"I wonder how Iris and Ami are doing…"

  As Lied the Hokage’s office, he found himself w about his two teammates. While their bond had been more practical at first, time had fenuine camaraderie between them.

  He checked on their homes and learhat both had left early in the m for training. Feeling uneasy, he searched the usual pces they frequented. After a while, he finally got word from the Anbu—they were in the hospital.

  "Click."

  When Link opehe hospital room door, his heart felt heavy. But then he saw—

  "I was just telling her—" Iris, his arm suspended in a sling, was enthusiastically reting something to Ami. He looked a bit battered but otherwise fine.

  "Boss!" Iris greeted him eically.

  Ami turoward him, standing up. "Boss, are you alright?"

  Link shook his head, his gaze sweeping over the two. Both seemed okay. Walking in, he asked, "How are you two holding up?"

  "I'm fine," Ami replied, gng briefly at Iris, as if holding baething.

  Iris grinned. "It’s nothing. Just a broken arm. I’ll be good in a few days." For a ninja with enhanced physical resiliend chakra, it truly wasn’t a big deal.

  Then, with Ami rolling her eyes in exasperation, he eagerly reted his ordeal: entering the fox-masked assaint, getting into a brief scuffle, and having his arm snapped. Ami had arrived in time, fired a jutsu into the sky to attract attention, and then taken him to the hospital after the attacker fled.

  "That was reckless," Link said after listening. "The oppo was likely Kabuto Yakushi, a skilled ninja on par with ae jonin."

  He added, "If they were serious, it wouldn’t have taken much effort to kill you."

  "It’s fine!" Iris waved it off.

  "It’s not fine!" Ami suddenly shouted, her voice trembling. "You almost died! Do you realize that?"

  The room fell silent.

  "If I hadn’t been there at the right time…" Tears streamed down her face. "You might not be alive right now!"

  "Ah…" Iris scratched the back of his head, unsure how to respond.

  Ami wiped her tears and stormed out of the room.

  Link pced a hand on Iris’s shoulder. "Rest up." Then he followed her into the hallway.

  Ami was sitting on a bench outside the room, her elbows resting ohighs and her hands c her face.

  Link sat down beside her without saying a word, simply waiting.

  "Boss… why did you bee a ninja?" she asked after a while, her voice muffled.

  "Why did I bee a ninja?" Lied her question, then tur ba her. "What about you? Why did you bee a ninja?"

  "I don’t know." Ami’s voice was tinged with uainty. "Why you so easily accept killing, harsh missions, and the fact that we could die at any time…?"

  Link remained calm, his gaze fixed on the wall ahead. "It’s just a choice. I chose to bee a ninja."

  "And once I made that choice, I decided to move forward without hesitation."

  "A… choice," Ami murmured softly.

  "Are you thinking of being a mediinja?" Link asked. "I think your chakra trol should be good enough by now."

  "If it doesn’t suit you, you always make a different choice."

  "But… what about you and Iris?" Ami hesitated.

  "Click."

  The hospital room door opened. Iris stood barefoot in the doorway. "Don’t worry about me, Ami. Just do what you want to do."

  "Sorry for eavesdropping…" he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

  "Ah, I’ve stumbled upon something juicy." Their teacher, Nara Ensui, appeared from around the er, his usual wry grin in pce. "So, are we breaking up this team?"

  Link g his teacher, who had clearly been standing there for a while, openly eavesdropping without even b to suppress his chakra signature.

  "You’re not even officially our supervising jonin anymore!"

  Ami took a deep breath, looking at Iris, Link, and their teacher.

  "Sorry, everyone," she said, standing up. "I think… I think…"

  "I’ve been dragging the boss down, haven’t I?" Iris interrupted, scratg his head awkwardly. "I feel like I ’t keep up with him at all."

  "That guy who came after you was way beyond me."

  "And during the battles in the Land of Rivers, I couldn’t really do much either."

  "Boss," he said, giving Link a thumbs-up and a wide grin. "Just let me—"

  "Idiot," Ami cut him off, tears streaming as she ughed. "Even if I bee a mediinja, I’m doing it as a in."

  "I’ve already made my choice, and I’ll see it through." She looked at Link with determination. "There’s no way this team is breaking up prematurely."

  For most ninja, in was the realistic ceiling. Being a jonin required talent—something Ami knew she cked.

  Iris looked sheepish, scratg his head.

  Ensui smiled at his three students.

  Link gnced between his teammates. It was obvious these twrowing closer, with Iris clumsily trying to shoulder responsibility and Ami firmly standing her ground.

  "I’ve worked so hard to train you two… at least stick around until the in exams and the Konoha Crush."

  "You meat shields."

  But his lips curved into a slight smile, easing the tension. His teammates visibly rexed.

  "So, is this secret meeting of Team Link over?" Ensui asked, raising his hand.

  "How it be secret if you’re eavesdropping, Ensui-sensei?" Ami retorted with a ugh.

  "Alright, alright, my bad," Ensui said, feigning guilt. He then turo Link. "The guy who attacked you—Kabuto—escaped. Even Kakashi couldn’t capture him."

  He sighed, impressed by his student’s rapid progress. From struggling in their first test to holding his own against a jonin-level oppo, Link had e a long way. And then there was that flying summon…

  "I see," Link replied, unsurprised.

  Kabuto Yakushi, after all, wasn’t someone who would be caught so easily.

  Bleam