The Third Match

Jiraiya quickly gave up struggling and asked Naruto, "Did Minato want me to give you the key to the seal?"

"No. My master completely reworked the seal a long time ago. The key Dad left behind is useless now."

Naruto said, "Wait a moment. I'll let Dad talk to you himself."

"Talk to me himself?"

Jiraiya looked surprised. "Could it be..."

Naruto closed his eyes. A moment later, he opened them again. His appearance hadn't changed, but his air was completely different. He gave Jiraiya a bright, cheerful smile. "Jiraiya-sensei, it's been a long time."

"Mi...nato..."

Jiraiya's voice trembled slightly. "Is it really you?"

"Strictly speaking, no. My soul and half of the Nine-Tails' chakra were sealed inside the Death God's stomach."

Minato continued, "The current me is just a bit of chakra I left in the seal inside Naruto back then. It should have run out and disappeared long ago, but my master used methods I can't understand to remake the seal inside Naruto, allowing my chakra and Kushina's to remain intact all this time."

"So it's that mysterious master again."

Jiraiya's brows furrowed slightly. "Based on the information the old man gave me, and what you've said to Naruto, I get the feeling that this master of yours can do just about anything."

"To us, our master might really be omnipotent."

Minato sighed. "At least for now, I don't know of anything he can't do."

"If I get the chance, I'd really like to speak with him in person."

Jiraiya sighed softly. "How much of your and Kushina's abilities does Naruto have now?"

At that, Minato perked up. "At this point, Naruto should have already surpassed both me and Kushina."

"?!"

For a moment, Jiraiya doubted Minato's words, even finding them a little absurd. "If I remember right, Naruto's only thirteen. He's already surpassed you and Kushina?"

Minato smiled and corrected him. "He won't turn thirteen for another three months."

Jiraiya looked a little dejected. "As a teacher, I'm nowhere near as good as your master."

"Jiraiya-sensei is a wonderful teacher too!"

Minato reassured him. "Even now, I'm still grateful for the guidance and care you gave me back then."

"Minato..."

Jiraiya sniffed, moved. "When the old man told me Orochimaru had been driven off by Naruto, I thought the bastard had just left on his own. But now, maybe Naruto really did force him to retreat."

"It's hard to say whether Naruto could beat Orochimaru for sure just yet. At the time, Orochimaru mostly didn't want to fight the people in the village, so he chose to retreat."

Minato wasn't blindly confident. "Over the years, my master has focused Naruto's training on the fundamentals. He still needs a little more time to turn all that groundwork into strength."

"Then it's our job, as old-timers, to buy time until Naruto has fully grown."

Jiraiya's expression gradually turned serious. "That's why you came to see me, isn't it?"

"No. I just wanted to talk with you, Jiraiya-sensei."

Minato suddenly smiled. "My master has already given all of this plenty of thought and made preparations long ago. So don't worry, Jiraiya-sensei. Naruto will grow up safely and become the one who changes the entire Ninja World."

Jiraiya was silent for a long while, then smiled with relief. "Then I'll look forward to it."

A month flew by, and the third round of the Chunin Selection Exams began.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura strolled toward the venue for the third round.

Following Kushina's suggestion, Naruto wore a fitted blue layer beneath a vest styled like a "Leaf Jonin vest," then finished the outfit with a cloak in colors matching the Hokage's robes. He looked very handsome.

Sasuke had traded his usual high-collared, dark blue short-sleeved shirt for a well-fitting grayish-white shirt and trousers. He'd trimmed his hair a little shorter and looked quite sharp.

Sakura looked much the same as usual, except she'd switched to a plain shirt without a hem at the bottom and cut off her long hair, leaving only a short section tied back. It gave her a somewhat boyish air.

Sasuke glanced up at the clear blue sky. "This month sure felt long."

Sakura thought for a moment. "To be precise, only the first day felt especially long. The time from the second day to now went by pretty quickly."

"It's felt fast to me the whole time."

Naruto ran a hand through his now-longer hair. "By the way, you two both got your hair cut. Why didn't you invite me?"

"Sakura and I went separately."

Sasuke replied casually, "But we've started dating recently, so next time we get haircuts, we'll probably go together."

"You two actually decided to date?"

A hint of surprise crossed Naruto's face. He smiled. "I thought you'd wait until you became Jonin~"

"Sasuke and I have both figured it out. A little earlier or later doesn't make much difference."

Sakura didn't look the least bit embarrassed. "What about you and Hinata? You've been together for years, haven't you? It feels like nothing much has changed lately."

"Hinata and I both have things we want to do right now. We don't have time to date."

Naruto sounded relaxed. "Besides, we're still young. There's no need to rush."

The three chatted as they walked into the competition arena.

The stands surrounding the arena were already packed with spectators. In the most prominent section of the main seats, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, the Third Hokage, and the Fourth Kazekage, who had come to watch, were already seated.

Not long after Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura entered, the stands suddenly grew a little noisy:

"Hey, look at that blond kid. Doesn't he look a bit like the Fourth Hokage?"

"Don't start... Hey, actually, he kind of does!"

"But that kid's the Fox Demon!"

"Shh! Stop talking! Lord Third forbade anyone from discussing that! You want to go have tea with the Anbu?"

In a setting like this, no one paid any attention to the few stray remarks.

Once everyone had gathered and the time was right, the Third Hokage took a deep breath and used chakra to project his voice across the entire arena. "Distinguished guests, thank you all for attending the Chunin Selection Exams hosted by our Hidden Leaf Village! The eight contestants who passed the preliminaries will now begin the official selection matches. Please enjoy the event!"

After the Third Hokage finished speaking, the referee in the middle of the arena promptly addressed the crowd. "The rules for the official matches are the same as those for the preliminaries. A contestant loses if they surrender, die, or are unable to fight. Likewise, if I judge that a match has been decided, I will stop the fight immediately."

When no one spoke, the referee continued, "The first match is Uchiha Sasuke versus Kabuto Yakushi. Everyone else, please leave the arena for now. You may go to the waiting room or watch from the stands."

Sakura glanced at Kabuto Yakushi. Noticing something, she said to Sasuke, "Be careful."

Sasuke nodded. "I know."

Naruto waved to Sasuke without saying anything.

After the others had left, the referee had Sasuke and Kabuto Yakushi stand facing each other, then announced loudly, "The first match begins!"