Kawasaki nodded. "Have you tried?"
Tenten's face fell. "I have. I'm not cut out to be a medical-nin, and I couldn't get my sensei's summoning animal to accept me."
Kawasaki smiled. "Did you think Lady Tsunade signed a contract with the slugs the very first time she met them?"
Tenten was confused. "Lord Kawasaki, what do you mean?"
Looking at Tenten, with her hair in its usual twin buns and an innocent look on her face, Kawasaki found the girl utterly endearing.
"I don't know about your talent for medical ninjutsu, but it's true that you're wasting your aptitude for space-time ninjutsu."
"Wasting it?" Tenten didn't know much about her own talents.
Kawasaki had to explain. "Shinobi who can perform consecutive summons like you are incredibly rare."
"Even if you can't find a summoning animal right away, you shouldn't lose hope. You're still young, and your path as a ninja has only just begun."
"At your age, Lady Tsunade hadn't even made her contract with the slugs yet. Giving up on finding a summoning animal now isn't a wise choice."
"Besides, with your talent for space-time, you could one day use the Summoning Jutsu on people."
"Think about it. Right now, your Summoning Jutsu can only store objects."
"In the future, when you can summon people, you'll be able to save your teammates when they're in danger."
"Do you understand now?"
The more Kawasaki spoke, the brighter Tenten's eyes became. Was her talent really that amazing?
She couldn't help but ask, "Lord Kawasaki, do you mean I could summon Neji and Lee someday? And maybe even summon slugs, like Lady Tsunade?"
Kawasaki smiled and nodded. "With your talent, it's absolutely possible."
"And even if you don't end up with the slugs, not having the ninja tortoises as a summon is no big deal."
Kawasaki complained silently. When he'd seen this part of the story play out, he had practically rolled his eyes out of his head. Guy had Tenten try summoning a tortoise, but the animal refused and told her that finding a summon willing to sign a contract was difficult.
It had completely extinguished her enthusiasm for finding a summon, nearly condemning her to a lifetime as a mere weapons courier. Or just someone who randomly threw ninja tools. If the Uchiha clan hadn't been nearly wiped out, any Uchiha seeing her use ninja tools like that would have rolled their Sharingan in disbelief.
Kawasaki's words sent Tenten into deep thought. She had taken Guy-sensei's advice and stopped looking for a summoning animal. But now, hearing that even Lady Tsunade didn't have the slugs at her age, she realized she couldn't afford to waste her talent.
Seeing Tenten begin to think for herself, Kawasaki continued, "Your aptitude for space-time ninjutsu is outstanding. It allows you to prepare all sorts of things for your team and respond to unexpected situations during missions."
"But the way you use your ninja tools..." Kawasaki trailed off, shaking his head. He took three shuriken from a sealed storage scroll.
He pointed to two trees behind the three of them. "Look at the trees behind you."
The trio turned around. There were two trees, one behind the other, with the first almost completely obscuring the second.
Kawasaki casually threw the shuriken. They collided mid-air, changing direction and curving around the first tree to strike the second.
Tenten's eyes lit up.
"See the difference, Tenten?"
Tenten nodded repeatedly. Today's trip to the Uchiha compound had been more than worth it.
"If you want to learn throwing techniques like this in the future, you're welcome to come to the Uchiha clan."
Tenten was stunned, as if a great treasure had just fallen from the heavens. She felt dizzy with disbelief.
"I can?" She actually wanted to ask why, but she kept the question to herself.
Kawasaki said with a grin, "You're welcome anytime. Oh, and Tsunade is at the hospital just behind here. You'll be able to see your idol more often!"
Though Tenten didn't understand why Lord Kawasaki was being so kind to her, she stood and bowed deeply. "Thank you, Lord Kawasaki!"
Kawasaki called to Lee. "Lee, come here."
Lee was a little confused but obediently went over.
Kawasaki told him, "Whether you can be a ninja has nothing to do with whether you can use ninjutsu or genjutsu."
As he spoke, Kawasaki glanced at Neji. Neji's words had once deeply hurt Lee. But in this reality, Hizashi was still alive, so Kawasaki wondered if Neji had ever said those things. Judging by Neji's nonchalant expression, he probably hadn't. Good. A less extreme Neji was far more likable.
"The purpose of ninjutsu and genjutsu is to defeat the enemy. As long as your taijutsu can achieve the same result, it doesn't matter if you can't use them."
"Just look at your sensei, Guy. He specializes in taijutsu and is still an outstanding ninja."
"So..." Kawasaki patted Lee's shoulder.
"There's no need to feel lost on your path forward. Guy is your best role model!"
Lee, who was so often ridiculed, was moved to tears by the successive words of encouragement.
"Yes! Thank you, Lord Kawasaki! I will work hard and follow Guy-sensei's teachings! I'll add another three hundred laps to my run tonight!"
Seeing Lee so fired up, Kawasaki smiled sincerely.
"Neji." Kawasaki beckoned him over.
Neji bowed respectfully. Kawasaki was not only the head of the Uchiha clan but also a friend of his father's, so it was proper for him to bow as a junior.
"Lord Kawasaki."
Kawasaki looked Neji up and down. "The Gentle Fist is a fine style, but remember not to be too rigid with it."
"On missions, you can encounter an enemy at any time. You can't afford to be inflexible."
Neji bowed his head in acknowledgment.
Kawasaki said no more. After all, Neji's father was still around, and Hizashi had the most right to instruct him. Kawasaki was just here to make some friends today.
Among the Konoha 12, he wouldn't even get into Neji's senseless death. As for Lee, he had been one of Kawasaki's favorite characters in the early days. The passion he fought with was truly thrilling. It was a shame he ended up as a minor character by the end. The Strong Fist style truly shined later on, and Lee was still too green back then.
Tenten's talents were also largely wasted. Once he got to know them better, he'd have Tsunade take a look and see if the girl had any other talents besides her space-time abilities. Or maybe when she was older, see if she could learn something like the Flying Raijin Jutsu.
He couldn't just recruit them to his side right now, but that didn't mean he couldn't in the future.
Kawasaki had a particular fondness for Tenten, not just because of her aptitude for space-time ninjutsu and her great personality. The most crucial factor was her sense of style. As long as Tenten dressed the way she did, it was a huge plus in his book.
Having said his piece, Kawasaki glanced at his watch. "It's getting dark. I'm heading out. You're welcome to come visit again."
With that, Kawasaki left.
Lee waved. "Neji, Tenten, I'm off to run my laps for the day! See you tomorrow!"
Before his voice had even faded, Lee was gone, running out of the Uchiha grounds like a gust of wind.
Tenten also said goodbye to Neji. She had to go home and tell her parents about what had happened today.
That left only Neji. Just as he was about to leave, a few Uchiha clan members came up, grabbed him without a word, and started dragging him away.
"You're the last one. Don't just stand there daydreaming. Be a good boy and let us treat your injuries!"
Neji stared blankly. Was this really happening? Forced medical treatment?
And just like that, he was hauled off by the Uchiha's bona fide medical-nin.
...
In the Uchiha territory.
The recent start of practical combat instruction had drawn a large crowd of spectators. People from other factions had also come to gather information.
But Linglong Uchiha didn't drive them away.
Let them watch if they wanted. The only rule was that anyone who participated had to be wearing a Konoha headband.