Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Over those three days, a large number of unfamiliar faces appeared on the streets of Hidden Leaf Village.
There had always been plenty of unfamiliar faces in the village, but they were usually ordinary outsiders.
The unfamiliar faces appearing now, however, all wore forehead protectors engraved with various symbols. They were clearly shinobi from different villages.
The villagers of Hidden Leaf Village were not alarmed by this at all. Instead, they were very excited.
So many shinobi from other villages had suddenly arrived, which meant that this year's Chunin Exams were about to begin. Before long, they would once again get to watch shinobi fight.
The shop owners in particular had already begun stockpiling goods, preparing to make a quick profit when the time came.
That was the Chunin Exams. No matter which Great Shinobi Village hosted them, they were among the grandest events.
July 1st, 3:00 PM.
Seventh Squad gathered at the usual place on time, carrying their application forms as they headed for the Ninja Academy.
On the way, Shino Aburame said with both hands in his pockets, "Hidden Leaf Village is the host, so we're at a bit of a disadvantage. Quite a few people have probably been investigating us lately, while we know nothing about them."
"It doesn't matter. Intelligence gets updated. Everything they investigated is already outdated." Izayoi-kun chuckled. "I believe all of you have grown during this time."
At that, both Hinata and Shino Aburame smiled confidently.
Before long, Seventh Squad arrived at the Ninja Academy.
Stepping onto the campus again after several months, Izayoi-kun and Hinata both looked somewhat dazed.
Walking down the familiar paths, their gazes seemed to travel through time, seeing reflections of the past few years.
From chubby-cheeked toddlers to children