Hattori had always admired the character of Pakura from watching anime, so now that he could see her in person, he couldn't help but feel drawn to her.
Of course, in a purely innocent way.
However, after Chiyo interrupted his "good moment," Hattori understood that Pakura would now be wary of him, making it difficult to get close to her in the future.
It felt like he had missed out on a fortune!
But rather than crushing his confidence, this only reignited his fighting spirit.
"As long as I keep working hard, anything is possible. Failure is the mother of success; no matter what obstacles come my way, I'll face them with a smile!"
With that, he raised his fist and declared his determination.
"The best way to overcome fear is to face it. Perseverance is victory. I'm destined to be the ultimate partner of female ninja! Let's go, let's do this!"
Seeing Hattori suddenly fired up, Chiyo, who had been watching him from the sidelines, couldn't hold back any longer. She picked up a block of wood and threw it at him.
Hattori dodged easily, tilting his head to the side, and then looked at Chiyo innocently.
"(￣３￣) Sensei, why did you throw that at me?"
"(╬￣皿￣)"
Seeing his innocent face, Chiyo's anger only grew. She pointed at him, shouting:
"At your age, you should be learning proper values! But instead, you act sneaky, greedy, and shameless. Who led you astray like this?"
"Onoki!"
With a look of sorrow, Hattori picked up a couple of puppet limbs and started rhythmically singing.
"Sensei~
I lived in Sunagakure~ with father and mother working in field~
Living without a care~, then Onoki came—forceful,~ ruthless,~ with no respect for anyone.
He took my home~, took my land~, and when father fought back~, he crushed him with one blow~. mama…"
"Stop!"
Just as Hattori was getting into it, Chiyo raised a hand to cut him off.
"Sand Village is surrounded by desert. Where would you get fields? And your parents… they died in battle against the Mist, not because of Onoki. What's this nonsense?"
"Uh... right…"
Hattori paused, looking puzzled, then resumed his sorrowful look.
"Sensei, it doesn't matter if it's the Stone Village or the Mist Village. What matters is that I lost people I cared, leaving me lonely and struggling!"
At this, he turned to Chiyo, his expression full of sincerity.
"Sensei, in times like these, only money gives me a sense of security, and only beautiful ladies can fill the emptiness in my heart and heal the wounds that war has inflicted on me!"
"…"
Chiyo went silent at Hattori's words. After a moment, she sighed with resignation.
"Sigh… All these years, I've never heard someone justify their greed and shamelessness so convincingly. It seems Elder Ebizo wasn't wrong about you at all!"
"Cough, cough…"
Chiyo's comment instantly broke Hattori's confidence, and he looked somewhat embarrassed.
"Well, Sensei, no need to take Ebizo's words too seriously. Besides, all I do is for the sake of the Sand Village, or rather, for the future generation of the Sand Village!"
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like!"
Hattori suddenly appeared noble and righteous.
"As we all know, a ninja village is made up of ninjas. The stronger the ninjas, the stronger the village. And the key to strong ninjas lies in strong bloodlines!"
"Strong bloodlines?" Chiyo looked surprised. "You understand that?"
"Of course I do, because I have one!"
Hattori thumped his chest confidently.
"Look, Sensei! I'm skilled in medical ninjutsu, puppet techniques, and I'm both strong and smart. Clearly, my bloodline is extraordinary!"
"Oh?" Chiyo raised an eyebrow. "And so?"
"What I mean is, I'm willing to offer my remarkable bloodline to the village!"
Hattori pounded his chest once more, eyes full of conviction.
"I promise to work hard, passing on my superior bloodline so that it flourishes within the Sand Village. Not only would I be a source of affection for the village's lovely ladies, but I'd also help produce more talented individuals with excellent bloodlines for the Sand Village."
Chiyo: "(Д*)"
Are you even human?
Seeing Chiyo's shocked expression, Hattori thought she was simply moved by his words and smiled at her.
"Sensei, don't be too surprised. I've long planned this so that when I look back on my life, I'll have no regrets about wasting my youth or feeling ashamed for achieving nothing.
That way, when I die, I can say that I've given my life and all my energy to the greatest cause of all—working for the rise of Sand Village!"
He struck a heroic pose, ready to receive her praise.
But instead of praise, he was met with Chiyo's slap—
(￣ε(#￣)☆╰╮o(￣皿￣///)
...
After the slap, Hattori fell silent.
He focused on assembling a puppet, his gaze now steadier than before.
"Nagato was right; humans are foolish creatures who will never fully understand each other. But I won't give up—I'm destined to be the ultimate partner of beautiful kunoichi!"
With renewed resolve, he assembled the explosive puppet even faster.
Chiyo sat beside him, watching his deft assembly, and a trace of approval flickered in her eyes.
"This puppet is simple, but quite practical. Make as many as you can while there's peace."
"Got it!" Hattori nodded.
Seeing him like this, Chiyo smiled again.
"Good. I'll step out for a bit. Stay here and don't wander around, especially not to bother Pakura. She has the scorching bloodline limit—not someone you can casually mess with."
"Got it, Sensei!"
Hattori nodded obediently and waved as she left. "Goodbye, Sensei!"
"Hmm!"
Chiyo nodded and left the tent, soon disappearing from sight.
After about ten minutes, when there was no sound from outside, Hattori put down the puppet and peeked around.
Once he confirmed that Chiyo was gone, he grinned and sprinted off in Pakura's direction.
"─=≡Σ(((つ^ω^)つ Coming for you, Scorch Release Pakura!"
(End of Chapter)