"This is my colleague Kanako, and also the most important person to me."
Upon hearing this, a blush spread across Kanako's cheeks as she gently patted Nawaki's arm.
It was then that Hayato Ren remembered - Kanako was the teacher they had met when Konan first enrolled in school.
For Nawaki to have won her over so quickly truly proved that appearances could be deceiving.
At that moment, Kanako tactfully spoke up:
"Oh, Nawaki, I just remembered there are some things I forgot to buy. I'll go to the supermarket first, you can chat with your friend for a while."
"Let me go with you."
"No need, it's nothing heavy anyway. I can go by myself."
After saying this, Kanako waved her hand and gradually disappeared from their sight.
Hayato Ren and Nawaki then found a tavern and ordered several bottles of beer along with some snacks.
Nawaki picked up his beer and boldly drank half the glass in one gulp, letting out a satisfied sigh.
"Ha~ It's been so long since I drank this freely. Kanako usually doesn't let me drink, so I have you to thank for this opportunity, Ren."
Hayato Ren took a small sip of his beer, then looked at Nawaki sitting across from him.
The once passionate young Nawaki had now become like a worn-out office worker, even having his drinking rights revoked. He couldn't help but tease:
"Is that so? Maybe you should break up with Kanako then. The next one might be better, the next one might be more understanding."
Hearing this, Nawaki waved his hand.
"No, I've already decided - I'm going to propose to Kanako next month. You must come to the wedding banquet when the time comes."
Upon hearing this, Hayato Ren's eyebrows twitched involuntarily.
Although both he and Nawaki had long reached marriageable age, he never expected that Nawaki would be the first among them to get married.
"Marriage is the grave of love, you know. What about becoming Hokage?"
Facing Hayato Ren's question, Nawaki remained silent for a long moment, then raised his glass and drained the remaining beer.
"I'm giving up on that. It's important to know one's limitations. You and Minato are true geniuses, but I'm not. I'll just be an ordinary teacher. Who knows, maybe I'll teach a future Hokage, hahaha..."
Although Nawaki laughed heartily, his face showed a hint of unwillingness.
Actually, Nawaki could be considered quite talented himself. Having Jonin-level strength at his age was impressive, but he still fell short compared to true geniuses like Hayato Ren and Namikaze Minato.
Perhaps his near-death experience had made Nawaki completely wake up and abandon his obsession.
But maybe this was for the best - marrying early and having children early would ensure the Senju clan wouldn't die out in the future.
"Alright, enough of these strange topics. Have you heard about that incident with White Fang?"
Nawaki leaned forward, revealing a mysterious expression.
"No, I just returned from Hidden Mist Village yesterday, so I haven't heard anything about that. What exactly happened?"
Faced with Hayato Ren's question, Nawaki didn't beat around the bush and straightforwardly explained the general situation.
Essentially, during a previous mission, White Fang had chosen to save his teammates, causing that particular mission to fail.
Because of this incident, White Fang's reputation in the village had plummeted dramatically. He went from being a war hero to becoming a social pariah that everyone condemned.
Even the teammate whom White Fang had saved came forward publicly to criticize White Fang's actions.
Nawaki took another large gulp of beer, then slammed the glass heavily on the table with a loud "thud."
"If someone abandons their teammates for the sake of so-called mission completion, that person might be considered a qualified ninja. But I would never acknowledge such a person as a true comrade."
Clearly, Nawaki's values differed from the mainstream opinion in the village.
To him, living teammates were more important than rigid mission objectives.
However, the reason White Fang's incident had blown up so significantly was likely because someone was pulling strings behind the scenes.
After all, it was just an ordinary mission. There was no way it would have become common knowledge as it had now.
The ultimate goal of the mastermind behind this was probably to tarnish White Fang's reputation.
After all, White Fang was currently in his prime, possessing exceptional strength and considerable prestige - he was essentially the designated successor for the Hokage position.
After this incident, even if White Fang wanted to run for Hokage, few people would likely vote for him.
What nobody expected was that White Fang would choose death to express his protest.
Indeed, those old fossils in the Leaf were all experts at internal conflict rather than external warfare.
They hadn't contributed much during the previous Ninja World War, and now during peacetime they were starting to torment their own people.
Hayato Ren didn't need to guess who was behind this - it was undoubtedly that old bastard Danzo.
Moreover, while Sarutobi Hiruzen might not have been directly involved, he definitely knew about Danzo's actions and had chosen to remain silent.
Thinking this, Hayato Ren stood up and looked at Nawaki.
"I'm going to visit White Fang's home, since such a major thing has happened."
After saying this, Hayato Ren turned and left.
Nawaki looked at the full table of appetizers before him and decisively chose to finish them all by himself.
He couldn't let this go to waste - a Ninja Academy teacher's salary wasn't particularly generous anyway.
White Fang's home was an ordinary-looking two-story house, despite his position as Anbu Captain granting him wealth beyond most people's reach.
Yet White Fang lived an extremely simple life.
Hayato Ren pressed the doorbell, and it took quite a while before someone answered.
Seeing White Fang before him, Hayato Ren suddenly felt a wave of melancholy.
The White Fang of the past had been so spirited and confident, as if he could easily handle anything that came his way.
The current White Fang stood with a stooped posture, his face pale, his white hair messy and unkempt, his beard untrimmed.
He looked no different from those NEETs who stayed home all day living off their parents.
When he saw Hayato Ren, White Fang forced an awkward smile onto his face.
"Ren, you've come. It's been a while."
After a moment of silence, Hayato Ren responded:
"Aren't you going to invite me in for a while?"
White Fang moved his heavy body with difficulty, turning to walk inside as he spoke:
"If you don't mind, come in for some tea. Though, I don't have any snacks at home..."