"Besides, Shinju has Flying Thunder God. If he didn't make it to the arena in time, it's probably because he overslept..."
And just as Kakashi had guessed, that was exactly the case.
After spending more than twenty days at Mount Myoboku without realizing it, Shinju and Naruto had completely forgotten that today was the day of the Chunin Exams!
In the end, it was Jiraiya who slapped his forehead, suddenly remembered, and hurriedly reminded the two of them—it was time to head back to the village for the exam.
But when it came to returning home, they ran into a problem.
"How are we supposed to get back now?" Naruto asked.
"Reversing the Summoning Technique won't work. We've been here too long," Jiraiya replied.
"So what do we do? Don't tell me Shinju and I have to walk all the way back?!"
Naruto's eyes widened in shock.
"Relax," Shinju stepped forward at that moment.
He had used Flying Thunder God to arrive at Mount Myoboku in the first place. Using it to return wasn't difficult.
After all, he had left Flying Thunder God markers all over Konoha!
With that, he grabbed hold of Naruto and Jiraiya, activating the Flying Thunder God.
In an instant, the three of them reappeared just outside Konoha.
Naruto checked the time and said,
"Did you leave a Flying Thunder God marker at the exam arena? The matches should've already started—we need to get there now."
"Who would've thought that far ahead?" Shinju muttered helplessly.
"What? Running from here to the arena will take at least ten minutes!" Naruto groaned in despair.
"You two just learned Summoning, didn't you? If you get a toad from Mount Myoboku to help out, a couple of jumps will get you there in no time."
Jiraiya watched their panic with amusement.
He had been a chunin for many years, and he thoroughly enjoyed seeing young ones stressing over exams like this.
Shinju slapped his forehead.
"Why didn't I think of that?"
Forming hand seals, he shouted: "Summoning Jutsu!"
Whoosh!!
A massive figure appeared—Gamabunta himself!
Pipe clamped between his teeth, Gamabunta glanced at Shinju and rumbled,
"What's the rush, Shinju? You just got back to Konoha and already you're summoning me."
"No time to explain—I'm about to be late for my exam. Can you take me to the arena?" Shinju asked.
Gamabunta nodded. "Hop on."
Nearby, Naruto's eyes sparkled with envy at the sight of the towering, majestic Gamabunta.
"I want to try too!"
He quickly copied Shinju's hand seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Poof!
A puff of smoke exploded out.
When it cleared... a toad the size of a teacup appeared.
Naruto: (°ー°〃)
The gap was way too big!
The tiny yellow-skinned toad looked dazed and confused. Then, spotting Gamabunta in the distance, it cried out excitedly: "Dad!"
Gamabunta tilted his head. "Gamakichi? What are you doing here?!"
"Looks like this blond guy summoned me by mistake," Gamakichi pointed at Naruto.
"Kid, your summoning still needs a lot of work," Gamabunta muttered, glancing between his son and an embarrassed Naruto.
"Hop on."
With Naruto climbing onto his head, Shinju and Naruto now rode atop the mighty summoned beast. Gamabunta bounded off, tearing across Konoha at incredible speed.
...
Chunin Exam Arena.
Temari vs. Shikamaru—Temari wins.
Tenten vs. Shino—Shino wins.
Sasuke vs. a Rain ninja—Sasuke wins.
After the three matches, it was finally supposed to be Shinju and Naruto's turn.
But the two of them still hadn't shown up.
The spectators grew restless.
"Where are those two? Why aren't they here yet?!"
"I came here just to see that red-haired kid from Konoha! Isn't he supposed to be the next Yellow Flash? Why isn't he stepping up now?!"
"What kind of ninja shows up late? They should just disqualify them already!"
Listening to the growing dissatisfaction from the crowd, proctor Shiranui Genma stood on the stage looking helpless.
He wanted to disqualify them himself—they had delayed far too long.
But the Hokage had sent word: they could wait another ten minutes.
"You have ten more minutes. If they don't arrive, they're out of the Chunin Exams."
Sasuke, for once, looked anxious.
After a month of hard training, he was desperate to face Shinju in the arena.
"Tch, maybe they really aren't coming," Kakashi said, glancing at the time with a shrug.
Just then, someone in the stands cried out.
"Look up there! What's that in the sky?!"
"That looks like... a toad! A giant toad!"
"The toad is flying through the air!!!ヽ( ຶ▮ ຶ)ﾉ!!!"
"Has eating meat gotten that hard that toads are this desperate?!"
"Forget the jokes, that thing looks like it's headed straight for us!!"
Amidst the terrified exclamations of the audience, Gamabunta descended with Shinju and Naruto on his head.
Boom!!
The giant toad landed, shaking the arena and sending up a storm of dust!
When the smoke cleared, Naruto and Shinju stood proudly atop Gamabunta's head.
The audience was left speechless by their dramatic entrance.
"They rode in on a toad?!"
"Are the candidates this competitive now?!"
"That toad looks amazing—huge build, pipe in its mouth, a sword on its hip... and it's even wearing clothes!"
"And that red-haired guy standing on its head—that must be Shinju. You can tell he's got both looks and strength!"
Sasuke's eyes lit up.
"They didn't let me down."
Kakashi just covered his face.
"What a pair of troublemakers."
Up on the highest balcony, the Third Hokage finally let out a sigh of relief.
Good thing they made it in time—otherwise, the feudal lords and fellow Kage would have been sorely disappointed.
After all, a good number of them were here specifically to see Uchiha Sasuke and Shinju, heir to the Flying Thunder God.
Beside Hiruzen, the Kazekage licked his lips subtly and murmured under his breath,
"So he can summon a toad... and not just any toad, but Gamabunta, the same one who once fought alongside the Fourth Hokage and Jiraiya."
"For him to be acknowledged by the proud Gamabunta... it seems waiting all this time wasn't in vain."
...
"Gamabunta, you can head back now."
After making his flashy entrance, Shinju released the summoning. Gamabunta vanished in smoke.
Landing on the ground, Shinju glanced around the arena.
It seemed that because of Orochimaru's appearance during the second exam, security was especially tight this time.
ANBU were scattered all around, and Shinju even spotted Yamato not far from the Hokage.
Shiranui Genma let out a breath of relief.
"Since you two have arrived, we'll proceed with the matches as planned."
Pointing toward Naruto, Genma announced:
"The next match—Uzumaki Naruto versus Hyuga Neji!!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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