Kakashi walked at the head of the group.
His thoughts, however, were elsewhere.
Zhou Cheng's talent really was terrifying!
After just two days of studying swordsmanship, he already had a decent grasp of it.
He no longer looked like someone trying to hack people apart with a kitchen knife.
It had raised his close-combat prowess another notch.
Seeing so many outstanding youngsters around him,
Kakashi felt deeply heartened.
These children would all go far and would surely become pillars of Konoha.
Zhou Cheng in particular had already rendered so many services to Konoha.
Everyone in the village had long since accepted him as one of their own.
That made Zhou Cheng a likely candidate to become the Sixth Hokage.
After all, Tsunade still looked very young.
She could easily stay in office for another seven or eight years.
By then, Zhou Cheng would be an adult.
He would be fully qualified to run for Hokage.
Then I'd be the Hokage's teacher!
Zhou Cheng's group walked on for a little longer.
Then they spotted a group of shinobi from Sunagakure.
Their leader was none other than the target of Zhou Cheng's trip: Baki.
Zhou Cheng grabbed Uzuki Yugao, stopping her from acting rashly.
Now wasn't the time!
Uzuki Yugao closed her eyes, forcing down her anger.
"Our guests from Konoha, thank you for making the long journey!"
"Up ahead is the entrance to Sunagakure!"
"The Narrow Pass!"
Zhou Cheng and the others looked in the direction Baki pointed.
A massive wall of sand towered in the distance.
It looked like an enormous city wall!
A narrow gap split one section of the sand wall.
From afar, it looked like a tiny crack.
They walked a little farther.
The full expanse of the sand wall gradually came into view.
The wall stood