The Sound Ninja Trio who had come to Konoha for the exams gradually disappeared into the distance.
Only then did Naruto withdraw his gaze, a happy expression still lingering on his face. He had gained three good friends first thing in the morning—who wouldn't be happy about that?
Besides, today was destined to be a day of gains. It definitely would not stop with Zaku, Dosu, and Kin; even more friends would come. Naruto was looking forward to it.
Just after seeing the three off, Sasuke arrived.
"Did you take Miss Tsukishirohime back to the hotel?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah." Sasuke nodded. After taking Tsukishirohime—Orochimaru—to the hotel, he had wanted to use getting a drink of water as an excuse, but Orochimaru refused his request. He said it was inappropriate for a lone man and woman to be alone in a room and would not let Sasuke stay inside.
Nonsense. A lone man and woman sharing a room was perfectly normal. Only two lone men sharing a room was abnormal.
Still, Sasuke could not push Orochimaru too hard. He had to take it slow and see what tricks he would pull. So, after escorting him to the bottom of the hotel, Sasuke headed straight for the village entrance.
The moment he arrived, he saw Naruto waving toward the outside of the village while three limping figures hobbled away into the distance. Sasuke's mouth twitched. Well then, three unlucky fools had already shown up first thing in the morning. What a pity he had not witnessed it himself.
Actually, there were four unlucky fools. Sasuke was one of them; he was simply too close to the matter to see it clearly.
"Those three people just now... were they ninjas from Otogakure?" Sasuke found their backs somewhat familiar and asked tentatively.
"That's right.