Naruto: I have an attribute panel

Chapter 20: Holiday, Orphanage, Danzo's Move

Student days are carefree. Everyone lives their lives in an orderly fashion, and time flows by like water in these ordinary days.

July has arrived in the blink of an eye, and with the release of exam results, summer vacation is also on its way.

Of course, this is a mixed bag of joy and sorrow. Taichi's grades are quite good, tied for first place in the class with Kakashi. Following them are Asuma and Hyuga Yuuhachi.

They are, after all, scions of large families; not only are they exceptionally talented, but they also put in a lot of hard work behind the scenes.

These people may seem like they're sleeping or daydreaming in class, but back home they probably all have private tutors.

Of course, this does not include our Obito, who did not even reach the middle level. His pitiful theoretical score once again broke everyone's expectations, scoring only a mere 20 points.

Furthermore, during the exam, Rin Nohara had already created as many opportunities as possible for Obito. Unfortunately, Obito was disappointing; he couldn't even cheat properly, so what could you do with him?

After receiving their exam results, everyone left the school one after another.

Parents picking up their children can be seen everywhere at the school gate. Some are chatting and laughing, obviously good students, while others have indifferent faces, and you can feel the low pressure just by walking past you. These are the ones who did poorly on the test, but didn't lose their temper at the school gate for the sake of face. They will probably get a scolding when they get home.

Taiyi looked at the diverse crowd and felt a pang of envy. After all, they all had family members picking them up. Unlike himself…

Just as Taichi was about to go home, he froze! He saw Nono and Tsunade smiling at him from the crowd.

At this moment, Taiyi felt his heart filled with happiness and sweetness.

He rushed over, grabbed Nonou's hand, and asked, "Nonou-neechan, what brings you and Tsunade-neechan here?!"

"Knowing you have the day off, I came especially to pick you up and take you back to the orphanage to get together with everyone," Nono replied with a smile.

Taiichi then turned to look at Tsunade.

"I'm here to give you this. It's holiday time now, so you can go report for duty right away." He took out the internship certificate signed by the Hokage from his pocket, waved it, and handed it to Taiichi.

Taiyi took the certificate and looked at it. He found that it was actually an internship certificate, and a paid one at that. It was far more complex than the simple letter of introduction he had initially thought, which was just a job offer at the hospital.

Seeing the Hokage's signature on the certificate further demonstrates how much effort Tsunade put into obtaining this internship certificate.

Without hesitation, he bowed respectfully to Tsunade and said, "Thank you so much, Tsunade-neechan."

"Haha, that's a piece of cake."

"Then, Tsunade-neechan, come with us to the orphanage and see how it's developed. You've contributed to that too!" Taichi and Nonou exchanged a glance and said.

"Okay, let's go take a look together."

……

The three chatted as they arrived at the orphanage. The setting sun bathed the orphanage's brick walls in an orange-red hue. As Nono pushed open the iron gate, a group of children poured out. They were all dressed in brand-new cotton clothes, their rosy cheeks hanging like little lanterns on Nono's legs; they looked nothing like children from an orphanage.

"Brother Taiichi!" The little girl with pigtails wiped her snot on Taiichi's trouser leg. "Did you bring us anything yummy today?"

"Brother Taiyi will cook something delicious for you all today, okay?" Taiyi pinched the little girl's cheek.

"Great! We love Taiichi the most!" The children were overjoyed to hear that Taiichi was going to cook for them.

Tsunade bent down and poked the child's aunt's cheek. He had visited the orphanage three months ago; the children were still wearing patched old clothes, but now even the youngest girl had a pink ribbon in her hair. The newly planted orange tree in the courtyard was sprouting tender buds, the swing trellis had been replaced with sturdier hemp rope, and even the yard had been expanded.

Taiichi put down the bamboo basket full of ingredients, which he had bought at the shop earlier. The children had tied an apron around his neck in a crooked way. Tsunade leaned against the door frame watching him chop vegetables, the blade striking the cutting board with a rapid, drum-like rhythm. The three children squatted by the stove, swallowing hard. The youngest reached out to steal some food, but Taiichi gently tapped him on the head with a wooden spoon.

"Dinner's ready!"

Eight long tables were joined together to form a large horseshoe-shaped table, around which everyone sat. Tomato soup bubbled in an iron pot. Golden tempura was piled high, and the children banged their bowls with wooden spoons, creating a tinkling sound like music. Suddenly, a chipped ceramic bowl appeared in front of Tsunade, and the bespectacled boy gave him a chicken leg from his own bowl.

"This is the last one." The child pushed up his round-framed glasses that had slipped down his nose. "Brother Taiyi said that guests should eat the best."

The oil lamp cast shadows on the plaster wall, and more than twenty pairs of small hands clasped together at the same time: "I'm going to eat!" Tsunade bit into the crispy batter of the fried shrimp, and the fresh aroma of seaweed flakes exploded on her tongue. Three months ago, they were still living on thin porridge, but now even the miso soup has tender tofu floating in it.

"Lady Tsunade, try this plum rice ball!" The twin sisters squeezed in and stuffed the rabbit-shaped rice ball into her hand. The glutinous rice was still warm, and the plum flesh was so sour it made one squint. Nono was wiping the youngest child's mouth, and grains of rice stuck to her dark blue apron like a handful of stars.

After dinner, the children gathered around Tsunade to listen to ninja stories. Taichi sat cross-legged on the veranda, peeling an apple, the peel forming a long spiral. Tsunade looked at Taichi, who was smiling at the children, and suddenly remembered a scene she had witnessed upon returning from a mission—Nawaki breaking off the last half of a candy cake for a stray cat, his eyes crinkling into crescent moons with laughter.

"It's time to go." Taiichi looked back at the clock on the wall; it was getting late.

As Tsunade stepped out of the hospital gate, she turned back and saw a small head bobbing by the second-floor window. The boy with glasses was breathing on the glass, drawing a crooked heart.

On the way back, Taichi hummed a nursery rhyme out of tune. Tsunade touched a grain of rice stuck to her sleeve and suddenly laughed. The medical department's report stated "annual budget increased by 47%", but none of that mattered as much as that bowl of miso soup with teeth marks. Perhaps this was the Konoha Village that her great-grandfather truly wanted to see. The evening breeze carried the smell of cooking smoke across the eaves. She touched the boy's fluffy hair and finally understood why her teacher always liked to peek into the crystal ball. Of course, peeking into the girls' bathhouse was an exception.

"Taiichi, remember to report to Director Biwako at the hospital tomorrow. I'll be going now."

"Okay, Tsunade-neechan."

As Tsunade's figure disappeared into the distance, Taiichi walked towards his own training ground—the riverbank.

The two-month vacation requires me to report to Konoha Hospital every morning according to the internship certificate. This will give me more time to train in the afternoons and evenings, which is much more than during my school years. I believe that my skills will improve further in the days to come.

Thinking it over, Taiichi drew the short sword from his back, calmed his mind, and slowly performed a set of Hatake-ryu sword techniques. After a period of practice, Taiichi's swordsmanship had made great progress, and now Taiichi's swordsmanship level had reached Lv3. This was all thanks to his practice during this period.

As the short sword slashed out again and again, prompts kept appearing on the panel.

[You have improved your understanding of the Hatake sword technique through practice!]

Your skill "Hatake Sword Technique" has been upgraded; experience points increased by 1.

[Your focus on practicing the Hatake sword technique has increased your Ninja Apprentice experience by 1.]

……

Congratulations! Your Ninja Apprentice job level has increased by Lv7 (0/1200)

[Attribute Points +1, Skill Points +1]

Seeing that he had gained another attribute point and skill point, Taiyi felt that his strength had increased and his sense of security had also increased.

……

Wood Leaf Root Base.

Shadows swirled in the dim candlelight of the Root base as Danzo's fingers caressed the intelligence scroll, the paper reflecting the sinister glint in his single eye.

"Perfect scores in all theory subjects, taijutsu surpassing even genin..." His hoarse voice, like a venomous snake slithering through moss, "even learned Hatake's swordsmanship so quickly."

The Root ninja, kneeling in the shadows, heard Danzo's mutterings. Suddenly, the scroll was slammed onto a thick wooden table with a dull thud. "He's mastered two types of chakra nature transformations too!" Danzo smirked.

"How can such a rough gem be left to be polished by someone as lukewarm as Hiruzen?" The eerie green candlelight flickered suddenly as his gaze swept over the gleaming instruments on the operating table to one side of the room, where countless "tools" bearing cursed seals had once lay. "Prepare the seal to eradicate the root of tongue-twisting calamity before dawn tomorrow." A chilling smile crept across his lips. "I will personally make that child understand that darkness is the best breeding ground for genius."

At this moment, Danzo finally made up his mind to try and obtain this "tool".