"I'm so tired!"
Sakura sank onto a public bench, looking as though she had lost all will to live.
Ino and Choji were no better.
Since Naruto, Sasuke, and Shikamaru had all become chunin, the three of them planned to form a team for the Chunin Ninja Exams in the second half of the year.
Yes, the exams had been established by Second Hokage Tobirama Senju and were held twice a year.
Because entrants had to participate as teams, the members of the Konoha 12 who had not passed this joint exam had all found teammates.
Naruto's shadow clone sat on a nearby bench, chatting with Big Yellow.
Big Yellow was a ninja dog carefully raised by the Inuzuka Clan. Although he could not speak, he understood human speech.
Several of the genin among the Konoha 12 had enlisted him as a sparring partner.
Both Ino and Sakura found themselves looking toward Naruto's clone.
They knew it was not him, only a clone, but they still wanted to look.
In that clone, they could see a trace of him.
People were always like that when they saw someone resembling the person they missed, because, for that moment, longing took physical form.
Suddenly, the clone seemed to sense something and looked toward home.
At the same time, Naruto, who was in Tanzaku Town, also detected an unknown chakra signature picked up by the sensing barrier at home.
Who could it be?
In his moment of distraction, Uchiha Hikari took the hot sauce from his hand.
She hugged the bottle of hot sauce, unwilling to let it go.
The next time they ate, she would decide how much to add!
"Have a seat."
Smiling, Kushina led the two men into a room, then poured tea for them.
"Thank you, Aunt Kushina."
Itachi