Chapitre 126: Chapter 126: Chunin Exam
Asuma over there let out a sigh. Although he had a girlfriend, he couldn't help but feel like he was being fed a mouthful of dog food at this moment!
"Hey, you two, enough already! There are others here!" At this time, Shikamaru walked over with his hands in his pockets and couldn't help but speak up.
"If you're envious, you can start looking for a partner too. Otherwise, you could always be with Choji," Natsuro said, showing no signs of embarrassment.
"I don't want to!" Shikamaru hadn't said anything yet, but Choji's eyes widened as if he had heard something terrifying as he looked at Shikamaru.
Shikamaru immediately looked at Choji in disbelief and said, "Didn't you realize that Natsuro was joking? Seriously, how could that be?"
"Phew, just a joke. Natsuro is a bit too much," Choji wiped the sweat from his forehead, relieved.
"Alright, let's take a short break and then disperse," Asuma said at this time. "There are some experiences to go over tomorrow, so you all need to recover a bit."
"Okay." However, only Shikamaru responded listlessly to Asuma. Choji pulled out some snacks again and started eating, while Ino had already gone to rest with Natsuro's company.
This made Asuma let out a deep sigh, feeling that being a teacher was really tough.
On Natsuro's side, he began to give Ino a serious massage, and Ino looked on, thoroughly enjoying it, occasionally pointing to her sore spots on her arms and legs.
Natsuro helped Ino earnestly, with sparks of electricity flickering on his hands.
At this moment, Asuma's eyes twitched. No wonder he always felt that Ino's physique was improving so quickly; the reason was right here.
Asuma glanced over at Shikamaru and Choji and could only sigh, thinking about how nice it would be to have someone who could take such meticulous care of him after he recovered.
Asuma also felt a bit envious. He had trained hard to achieve his current physique, and he wished he had someone to take care of him back then. However, in the village, there didn't seem to be many people who could reach this level of Lightning Release, right?
Kakashi? Forget it, Asuma thought. He felt that if Kakashi didn't mind getting electrocuted, that would be good enough…
Soon, under Natsuro's massage, Ino had almost fully recovered. After saying goodbye to Asuma with Natsuro, she left.
"Natsuro, how come you have time to come over today?" Although Ino didn't speak, her voice echoed in Natsuro's mind.
Natsuro was already used to this. He could now see Ino's progress, as she had already mastered the mind-body transmission technique, which required a high level of chakra control.
Moreover, Natsuro had also started teaching Ino some basic medical ninjutsu, but he still wanted her to focus on the Yamanaka family's secret techniques.
"I just found out you were training here today, so I came over," Natsuro replied in his mind.
"Mm." Although Ino didn't say much, Natsuro could still feel her happiness.
After that, Ino didn't say anything else. She knew he didn't particularly like to talk and preferred to quietly accompany her like this.
Suddenly, Ino thought of something and used the mind-body transmission technique again. She wasn't very skilled with this technique yet, so conversing with Natsuro using it could also serve as practice.
"Natsuro, Asuma-sensei said we'll participate in this Chunin exam."
"Hmm? Chunin exam?" Natsuro was somewhat taken aback. He seemed to have not heard about this. However, thinking it over, he realized it made sense. He wasn't the instructor for every team nor a teacher at the ninja academy. It wouldn't be strange that he wasn't notified since he wouldn't be needed as an examiner.
"Yes! Natsuro, do you think it's a bit too early for us to take the Chunin exam?" Ino asked hesitantly. She felt like they had just graduated and hadn't learned much yet, so why were they already participating in the exam?
"Hmm, although it is a bit rushed, you guys are actually more than qualified to become Chunin. It's just that to be among the excellent ones, it's still not enough," Natsuro said after recalling the level of Chunin from his memories.
"Is that so? Then I'm relieved." Ino let out a breath of relief.
As for Natsuro, he was somewhat shaken by Ino's news. Had they already reached this point without him realizing it? Time really passed too quickly.
Thinking about it, maybe the Kazekage had already been taken down? Natsuro tapped his head; he couldn't remember clearly. Anyway, Orochimaru should have already started making moves, meaning his time was limited.
Natsuro's gaze involuntarily turned toward Hokage Rock, particularly where the Third Hokage was. He was pondering the plans for Konoha's collapse, and a smile crept onto his lips. His existence wasn't in the original story, so should he give it a try this time?
With these thoughts, Natsuro pulled out a strange black stick with a button and handed it to Ino, saying, "You can take this. Just press the button if you encounter any threats."
"What's this?" Ino accepted the black stick and curiously asked.
"It's a way to notify me. Once you press it, I'll sense it and definitely come to protect you."
"Okay." Ino smiled, reluctantly letting go of the hand she had been holding onto Natsuro and carefully placing the black stick away.
There was no need to refuse anything between them anymore. Ino knew that if she rejected it, Natsuro would only worry more. It was better to work a little harder afterward to make him worry less.
After putting it away, Ino noticed Natsuro slightly bent down and pointed at her cheek with his finger. She couldn't help but blush but didn't refuse, leaning forward.
Then, Ino continued to hold onto Natsuro's arm as they walked toward her home.
Natsuro felt a sense of contentment as he enjoyed the recent touch and the occasional sensations returning from his arm. He finally felt like he was experiencing the feeling of having a neighbor's daughter growing up.
As for the black stick he had just given to Ino, it was a little device Natsuro had recently tinkered with, somewhat like a self-destruct device. However, it was engraved with the Flying Thunder God technique.
As soon as the button was pressed, the Flying Thunder God technique would immediately be dispelled, and Natsuro would be able to teleport directly to the scene based on the kunai with the Flying Thunder God technique on Ino.
It seemed very practical, but it had limited use. Only he could make use of it since he could maintain his Void State normally now, allowing him to have a certain range of perception even without deliberately sensing.
So, when the Flying Thunder God seal disappears from his sensing range, he could perceive it, and he used that principle to create the black rod.
Only he could maintain that kind of sensing state, which meant even the Fourth Hokage couldn't use this method.
But its utility was limited because Natsuro's sensing range is small. It was only because the Chunin Exam were being held in Konoha, and he could apply to be in the center of the Forest of Death, which allowed so purpose to be achieved.
The range of the Flying Thunder God is quite different; Natsuro's sensing range is circular, so it was not very large, but the Flying Thunder God's sensing distance was a straight line. As long as it can connect to the Flying Thunder God kunai, it meant he could convert the circular sensing area into a very thin line— technically expanding the range.
"Is that Naruto over there? He seems to be in a conflict with someone," Ino pointed in a direction and said to Natsuro.
"Yeah, that's them." Natsuro had noticed them earlier than Ino; he was watching the familiar figure of Gaara from Sunagakure, along with the two people accompanying him, which he remembered to be Kankuro and Temari. "Let's go check it out."
"Okay." Ino closely followed Natsuro.
"What's going on?" Natsuro asked when he arrived.
"Natsuro, unidentified individuals have arrived in Konoha," Sakura said, her eyes brightening when she saw Natsuro.
"What do you mean by unidentified individuals? Don't you know? The Chunin Exam has started, and this time the host is your Konoha. We came here because we received your invitation," said Kankuro, who was dressed in black, with some hair peeking out from his completely bandaged back and a lot of face paint on.
After he finished speaking, he looked at Natsuro and asked, "Are you a Chunin from Konoha? Your village's kid ran into me."
"I already apologized," said the child Kankuro mentioned, who was Konohamaru, the grandson of the Third Hokage.
"Since you've already apologized, there's no need to pursue a child's playful antics," Natsuro replied. An apology should be enough if it was just a collision.
"That's enough, Kankuro." At that moment, Gaara, who had red short hair, spoke, shifting his gaze from Naruto and Sasuke to Natsuro, and directly stated, "You're strong."
Gaara's words surprised Kankuro and Temari, and they looked at Natsuro with some astonishment. To be called strong by Gaara meant he must be truly formidable.
"Well, I guess so. You're not bad either," Natsuro said, looking at Gaara. The killing intent emanating from him made Natsuro realize that just after he left the Anbu, the Third Hokage and his father-in-law probably saw him in a similar way to how Gaara was now.
"Unfortunately, you can't participate in the Chunin Exam; otherwise, it would be more interesting." Gaara said, glancing at the Jonin vest Natsuro was wearing, and then his gaze shifted to Sasuke and Naruto.
He sensed that Sasuke was likely strong, while he felt something strange from Naruto...
Although Gaara didn't understand what that feeling was, he still began to pay attention to Naruto.
"It's no loss for me; you should be the ones feeling lucky," Natsuro yawned.
Gaara showed no intent to linger any longer and left with Kankuro and Temari.
As Temari was leaving, she couldn't help but glance at Sasuke and Natsuro, marveling at how many handsome guys there were in Konoha; she had just seen two.
Once Gaara and his group left, Naruto asked, "Natsuro, what is this Chunin Exam they're talking about?"
Sasuke and Sakura also looked at Natsuro. Although they knew what it meant, they still wanted to get some information from him.
"The Chunin Exam? Kakashi should already know about it, and he probably signed you up; he just hasn't notified you yet. You just need to wait for Kakashi's notification," Natsuro thought for a moment and decided to pass the task of explaining this troublesome matter to Kakashi.
When Naruto and the others heard Natsuro's words, they thought of Kakashi's habit of being late, and a white line appeared on their foreheads. It wasn't surprising that such a teacher might forget to notify them!
"So if we pass the Chunin Exam, we can become Chunins, right? That would bring us closer to Natsuro?!" Naruto's eyes lit up with excitement.
"You guys should focus on passing the Chunin Exam first; it's not that easy to get through," Ino couldn't help but retort.
"Hmph, I'll definitely pass it!" Naruto shouted, waving his fist, attracting the attention of many people.
His companions nearby felt a bit helpless; it was still that carefree personality of his—no wonder it was Naruto.
"Well, good luck; I'm looking forward to you all catching up with me," Natsuro said, his gaze not stopping at Naruto but also looking at the others around.
This time, not just Naruto, Sasuke tightened his fist a bit, and the corner of his mouth slightly curled up, as if he had gained another reason to pass the Chunin Exam and be promoted.
Ino also looked at Natsuro, secretly making a decision to work hard, persuade Shikamaru not to be so lazy, and prepare more snacks for Choji.
Then, the group dispersed, and after Natsuro sent Ino home, he walked on the road back home.
He was thinking about the plans for Konoha's collapse, but no matter how he thought about it, he could only recall Orochimaru, the curse mark on Sasuke's neck, and the fall of the Third Hokage...
Natsuro really couldn't remember much else, but it didn't matter. He looked at the setting sun in the distance and revealed a confident smile.
This time, he was here, right?
Check out the patreon and get 49 chapters in advance -> SaintXI
Currently on Chapter 175 - Setting Up a Big TV for the Nine-Tails
L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS 
SaintXI
SaintXI Remember to send some power stones to support this novel!!
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone