Chunin Exams Approaching, Shisui Returns to the Village

Compared with the uncertainty of the journey there, the road back to Konoha felt much easier.

Sunlight filtered through the dense leaves, scattering mottled spots of light across the road.

Konoha's Team 7 and the Land of Stars' Idasuke squad walked along the main road leading to the Hidden Leaf Village.

Naruto strode at the very front with both hands pillowed behind his head, a blade of grass between his teeth, his face brimming with satisfaction and excitement.

He looked back at Menma, who was being "supported" by Hinata and Karin behind him, and said in a loud voice, "Haha! Big Brother Menma, now this was a real mission! A heart-pounding escort, powerful and terrifying enemies, and all kinds of unexpected emergencies! It was dangerous, but we solved it all in the end! That's the kind of life a ninja should live! Way more interesting than those missions back in the village!"

He thought back on everything that had happened during the Land of Waves mission: their first encounter with the Demon Brothers, the tension he had felt when facing enemy ninja for the first time, then the appearance of that mysterious enemy with the fishhook, and the powerless anxiety he had felt when Menma was injured...

This mission had given him a deeper understanding of what it meant to be a "ninja," given him important bonds he wanted to protect, and made him yearn to become even stronger so he could experience more adventures like this.

Kakashi had one hand in his pants pocket, while the other still held the copy of Icha Icha Paradise he never put down. At Naruto's words, he merely lifted his eyelid lazily, glanced at the overenergetic boy, then helplessly shifted his gaze toward the somewhat "crowded" area in the middle of the group.