Chapter 223 The Gathering Crowd
"I'm off."
Naruto waved to Jiraiya and walked towards the Konoha Arena with Karin.
"Bon Voyage."
Jiraiya watched Naruto's figure gradually disappear into the distance, smiled as he finished speaking, then turned around and went back into the house to tidy up. When he came out again, his expression had become serious.
"Lord Jiraiya."
A root-like figure wearing a fox mask appeared at the door; he was none other than the ultimate worker—Tianzang.
"Yes, the old man already told me. Take me there."
Tenzo's initial awkwardness instantly changed. He looked at Jiraiya, whose demeanor was completely different from his previous playboy persona, and even his eyes showed a hint of respect.
"This way, let's start with..."
As soon as they finished speaking, the two figures disappeared from the spot, leaving only the open door behind.
About two or three minutes later, a toad-like head peeked out from inside the door.
"Quack, Jiraiya-sama, you forgot to close the door again."
Gamachu closed the door and took over Jiraiya's daily chores.
Outside the Konoha Arena.
"Brother, I saw Hinata and Sasuke!" Karin jumped up, tilting her head back and looking around. With her exceptional eyesight (actually, her sensory abilities), she found Sasuke and Hinata.
"Good morning, Naruto-kun." A figure with a high ponytail walked through the crowd.
A large crowd gathered to watch, and since the exam had not yet started, they were all packed tightly in front of the arena.
"Where do you want to go?" Sasuke used his imposing presence to force the crowd to part ways for him and slowly walked over.
"This must be the young master of the Uchiha clan."
"Yes, it seems like they've been playing together since they were little, and I've heard that each of them is quite strong now."
"Hey, I have some information on the ninjas from this exam. I'll sell it to you for 100 taels, do you want it?"
"Let me see if it's real or fake before I decide whether to buy it."
"Dream on, pay first."
The crowd along the road Sasuke walked on looked at the extraordinary Sasuke. Some admired Sasuke's good looks, while others criticized his pretentiousness, but all of them were captivated by Sasuke's presence.
A slight smile curved his lips, his long eyelashes trembled a few times with each blink, and a hint of smugness appeared in his dark pupils.
As a genius of the Uchiha clan, it is only natural that he receives the attention of everyone.
"Yo, wild boar killer!"
Naruto heard Sasuke's call, turned around and met Sasuke's gaze. In that brief exchange of eyes, Naruto could already sense Sasuke's smugness.
However, he only responded to Sasuke and did not intend to interrupt Sasuke's show-off process.
That's right, my Naruto is a very good kid, he would never do anything bad.
Sasuke froze, and the crowd around him heard Naruto's shout.
"Wild Boar Slayer, is he a child of the Uchiha clan? Pfft... how did he get such a nickname?"
"Did we kill too many wild boars? Cough cough cough."
"Don't you guys think this title is cool? Come on, Wild Boar Slayer, it's super cool."
All eyes were on the man who had praised the title; he was the same passerby who had compared Gaara's wild boar-like aura to Gaara's when they brushed past the tree that morning.
"Yeah, that's cool."
"Yes, cough cough, very cool."
Seeing this passerby making such a serious statement, the others found it even funnier.
Sasuke glared fiercely at Naruto, then activated his three-tomoe Sharingan and surveyed the surrounding crowd with a fierce look.
The laughing crowd suddenly stopped laughing. They realized that Sasuke, as the young head of the Uchiha clan, seemed to wield quite a bit of power.
Seeing that things had quieted down, Sasuke quickened his pace and caught up with Naruto.
"What's wrong?" Naruto looked at Sasuke with a funny expression, which earned him a glare from Sasuke.
"Childish." Sasuke closed his eyes and ignored Naruto.
"Alright, alright, let's go in now. Maybe everyone else has already arrived." Naruto gently patted Sasuke's head, and after Sasuke slapped his hand away speechlessly, he led Team 7 through the examination passage into the examination hall.
There were 22 examinees in the examination hall, 16 of whom were from Konoha.
"Hokage, Konoha truly lives up to its reputation as a cradle of geniuses; everyone here passed the first two tests."
Two expensive chairs were placed on the highest point of the Konoha Arena.
Wearing a wind-shadow hat, Rasa spoke with a cold expression and a hint of meaning to Sarutobi beside him.
"Hehe, it's all thanks to the children's own hard work. The idea of a cradle of geniuses is pure rumor." Sarutobi chuckled, praising the students' efforts with a kind smile while refuting Rasa's claim of a cradle of geniuses.
"I don't think so. If Sunagakure could be like Konoha, that would be great." The Kazekage's hat swayed gently as Rasa shook his head, and Maki thoughtfully handed him a cup of warm water.
"Konoha's present state is due to the hard work of its predecessors and the inheritance of its successors. Without the continuous succession, Konoha would not be where it is today."
Sarutobi did not grasp the deeper meaning behind Rasa's words and chose to teach Rasa as an elder.
After all, Rasa was a generation younger than Sarutobi.
"Alright, let's see how the children did today."
Sarutobi looked at the chattering children below with a smile, but a hint of wariness lingered in his aged eyes.
Orochimaru...where are you?
"Ah, Sister Yugao!" Naruto was surprised to see a familiar figure as he looked around.
The purple-haired, masked Yugao gestured to Naruto in greeting; she was there today to oversee the visible security.
Beside her was Hayate, whose complexion was rosy. It was clear that the fruit Naruto gave Yugao and Hayate was effective; at least Hayate's complexion was much better than before.
Yugao made another cheering gesture, waving her arm. Naruto understood what she meant and patted his chest, signifying his assurance that he would pass the exam.
"Hey, Naruto, how's it going living with Jiraiya-sama lately?" Kiba walked over and greeted Naruto, while Akamaru on his head let out a howl.
"Hmm, the food the uncle makes is delicious, and he knows quite a few ninjutsu. He's learned a lot. If we get assigned to him, I'll show you."
Naruto shrugged, first answering Kiba's question, then grinned mischievously.
"Woof woof woof, woof woof." Akamaru's two black bean-sized eyes showed fear, then turned into a pitiful look, as if he was trying to coax Naruto.
"Hey, Akamaru! How can we lose our fighting spirit like this! Let's at least fight one more round before surrendering."
Ya looked speechlessly at Akamaru, who had surrendered before even engaging in battle, scratched its chin, and said.
________________________________________
Can't wait for the next chapter?
30+ advanced chapters are already available on Patreon!
👉 patreon.com/Tanji_Fanfics
________________________________________
end of this chapter ...