"It's not that bad. I was being merciful by not treating you all to sashimi."
Hearing this, Konan couldn't help but roll her eyes.
Even she wouldn't eat something like sashimi before planning on killing someone.
"Brother Ren, why do you like touching my head so much?"
Konan looked up at Hayato Ren, her eyes filled with curiosity.
After all, Hayato Ren's hand was still resting on her head.
Actually, besides Konan, neither Nohara Rin nor Yuhi Kurenai had escaped Hayato Ren's "clutches" either.
It's just that Konan conveniently ignored those two.
Hayato Ren withdrew his hand and revealed a smile.
"Of course it's because once you grow up, I won't be able to do this so easily. So I have to take full advantage now."
Speaking of which, among the people Hayato Ren knew, Tsunade's head was the most difficult to touch.
If he tried to touch it under normal circumstances, Tsunade would definitely not hesitate to deliver an Iron Fist.
Hayato Ren could only freely play with Tsunade's hair during certain special occasions.
Hearing Hayato Ren's answer, Konan fell into contemplation.
She originally wanted to say that she could just never grow up. That way, Hayato Ren could pat her head for her entire life.
But if she didn't grow up, then she and Hayato Ren would forever remain just siblings.
Although this relationship was already quite satisfying for Konan, her greedy heart still wanted more.
Finally, Konan thought of a perfect solution.
"Then after I grow up, if you still want to pat my head, Brother Ren, I'll just use the Transformation Technique to become my current self."
Looking at Konan's innocent expression, Hayato Ren simply smiled and patted her head again.
Just then, Yuhi Kurenai and Nohara Rin returned with pale faces.
The two supported each other as they came before Hayato Ren and Konan.
Yuhi Kurenai looked at Hayato Ren with an indignant expression.
"I take back what I said before. You're not humane at all - you're a genuine devil. I'll never believe you again..."
Yuhi Kurenai weakly accused Hayato Ren.
Compared to those ordinary bandits, Yuhi Kurenai's spirit had clearly suffered a severe blow.
She and Nohara Rin would probably never eat Tofu Pudding again in their lives.
"Alright, since you've successfully completed the mission. Let's evacuate this place now. I imagine you don't have the mood to stay here any longer."
Yuhi Kurenai and the other two nodded in unison, not wanting to stay a moment longer in this troublesome place.
Before leaving, Hayato Ren formed a hand seal with one hand and unleashed the Great Fire Dragon Technique.
Under the impact of the fire dragon, the bandit stronghold several hundred meters away was instantly engulfed in raging flames.
With the continuously burning blaze, the evil here was completely eradicated.
"Go, go, go, let's head out! I'll treat you all to barbecue when we get back."
At these words, even Nohara Rin, who had the best temper, couldn't resist giving Hayato Ren a punch.
...
A week had passed since the mission to eliminate the bandits, and both Yuhi Kurenai and Nohara Rin had finally emerged from their psychological shadows.
They no longer had to eat only vegetarian meals every day, unable to stomach even a hint of meat.
During this week, Hayato Ren hadn't arranged for the team to gather.
As someone who had been through it himself, he naturally knew that Yuhi Kurenai and the others needed time to adjust to everything.
After a week, Hayato Ren's team finally gathered together again after a long interval.
Seeing the three youngsters before him, whose presence had undergone a dramatic change compared to before, Hayato Ren nodded in satisfaction and said:
"The Chunin Exams are in three months. I've signed you up. You'd better perform well. If you fail, find a nice piece of land to bury yourselves in—I can't afford to lose face like that."
Unlike the original Chunin Exams that gathered participants from multiple ninja villages, although many years had passed since the Second Ninja World War,
the situation in the Shinobi World was growing increasingly tense.
Thus, this Chunin Exam was organized unilaterally by the Leaf.
All participants were Genin from the Leaf.
"Huh? Why didn't you discuss this with us? This is blatant dictator behavior—I protest!"
Yuhi Kurenai looked at Hayato Ren with dissatisfaction.
Beside her, Nohara Rin also wore a worried expression, as she was the weakest among the three.
Not to mention Konan, whose strength already rivaled that of a Jonin, even Yuhi Kurenai could easily defeat Nohara Rin without using her specialty, the Illusionary Arts.
During the previous mission, it was only after Konan restrained the enemies with her Paper Style that Nohara Rin raised her Kunai to deliver the final blows.
Ignoring Yuhi Kurenai's loud protests, Hayato Ren walked over to Nohara Rin, patted her shoulder, and comforted her:
"Do you remember the three rules for Medical Ninja I mentioned before?"
Nohara Rin nodded and softly replied:
"A Medical Ninja must never give up treatment until their teammate is dead; a Medical Ninja must never stand on the front lines of battle; a Medical Ninja must be the last to fall."
"Then what are you still worried about? We're a team, just with different roles. As a Medical Ninja, it's not a big issue if you're weaker in combat. You need to trust your teammates."
"But Teacher, aren't you and Lady Tsunade also Medical Ninja?"
Faced with Nohara Rin's question, Hayato Ren scratched the back of his head and showed a slightly awkward expression.
"Tsunade and I are exceptions to the rule—you don't need to worry about that."
It wasn't that Hayato Ren hadn't considered teaching Nohara Rin the Super Strength Technique to give her self-defense capabilities.
However, after multiple attempts, there was still no success.
It must be said that talent is something that cannot be forced.
Under Hayato Ren's comforting words, the worried expression on Nohara Rin's face finally disappeared.
She nodded firmly and responded in a soft, gentle voice:
"Thank you, teacher. I will definitely work hard to pass this Chunin Exams and won't let you down."
Hearing this, a smile appeared on Hayato Ren's face as he reached out and patted Rin's head.
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