Chapter 172: Chapter 172: A Four-Man Team, Four Different Camps

Chapter 172: Chapter 172: A Four-Man Team, Four Different Camps



"Wipe that miserable look off your faces and get back to work. Finish by sundown, and I'll treat you to hotpot. If you don't finish, then we're working overtime. You'll go home when the job's done."

Usually, a Jonin instructor would treat their students to a meal. However, Takuya had no intention of taking on disciples. After all, in the world of shinobi, students often end up turning on their masters.

Takuya had no interest in taking disciples-teammates were fine, though. Treating teammates to a meal wasn't a big deal, especially when it was at his own restaurant. Convenient and affordable.

At the mention of hotpot, the three students immediately perked up. Despite their exhaustion, the thought of food filled them with new energy, and they worked harder than

ever.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Under the promise of a delicious meal, they finished the task before sundown.

Takuya led the freshly cleaned-up trio back to the village and straight to the hotpot

restaurant.

"Takuya!"

Kushina, who had been lounging idly at one of the tables, lit up at the sight of him, jumping up excitedly.

"Huh?"

Noticing the three mud-covered figures behind him, she blinked in surprise and asked curiously, "Are these your students?"

"Teammates," Takuya corrected her, emphasizing the word.

Kushina giggled, eyeing the three muddy figures. "They look like little mud dolls!"

What's so funny about this? Ryoji gritted his teeth, glaring at her.

But when Kushina smiled and met his gaze, a chill ran down his spine. Suddenly, he felt like he had just been cornered by a dangerous beast.

This red-haired woman was terrifying.

"Alright, stop scaring them. They just graduated; they don't know anything yet," Takuya said as he patted Kushina's arm. Then he called out, "Hey! Can you set us up with a mixed hotpot?"

"Got it," came the reply from Mikoto Uchiha, who was helping in the kitchen.

"I was just teasing them! Who knew they'd be so timid?" Kushina giggled, bouncing into the kitchen to lend a hand.

As they headed into a private room, Takuya explained to his team, "This restaurant is a joint venture between Kushina and me. If you want hotpot in the future, come here. I'll give you a discount. Oh, and..."

He gave them a brief introduction to the restaurant.

"As of now... no set time," Takuya responded casually.

Unlike most Jonin instructors, he wasn't in a rush to have his team complete mission after mission. Even if the missions were simple and required minimal effort from him, he preferred to work at his own pace.

"Well, alright then."

With their captain's decision made, the trio had no choice but to accept it and leave.

As they walked out of the hotpot restaurant, Suzune, who rarely spoke, suddenly asked, "Why

do you think the captain doesn't want us to call him 'sensei'?"

"Who knows?" Ryoji shrugged, putting his hands behind his head as he answered

nonchalantly.

"I've asked around. Some of the older guys in my clan say our captain's a bit... strange. They warned me not to make him angry."

"And apparently, we won't be doing that many missions," Ryoji added.

"What? Aren't we supposed to do a lot of missions to gain experience?" Aida asked, clearly

confused.

Suzune also looked puzzled. It didn't make much sense.

"How should I know? Let's just go," Ryoji said, dismissing the question.

Had Suzune asked, he might have answered in more detail. Even if the Uchiha and Hyuga clans didn't get along, she still deserved some respect.

But as far as Ryoji was concerned, Aida, a civilian ninja, wasn't worth his time.

From the beginning, neither Ryoji nor Suzune had seen Aida as their equal. This was one of the ongoing tensions between clan ninjas and civilian ninjas. Clan ninjas tended to look down on civilians, and this wasn't exactly a secret. Few civilian ninjas dared compare themselves to those from powerful clans.

After all, shinobi like Orochimaru, Jiraiya, or Minato were rare among civilians.

In terms of numbers, civilians had the advantage. But when it came to overall quality, they were on a different playing field.

Aida had a long way to go if he wanted to earn the respect of Ryoji and Suzune.

"You know, there seems to be some serious tension within your team," Kushina remarked as she and Takuya sat by a window on the second floor, watching the trio go their separate ways. "It's no surprise. With four people in a team, you've got four different mindsets," Takuya replied with a small smile.

"Ryoji Uchiha and Suzune Hyuga are both heirs from major clans. Of course, they look down on Aida, a civilian ninja. Meanwhile, Aida's desperately trying to fit in with the team. Unless something external forces them to bond, or Aida works really hard to gain their respect, the divide between clan and civilian ninjas will remain."

"Are you going to help him?" Kushina asked, gazing at Takuya curiously.