"Natsuki!
You're back!"
Tenten's eyes were red, and the self-blame in her heart surged, but she forced herself not to cry.
"Tenten, are you guys alright?"
Natsuki quickly stepped forward to check, and seeing that Tenten was not injured, he secretly felt relieved.
But when he saw Ino, Hinata, and Choji hit by the senbon poison needles, he immediately felt uneasy.
Since the opponent was Sasori of the Red Sand, the poison from the senbon would not be weak.
Currently, only Tsunade-sama herself could treat them!
Tenten quickly said: "I'm fine, but many people are poisoned.
Megumi said the poison is very strong and we need to find Tsunade-sama quickly!"
Natsuki understood: "We'll talk about everything else later; I'll take the poisoned people back first!"
Saying this, he didn't delay, immediately stepped forward, touched the injured with Chakra, and with a swish, disappeared.
The next second, he appeared in Tsunade-sama's office.
Tsunade-sama was looking at documents, and Shizune was holding Tonton, bored.
Seeing Natsuki appear with several injured people, they were both startled.
"Natsuki?
What happened?!"
Natsuki didn't answer, Flying Thunder God Technique flashed away, but quickly brought Megumi and Sakura back.
He would let Tsunade-sama ask Megumi for the specific situation, as Natsuki didn't know much about poison.
Then Natsuki flashed back again.
At this time, only the few people who were not injured remained at the scene.
As for the other candidates and examiners, they had already run far away.
Fortunately, they ran far, otherwise there would only have been more injured and poisoned people!
"Alright, tell me what happened?" Natsuki gently touched Tenten's twin buns.
"We encountered Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sand."
Tenten quickly recounted the events one by one, including her own recklessness, "It's all my fault.
I should have listened to Shikamaru and contacted you earlier, then everyone wouldn't have been poisoned.
I thought I could stop relying on you for everything, but I didn't expect I still couldn't do it; I'm still not strong enough!"
Saying this, she lowered her head, feeling very disappointed.
After all, she had been triumphant earlier because she had countered Deidara's clay bombs, but unexpectedly, she became useless again in the blink of an eye and had to rely on her boyfriend.
Natsuki didn't speak, just gently stroked Tenten's hair.
He knew Tenten was a strong girl who didn't need his comfort and would quickly cheer up.
All he had to do was stay by her side.
But at this moment, there was a sudden bang; Naruto had suddenly punched the ground.
His voice trembled: "Tenten, what nonsense are you saying, believe it!
You were the one who protected everyone!
Whether it was countering the clay man or repelling the puppet man, you were almost the only one putting in effort.
When fighting strong opponents, getting injured or poisoned is unavoidable.
Compared to you, I'm the one who truly didn't do anything; I could only watch and couldn't do anything at all, believe it!"
Shino also said: "This really isn't Tenten's fault.
Natsuki, you've always trusted my strength and said you could rest assured as long as I was here, but I disappointed you this time.
I didn't do well."
This was where Shino felt very unwilling.
Natsuki had always trusted him and even said he was willing to entrust his back to him, but he couldn't contribute this time.
Instead, Tenten had to fight desperately alone and even blamed herself.
He truly felt he hadn't done well!
Neji also stated: "If we're going to talk about it, we Chunin examiners all have responsibility!"
Even Shikamaru, who disliked trouble, spoke: "Well, well, everyone, don't argue about taking responsibility.
The opponent was simply too strong; they are no longer at a level we can deal with.
Although it's an excuse, it's the truth; our strength is clearly not strong enough.
Tenten being able to make the opponent retreat is already very impressive."
Hearing this, the others became disappointed.
Especially the few who had just finished the Chunin Exams; they had been smugly thinking they would be Chunin when they returned, but they were hit with such a blow.
Although they didn't compare themselves to Natsuki, they would secretly compete with each other.
They were all about the same age as Tenten, but they didn't expect to have to rely on Tenten for protection.
Many of them were boys with strong self-esteem, and they were truly filled with shame at this moment.
Just then, Sasuke, who had been silent, suddenly spoke: "Tenten, being reckless isn't something you're doing alone.
I think there's nothing wrong with being reckless.
If a person wants to become stronger, they can't rely too much on others.
You could clearly rely on Natsuki, but you chose to be reckless, chose to face a strong enemy alone.
That is the courage and determination to become stronger, so I don't think you did anything wrong.
And even I am being reckless!"
Everyone looked at Sasuke, not expecting him to say that.
...Seeking flowers...
He continued: "Before, I secretly followed Natsuki and Kakashi-sensei and then met Itachi Uchiha.
He is my enemy and a very powerful opponent, but I recklessly demanded that Natsuki and Kakashi let me fight first.
In the end, I didn't succeed and delayed a lot of time.
It can be said that you were right not to contact Natsuki immediately, because I delayed time there, and Natsuki was fighting intensely with Itachi Uchiha later.
Even if your note had arrived earlier, Natsuki wouldn't have been able to spare a hand!
And in the very end, didn't you drive the enemy away by yourself?
You should be proud and boastful!
Not self-blaming!
How can you fight a strong opponent without getting injured?
Moreover, the opponents were those super powerful members of the Akatsuki.
You did much better than me.
Why are you blaming yourself?!"
...
Tenten opened her mouth but couldn't make a sound.
She understood that perhaps Sasuke was right, but she was still dissatisfied with her own strength.
Moreover, the enemy's retreat wasn't because of her in the end, but because they realized Natsuki was about to arrive, so they retreated decisively.
That wasn't her achievement.
However, there was one point she agreed with Sasuke on.
If a person wants to become stronger, they can't rely too much on others!
She had become somewhat used to relying on Natsuki, which was not conducive to her growth.
That's why she acted recklessly.
Even though Natsuki had warned her that the Akatsuki were very powerful and she must be careful, she still acted recklessly, and the result was this unsightly outcome!
It seemed she hadn't grown much yet!
She still had to work harder!
Tenten wiped her eyes and smiled: "You guys, you don't need to comfort me one by one.
I'm not a weak person; I'll cheer up on my own.
Didn't you see that Natsuki hasn't said a word?
He understands me best and knows that I don't need comforting and cheering up!"
Seeing Tenten smile, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.
They were truly afraid this girl would dwell on it.
But everyone looked at Natsuki again and found that he was indeed very calm all along and hadn't said anything to comfort his girlfriend just now.
It seemed that Natsuki understood Tenten the most!
At this moment, the candidates and examiners who had run far away earlier rushed back again, and the ones leading them were none other than Asuma and Might Guy, who had been missing all along!
The two Jonin looked a bit disheveled, and their faces weren't looking good.