Capítulo 253: Chapter 253
This was also the reason Hiashi didn't directly mention Garp's name or identity.
The way he said it now, it seemed more like an ordinary family gathering between Hinata's two elders, without anything special.
But in reality, only Hyuga Hiashi himself knew what his true purpose was.
"Alright, I'll ask Grandpa tonight."
Hinata nodded obediently.
Beside her, Medicham looked utterly confused.
Medicham didn't know who Hiashi was, but those white eyes did indeed look quite similar to her partner, Hinata.
"Is this your Pokémon?"
Hiashi pointed at Medicham next to Hinata.
He didn't know much about Pokémon—in fact, he hadn't put much effort into learning about them at all.
However, he had secretly organized a group of non-ninja branch family members within the Hyuga clan to learn about Pokémon to serve the entire clan.
"Yes."
Hinata nodded and introduced, "She's Medicham. She just turned one month old, having just left her juvenile stage."
"What's her type?"
Hiashi was very interested in type.
To people who didn't have enough understanding of Pokémon, type was often the only basis to judge the strength of a Pokémon.
Types like Dragon, Ghost, Psychic, and Fairy sounded strange and impressive, and were often perceived as powerful.
On the other hand, types like Normal, Fighting, Flying, Water, Fire, and Electric seemed ordinary and were often considered weaker.
This perception was common in the Shinobi World, where they had knowledge of elemental techniques (Kekkei Genkai) that were often considered powerful.
In the Pirate World, there was another set of standards.
Large, powerful-looking Pokémon with abilities similar to Devil Fruit users were considered strong.
Smaller, cute-looking Pokémon were often considered weak.
"She is Fighting and Psychic type."
Hinata answered honestly.
She didn't have as many thoughts as Hiashi; she never considered the type of Medicham to be an important issue.
However, Hinata was initially happy that Medicham had the Fighting type.
Because Fighting was the tradition of the Monkey family, including her grandfather, who was the Fighting Dojo leader. The Hyuga clan's techniques were also similar to Fighting, so Hinata naturally leaned towards the Fighting type.
After that came the Fire type.
Though she didn't understand why, four of the Garp Mountain's seven brothers had Fire-type Pokémon, and even Ace, a human, had a strange ability to make the top of his metal staff burst into flames.
According to Garp, this was due to sparks generated from Armament Haki rubbing against the atmosphere.
Garp was surprised that Ace could already use Armament Haki at the age of twelve.
However, Ace didn't even have a concept of Armament Haki, only occasionally releasing it when he got lucky, which made Garp lose interest quickly.
Because of this, Hinata had a high affinity for the Fire type and was determined to find a Fire-type partner someday.
"A dual-type Pokémon? Good, good."
Hiashi's face initially fell upon hearing Fighting.
However, upon hearing Psychic, he immediately performed his specialty—the face-changing technique of Sichuan Opera. (Those are the people with mask were they move their head fast to instantly change the mask. Pretty cool.)
As he spoke, he seemed to be filled with a sense of pride, having already felt the envious gazes of others in the exchange team.
"Huh? People from Konoha?"
At that moment, Naruto, noticing that Hinata and Medicham had stopped chasing, ran back.
He was somewhat surprised to see the Konoha exchange team, but since he barely knew anyone in the group, he quickly lost interest.
Ever since he took a leave of absence from the Ninja Academy, Naruto's sense of belonging to both the Shinobi World and Konoha had gradually faded.
This was largely thanks to the meticulous care of Zephyr and the affection of the neighbors in Alliance City.
However, no matter what, Konoha still held special meaning for Naruto.
After all, it was where he was born, and his parents had once lived there.
But that was the extent of it.
Today, Naruto didn't have many ties to Konoha, except for a few friends from the academy, Iruka, and Hiruzen, who held some weight in his heart.
Even Sakura was becoming less important to Naruto, and it wasn't just because of Hinata. More so, it was because of Sasuke and Luffy.
Naruto's bond with Sasuke and Luffy was growing stronger.
The three often trained together.
Today, they'd be on the Moby Dick, tomorrow in Marineford, and the day after on the Mountain. They were so close that they were practically growing up in the same pants.
Recently, they'd also met two friends named Zoro and Sanji.
Although those two frequently argued, they were great guys, and Naruto liked them a lot.
For Sasuke, the Shinobi World and Konoha were even more unfamiliar—a place filled only with painful memories. He would eventually return to the Shinobi World to kill Uchiha Itachi, but his final home would be the Moby Dick.
If Naruto had come to Pokémon Island a bit later—say, at twelve years old.
If he had gotten to know people like Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Tsunade, his feelings towards Konoha wouldn't have become so indifferent as they were now.
This, in the end, was the fault of Hiruzen himself.
By hiding Naruto's true identity and treating him like an outcast in the village, how could Naruto ever feel a sense of belonging to Konoha?
The situation was the same with Sasuke. By standing by as the Uchiha clan was wiped out by Danzo, how could Sasuke ever feel attached to the village? But Hiruzen didn't really care about Sasuke anyway.
Given the circumstances, seeing the Konoha exchange team didn't cause much of a stir in Naruto's heart.
Especially since neither Hiruzen nor Iruka was among them, he was greatly disappointed, losing all interest.
Had Hinata not stopped here, Naruto probably would have left by now.
Naruto remembered that Hinata didn't feel comfortable staying with the Hyuga clan—something he'd heard from Luffy.
'Maybe these people are here to take Hinata away!'
Since Luffy wasn't here today, Naruto had to protect his good friend Luffy's little sister. Otherwise, he wouldn't have the face to see Luffy and the caring brothers from Garp Mountain.
With this thought, Naruto ran silently to stand in front of Hinata, shielding her from the group.
Vulpix didn't know what Naruto was thinking exactly, but it could sense his hostility towards the people in front of them.
Immediately, Vulpix stopped playing around and jumped beside Naruto, baring its teeth.
To this,
The Konoha group:
Hinata was completely overthinking things.
Rather than taking Hinata back, they were more interested in bringing Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, back.
But Naruto had no idea he was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, nor did he know his status in Konoha, which led to this misunderstanding.
"Alright, Hinata, you and… Naruto, go play. We have some things to take care of, so we'll leave first."
"Yes, Father."
Hinata nodded.
Then the four of them watched as the Konoha exchange team departed.
As they continued on their journey, the Konoha exchange team encountered several important figures.
First, they met members of the Whitebeard Pirates.
With Alliance City open, it was only natural for every member of the Whitebeard Pirates to come in full force to cheer for their father and brothers.
However, the members present only included the 1,600 regulars from the Moby Dick, not the 43 affiliated groups under the Whitebeard Pirates.
In fact, there were no longer 43 affiliated groups under the Whitebeard Pirates.
Since the Pokémon era began, these 43 pirate groups gradually disbanded. Some returned to their hometowns to become farmers, while others who had committed crimes turned themselves in to avoid causing trouble for others.
In short, out of the 50,000 members in these 43 affiliated groups, fewer than 10,000 were still active on the seas today, and the number continued to decrease.
Whitebeard was fully aware of this, but he never said a word.
In the current era, there was no point in having so many people gathered together. Disbanding and pursuing their own desires might be a better path, so Whitebeard neither stopped them nor openly supported them.
When the Konoha exchange team saw the eccentric crew of the Whitebeard Pirates, they couldn't help but stop to watch.
The attention the Whitebeard Pirates attracted even surpassed that of the ninjas.
"Isn't that Sasuke?!"
Kurenai, sharp-eyed, saw Sasuke standing beside Whitebeard with a sullen face.
It seemed that someone in the Whitebeard Pirates had once again made Sasuke angry.
"Indeed."
"Did Uchiha Sasuke join that group?"
"This group looks extremely powerful."
"Of course they're powerful. Just look at the way people on the street are looking at them."
The Konoha exchange team members were surprised to see Sasuke, not expecting him to have joined such a powerful group.
However, it didn't really concern them. To be frank, they didn't care much about Sasuke.
Sasuke also noticed the Konoha exchange team.
But he merely gave them a few glances before withdrawing his gaze, showing no intention of greeting them.
"By the way, Sasuke, do those people have anything to do with you?"
Though Sasuke had no intention of greeting the Konoha exchange team, the Whitebeard Pirates had keenly noticed something off.
They remembered that Sasuke's attire and insignia had some similarities to those of the ninja-like group.
"No connection."
Sasuke shook his head.
The others dropped the topic. It was evident that Sasuke didn't want to dwell on it any further.
Whitebeard cast a few extra glances at the Konoha exchange team, understanding a bit of the situation and immediately feeling no goodwill.
Living in the same village, yet allowing the clan of a fellow villager to be massacred—regardless of the reasons and justifications, how could Whitebeard hold any respect for such people?
That, of course, was impossible.
(End of Chapter)
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Capítulo 254: Chapter 254
As the journey continued, the Konoha exchange team soon encountered Boa Hancock and Brook.
The former left them in awe with her long legs, while the latter brought up questions about biology.
The expressions of the Konoha team upon seeing Hancock were like this: 😍
The expressions upon seeing Brook were like this: 😵
If Orochimaru, who was now a rogue ninja, had been with the Konoha exchange team, there would surely have been a case of a skeleton disappearing in Alliance City today.
In summary, for the Konoha ninjas visiting Alliance City for the first time, Pokémon Island had given them too many shocks.
Although their journey took some time, their curiosity and questions about Pokémon Island only grew stronger.
They quickened their pace, aiming to reach the Alliance base quickly and then have some time to explore the city before dark.
Especially Asuma.
When he passed Leisure Street, seeing all the young couples on dates, and hearing about the 'Nighttime Central Park'—a famous date spot—he felt a twinge of excitement and couldn't help but glance repeatedly at Kurenai.
After all the walking and occasional pauses along the way, the Konoha exchange team finally arrived at the Alliance base before sunset.
Dak had already informed the front desk of the Alliance Office about the exchange team's arrival.
In reality, there wasn't much need to do so.
The Konoha exchange team was no different in essence from the spectators arriving from the world of pirates.
They simply registered the Konoha team members and issued them temporary ID cards.
Each member of the Konoha exchange team had a special exchange fund from Konoha, which was 100,000 ryō—equivalent to 1 million Berries or 100 gold.
The cost of living in Alliance City was still quite reasonable, on par with Angel City and Fishman City.
With 100 gold, an ordinary person and their Pokémon could live comfortably in Alliance City for quite some time.
However, if they wanted to stay for a month and enjoy themselves until the end of the tournament, 100 gold would certainly not be enough.
But no one said they couldn't add more funds, right? If they wanted to play, they could just top up.
After leaving the Alliance base, Asuma said a few words.
"Everyone can move around freely now. Make sure to take note of anything you find impressive, so that Konoha can consider implementing some improvements later."
Asuma waved his hand, dismissing the group to explore.
The exchange team members were largely well-known figures from the Konoha ninja clans or distinguished jonin without clan ties. Even Asuma, as the Hokage's son, found it difficult to understand why his father, Hiruzen, sent them all here to 'have fun.'
Especially...
At a time when war could break out at any moment.
But that wasn't something for him to worry about; his father surely had his reasons.
Plus, Asuma held a Pokédex, allowing him to receive messages from Hiruzen in real-time. Should anything unexpected happen in Konoha, they could immediately rush back to provide support.
The fifty members of the Konoha exchange team soon split into groups.
Asuma and Kurenai.
Kakashi and Gai.
Ino-Shika-Cho.
Inuzuka and Aburame.
Everyone had their partners.
Of course, there were also a few who acted alone.
"..."
Kakashi watched those ninjas leave on their own, a look of doubt in his eyes.
Kakashi had left the Anbu less than a year ago, and he was still that somewhat cold-hearted Kakashi. It was only when interacting with Gai and others that he showed more warmth.
It was, in fact, thanks to Gai and their contemporaries petitioning the Third Hokage that Kakashi was allowed to leave the Anbu.
Gai and his peers, upon witnessing Kakashi's "cold" demeanor during missions, hoped that becoming a jonin instructor and taking on students would help change the darkness in his heart.
But so far, there had been no significant effect.
Kakashi had vowed that "someone who doesn't understand the importance of comrades would not become a ninja."
This was actually a basic and simple requirement.
However, the current passing rate was 0%, and it would remain at 0% for the next five or six years, leading Kakashi to doubt if his requirements were too harsh.
This situation would have persisted until Konoha Year 64, when Team 7 was formed, but now it was uncertain if Team 7 would ever come together.
Kakashi still retained his Anbu-like vigilance, so he subconsciously took notice of suspicious behavior.
In his eyes, those solitary ninjas were behaving quite suspiciously.
It seemed as if they had come here with a purpose, heading directly in a certain direction without any hesitation, completely uninterested in the fascinating things around them.
More notably, their behavior was very much like his own in the past.
Most likely, they were former Anbu members.
'A mission from the Third Hokage?'
Kakashi quickly figured out what was probably happening.
He withdrew his attention and stopped focusing on them, wandering off toward the entertainment district with Gai.
Since he hadn't received any orders, he had no intention of meddling.
"Kakashi, how are things going with Froakie?"
Gai asked curiously.
He vaguely remembered that the first time Kakashi met Froakie, the two had stared at each other for ten minutes straight.
"Rioru!"
Riolu, at Gai's side, also voiced his curiosity.
Riolu and Froakie were quite good friends.
As Gai and Kakashi didn't take them along on missions yet—believing that they hadn't grown strong enough to play a significant role in A or even S-rank missions and being worried for their safety—Froakie and Riolu were often left behind in the village.
As a result, the two little ones frequently teamed up to run around the village together.
"It's alright, I guess?"
Hearing the question, Kakashi turned to look at Froakie perched on his shoulder.
They both stared at each other in silence.
"Froak."
Froakie croaked, without any special meaning.
"Oh! It looks like your relationship has really improved a lot!"
Seeing this scene, Gai nodded.
Given Kakashi and Froakie's introverted personalities, if their relationship hadn't improved, it would have been hard for them to interact.
"Rioru."
Riolu also nodded in agreement.
As Froakie's friend, Riolu could naturally tell how Froakie felt about his trainer.
"Hmm."
This time, Kakashi nodded without denying it.
Listening to Gai's words and glancing at Froakie on his shoulder, Kakashi found that he couldn't concentrate on his beloved "Make-Out Paradise," his eighteenth birthday gift.
Come to think of it, he only now realized...
This little book, which he had read eighteen times over the past three years, was rarely able to capture his full attention after Froakie had arrived.
He hadn't noticed before, but now, with Gai's remark, he realized that his relationship with Froakie had indeed improved.
He remembered that on the day Froakie first hatched, the two had sat at a table to eat with nothing but occasional eye contact, no conversation at all.
During their later daily training, when Kakashi began teaching Froakie various ninja skills, they started to have some interactions.
If Gai and Riolu were hot-blooded partners striving and progressing together, then Kakashi and Froakie were more like a father and son or a master and disciple who rarely spoke.
As for Froakie's current learning content...
It was just the basics—chakra extraction and the three basic techniques.
Kakashi was also studying Froakie's three innate moves: Pound, Growl, and Water Gun.
Pound was simply a physical attack; Growl seemed to have a strange effect on opponents, and Water Gun was classified by Kakashi as a C-rank Water Release ninjutsu.
Although Kakashi hadn't used chakra paper to test Froakie's chakra affinity, he was sure Froakie had Water affinity.
As Konoha's top technician, with seven chakra natures and mastery over a thousand techniques, Kakashi knew that training Froakie to become an excellent Water Release ninja was an easy task.
"It's great to see you change, Kakashi!"
"Rioru!"
Gai and Riolu gave Kakashi a thumbs up.
Back then, Gai and his peers had petitioned Hiruzen to let Kakashi become a jonin instructor just to see this kind of change in him.
Although Kakashi had never led a newly graduated genin squad, Froakie's arrival had surprisingly achieved that goal.
With Froakie in his life, Kakashi's world had undeniably changed.
"Is that so?"
Kakashi closed his "Make-Out Paradise" and looked at Froakie by his head.
Come to think of it...
He realized that he had never asked what Froakie wanted to do.
"Kakashi, I saw a lot of interesting places on Leisure Street earlier. Riolu and I are heading over there first, so you and Froakie enjoy yourselves."
Though Gai was carefree, he wasn't without emotional intelligence.
He could tell that Kakashi was in a unique state of mind, and the best thing to do was to leave Kakashi and Froakie alone so they could get to know each other better.
As for himself, he was going to the battle club with Riolu.
"Riolu, let's show the Trainers of Alliance City our passionate youth!"
"Rioru Rioru!"
With two howls, Gai and Riolu sprinted away.
Watching Gai and Riolu leave, Kakashi looked at Froakie again.
He had made up his mind—during this one-month exchange, he would make an effort to understand Froakie better.
He had been quite an incompetent Trainer, hadn't he?
Looking around, Kakashi decided to first buy a map of Alliance City from a nearby shop and then decide where to go next.
(End of Chapter)
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