The next morning, the sun rose as usual.
There were still several days of preparation before the third stage of the Chunin Exams could begin.
Unlike the first two stages, the third was more like a competitive tournament. It was open not only to Daimyos and ninja village leaders from various countries, but also to Konoha residents and visiting merchants, making it a grand event for everyone.
Naruto did not go out during those days. Instead, he stayed at the inn, adapting to the Nine-Tails' complete form.
Having recovered its full strength, the Nine-Tails occasionally demanded a spar, only to be ruthlessly suppressed by Naruto. Like Wood Release and the Sharingan, Sealing Jutsu was exceptionally effective against tailed beasts.
Otherwise, if he wanted to defeat the Nine-Tails with his own strength, he would probably need several more years of training.
During those days, Kushina urged him to go out more. Having temporarily returned to the ninja world in the form of the dead, she wanted to see whether Konoha Village still looked the way she remembered.
Unfortunately, the streets had changed considerably after the Nine-Tails' Rampage.
The Uchiha Clan Compound had been directly sealed off. Sasuke was the only one living within the entire clan grounds, and the villagers' words were filled with dissatisfaction toward present-day Konoha.
However, Kushina did not complain because of this. Instead, she advised Naruto to maintain a positive attitude.
Minato Namikaze, on the other hand, looked extremely grim. After learning in detail from others about everything that had happened over the years, he increasingly felt that using the Reaper Death Seal had been a mistake.
What he understood even less was Obito. Neither the village nor he himself had ever wronged Obito.
When he tried to ask about the Third Hokage, the villagers' expressions became