"All right, enough small talk, Kakashi!"
Tsunade appeared behind them.
"It's been a long time since I tested the results of your training!"
Kakashi slipped his book into his ninja tool pouch.
"Starting today, we'll be carrying out missions together! But unlike before, when we were teacher and students, from now on we're all equal Konoha shinobi!"
As he spoke, Kakashi produced the long-familiar bells from behind his back.
"How about we try grabbing the bells again? Same rules as last time! Unless you're determined to kill me, you won't get them!"
Kakashi laughed, then suddenly stopped, as if he'd forgotten something...
"Jimo! Could you stop grinning so creepily? You're not included in this bell-grabbing test!"
Kakashi suddenly seemed to realize something. He stared wide-eyed at the excitement in Jimo's eyes and inwardly groaned. How could he have forgotten about that?
Hearing this, Naruto came over with a puzzled look and asked, "Huh? Why exclude Jimo? Wouldn't it be better if we all took part in the training?"
Sakura, standing nearby, shook her head helplessly and pointed at Jimo's unusual attire.
Sakura sighed softly and explained, "Naruto, you're so dense... Jimo passed the Jonin exam half a year ago! Not only that, she was personally rated an A-rank ninja by Lady Tsunade! So a training exercise like this would be meaningless for her."
"Jimo! Jimo became a Jonin?"
Naruto said in shock.
"Damn! She got there so fast!"
"Jimo can already lead a team on missions by herself... Over the past six months, he's truly fought on the border to stop enemy shinobi from infiltrating Konoha!" Sakura said.
Only then did Naruto notice the faint scent of blood on Jimo.
Her eyes were still clear, but there was something different in them. Something that came only from having seen blood...