"There's a commotion with those young ninjas from the Sand Village again?"
An old voice spoke, the tone weary yet authoritative. He quietly put a pipe cigar in his mouth, puffing out a cloud of smoke.
"Yes, Hokage-sama..."
It was Hiruzen Sarutobi!
The old man sat in his chair, looking at an Anbu ninja wearing a cat mask with purple hair. He sighed deeply before looking out the window.
"What was it this time?"
Hiruzen asked wearily with the smoke curling around his face.
"They had a conflict with, umm... a cook," the Anbu ninja reported, her tone hesitant as she explained the strange situation she had witnessed earlier.
Hiruzen puffed thoughtfully on his pipe, the aroma of tobacco filling the air, "Are you sure he's just a cook?"
"...He's currently working at Ichiraku Ramen Shop. I heard he was trying to learn how to make good ramen from the owner," the Anbu ninja answered.
"Hmm..."
He fell into a thoughtful silence, staring out the window.
The village seemed peaceful, yet beneath the surface, tension simmered.
Hiruzen had been feeling uneasy ever since Orochimaru's appearance during the Chunin Exam.
As the final stage approached, this unease only grew stronger.
"I wonder why I feel this way. Is it because I'm getting old?"
Hiruzen quietly thought to himself while putting his pipe back into his mouth.
He exhaled a cloud of smoke, then turned to the Anbu ninja and said, "I suppose he's not anything suspicious since he doesn't seem to want any trouble..."
Their main concern was Orochimaru right now, and considering Tsuna didn't seriously harm the young ninjas from the Sand Village, Hiruzen thought the young man might genuinely want to learn how to make ramen at Ichiraku Ramen.
However, given the tense situation, Hiruzen decided to take precautions.
"But, keep an eye on him just in case. You're dismissed..."
"Understood, Hokage-sama!"
With that, the Anbu member vanished from the Hokage's office, leaving Hiruzen quietly staring out the window with a thoughtful expression.
He couldn't shake the feeling that something big was on the horizon.
"If only I've done my job right as a teacher..."
With a heavy sigh, he took another puff from his pipe, the smoke swirling around him like a shroud of uncertainty.
A few days later...
In the usually quiet training ground of Konoha Village, a loud clash of blows echoed through the air.
The sound of fierce combat filled the area as two figures exchanged powerful strikes.
The ground beneath them trembled with each impact, dust rising in small clouds around their feet.
It was Tsuna and Guy!
After realizing that there were more people tailing him, Tsuna decided to focus on training his physical body.
"They might have seen my Earth bending, but..."
He didn't know his former occupation as an assassin would still stick to him, and he felt uncomfortable knowing that these people were watching him training what he thought was his 'secret' weapon.
"..."
He looked at Guy in front of him who had a smile throughout the spar as he silently thought, "...His strength overpowers mine."
Guy, with his intense eyes and signature green jumpsuit, moved with incredible speed and precision.
"But so what...!"
Tsuna also matched Guy's pace, their movements a blur of action.
"Hmm...?"
However, as the spar continued, Guy noticed something troubling.
Both of them kept exchanging blow after blow before he realized that Tsuna's breaths were coming in ragged gasps, yet he refused to give up.
"Tsuna's already past his limit."
Throughout their time training together, he came to know how Tsuna's resilience was commendable that he felt like he met his long lost brother.
"As expected of you, my brother from another mother..."
Guy couldn't help but tear up in respect at him.
The sight reminded him of his own student, Lee, who was currently bedridden in the hospital for pushing himself too hard.
"I like your spirit, but I'm sorry my friend! I can't make another mistake!"
Guy's heart ached with the memory, and he knew he had to put a stop to this before Tsuna met a similar fate.
"That's enough, Tsuna," Guy said after putting up a distance between them, his voice firm yet gentle.
"..."
Tsuna sighed as he noticed the concern in Guy's eyes.
"That's a good spar..."
As he let himself fall to the ground, he felt the pain coursing through his body. His muscles ached, and his energy was completely spent.
Lying on the ground, he murmured softly, "I was completely overpowered, huh?"
He could keep up with Guy's movement despite not being able to move as fast. He could still block his attack despite still being a lot weaker than Guy's raw strength.
However...
"...He's probably still holding back," Tsuna muttered, clenching his fists tightly.
He might not have realized it, but a smile was curling up on his lips.
Tsuna already knew this, but he was starting to see exactly how weak he was compared to those in this world.
Still...
The danger somehow made him feel alive.
Deep down, he looked forward to the adventures ahead of him!
"..."
Meanwhile, Guy looked at Tsuna with a serious expression, recalling their spars over the last few days.
"I might have the advantage since I'm far stronger physically..."
Guy didn't know what Taijutsu Tsuna was using, but the patterns were quite concerning. He felt genuinely threatened by these attacks.
He could see that Tsuna had advanced knowledge of human weak points, and the Taijutsu Tsuna was using completely designed to target those points.
Guy couldn't help but wonder what kind of place would allow someone so young to develop such a deadly Taijutsu.
He silently thought, "I might have the advantage now, but once he gets slightly stronger..."
"..."
He couldn't help but shudder at the thought.
"Hmm? Guy-san, are you not going to join me for a run this time?"
Tsuna stood up, noticing Guy seemed to be lost in thought.
"Ah... Right..."
Guy blinked and snapped back to reality.
His expression brightened to its usual intensity as he flashed Tsuna his brightest smile and offered a thumbs-up.
"Let's go spread our youthful energy around the village!"
After their run, Tsuna made his way back to the Ichiraku Ramen Shop.
However, this time, he took a detour and used the usual road to ensure he was on a busy street the whole time. He didn't want to repeat the same unfortunate event by going down the quiet alleyway again.
"Tsuna! You're finally here. You have a guest waiting!"
Teuchi greeted him the moment he arrived at the ramen shop.
"A guest?"
Tsuna blinked in confusion.
Teuchi gestured towards someone, and Tsuna followed his gaze, raising his eyebrows in surprise at the sight of the guest.
It was Temari, who approached him with a flushed red face.
She slowly opened her mouth. "You..."
"...I apologize for..."
Her sentence started off strong before it suddenly quieted to a mosquito-like voice.
Tsuna twitched his lips in speechlessness and massaged his forehead, "So, you realize you made a mistake now and want to apologize? If so, then do it properly..."
"..."
Temari looked away, slightly clenching her fist in embarrassment, while Teuchi and Ayame observed the situation with amusement.
"Why? You're not going to apologize now?"
"...You bastard," Temari murmured, her face turning red.
"What did you say?"
"...No, nothing," she grumbled, sighing before looking at Tsuna.
"I... apologize..."
However, she couldn't hold eye contact and looked away as she continued, "for the misunderstanding yesterday..."
"Alright, alright. But what do you want from me? I'm sure you're not here just to apologize..."
"...Fucking rude as ever," Temari muttered softly, but Tsuna's gaze silenced her, and she coughed awkwardly.
Then, she then honestly took out her broken fan.
Temari had visited several blacksmiths in Konoha, but none could repair it quickly. She could only think of Tsuna's ability to bend metal seemingly effortlessly, which was why she was here.
"Could you please return this to its original form?"
Tsuna's eyes flashed at this, making Temari nervous for some reason.
He smiled gently before asking, "How much are you willing to pay?"
---
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