While Gawain continued his conversation with Hiruzen, Naruto and the other graduating students were idly strolling around the village.
This time, unlike in the manga, they didn't rush to prepare just before the Chūnin Exams began.
After completing their mission in the Land of Waves, Gawain removed these children from all low-level missions and began preparing for the Chūnin Exams.
Not only Kakashi Hatake and Asuma's team, but even the members of Team Red are now joining Naruto and the others in training at the training ground.
Jiraiya was originally only supposed to tutor Naruto, but how could Gawain waste such an excellent teaching resource?
With a wave of his hand, he said, "Why don't you teach me while you're at it?"
So Jiraiya reluctantly led a large group of children to the training ground to practice things like wading in water.
Naruto is very enthusiastic about walking on water. After Gawain him how to climb trees, he felt that his control over various ninjutsu had improved a lot.
Now that he's been introduced to treading water, even though he's at the bottom of the class, he wants to learn how to do it properly.
Note that Naruto's ninjutsu talent is actually very outstanding, but Naruto has one particularly bad talent.
That's right, that's the talent for hand seals...
Naruto is extremely bad at hand seals. From the beginning to the end of Naruto, Naruto has never used many ninjutsu that require hand seals.
At first, many people thought that Naruto was a bottom student in school because the Nine-Tails' chakra affected Naruto, preventing Naruto from using ninjutsu normally.
In reality, such a thing does not exist.
The sealing technique used by the Fourth Hokage to seal the Nine-Tails inside Naruto was a top-tier sealing technique that Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki had improved many times together.
This sealing technique not only prevents the Nine-Tails from affecting Naruto, but it will even subtly transform a portion of the Nine-Tails' chakra into Naruto's chakra...
Therefore, when Naruto was young, Kurama (the Nine-Tails) had no influence on Naruto at all.
Naruto's bottom-of-the-class grades...
Cough cough.
That's simply because Naruto really is a loser.
Naruto himself has said that Naruto's quite familiar with the Transformation Technique because of his interest. In fact, after mastering the Shadow Clone Technique, Naruto was able to directly develop a combination ninjutsu like the Harem Technique, which combines Shadow Clone and Transformation techniques...
But the clone technique...
Naruto is really not good at the Shadow Clone Technique; he's not interested in it, and he's not very good at hand seals either...
As for the scene that many people saw in the anime, Jiraiya removed the seal on Naruto's stomach and then taught Naruto how to walk on water.
In this process, Jiraiya was dealing with the seal that Orochimaru had damaged, not the seal of the Nine-Tails itself.
The situation that affected Naruto's chakra stability at that time was also caused by Orochimaru's destruction of the Five Elements Seal.
At this point, Orochimaru hasn't had a chance to harm Naruto, so Naruto's journey through the water isn't particularly difficult.
About two days later, Naruto can now run freely on the water.
However, Naruto's progress is not the fastest. Among the nine children that Jiraiya is currently taking care of, Naruto's learning progress is only in the middle.
Sakura Haruno was the first to learn how to tread water, Hyuga Hinata Hyuga was the second, Shikamaru Nara was the third, Shino Aburame was the fourth, Sasuke was the fifth, and Naruto, who competed with Sasuke, was the sixth.
As for the remaining three children...
Ino Yamanaka's mind is entirely on men, Choji Akimichi's mind is entirely on food, and Kiba Inuzuka...
This guy's mind is completely on the dog...
In short, after learning how to tread water, the children slumped together in twos and threes to rest by the lake.
The sun was shining brightly today, quickly drying everyone's clothes, and the gentle sunlight allowed Naruto to lie down comfortably on the ground for a rest.
Not far away, Hinata Hyuga stood with her small hands together, nervously watching Naruto.
Whether Naruto, Hiruzen Jiraiya, and Hiruzen would actually peep on women in bathhouses is anyone's guess.
But we should all be clear that Hyuga Hinata Hyuga definitely has a bit of a voyeuristic streak.
Of course, she only spied on Naruto.
In the distance, Ino Yamanaka secretly nudged Sakura Haruno's bottom with her elbow.
Unfortunately, Ino Yamanaka was lying down, and Sakura Haruno was sitting next to her. Ino Yamanaka reached out while lying down, she would naturally bump into Sakura's butt...
"Hey, big head, look over there!"
Ino Yamanaka pointed in Hinata Hyuga's direction with a smile.
Upon hearing Ino Yamanaka's words, Sakura Haruno rolled her eyes slightly.
"What's so surprising? Hinata Hyuga has always liked Naruto, hasn't she? We knew that back in second year."
"That Naruto guy keeps saying he's pursuing me. If I actually agreed to his advances, I'd probably be hung up and tickled by the Hyūga Clan's rampaging heiress~~."
As she spoke, Sakura Haruno glanced happily at Sasuke.
These past few days, ever since Gawain appeared, Sasuke has been smiling more often.
Seeing Sasuke happy made Sakura Haruno happy too.
Gawain is such a good person!
However, Sasuke actually called Gawain" Grandpa".
This...
Will I have to call Lord Gawain" Grandpa" someday?
So shy~~~.
With her face flushed from happiness, Sakura Haruno couldn't contain her daydreams.
When it comes to things like getting married and having children, Sakura Haruno even clenched her toes together.
Seeing Sakura Haruno's lustful expression, Ino Yamanaka curled her lip in disdain.
Sakura, that girl, becomes silly whenever love is involved.
Unlike herself, Sakura Haruno genuinely loves Sasuke.
As for myself, I only claimed to like Sasuke because my best friend Sakura Haruno, with whom I have a love-hate relationship, likes Sasuke.
Sasuke, ha!
That arrogant guy was just a source of amusement between me and my best friend.
A man who is truly worth liking...
The kind of man who's truly worthy of admiration is clearly Gawain!
Mysterious, noble, powerful, mature, handsome, and also refined and easy-going!
Thinking of this, Ino Yamanaka immediately moved closer to Sakura Haruno.
"Hey, Sakura Haruno, you've been staying at Gawain's house for a while now, haven't you?"
What is Gawain's house like?
Tell me quickly, I...
Just as they were talking, the sound of footsteps coming from afar interrupted Ino Yamanaka's words.
Following the sound of footsteps, Jiraiya, raised his head.
"Haha, it's actually Jiraiya -Jiraiya sama, one of the Legendary Sannin! If I had known you were teaching the children here, I would have brought my disciples here much earlier!"
After all, a youth spent being mentored by the Three Ninja is a youth that kids should remember deeply!
From afar, Might Guy's loud voice rang out, causing Neji Hyuga was gradually approaching, to roll his eyes in annoyance!
Profound...
Oh, right.
His eyes didn't even need to roll; they already looked like they were Byakugan...
In short, Neji Hyuga rolled his eyes and felt annoyed for a moment, then glared resentfully in Hinata Hyuga's direction.
Yes, you're the eldest daughter of the main family, and I'm just trash from the branch family!
Although you are my cousin by blood.
But in terms of status, I am nothing more than your servant!
Your teacher was the gentle and refined Red Jonin, while my teacher was the inexplicably skilled taijutsu Jonin, Might Guy.
Your classmate is the heir of the Aburame Clan, the pillar of the intelligence group, and the Inuzuka Clan group.
My classmates are, inexplicably, Rock Lee, a ninja idiot and a loser, and the daughter of a general store owner...
The differences between people are determined from birth!
Just like you, even if the head of the family is extremely timid, they are destined to enjoy a brilliant life.
Separation from the family is just like me; no matter how hard I try, I'm still just a caged bird!
Neji Hyuga's eyes suddenly developed more wrinkles; he felt angry, and he always felt angry.
Countless times...
On countless lonely nights.
Neji Hyuga even dreamt of killing the entire Hyuga Clan in the dead of night...
His cold and disgusted gaze made Hinata Hyuga lower her head and no longer dare to look up at him.
Naruto has been an exceptionally sensitive person since childhood, and he is most acutely aware of others' dislike or aversion.
And the moment Hinata Hyuga lowered her head...
Naruto had already clenched his fists and stood up, glaring fiercely at Neji Hyuga.
Meeting Naruto's indignant gaze, Neji Hyuga curled his lip in disdain.
Tch, what a weird fox spirit kid. The fact that Hinata Hyuga branch of the family, likes a despised child like you is actually what Neji Hyuga is most pleased about.
Even though Neji Hyuga didn't say it aloud, Naruto tasted all the humiliation. He was panting heavily, and he really wanted to punch this bastard into the ground!
Fortunately Jiraiya clapped his hands lightly.
"Hey, you little Byakugan over there, you're Hizashi Hyuga's child, aren't you?"
Hizashi Hyuga is a really good person. Back when I fought in World War III, Hizashi Hyuga was working under me. He was extremely capable."
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiraiya stood up with a loud laugh and looked at the group of troubled teenagers in front of him.
Naruto, Sasuke, Neji Hyuga are all classic examples of troubled youths.
But what can you do when Sasuke and Naruto have such a great grandfather?
If he didn't speak up for that Byakugan, and they actually started fighting, wouldn't Gawain tear the Gawain Hyūga Clan to shreds?
While mentally criticizing Gawain, Jiraiya approached Guy's side.
Jiraiya gently patted Guy's shoulder and continued with a smile.
"And you, Guy, are you back for the Jonin team meeting too?"
"Of course, although I don't know why a meeting is suddenly called, I will never miss a meeting."
"I'm really looking forward to this Chūnin Exams meeting, there's a special Jonin meeting going on!"
Guy raised his eyebrows excitedly. He didn't understand anything about politics or anything like that; he only knew that anything unusual would excite him.
What he likes most is anything that excites him!
Seeing Guy's expression, Jiraiya nodded. As expected of Konoha's Blue Beast.
Having witnessed Might Duy's killing of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, how could a veteran like Jiraiya underestimate the Eight Gates?
Both Kakashi Hatake and Guy are arguably the most vital and essential forces in Konoha today.
Guy, on the other hand, is a Jonin with no psychological issues, always full of sunshine, and a heart full of dedication.
Of course, he'd be much more favored by those in power than someone like Kakashi Hatake who spends all his time reading erotic comics.
Well...
All right.
Except for Jiraiya.
Jiraiya still admired Kakashi Hatake more for his willingness to read erotic novels.
After all, they were Jiraiya's dearest readers...
Jiraiya patted Guy on the shoulder again, Jiraiya shook his head.
"Don't overthink it. Nothing special will happen at this meeting, especially not the kind of battle you crave the most."
As for the meeting, well, I won't go into details. Anyway, it'll be held soon.
As for now, I'm here taking care of the kids. Since the little brats from your team are here too, let them all play together.
The Sand Village will also be involved in this Chūnin Exams, having even sent their Jinchuriki to participate.
So let's take advantage of this time to teach these kids as much as possible.
At least we shouldn't let the Sand Village's Jinchuriki steal the spotlight!
As they were talking, Jiraiya and called over Neji Hyuga and the other two, arranging some training for them as well.
Bringing nine is the same as bringing twelve, so what's the difference between three?
Furthermore, Jiraiya's words also reveal that Jinchuriki are hardly a secret in the Shinobi World.
The reason Naruto is disliked has really little to do with the Third Hokage.
The ninjas all knew he was a Jinchūriki, so of course they would tell the children to stay away from him, since angering a Jinchūriki could cause the Tailed Beast to go berserk.
The children from ninja families dared not approach Naruto, and the common people naturally spread rumors, making Naruto seem even more dangerous.
While ordinary people may not know about Jinchuriki, Naruto does have a fox mustache!
The Konoha Village had just been Nine-Tails' Rampage, and less than two years later, a child with a demon fox's beard appeared in the streets...
People will naturally keep their distance...
In short, without mentioning anything else, time will naturally continue to pass.
One week later, at noon.
Koharu Utatane, walked into the Hokage's office and nodded to Gawain.
"Sir, the Jonin team meeting is ready, but before the meeting begins, I still have doubts about the Sand Village."
Why must we agree to let the Sand Village send their Jinchūriki for the test?
As is well known, whenever a village sends out a Jinchūriki, unexpected situations arise due to the instability of the Jinchūriki.
This was true during World War II, and it was also true during World War III. Throughout history, whenever a Jinchuriki is involved in something, that thing is destined to undergo certain changes.
I strongly suspect that the Sand Village has ulterior motives regarding this Chūnin Exams!
Why should we agree to let them come tomorrow, even though they have a conspiracy?
After saying that, Koharu turned to look at Hiruzen, and frowned at the same time.
Meeting Koharu's gaze, Hiruzen sighed softly.
"You don't even need Gawain to say it, Koharu, I can give you an explanation."
Even without Gawain's appearance, I would still agree with the Sand Shinobi's current plan, which has a special purpose.
The Shinobi World has been peaceful for over a decade. In that time, the new generation of ninjas from other villages have probably forgotten the shadow that Konoha cast upon them!
In that case, Konoha must take action in response, no matter what.
Without Senior Gawain, that old and frail man might not have continued to frighten the other villages.
But I can tell the other villages no matter what...
Konoha is still powerful, at least!