The students in the class also dispersed.
As time went on, only three people remained in the class.
It was Araki, Minato, and Kushina; the three of them had now been assigned to the same group, so they could be considered partners.
"I'm so happy to be paired with you two! Please take good care of me in the future!"
Minato Namikaze smiled brightly, like sunshine in full bloom, giving people a feeling of being bathed in Minato Namikaze. He stood up first and spoke to Araki and Kushina.
"Please take good care of me!" Kushina nodded politely in return.
"I'm counting on you from now on!" Araki's face showed a relieved and relaxed smile. With a strong teammate like Minato Namikaze in the team, he could play with peace of mind.
"Not at all..." Minato's cheeks flushed slightly. He still admired Araki quite a bit, after all, he had actually been on the verge of losing their last battle.
"That..."
Just then, Kushina slowly spoke. As soon as she spoke, Minato immediately stopped, his gaze fixed intently on Kushina, listening carefully to her words.
"Are we supposed to wait here for the Jonin instructor?"
Kushina voiced her doubts. She didn't seem to mind Minato's overly exaggerated reaction and thought everything was normal. Now that she had fulfilled her wish of being in the same group as Araki, she was even more curious about who her Jonin instructor was.
"This..."
Upon hearing this question, Minato was immediately stunned; it truly stumped him.
He had originally planned to make a good impression on Kushina. He had never had such an opportunity back in the Ninja Academy, even though they were classmates. However, he was rather shy and had been thinking about it but had never found a chance to strike up a conversation with Kushina.
He could only silently follow behind Kushina on her way to and from school; this was the happiest time of his day.
but...
He preferred going to school to going home, because Araki wasn't Araki to keep him company.
" Araki, what do you think?"
Minato Namikaze wasn't sure how to answer that question, so he quickly turned his gaze to Araki and passed the question to Araki.
He wasn't trying to make things difficult for Araki, but he wasn't sure how to answer the question right now. He didn't want to create an awkward situation after just starting a conversation with Kushina, so this was the best solution he could come up with.
"Just wait here," Araki said calmly.
"What should I do, Master Jonin?" Kushina asked doubtfully. Her beautiful eyes turned to look at Araki, with joy in her eyes. No matter what happened next, being able to be assigned to the same group as Araki already filled her heart with infinite joy.
" Ibuki-sensei didn't say where to look for the Jonin -sensei, he just said the Jonin- sensei would come to find us, so we just need to wait for him to arrive. This means that no matter where we wait, the Jonin- sensei will find us. Maybe he's already watching us from somewhere right now," Araki said casually.
"That makes sense." Minato Namikaze nodded, agreeing with Araki's words. He then immediately moved on to the next topic, saying, " Araki, how do you manage to have such incredible physical abilities? Are you always training when you're not around?"
"More than that!"
Kushina immediately picked up the conversation. To some extent, she was someone who couldn't hold back, and the fact that the three of them were waiting here with no time to spare was making her quite bored.
In the past, she might not have spoken to Minato, but now that they've been assigned to the same group and will be teammates, chatting now would be a good way for them to get to know each other, and she didn't see anything wrong with it.
Especially now that the topic involves Araki.
Kushina knew Araki very well, understanding that Araki was a cold-faced but warm-hearted person who wasn't good at communicating with strangers. If Minato tried to chat with Araki in this way, Araki might not be receptive.
If not handled properly, the situation could escalate, and she didn't want such a problem to arise so soon after the group was formed.
Whenever she noticed this trend, she said she should step forward to ease the situation and prevent unnecessary problems from arising.
" Araki is the most hardworking person I've ever met. He uses his sleeping time to train. He's either training or on his way to train every day. Sometimes I even feel a strange sensation from him. Guess what it is..." Kushina blinked. When talking about Araki, she was like a little fangirl, and she looked quite excited.
"What is it?" Minato was drawn to Kushina, his mind momentarily blank. He wasn't thinking about Araki anymore, but rather absorbed in his conversation with Kushina. The content of their conversation was no longer important, nor was it important whether they were discussing other boys. What mattered was that they had started chatting.
"That feeling is... it's as if attending classes is affecting his training!" Kushina remarked.
"Ah..." Minato took a deep breath, paused for a moment, and glanced at Araki out of the corner of his eye. He sighed inwardly. He had already tried his best to overestimate Araki, but now he realized that he had underestimated him and deeply realized that his training efforts were not enough.
"That's not all!"
When Kushina talks about Araki, she becomes very talkative, her eyes sparkling, and she exudes a unique charm that is quite captivating.
Minato was somewhat mesmerized by this sight.
He listened attentively to Kushina's words, and her cheerful interaction left him feeling a mix of joy and sorrow.
Araki sat silently in his original seat. He was about to leave the Ninja Academy. Although he hadn't spent much time at the Ninja Academy in the lead-up to graduation, it was still the place where he had spent the most time since he came here, and he felt a little nostalgic.
As for Kushina Minato things about Minato to him, he didn't mind at all. After all, given the strength he's shown so far, it would be unreliable if he didn't put in the effort to match it.
but...
Right now.
Araki was silently thinking to himself...
According to Orochimaru, he will become a disciple of the Sannin, which implies that his mentor Jonin, will be Jiraiya.
On another note, Minato was in the same group as him, and Minato's mentor, Jonin, was Jiraiya.
In this way...
The Jonin teacher they were waiting for was Jiraiya.
Suddenly, his identity became much better. As Jiraiya's disciple, he was now part of Sarutobi's faction. In addition, as Tsunade's disciple, he also had some connection with the Senju Clan.
This is no longer an ordinary person from Konoha.
The background is starting to harden!
Knock knock knock!
After an unknown amount of time, a knock sounded at the classroom door, immediately attracting the attention of Araki and the other two.
Minato and Kushina stopped chatting and both looked towards the doorway.
There's only one person who can come to the classroom right now.
Their instructor Jonin teacher!
Creak~
As the door opened, a tall figure strode in, his full head of silver-white hair particularly eye-catching. He wore Konoha ninja Forehead Protector, and his face was marked with two iconic red tear ducts. A wide smile graced his lips.
The newcomer was none other than Jiraiya!
Chapter 4 Bell-Catching Game
Jiraiya's appearance immediately drew everyone's attention in the classroom. He grinned at a few people, looking extremely optimistic.
"You three little ones didn't go anywhere, which made me look for you everywhere. Come on, let's find somewhere else to talk."
Jiraiya waved to Araki and the other two. Jiraiya he said this, he always had a smile on his face. Now that he had successfully taken these three as his disciples, he was very satisfied with the result.
In essence, he still quite liked his disciples, especially when he saw these three children, which reminded him of the Nagato trio who had left not long ago, and a hint of nostalgia flickered deep in his eyes.
That's all.
Jiraiya turned and walked towards the corridor leading to the classroom.
Minato glanced in Araki's direction, and seeing that the latter did not react, he looked at Kushina, nodded, and then got up and walked outside.
Kushina also got up.
Araki was the last to leave.
The three of them followed Jiraiya out of the Ninja Academy and into a forest in Konoha. Throughout the entire walk, no one spoke, and it seemed that there was no communication at all.
Araki followed at the back of the group, carefully observing each person, with his gaze lingering more on Jiraiya.
In his mind, Jiraiya wasn't such a serious person, but judging from his current expression, he seemed very serious, perhaps because it was their first meeting.
Not long after.
Jiraiya led the three of them to a small bridge over the river in Konoha.
"This is fine."
Jiraiya muttered something to himself, then turned around to look at Araki and the other two, grinning once more.
"So..."
"Let's start with introductions!"
Let's all get to know each other!
Jiraiya looked at Araki and the other two, and spoke slowly and deliberately, pointing to himself after he finished speaking.
Let me start!
My name is Jiraiya!
"My hobby is writing. I sometimes do research when I'm bored to spark creative inspiration!"
"From now on, I will be your Jonin instructor!"
"Now it's your turn!"
Jiraiya's gaze first fell on Minato Namikaze, then shifted to Araki, and finally settled on Kushina, his smile widening once more.
"My name is Kushina Uzumaki. I hope to gain more recognition from others and I also hope to become better and better." Kushina said slowly, but as she spoke, she was thinking about something else entirely.
In some ways, she is not from Konoha, and she also has the Nine-Tails inside her.
Gaining recognition is a very important idea for her.
At least...
At this point in time.
Kushina didn't dare to reveal that she was an ally of the Nine-Tails.
If this were to get out, it would pose a significant threat to her. It's inherently inappropriate from a safety perspective, and she would likely face criticism from other villagers as well.
Kushina cared about more was what happened next.
She didn't want to be seen as a monster by the villagers.
She knew very well that sooner or later the villagers would find out that she had become the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, but she hoped that at that time, she would gain the villagers' recognition.
Kushina doesn't Araki's cunning, so when it comes to certain matters, especially questions like this, she only thinks of the truth and doesn't try to hide anything.
All we can do now is keep quiet.