Leaving the Hokage Building, sunlight fell on Naruto, yet he could not feel any warmth. He merely looked around before heading straight off in one direction.
Konohagakure Street was packed with people, bustling with its usual liveliness.
As Naruto walked down the street, he had already put what had just happened out of his mind. Since the Third Hokage wanted him to withdraw from the Chunin Exams, he would have to keep stirring things up in Konoha.
After arriving at their meeting spot, Naruto saw the little girl and immediately put on a smile.
Everyone was preparing for the Chunin Exams, and everyone was busy. Naruto had originally still had D-rank Missions to pass the time, but Kakashi had later excused him from those missions as well.
Yet with a single sentence telling him to give up the Chunin Exams, the Third Hokage had instantly sent Naruto back to square one.
Kakashi was busy tutoring Sasuke, while Sakura was busy studying Medical Ninjutsu. The other classes were all preparing for the Chunin Exams; even Hinata was working extremely hard.
Everyone was busy, while Naruto alone had nothing to do. Like a white cloud in the sky, he was free and carefree, yet incredibly bored.
So that morning, Naruto took the little girl into the woods to catch wild animals. In the afternoon, he took her to a shallow stream to catch fish by hand. At sunset, they went to Hokage Rock and looked down over Konoha Village.
Although Naruto had asked about the whereabouts of the other three, the girl had only vaguely said that they had gone off to play on their own. He did not pay it much mind and continued enjoying himself at leisure.
If one was alone, even the finest food in the world lost some of its flavor. Having someone to eat with greatly satisfied Naruto's need to show off.
In any case, he was not short of money. Grilled meat at noon, Ichiraku Ramen in the afternoon. The next day, they changed things up with seafood, followed by mountain delicacies.
The days passed one after another, and the Chunin Exams drew ever closer.
"This must be expensive, right?" The girl looked at Naruto, somewhat puzzled. Even as naive as she was, she could tell that this incredibly lavish lifestyle was a bit excessive.
Naruto felt nothing about it and replied with a question.
"Is it?"
"Yeah."
The night wind brushed past them as the two stood atop Hokage Rock, watching the countless lights of Konoha. Naruto jumped onto the railing and simply squatted there as he spoke.
"As long as you're happy, money isn't important."
A long time passed after he finished speaking, but Naruto received no reply. When he turned to look at the girl, her face wore an expression of hesitation, as though she wanted to say something but could not.
"What is it?" Naruto asked, then added, "Let's go to the Valley of the End tomorrow. I heard there are huge red fish there."
"I can't go tomorrow," the girl suddenly said.
"Fine, I can go by myself," Naruto said. "What about the day after tomorrow? I think we've already been everywhere worth going. There doesn't seem to be anything fun left."
"I have something to do. I might not have time to play with you in the future either." The girl spoke hesitantly. "I really want to, but it's something very important."
Naruto paused, jumped down from the railing, and suddenly smiled.
"What? If you have something to do, then go. We're both from Konoha, right? We'll definitely have time to play together again someday."
"Yeah." The girl's eyes dimmed slightly as she said it.
"Then go on. We'll hang out again when you're free." Naruto waved at her, with no sadness on his face.
"Okay." The girl nodded. She stood there blankly for a while, then slowly turned around and gradually vanished completely into the darkness.
Under the night sky, Naruto let out a long breath. A trace of melancholy appeared on his face before it turned into happiness again.
"The only people who would sneak into Konoha at a time like this are probably Orochimaru's people. Tayuya."
By then, Tayuya had already returned to the four-person squad's lodgings. Calling it lodging was generous; it was really just a cluster of abandoned, drafty buildings.
"Hey, Tayuya, why are you back so late again?" Kidomaru called from afar.
"None of your business," Tayuya said coldly, without even glancing at Kidomaru.
"You..." Kidomaru was somewhat indignant, but he still held it in.
He knew Tayuya had always talked like that, but almost at the same time, Kidomaru thought of something.
Tayuya probably did not act like this in front of that guy, did she?
Thinking of that, Kidomaru spoke again, even more resentfully.
"Tayuya, the Chunin Exams are about to begin. Lord Orochimaru ordered us to get ready. You aren't still involved with that guy, are you?"
"None of your business." Tayuya's red hair, which fell past her brows, covered her eyes. Her gaze remained cold, and she looked to be in a bad mood.
"Tayuya, you—!" Kidomaru could no longer endure it. He rushed forward and blocked Tayuya's path, shouting at her.
"Don't tell me you've fallen for that brat? You only scammed him out of a few meals. Speaking of which, that Nine-Tails Jinchuriki really is a sucker—"
Bang! Kidomaru's pupils widened slightly. The next second, he violently spat out a mouthful of sour fluid, his body instantly curling up like a shrimp.
Tayuya had kicked Kidomaru in the abdomen and watched indifferently as he clutched his stomach and collapsed to his knees in pain.
"Kidomaru, are you okay?" Jirobo, who looked much like a sumo wrestler, jogged over to help Kidomaru up and asked with concern.
"Get lost!" Kidomaru shoved Jirobo away, his face filled with anger as he gritted his teeth and left.
The next day.
Naruto went out wandering as usual, fishing by the river and diving beneath a waterfall. After playing alone for a while, he immediately found it rather dull.
He had guessed Tayuya's identity, yet he had not exposed her.
There was no particular reason. At the time, Tayuya was probably the only other person bored enough to kill time. With that in mind, they had spent a few days playing together.
Now that the dream had ended, it was time for him to start stirring up Konoha.
Naruto brought up the system panel and entered the following words into the puppet persona message box: "August 29. With nothing better to do, let me make a small prophecy: the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, will die during the Chunin Exams."
After pressing confirm, Naruto's lips curled into a smile.
At that very instant, nearly everyone in Konoha stopped what they were doing, shock appearing on their faces.
The Third Hokage would die?
In a certain hot spring in Konoha, the Men's Bath.
Jiraiya, soaking in the hot spring, suddenly turned serious. He stared straight ahead as the calm in his heart was instantly shattered by this news.
Even though Jiraiya and the old man disagreed on certain matters, that was precisely why he had chosen to travel while Tsunade had chosen to immerse herself in gambling.
But no matter what, Jiraiya had never imagined that the old man would die. This method was clearly no prank; without even the slightest chakra fluctuation, the message had entered his mind.
It was like a thought that had entered his own mind, yet it was so clear.
With a splash, Jiraiya rose directly from the hot spring. He wrapped the white towel that had been resting on his head around his body and slowly walked out of the hot spring.
He had to see that old man, the Third Hokage, and find out whether he was dead.
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