[ 900 Power Stone Bonus Chapter!!]
Natsuki smiled and patiently explained, "gumi, you're only thinking this way because you don't understand the situation. Anko-sensei was once Orochimaru's student. He later abandoned her and placed a cursed seal on her.
When it activates, it causes unbearable pain. Even the Konoha Hospital and the Hokage himself can't do anything about it. So why are you blaming yourself, a young girl, for not being able to help?"
gumi looked up, eyes wide with surprise. "Is that true?"
"Of course! When have I ever lied to you?" Natsuki answered with a completely matter-of-fact tone. "Besides, you did help. When so many people stood by and watched, only you and Rinya ran to support Anko-sensei and tried to heal her. That already puts you ahead of most people!"
gumi took a deep breath, and her expression seed to ease.
But she still seed conflicted. "Boss, I... I really want to help. I don't want to be soone useless!"
Natsuki scratched his chin, looking thoughtful. "I'd love to help you get stronger, but power doesn't co overnight. Still, there are other ways to help. You already know dical ninjutsu, which is huge. But... maybe what you need now is a summon beast."
Summon beasts—that was the only short-term way Natsuki could think of that might actually increase her utility.
Real power-ups take ti. It's not sothing you can just flip a switch on.
gumi's dical skills were already impressive—she'd even learned Shōsen Jutsu (Mystical Palm Technique). From Natsuki's perspective, she could already offer a lot of support. But clearly, she didn't think so.
Which ant the only idea that might work now... was summoning.
"Summon beast?" gumi's eyes lit up.
"Yeah! If I can contract with a useful summon beast, I'll be able to contribute more, right? I'll be helpful!"
Perfect. The girl's spirit was coming back!
Natsuki encouraged her further, "Tenten has a summoning scroll for the Giant Mountain Eagles. They're incredibly useful—small ones can deliver ssages, big ones can carry people in flight. But they're proud creatures, hard to ta."
gumi thought about it for a mont, then shook her head. "I want to help, but contracting the sa summons as you would feel kind of redundant. Are there any others?"
Natsuki looked up at the sky. "Well, the only other one I can think of is Kakashi-senpai's ninja hounds."
"Ninken? Kakashi-sensei's?"
"Mm. He has eight ninja dogs. They understand human speech and have an extraordinary sense of sll. They're perfect for tracking and locating people—even across vast distances. Honestly, I'm still worried Orochimaru hasn't left Konoha. Once we enter the Forest of Death, I'm afraid sothing might happen to Tenten or the others. If you had tracking support to help locate teammates, I'd be much more at ease."
"Then I'll contract the ninja dogs, Boss!"
gumi's eyes glead. "Actually, I really like dogs. And if their tracking abilities can help you... then I want to do it!"
Seeing her like that, Natsuki finally relaxed. "That's the spirit. Then let's go ask Kakashi-senpai to let you contract the Ninken. The good thing is, there's no limit to the number of summon contracts. So later, if you also want to summon the Giant Mountain Eagles or others, that's totally fine too."
With gumi in good spirits again, Rinya was overjoyed.
He'd known Boss would have a way, and look—didn't take long for gumi to bounce back thanks to him.
When he heard gumi wanted to contract Kakashi's summons, he imdiately voiced his support and insisted on tagging along to ask Kakashi together.
gumi also felt a little guilty, knowing her boyfriend had been worried about her. She couldn't help but reach out and squeeze his hand.
Yamashiro Aoba groaned—drenched in that couple's sugary affection—and quickly said, "I think Kakashi is currently training his students. Given the ti, he's probably eating lunch at Ichiraku Ran. Let's head over!"
Sure enough, they found Kakashi at Ichiraku Ran. Team 7 was there too.
Still... as delicious as ran is, eating it every day? With that kind of training load, ran alone won't cut it.
"Yo! Kakashi, there you are!"
Aoba raised a hand in greeting. "My student's got sothing to ask you."
Kakashi waved lazily, then turned to Natsuki. "Natsuki? What's up?"
Natsuki was about to speak when gumi stepped forward.
"Boss, let do it myself. You've already helped enough. I can't keep relying on you!"
Hearing that, Natsuki closed his mouth and nodded in approval.
When asking for help, you should do it properly. Sure, Natsuki could have said it and guaranteed success, but gumi didn't want that. She wanted to beco soone useful—and for that, she had to take responsibility and speak for herself.
"Kakashi-sensei!" gumi bowed deeply.
"I want to contract your Ninken. I want to be soone who can help others. But I'm not strong enough yet. Even my dical ninjutsu still needs work. But I don't want to be useless anymore! Boss told your Ninken have excellent tracking abilities, and I'd like to form a contract with them. Please, Kakashi-sensei!"
Team 7 was visibly surprised.
Sasuke gave a subtle nod. He rembered gumi—she had once been one of his fan club mbers. But after being assigned to Team 9, she'd found love and was steadily growing stronger. Most admirable was her heart—she wasn't satisfied with being average. She wanted to be useful, and she was willing to work hard for it.
That was far more praiseworthy than a certain soone from their own team...
Sakura clenched her fists and stared deeply at gumi.
Back in the academy, she had been top of the class in written exams and wasn't bad at physical training either. She'd never seen gumi as competition.
But since becoming an official genin, gumi had clearly surpassed her—improving her strength, learning dical ninjutsu, and now even requesting to contract with Kakashi-sensei's Ninken.
gumi was truly excelling—not just in action, but also in spirit.
Compared to that...
Sakura felt so useless.
Whenever danger struck, it was always Sasuke and Naruto rushing forward. She just stood there helplessly. Even when they were injured, all she could do was basic first-aid.
So useless...
She had asked Kakashi-sensei to increase her training. She was trying.
But her progress was painfully slow.
She bit her lip in frustration, not knowing what else she could do.
Naruto, anwhile, was just watching with his usual carefree grin. Although he was surprised gumi ca to ask Kakashi for a summon contract, he didn't think much of it.
That's just how he was—simple and straightforward.
(End of Chapter)
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