Chapter 182: Konoha's Irregular Entertainment Venues
The battle between Obito and Sasuke didn't last very long.
It lasted for three minutes.
It wasn't that the two of them could only fight for three minutes, but that Obito didn't want to fight anymore.
After Sasuke hit him once, he suddenly realized the problem.
What exactly am I doing?
Am I just farming experience for this guy?
Because of The Hermit's presence, combined with Space-Time Ninjutsu, Obito knew he couldn't kill the two of them.
He had been full of confidence, wanting to test their limits, but he hadn't expected to be the one being tested instead.
Obito felt there was no point in continuing the fight, so he left quite decisively.
Naruto probably guessed his thoughts.
A bit of a pity.
But Obito was no longer that dead last from the Ninja Academy.
It would be very hard to stop him if he wanted to leave.
Space-Time Ninjutsu is just that troublesome.
Naruto thought for a moment; it seemed like there were no Ninjutsu in the Ninja World that could seal off space.
But just because the Ninja World didn't have it didn't mean the system didn't.
What if he drew it one day?
And actually, he did have a way to counteract it.
One Hundred Percent Barehanded White Blade Catch.
It could counter Space-Time Ninjutsu.
"Why did he stop fighting?"
Sasuke was stunned for a moment and frowned.
He couldn't keep up with Space-Time Ninjutsu.
A thought suddenly popped into his head: I should get one of those someday too.
Otherwise, with Naruto having the Flying Thunder God Technique, he might never be able to beat him.
At the very least, he had to get a Ninjutsu that allowed him to travel through space at will.
"Probably because he thinks you're too terrifying."
Naruto shrugged and said casually, "You found his weakness on the second try; maybe you could kill him on the third, so he just quit."
"Really?"
Sasuke's eyes lit up, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl into a smile.
"Yeah, just take it as the truth."
Naruto said perfunctorily.
"..."
Sasuke's smile froze.
Can't you just flatter me a bit?
Even if it's fake.
My emotions were already there, I was just a step away from laughing wildly.
But you were so perfunctory, leaving me hanging.
Naruto asked again, "Are you still going to fight the Raikage?"
"Yes!"
Sasuke said without hesitation.
Naruto nodded and brought him to the front of the Hidden Cloud Village.
No words were needed.
The Raikage and the others filed out.
After a fierce clash, both sides stopped fighting, feeling bored.
"The Chunin Exams start tomorrow, and the second stage is in the Hidden Sand Village. I'll be going there, so I might not have time."
Naruto thought for a moment and said.
Sasuke nodded silently.
He had known for a long time that Naruto was going to take the exam.
Though he didn't understand what the point of an exam at this level was anymore.
Even for the last exam, if it hadn't been for Gaara, there wouldn't have been much point in participating.
But now that Gaara was the Kazekage, he naturally wouldn't be taking exams anymore.
In other words, the status of Genin didn't actually prevent them from becoming Hokage.
Of course, Sasuke had no interest in being Hokage.
Naruto returned home and found Jiraiya slumped on the sofa.
His eyes were vacant, with an expression of utter despair.
"Where did you get the key?"
Naruto sat opposite him.
"For a house like yours, what difference does a key make?"
Jiraiya remained motionless.
"What's wrong with you?"
Naruto rubbed his chin and asked, "You look exhausted. Was the lady you met today too fierce?"
"No."
Jiraiya sighed, "It's just that recently, the ladies refuse to host me."
"Why? Did you not pay?"
"Do I look like someone who wouldn't pay?"
Jiraiya turned his head and glared at him.
This was a matter of his integrity.
He could trick Naruto out of his money, but he wouldn't skip out on a bill.
"It's about the Konoha Military Police Force."
Jiraiya said crossly, "The Chunin Exams caused several serious fighting incidents. I struck hard, and it was a bit bloody, and they happened to see it."
Naruto raised an eyebrow.
That's a good thing.
After Tsunade stopped gambling, Jiraiya started abstaining from visiting brothels.
Once Orochimaru stops being poisonous one day, the Konoha Sannin will all have bright futures.
But for Jiraiya, it's only temporary.
Naruto rubbed his chin.
Jiraiya was too busy right now, which was why he didn't have time to go far.
If he wanted him to stop visiting such places, he had to turn him into a workaholic.
It turns out that as long as one is seriously dedicated to one thing, they won't have stray thoughts or the energy to do anything else.
"If I have any suggestions, can I give them directly to Big Sister Tsunade?" Naruto asked.
Under normal circumstances, a Genin cannot skip ranks.
If you have suggestions or something to report, it's usually given to your Jonin leader.
But Naruto was a special case.
"Sure."
Jiraiya nodded, then became a bit curious. "What suggestion do you have? You can just tell me."
"It's about how to improve the atmosphere in Konoha, but it's not convenient to tell you."
Naruto stood up and grabbed a bottle of chilled cola.
"?"
A question mark appeared on Jiraiya's face.
What do you mean 'not convenient to tell me'?
"Are you implying that I'm the one affecting Konoha's atmosphere?"
"I didn't mean that, don't overthink it."
Naruto certainly wouldn't admit it and changed the subject. "How's the participation in the Chunin Exams? Are there more than last time?"
He thought of the civil service exams or postgraduate entrance exams from his past life; the numbers grew every year.
"More or less the same."
Jiraiya lay back down, acting like a salted fish.
It seemed he really was tired.
Naruto felt a bit emotional; it was rare to see him lying down for a reason other than being drunk.
He stood up and stopped worrying about him.
After Hinata came over in the evening, she stewed a bowl of chicken soup for him to nourish his body.
The next day.
Naruto and Hinata ate ramen together before splitting up to find their respective teammates.
"Morning, Asuma-sensei."
Asuma responded with a smile, his face beaming.
In the past month, thanks to Naruto's help with training, he and Kurenai Yuhi had made good progress.
As for Shikamaru, he didn't come.
Because he was the chief proctor for the first exam, the written test.
He had already gone with Temari to set up the examination hall.
That's right, Temari was the chief proctor for the first exam from the Hidden Sand Village.
It was hard to say there wasn't something fishy going on.
The two of them were probably dating on the public dime.
On the way to the examination hall, the four of them ran into Kurenai Yuhi's team.
Asuma was a bit surprised.
He hadn't made an appointment with Kurenai Yuhi.
Clearly, his emotional intelligence was far inferior to that of his student, Shikamaru.
The mature beauty Kurenai greeted him openly with a bright smile.
Asuma's old face immediately turned red, and he scratched his head, not knowing what to say.
Seeing this, Naruto ran over to hold Hinata's hand.
"..."
Kurenai Yuhi shook her head helplessly.
Ino, on the other hand, clenched her fists.
She hadn't seen Sasuke in a long time.
She wondered what he was doing?
As for the other three people and the dog, they were already used to it.
The only one who wasn't used to it was actually Hinata.
Facing everyone's gazes, she felt an unspeakable sense of shame, along with a hint of excitement and sweetness.
"Look at them."
Kurenai Yuhi gave Asuma a look, full of charm.
Asuma chuckled foolishly.
Despite his mature appearance, he was actually quite an honest and simple man.
"Hinata, you can come find me to team up during the second stage."
Naruto and Hinata walked at the back.
"Okay."
Hinata nodded.
Her voice was so quiet that Naruto could barely hear it.
He clearly remembered that Hinata had been quite bold a few times; had the influence of the Moon Goddess Character Card disappeared?
The walk was over quickly.
The Ninja Academy was the venue for the first exam.
"I won't say much more, just work hard."
Asuma stood in front of the examination hall and encouraged them, "Especially Choji, listen to Naruto and Ino more."
He and Kurenai Yuhi couldn't enter.
The six of them followed the instructions to a large hall.
"Draw your lots."
Konoha's two gatekeepers, Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki, stood in front of a lottery box.
"How come it's different from last time?"
Naruto remembered that during the previous Chunin Exams, the two of them had blocked the door to make things difficult for the examinees.
"We're following the chief proctor's arrangements."
Kotetsu Hagane said with a smile, "We're just part-timers."
"Number 1."
Naruto glanced at the number tag he had drawn and said.
"Go to Exam Room 1 upstairs."
"Okay."
Ino and Choji were numbers 2 and 3 respectively.
It was the same for Hinata's group of three.
"It seems each team member gets a separate exam room."
Shino Aburame adjusted his sunglasses and analyzed, "Based on the previous exam content, this time might be testing communication between team members."
Naruto recalled; it seemed to be the case.
Because it was so long ago, some details were a bit blurry.
"I'll use my bugs to contact you when the time comes."
Shino Aburame said calmly.
It had to be said that, trypophobia aside, the Aburame clan's bugs were very versatile and had almost no weaknesses.
"As for Naruto and your team, you'll have to work hard on your own."
Shino Aburame looked at Team 10 and paused. "If you're wondering why, it's because we're also compet..."
"Alright, alright."
Ino interrupted him and said, "We won't lose to you guys!"
Her strength had improved significantly recently; if Shino's guess was correct, her sensory abilities and family secret techniques would be useful.
"Oh, my friend!"
A young girl suddenly burst through the door and rushed toward Naruto at high speed.
"Fu?"
Naruto extended his index finger and pressed it against her forehead, forcing her to stop.
"It's me!"
Fu was exceptionally happy because Narutoremembered her name.
Naruto retracted his finger.
Fu might not care about the details, but he had to.
After all, Hinata was here.
He remembered that in the original work, Fu did participate in the Chunin Exams, but wasn't she tricked away by Merlin?
Naruto looked at her two teammates and nodded.
Kegon and Yoro.
Two Jonin from Takigakure.
Naruto had seen them last time when the rogue Ninja Suien attacked Takigakure.
Kegon and Yoro bowed slightly in response.
It was an expression of gratitude for saving their lives.
"Go draw your lots."
He pointed to the lottery box, then turned his head to explain to Hinata, "They're Ninjas from Takigakure. Jiraiya-sensei and I met them when we went there on a mission recently."
Hinata nodded.
She didn't ask anything.
One could tell from the attitude of the three of them that it wasn't just a simple acquaintance.
But she trusted Naruto.
"Go ahead."
Naruto smiled and stroked her hair.
"I'm number 2!"
Fu scanned around, stopped at Hinata's number 2 tag, and immediately stepped forward to hold her hand, saying, "Beautiful sister, let's be friends!"
"Eh?"
Hinata clearly couldn't quite understand Fu.
One with social anxiety plus one with social butterfly syndrome.
"Naruto is my friend, you're Naruto's friend, so you can be my friend too!"
Fu said with a big smile.
Hinata cast a pleading look toward Naruto for help.
"Fu, don't be too enthusiastic, or you might scare her."
Naruto smiled slightly and said, "But becoming friends should be fine."
Fu, to put it simply, was just a child.
But being friends was actually quite nice.
She had no ulterior motives.
"I'm Hinata Hyuga, you can just call me Hinata."
Hinata first introduced her name, then said, "It's about time, let's head into the exam room."
"Yay!"
Fu grabbed her hand and said happily, "I've already achieved one of my goals: to make a hundred friends!"
Naruto withdrew his gaze and entered Examination Room No. 1.
He and Shino arrived relatively late, and the room was already two-thirds full.
As soon as he entered, he attracted quite a few looks.
Ninjas from Konoha Village and Sunagakure were the most numerous.
Most of them knew or had heard of Naruto.
A few of them even had ridiculous expressions on their faces when they saw him.
How could such a powerful guy still be a Genin?
They were the ones who had participated in the previous Chunin Exams.
The remaining were from Amegakure and the Grass Hidden Village; there were only seven or eight of them in the examination room.
Overall, they were all unfamiliar faces.
Naruto didn't have much of an impression of any of them.
Among the Genin appearing in these Chunin Exams, he only remembered a few names.
For example, Jiro from Sunagakure, who created his own Seven Heavens Breathing Method, which wasn't much worse than the Eight Gates.
Then there was Shiyohana from Amegakure, who later became the Loli Path—oh wait, the Animal Path—of the Six Paths of Pain.
Besides them, there was a monk named Houichi, who seemed to be the disciple of Bunpuku, the previous Jinchuriki of Shukaku.
Using a chinese lute, he used chains similar to the Adamantine Sealing Chains and almost pulled Shukaku and Chōmei out of their Jinchuriki's bodies.
He belonged to the faction that opposed Gaarabecoming the Kazekage.
Kurama would probably really enjoy seeing Shukaku suffer a setback.
Naruto found a seat and sat down.
Based on the original story, Houichi's Ninjutsu was actually very slow, and he spent a long time struggling with the two Jinchuriki.
He just wondered if those chains could lock down Kurama?
He estimated that they couldn't.
Kurama's strength far exceeded that of Shukakuand Chōmei.
Moreover, with Naruto's current defense, whether the chains could even penetrate him was a question.
Shino Aburame sat down next to him without saying a word.
A few more people walked in one after another and greeted the two of them.
For example, Tenten.
Once everyone had arrived, Shikamaru's voice came over the intercom in the examination room.
"I am today's chief examiner, Shikamaru Nara. I will now explain the rules for this exam..."
As he spoke, two Chunin began distributing the test papers.
Naruto took the test paper.
There were only five questions on it; compared to the previous written exam, it was like the difference between a spaceship and a kite.
Although both could fly, the difficulty was on completely different levels.
This time, it was too simple.
Many candidates had already started laughing.
However, once they heard the rules, they couldn't laugh anymore.
Five questions, ten points each.
The requirement was that the total score of the three members of a team must add up to exactly one hundred points.
Exceeding or falling short of that would result in disqualification.
Since everyone could answer the five questions correctly, the key was to know the scores of the other two teammates.
"Just as I thought."
Shino Aburame said in a low voice.
He raised his right hand slightly, and insects emerged from the surface of his skin, quickly flying away.
Naruto raised an eyebrow.
Aside from private fighting, Shikamaru hadn't set any other rules.
Given his personality, he could just punch through the wall.
But that would be too violent.
After a brief silence, the three classrooms erupted into a chaotic mess of shouting at each other.
Naruto pressed his hand to his forehead; this method wasn't going to be very useful.
But he suddenly thought of a song lyric.
Look over here, girl across from me.
A moment later, four loud bangs came from one of the examination rooms.
Naruto closed his eyes.
Kagura Minds Eye activated.
It was Neji.
Just like in the original story, he used a clever method to solve Shikamaru's puzzle.
By knocking four times, he signaled to the other two candidates that they should score forty points, while the rest only needed to score thirty.
Naruto randomly answered three questions.
An hour later, he handed in the paper.
In the monitoring room, Shikamaru praised, "As expected of Neji."
"Now is not the time for praise."
Temari shook her head and said, "Over nine-tenths of the candidates passed. There are too many people. If they go to the second stage, most will probably die in the Desert of Illusions, and Gaarawill be angry."
"I have my own preparations."
Shikamaru tapped the microphone and said, "Everyone, now begin answering the final question. If your team encounters danger and one person must stay behind to cover the retreat, who would you choose to leave behind? Just a reminder, the person who stays behind will surely die. If the content on the papers held by all three people is the same, it will be considered a pass; otherwise, the entire team will be disqualified."
Hearing this, Naruto immediately recalled the plot.
It was a psychological test just like the one by Ibiki Morino last time.
He remembered the standard answer was to write nothing at all.
Thinking of this, Naruto raised his finger, intending to communicate with his two teammates.
Just then, Ino's voice came into his mind.
"Naruto, Choji, can you hear me? This is the Mind Body Transmission Technique, which allows us to talk within a limited range, but my Chakra is limited, so I can't do it for too long."
After a brief explanation, Ino asked, "How should we answer?"
"Don't answer. Shikamaru just said the content on the papers needs to be the same, so not writing anything will work," Naruto said.
"I see!"
Choji and Ino were slightly stunned and said in unison.
"You really are something."
Ino pumped her fist excitedly and said, "I'll pull out first; my Chakra can't take much more."
After the mental link was broken, Naruto turned in a blank paper.
Another hour passed.
The first written exam officially ended.
In the plaza of the Ninja Academy, Temariannounced the list of those who passed.
"The second exam is in the Desert of Illusions of Sunagakure. But before that, you need to run to a designated location. The last five teams will be eliminated."
After Temari finished speaking, Neji was the first to react.
"Tenten, Lee, let's go!"
After the three of them left, the others also came to their senses and hurriedly dashed outside.
In the end, only Naruto, Ino, and Choji remained.
"Temari, let me ask you something. If I leave for a bit in the middle, does it count as a rule violation?"
What kind of question was that?
Everyone else is rushing to run, and you're asking if you can leave in the middle?
Oh, it's Naruto. Never mind then.
Temari shook her head and said, "It doesn't count."
"Choji, Ino, you guys go ahead. I'll be there in a bit."
Naruto left behind a Shadow Clone.
"Okay."
Choji and Ino didn't ask any questions.
They believed in Naruto's strength.
Actually, he didn't have much to do.
Naruto just suddenly remembered the proposal he wanted to give to Tsunade.
In the Hokage Office.
"Wait, I remember you went to take the Chunin Exams, didn't you?"
Tsunade frowned when she saw him suddenly appear in front of her. "Don't go dragging down your two teammates."
"Of course I won't."
Naruto gave her the proposal and said, "I have the Flying Thunder God Technique; there's no way I'll be a burden. If I really wanted to cheat, the three of us would already be in Sunagakure right now."
"..."
Tsunade rubbed her forehead. Does having the Flying Thunder God Technique mean you can do whatever you want?
She looked at the proposal and was stunned for a moment.
"Proposal Regarding the Management of Konoha's Irregular Entertainment Venues and Population Planning."
Tsunade subconsciously looked up at Naruto.
"What is this? Did you write it?"
Her tone was full of thick suspicion.
A thirteen-year-old kid like you writing this kind of thing?
"I wrote it, but Master Jiraiya taught me."
"He taught you?"
Tsunade's suspicion lessened a bit. She knew Naruto had been studying with Jiraiya, and not just Ninjutsu.
Her interest piqued, she opened the proposal.
Her originally calm expression became more and more shocked.
After finishing it, she stared at Naruto and asked, "Did Jiraiya really teach you this?"
"It's the real deal."
Naruto had a smile on his face. "Besides Master Jiraiya, who else would teach me?"
"..."
Tsunade had a look on her face that said 'don't try to fool me' as she asked, "Do you think he would propose relocating all the irregular Izakayas? Doesn't he love going to those places the most?"
"As they say, when you haven't seen someone for three days, you should look at them with fresh eyes."
Naruto said in a deep voice, "Since Master Jiraiyatook over the Konoha Military Police Force, he has conducted in-depth investigations into various Izakayas and discovered many places harboring filth. Many places use selling alcohol as a front to force people into prostitution; it is truly a heinous crime!"
Tsunade pinched her own thigh.
"I'm not dreaming."
"Sister Tsunade, let me ask you, why is Konoha's population growing so slowly?"
Naruto asked, secretly laughing to himself.
Tsunade was taken aback.
After the Third Shinobi World War, Konoha had actually experienced a population explosion.
But compared to the scale of Konoha, it was still too small.
Plus, Orochimaru's Konoha Crush plan last year had led to a shortage of manpower.
"It's because of the war."
"That is the source of it."
Naruto nodded and said, "Besides that, there's also the reason of these Izakayas. If men or women don't care about their families, how can the population increase?"
"..."
Tsunade frowned.
It seemed to make a lot of sense, but it also felt a bit strange.
"So we must strike hard!"
Naruto continued, raising his voice and saying decisively, "Master Jiraiya may love going out to gather material, but in his heart, Konoha comes first. The Konoha Military Police Force is willing to take on this task, relocating irregular Izakayas to the outskirts of Konoha for centralized management and imposing heavy taxes!"
Tsunade looked at him in surprise.
Even with Jiraiya's teaching, the fact that Narutocould say these words was truly refreshing.
It was just that there was also the management of casinos later on, which made her a bit reluctant.
However, since even Jiraiya could change, as the Hokage, she naturally couldn't fall behind.
Besides, after her luck changed, she won every time she gambled, and she had already cleaned out half of the Anbu.
Relocating them was fine; out of sight, out of mind.
"I will consider it."
Tsunade tapped the desk, feeling somewhat hesitant.
She had never managed these things before.
But what Naruto said also made a lot of sense.
"Okay, then I'll go back to the exam."
Naruto vanished directly from in front of her.
"Shizune, what do you think?"
Tsunade handed the proposal to the Hokage's secretary behind her.
"I think it's good."
Shizune, having heard their conversation earlier and now seeing the proposal, couldn't help but say.
She truly detested them.
Both gambling and alcohol.
The former goes without saying; she used to be chased by debt collectors every day while following Tsunade.
The latter as well, being Tsunade's favorite.
Because of drinking, she often couldn't finish her official duties.
And Jiraiya, even more so.
If it weren't for his title as one of the Sannin and his decent personality, he would definitely be one of the people Shizune loathed the most.
What normal woman would like a man who goes out whoring until he loses contact?
"Call Jiraiya here."
Tsunade made up her mind. "Since Narutoproposed it, let him execute it. I hope his change this time is for real."