Temari, standing to the side and watching the scene unfold, was quite curious. "Who is Yoruha? Why are Uchiha Sasuke and this seemingly powerful man mentioning him? Could it be that he's also very strong?"
Although Temari had never fought Sasuke, over the past three years, Sasuke had become quite renowned in the ninja world.
He was referred to as the lost gem of the Uchiha clan, and some even believed that Sasuke was currently the strongest ninja in Konoha. Temari shared this belief, thinking that Sasuke should now be the most powerful ninja in Konoha.
Perhaps even stronger than Tsunade. Naturally, anyone Sasuke emphasized must not be simple. Yet, she had never heard of the name Yoruha.
Jiraiya, hearing Sasuke's words, chuckled. "Is that kid still as idle as ever? Tsunade, aren't you giving him anything to do?" Jiraiya asked Tsunade.
Tsunade replied nonchalantly, "The village doesn't lack ninjas to carry out missions, and besides, he's a Hokage guard, so he naturally needs to stay by my side." Jiraiya shook his head with a wry smile.
"You're just indulging him, aren't you? It's because he doesn't want to go out, right?" Jiraiya was well aware of Yoruha's personality. Yoruha was the type who, unless you actively assigned him tasks, would never volunteer for them.
Tsunade remained silent. Indeed, Tsunade hadn't assigned Yoruha many tasks. Over the past three years, Yoruha had only completed a few missions, the highest being just B-rank, which involved delivering messages. Currently, Sasuke's mission count far exceeded Yoruha's.
Judging by the number of missions alone, Yoruha was completely outmatched by Sasuke. Whether in terms of quantity or high-level missions, Yoruha didn't seem like a Jonin. Those unaware might even think Yoruha became a Jonin through connections or favoritism.
Naruto, who had been feeling down since earlier, burst into laughter upon hearing that Yoruha hadn't accomplished much in the past three years either. "Yoruha hasn't done many missions either? Looks like I'm not the only one not making progress, hahaha!"
However, after Naruto spoke, Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, Tsunade, and Jiraiya all looked at him speechlessly. Sakura sighed helplessly, "You know, Yoruha may not have completed many missions, but he's already a Jonin, while you're still a Genin." "Just in terms of ninja rank, you're still two levels below him."
Besides, everyone here except Temari knew that Yoruha was being groomed by Tsunade to be the Sixth Hokage. With Yoruha's abilities, once he reached a certain age, even if he were unwilling, Tsunade would likely push him to the Hokage position. Not to mention, Yoruha had more than just Tsunade's support.
Even though Yoruha seemed to have been keeping a low profile these past three years, doing nothing noteworthy, his reputation among Konoha's higher-ups was very high. Besides Tsunade, Jiraiya, the two Hokage advisors, Kakashi, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, and the Sarutobi clan all supported Yoruha.
These people and clans were enough to propel Yoruha to the position of Hokage. Even if Danzo wanted to oppose it, no one cared about his opinion.
Back then, even when he teamed up with Orochimaru, he couldn't change the Third Hokage's mind, let alone now when he no longer had Orochimaru by his side.
His Root organization had been severely weakened by Tsunade several times over the past three years.
The Root division, already weaker than the ANBU, had been further suppressed by Tsunade, leaving only Danzo's most loyal followers. Now, Danzo couldn't stir up much trouble in Konoha. With these conditions, Yoruha naturally didn't need to undertake missions to accumulate battle merits.
His path to becoming Hokage depended solely on his own willingness. When Naruto mentioned that he and Yoruha were somewhat alike, everyone thought he was a bit out of touch. Even Jiraiya was at a loss for words.
In truth, Jiraiya had been keeping an eye on Yoruha's growth over the past three years, but since he was often away and Yoruha rarely took on missions, few outside Konoha knew of Yoruha's name.
Within Konoha, however, Yoruha was quite well-known—not for his combat prowess, but for his medical ninjutsu.
He was dubbed the "Medical Sage" or "Konoha's Top Physician," a title personally endorsed by Tsunade. In Konoha, aside from a select few, not many were aware of Yoruha's true strength. The conversation piqued Temari's curiosity as she stood by watching.
She was curious about who Yoruha really was. "This Yoruha seems special. From their conversation, it's clear he's a Jonin, but it seems he hasn't undertaken many missions. How strange. Could he be the child of some high-ranking official?" "But judging by their attitude towards him, it doesn't seem like he rose through connections."
"And being a Hokage's guard, his strength shouldn't be weak." Temari grew increasingly curious. Meanwhile, Naruto felt a bit awkward being questioned by everyone.
"I didn't say he was just like me. It's just that he hasn't completed many missions either, so in terms of mission count, we're on the same starting line." Everyone understood that Naruto didn't mean any offense.
It's just that Yoruha probably wouldn't need to complete many missions in the future. If it weren't for Yoruha being too young, Tsunade would have already considered stepping down to let him take over, allowing her to enjoy some leisure.
In this regard, Tsunade and Yoruha shared the same sentiment—they both disliked the hassles of being Hokage. Tsunade often thought of having Yoruha help with paperwork, but Yoruha always refused, citing that his position shouldn't involve political affairs.
Tsunade knew well that Yoruha simply found it troublesome. She turned her attention to Shikamaru and Temari, who had been silent. "Shikamaru, and Lady Temari, these are the participants from our village for this Chunin Exam."
After receiving the documents from Tsunade, although Temari wanted to know more about Yoruha, she had no reason to stay. She left with Shikamaru. Shikamaru had no interest in lingering either.
Over the past three years, he often invited Yoruha to dine with Ino and Choji, making Yoruha quite familiar with the Ino-Shika-Cho families. Shikamaru's actions were naturally guided by his father, Shikaku Nara.
Of course, Shikamaru was also happy to invite Yoruha for meals. He didn't know exactly how strong Yoruha was, but given his father's high regard for Yoruha, Shikamaru felt that besides Yoruha's good character, he must be very strong.
After Shikamaru and Temari left, Tsunade turned to Naruto, smiling. "Naruto, how have your training results been over these three years? I'm going to test you."
Naruto was momentarily stunned, then clenched his fist with confidence. "Granny Tsunade, bring it on! I've made great progress over these three years." Tsunade chuckled, "You seem quite confident." She then looked at Sasuke and Sakura, "The same goes for you two. It's time to test how much you've improved over these three years."
Sasuke didn't speak, only nodding seriously. Sakura, on the other hand, was a bit nervous. "Master, who will be testing us?"
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