"Akira Ren—!"
Because of what happened earlier—
The Ninja Academy had directly dismissed classes. There were no lessons today.
Tenten, who had just returned to the weapon shop, looked at the handsome figure before her, her eyes filled with unconcealed delight. "When did you come back?"
"Just got back not long ago!" Akira Ren replied with a smile.
Looking at the spirited young man before her, Tenten's eyes were full of joy as she smiled. "If Ino knew you were back, she'd definitely be over the moon!"
"I've already seen that girl Ino…"
Akira Ren chuckled lightly. "She's got quite the guts—she stuck to me and just skipped school altogether!"
"Hmph! Akira Ren-gege is talking bad about me behind my back!"
At that moment—
Ino ran in, puffing her cheeks angrily.
"Ino, you're here!"
Tenten greeted her.
Over the past two years, although she and Ino hadn't met every day—
Whenever they had time on weekends, they would get together to train.
They would reminisce about Akira Ren and recall those carefree days when they were all together.
They had long become inseparable best friends.
"Hah…"
She spread her right hand.
A green paper crane appeared in her palm.
Ino looked at Akira Ren with curiosity. "Akira Ren-gege, is this your jutsu?"
Earlier, she had been about to go home with her father, Yamanaka Inoichi, when she saw this strange green paper crane fly over and land directly in her palm.
And from it—
Akira Ren's voice had come out.
Telling her to come to the weapon shop to meet.
"Mm, it's made by folding leaves into a paper crane. I can control it to deliver messages."
Akira Ren smiled and nodded.
"Is that so?"
Ino played with the delicate green leaf crane.
Thinking of the shocking scene from earlier, she looked at Akira Ren with admiration. "But Akira Ren-gege, you're really amazing!"
"What do you mean, Ino…?"
Tenten looked confused.
"Well, it's like this…"
Seeing that Akira Ren didn't stop her, Ino's little face flushed red with excitement.
She chattered on and told everything that happened in the morning to her best friend.
"What!?"
Tenten's eyes widened.
She looked at Akira Ren in disbelief, her mouth slightly open. "The Hokage Rock… was destroyed by you?"
She had never imagined that Akira Ren was the one who destroyed Hokage Rock.
And that earthquake-like tremor earlier had also been caused by his battle with the Anbu at Training Ground Three.
It was simply unbelievable.
"Shh! Don't be so loud…"
Ino hurriedly covered her mouth.
Originally, the Third Hokage had issued a strict order.
Nara Shikaku had even planned to remind Yamanaka Inoichi to seal her memory when they got back.
It was Akira Ren, controlling that paper crane, who stopped it—making them give up on the idea.
But before leaving, Inoichi had repeatedly warned her not to spread it around.
Yet he never expected that she would forget her father's warning in the blink of an eye.
"So that's how it is…"
After a while—
Digesting that shocking information—
Tenten was filled with amazement and a hint of daze.
Looking at Akira Ren, her eyes were full of admiration. "Akira Ren, you're really incredible!"
Not only did he possess the First Hokage's Wood Release—
But he could casually summon a forest that covered the entire Training Ground Three, and easily defeat the Anbu directly under the Hokage.
It was beyond imagination.
"It's nothing…"
Akira Ren didn't seem proud at all.
Glancing at the time, he smiled. "It's almost noon. Let's go eat barbecue!"
He really did miss Konoha's barbecue.
Although during his travels with Tsunade, he had tasted barbecue and various delicacies from different places—
In terms of authentic flavor, nothing beat the Akimichi clan's barbecue restaurant.
"Okay!!"
The two girls' eyes lit up.
They nodded happily in unison.
It was rare to have a meal with Akira Ren—of course they wouldn't refuse.
"Hehe…"
The two girls narrowed their crescent-shaped eyes.
One on each side, they hugged Akira Ren's arms.
The three of them headed toward the barbecue restaurant.
Their return rate was 100%.
After two years apart—
The feelings the two girls held for Akira Ren had only grown stronger with each passing day.
Even Tenten, who was usually a bit reserved, let go of her restraint.
Following Ino's lead, she hugged one of Akira Ren's arms.
At first, her pretty face was slightly flushed.
But she quickly relaxed.
Akira Ren naturally enjoyed it.
As he walked out with Tenten and Ino—
He casually glanced at a few inconspicuous corners.
But didn't pay them any mind.
"Pretty quick to act…"
...
Less than half an hour later—
Inside the Akimichi clan's barbecue restaurant.
Looking at the mountain of grilled meat piled high in front of him, Akira Ren's mouth twitched.
Meanwhile, Tenten and Ino—
Though it wasn't clear if they were competing—
Kept unconsciously placing cooked meat onto his plate, barely eating any themselves.
It left him both amused and helpless.
"You two…"
He picked up portions from his plate—
And placed them back onto theirs.
Knocking lightly on Tenten and Ino's heads, he said, "That's no fun. If you want to grow, you need to eat more!"
"Mm…"
The two girls glanced at each other, their faces slightly red.
Happily eating the meat Akira Ren returned to them, savoring it slowly.
"Akira Ren-gege, are you leaving again this time?"
Ino looked at him eagerly.
Beside her, Tenten also looked as if she wasn't looking—but her eyes were full of anticipation.
"I'll probably stay for about ten days or so…"
Akira Ren smiled. "Coming back to the village now is still a bit too early."
"Is that so…"
Though the two girls felt a little disappointed—
Hearing that he would stay in the village for more than ten days still made them happy.
"By the way, Ino—you've mastered your clan's secret techniques, right?"
Ruffling Ino's hair, Akira Ren asked with a smile.
"Of course!"
Ino puffed out her chest proudly. "With the training methods and cultivation insights you summarized, I've been working hard every day on chakra control. Now I've already mastered most of our clan's secret techniques!"
"Mm, our Ino really is a little genius…"
Akira Ren didn't hold back his praise.
The little girl beamed with joy, her eyes curving like crescents.
He then looked at Tenten. "What about you?"
"Not just 'Akira Ren No.1,' but also that flying puppet—Vermilion Bird—I can already control both freely…"
Tenten's face was full of confidence as she smiled. "Of course, if I want to use them in real combat, I'll probably still need more training!"
In order not to disappoint Akira Ren—
Over the past two years, she had trained with all her strength, never slacking.
Now, she could already control those two puppets quite skillfully.
"Akira Ren-gege, Tenten is now a famous puppet prodigy in the Academy!"
Ino added with a smile. "Even the teachers can't stop praising her!"
"N-not at all… I'm just benefiting from Akira Ren's guidance…"
Tenten's face turned red.
What kind of genius was she?
At most, she was just a bit hardworking.
The true genius was Akira Ren—
Who had mastered puppet techniques on his own, even including puppet creation.
"Don't belittle yourself. Believe in yourself—you'll definitely become a renowned puppet master in the ninja world someday!"
Akira Ren patted Tenten's head, smiling as he encouraged her.
He had always been determined to nurture this Chinese-style girl into a true puppet master.
No—
Perhaps it would be more accurate to say…
A future master of "Gundams."
…
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