Tsunade Can Hear My Inner Voice

Chapter 129: Chapter 129: Team Gai’s Arrival

"First place is mine!"

A loud voice echoed in the distance, and Gaara spotted a green-clad figure sprinting toward them.

"Gai-sensei, you’re amazing!"

Another smaller green-clad figure followed behind him. Next was a long-haired, handsome young man—Hyūga Neji—and finally, a beautiful girl with her hair tied in twin buns, Tenten.

’Ah, familiar faces!’

"You’re... that gourd kid!" Rock Lee panted slightly as he turned to look at Gaara. The sight of the gourd strapped to his back finally jogged his memory—this was his opponent from the Chunin Exams.

’Gourd kid, my ass.’

Gaara’s expression darkened, and sensing his irritation, grains of sand began swirling at his feet.

"Lee, that’s incredibly rude. These are shinobi from Sunagakure who participated in the Chunin Exams!" Tenten’s gaze shifted to Temari. During their previous battle, she had ultimately lost.

Temari, wielding her giant fan and aided by her summon, Kamatari, was undoubtedly one of the top contenders in the Chunin Exams.

If not for Shikamaru’s intelligence and a bit of "fated matchup" luck, defeating her would have been nearly impossible.

"Hi, I’m Tenten. Nice to see you again!"

"Temari. Likewise."

The two girls shook hands while subtly assessing each other’s figures and appearances, silently assigning scores in their minds.

"Uh, I’m Lee. What was your name again?"

"Gaara. The meaning of my name... If you forget it next time, I’ll kill you!" Gaara had initially wanted to explain his name as ’a self-loving carnage’.

But thinking of Temari’s care for him and Kankurō’s foolishness, he dropped the idea.

"Got it! I’ll remember!"

Lee flashed Gaara a thumbs-up. "From now on, you’ll be my eternal rival! I am Konoha’s Beautiful Green Wild Beast, Rock Lee!"

Neji glanced at Kankurō, found no familiarity there, and chose not to greet him.

"Wait, why are you guys in Konoha? Didn’t the Chunin Exams already end?" Tenten felt like she had stumbled upon a critical point.

More importantly, this was the wedding venue of Kamizuki Izumo. Were these three here to crash the wedding?

Tenten’s imagination ran wild, spinning forty-nine dramatic scenarios in her head. She seemed to forget that the oldest among them, Temari, wasn’t even of marriageable age yet!

The idea of them crashing a wedding was absurd.

"We were invited as guests. What, not welcome?" Temari didn’t reveal their true purpose—diplomatically, they were essentially hostages, a fact that was neither pleasant to say nor hear.

Konoha had officially extended an invitation for them to visit as tourists, preserving Suna’s last shred of dignity.

"In that case, let’s train together this afternoon!" Lee enthusiastically invited Gaara.

"Lee, they’re guests. They’re here to enjoy Konoha, not to train with you. That’s not proper etiquette." Before Gaara could respond, Maito Gai swiftly shot down Lee’s suggestion.

As a Jōnin, Maito Gai might seem a bit dim at times.

But that was just a facade.

To become a Jōnin, you needed more than just combat skills—that was the first requirement.

You also needed the ability to lead a team—that was the second.

And intelligence analysis skills—that was the third.

Only with all three could one become a Jōnin.

People like Yamashiro Aoba or Shiranui Genma were stuck as Special Jōnin because they didn’t meet the full criteria.

After a quick glance, Gai immediately understood the trio’s real purpose.

Sightseeing? Unlikely. They’re pawns in the peace negotiations between Konoha and Suna. noveldrama

Gai’s training might seem simple, but to say it lacked depth was nonsense.

For Konoha shinobi, he was the cheerful, supportive sensei. But against Suna shinobi? He could transform into the Blue Beast at any moment.

"Man, that’s a shame!"

Lee, with his straightforward mind, didn’t overthink it. He simply assumed they were here for leisure.

"Then I’ll show you around Konoha sometime!"

"By the way, where are your escort?" Gai deliberately used the word "escort" instead of "guard", giving Gaara and the others some dignity.

"Originally, it was Hatake-san, but he handed us over to Hikari-senpai. As for Hikari-senpai... he told us to watch the tables and chairs while he went inside."

Temari gave a brief explanation, making it clear they hadn’t snuck off.

Hearing this, a bead of sweat rolled down Gai’s forehead.

"Hahaha! That’s so like Hikari!"

"He’s so irresponsible! How could he make guests do manual labor?" Tenten grumbled before offering, "Leave this to us. You three can go inside and rest. Don’t worry, we’re close with Hikari-senpai."

Temari glanced at Gai, then thought of Kamizuki Hikari.

One’s eccentric, the other’s unreliable. No wonder they get along.

"I swear I heard someone praising my good looks!" Hikari strolled out of the courtyard with a cheeky grin, casually ruffling Gaara’s red hair. "You three showed up at the perfect time—food’s about to be served!"

"We followed the scent of delicious food!" Gai declared proudly, completely unashamed.

"Gai-sensei, have some dignity!" Tenten whispered urgently.

She didn’t want her teacher embarrassing himself in front of foreign shinobi.

"I was just wondering how to seat you three. Since Gai’s here, you can share a table with his team."

"As for you Gai... Aoba, Genma, and Kotetsu are here too. Wanna join them? My sister-in-law brought some single ladies, and those bachelors are over there showing off!"

"Nah, I’ll pass!"

Gai thought of his meager savings and the incomplete Eight Gates technique. "I’ll stick with Lee and the others. Gotta train after we eat!"

"That’s a shame. I was going to introduce you to someone—help you settle down. Gai, you’ve been competing with Kakashi for years. Don’t you want to surpass him in this aspect? Finding a woman is important too!" Hikari teased.

One... two... three.

Gai wavered for exactly three seconds before shaking his head.

Mastering the Eight Gates requires decades of dedication. Until then, how can he think of marriage?

A true man like Maito Gai needs no woman!

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