No Longer a Ninja

However, Naruto, with his thick-headed nature, seemed to have misunderstood something.

The Konoha Anbu had clearly stepped in to protect Naruto, but now, Naruto was giving him a sound beating.

It took Yashui quite a while to pull Naruto away. After explaining the situation for a long time, Naruto finally understood.

"I'm sorry..." Yashui pressed down on Naruto's head, forcing him to bow and apologize to the Konoha Anbu.

"It's... it's nothing..." Even through the mask, one could hear the Anbu choking back tears.

With a "swish," the Konoha Anbu vanished.

I feel sorry for that Anbu for three seconds.

Naruto glanced at Yashui and burst into laughter: "Hahaha, it's a good thing you're good at the Transformation Technique. Otherwise, that prank just now wouldn't have succeeded, hahaha..."

"That wasn't a prank, that was a tactic..." Yashui shook his head helplessly; Naruto was at that age where he loved pranks far too much.

"Besides us, no one else could pull off something like that. Hahaha..." Although Naruto was laughing, his words sounded incredibly heartbreaking.

"It's getting late, let me treat you to a bowl of ramen." Yashui patted Naruto on the head.

"Alright." Naruto agreed immediately: "Are you really treating me?"

Yashui felt his pockets: "Yeah, that's right, you can even have two bowls."

Naruto nodded happily: "I don't know why... even though you're a grade below me, you feel more like an older brother."

"Maybe it's because I'm always with Konohamaru." Yashui also wanted to taste what the legendary Ichiraku Ramen was like.

"Hey... what you said earlier, it wasn't true, right?" Naruto suddenly turned serious: "That I'm a demon fox... that kind of talk..."

"Of course I was lying to you." Yashui felt another pang of heartache. He thought about it and decided to tell Naruto a little white lie. Besides, the night after tomorrow, Mizuki would tell Naruto everything anyway.

"I knew it, how could I possibly be the demon fox I hate the most?" Naruto squinted at Yashui: "Does this mean we're friends now?"

"Of course." Yashui comforted him: "We are definitely friends..."

The figures of the two boys gradually disappeared into the night.

The Third Hokage had just finished his meal and was studying military strategy books in his study. A Konoha Anbu appeared before him with a "swish."

"What is it? Is there anything unusual about Naruto?" The Third Hokage asked while smoking, his eyes never leaving the scroll.

"Well... I was beaten by Naruto... wuwuwu..." The Anbu took off his mask and wailed: "Why is my life so bitter? Fighting someone who was bullying the person I was protecting is one thing... but why did I have to be beaten by the person I was protecting... wuwuwu..."

"..." The Third Hokage took a sharp puff of his pipe: "I'll raise your mission rank by one level; that way, you can receive more compensation..."

"Wuwuwu... I don't want compensation... I don't want to be a ninja anymore... please destroy my ninja file... wuwuwuwu..."

The Third Hokage glanced at the Anbu who had removed her mask. She was as fair as frost and snow, with a very pretty face. She was still young but already a beauty.

"If you don't want to be a ninja, what will you do?" The Third Hokage sighed: "How about this, stop being in the Konoha Anbu. Just be a regular ninja. Your personality doesn't seem suited for the long-term missions of the Konoha Anbu."

"Mm... thank you, Lord Hokage..."

After she left, the Third Hokage took a crystal ball out of his desk and watched Naruto's every move.

"Sigh... I really am getting old..." The Third Hokage lamented.

Yashui returned that night and walked into Konohamaru's room; Konohamaru was still training. Yashui felt a sense of emotion; ever since coming to this world, he had been training constantly. Every time the Three-Legged Golden Crow assigned a task, Yashui would train until he forgot to eat or sleep.

But once there were no tasks from the Three-Legged Golden Crow, Yashui found he didn't even know how to train anymore. Unlike Konohamaru, who would train on his own every day under Ebisu even without anyone guiding him.

Yashui thought to himself that if he ever lost the guidance of the Three-Legged Golden Crow, he would still need to train diligently. Thinking this, Yashui began to review yesterday's training content. He attached chakra to his feet, walked up the wall of the room, and did a lap; there were no issues. He then began to practice his muscle strength.

When he was grabbed by the wrist by that Konoha Anbu, Yashui had realized the gap in their strength. That Konoha Anbu's strength was at best that of a genin, the level he was about to reach.

If a genin's strength could completely crush Yashui, then Yashui really should consider whether his own strength was too weak.

Since entering this world, Yashui had rarely suffered in close combat, relying on the martial arts he had systematically learned in his previous life. Therefore, the gap in strength hadn't been very apparent during battles.

On top of that, for the past month, Yashui had been training in the application of chakra, which was related to ninjutsu. Thus, his taijutsu training had entered a semi-abandoned state.

"It's time to start working on my muscles again." Yashui lay on the ground; he would start with some push-ups.

Dawn broke, and the next day arrived. Tomorrow was the graduation exam for the Ninja Academy. Although Yashui knew he wouldn't have any problems, he still felt a little nervous.

Yashui first went to the Hundred Bird Nest to see the Three-Legged Golden Crow.

"What? You haven't graduated yet?" The Three-Legged Golden Crow asked in surprise: "At your age, you should already be a chunin, right?"

"That was during the war era... things aren't that strict in this peaceful era." Yashui only then remembered that he had never told the Three-Legged Golden Crow about his situation at the Ninja Academy.

"Since your tree-climbing training is finished, the next step is water-walking. For you, it shouldn't take more than an hour." The Three-Legged Golden Crow flapped its wings: "Follow me."

This was the first time Yashui had stepped out of the Sun Palace since arriving at the Hundred Bird Nest.

After following the Three-Legged Golden Crow out of the Sun Palace, Yashui was shocked by the scene before him.

"This..." Yashui wondered if he was watching a sci-fi movie.

The entire Hundred Bird Nest was composed of hundreds of clouds floating in the sky. Birds lived on these clouds, and each cloud had at least a few palaces on it. The Sun Palace was the largest palace in the entire Hundred Bird Nest.

"Don't be surprised, follow me." The Three-Legged Golden Crow said irritably: "Why is your human knowledge so shallow? You haven't even seen the Cloud Island."

Following the Three-Legged Golden Crow, Yashui walked out of the palace.

But who would have thought that as soon as he stepped out of the palace, Yashui's feet would find no purchase. He passed through the clouds and fell toward the ground.

The Three-Legged Golden Crow hurriedly grabbed Yashui with its talons, saving his little life.