"Charmander! Use Ember!"
At Hayato Ren's command, the Charmander standing before him opened its mouth wide and shot a stream of fire toward a large tree.
In an instant, the originally lush and vibrant tree was engulfed in flames.
Within moments, this verdant tree caught fire as if dry wood had met a blazing flame.
The intensity of the burning was so fierce that not even Boruto could have extinguished it.
After a short while, a "charcoal" replaced what was once the tree.
Having accomplished this, Charmander turned and looked at Hayato Ren with hopeful eyes.
Understanding its expectation, Hayato Ren reached out and patted Charmander's head, encouraging:
"Charmander is the best. You'll definitely become the world's strongest Pokémon one day."
In truth, Charmander was already the world's strongest Pokémon, because it was the only Pokémon in the entire world.
That's right, this wasn't the Pokémon world but a much more dangerous one—the world of Naruto.
Originally, Hayato Ren was just an ordinary college student until one day he was transported here by a truck.
After several years in this world, Hayato Ren's parents in this life both perished during a mission.
However, since they left behind a house and a considerable inheritance, and he was already capable of supporting himself by then, he wasn't sent to an orphanage.
Hayato Ren wasn't completely without advantages in the Naruto world; accompanying him was a large roulette wheel.
This wheel allowed him one lottery draw every month, though the prizes were entirely based on luck.
So far, Hayato Ren had drawn over a hundred times, with the most valuable reward being the Charmander before him.
Most of the time, the wheel's rewards were useless daily items like spicy strips and tissues.
Tomorrow was the day of the Ninja Academy's graduation exam, which was why Hayato Ren had brought Charmander to the forest near his home for training.
After praising Charmander extensively, Hayato Ren had it practice its physical endurance.
As for himself, Hayato Ren leaned against a tree and pretended to nap.
After all, he wasn't from the Uchiha or Senju clans, nor did he possess any particular talent. Despite six years of effort, he had only barely mastered the Three Body Technique.
Given that, rigorous training seemed pointless; it was better to hope for the next lottery draw to yield something powerful for an instant leap to greatness.
Moreover, Charmander wasn't weak. Despite its small size, its actual combat ability was comparable to that of an average Chunin.
In simple terms, Charmander's fighting power was equivalent to ten Hayato Rens.
In short, with Charmander by his side, Hayato Ren wasn't the least bit worried about the next day's graduation exam.
...
A group of people was intently watching the two individuals in the center of the arena.
That's right, the graduation exam was currently underway, and the test content was quite simple: hold out for ten minutes against the ninja serving as the examiner.
This was not an era of peace—the Second Great Ninja War could break out at any moment—so the assessment for promotion to genin wouldn't be as simple as just testing the Three Body Technique.
At this moment, Hayato Ren was intently watching the match on the arena.
Just then, a powerful force suddenly slapped him on the back, nearly causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground.
Simultaneously, a voice as pleasant as a lark's song reached his ears.
"What are you staring so intently for? With that unique Summoning Beast, shouldn't you be able to pass this exam easily?"
Hayato Ren turned around and gave Kushina a helpless look before responding.
"Charmander has a name; it's not some Summoning Beast. If you keep saying that, be careful it doesn't burn your hair next time."
Hearing this, Kushina instinctively touched her hair. Although she didn't like tomatoes, she highly valued her smooth, long red hair.
However, she soon gritted her teeth and said fiercely.
"Hmph, I'm not afraid of any Charmander or whatever. If it dares to show off in front of me, I'll turn it into roast chicken."
Kushina waved her small, snow-white fist, a look of disdain on her face.
The reason why Kushina and Hayato Ren were so familiar was that when she first came to Konoha and was mocked by others, Hayato Ren was the first to stand up and support her.
Moreover, a few years ago when Cloud Ninja attempted to kidnap Kushina, it was Hayato Ren who led the Anbu to intercept and eliminate those Cloud Ninja in time.
However, because Hayato Ren reported the Cloud Ninja in advance, Namikaze Minato's heroic rescue never happened.
As a result, Kushina now viewed Namikaze Minato as somewhat effeminate, and whether the future "prince" Uzumaki Naruto would be born remained unknown.
Just as Hayato Ren was about to say something more to Kushina, the match on the arena ended.
A teacher wearing a Chunin vest came over with a roster.
"Ren, you're next. Don't be nervous; with your usual performance, passing this assessment should be very easy."
Kushina gave Hayato Ren a firm pat on the shoulder and encouraged him.
"As my underling, Ren, you can definitely do it. When I become Hokage in the future, you'll be my Hokage Assistant.Hayato Ren nodded to both of them and then headed toward the arena.
...
"Hayato Ren? I remember this child—wasn't he the one who reported the Cloud Ninja a few years ago? And he has a unique Summoning Beast too."
In the stands, Sarutobi Hiruzen, puffing on his pipe, spoke thoughtfully.
"That's right, it's him. Although Hayato Ren's practical combat skills aren't exceptionally strong, his theoretical exams have always been perfect. Moreover, his understanding of the Will of Fire is quite unique. That phrase, 'Wherever there are leaves dancing, fire will burn. The shadow of the fire will illuminate the village, and new leaves will sprout,' also came from him."
A teacher from the Ninja Academy nearby promptly responded.
Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze toward Hayato Ren held several more degrees of approval.
"So these words came from Hayato Ren's mouth. To have such insight at such a young age, he's truly a ninja worth nurturing. Hayato Ren and Kushina seem to have a good relationship. In that case..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice gradually faded until no one could hear the latter part of his words.
Naturally, Hayato Ren was unaware of the conversation that had taken place here. At this moment, he had summoned Charmander and was focusing intently on the ninja serving as examiner before him.
After forming the Seal of Confrontation with the examiner, Hayato Ren immediately used the Substitution Technique to create distance.
Then he shouted to Charmander:
"Charmander, use Ember!"