155. Discussion Between 2 Geezers

Luffy saw a tall gate with a feeling he had never experienced before. If Luffy had been to Wano country, maybe he would have felt the same atmosphere as Konohagakure village.

Luffy excitedly wanted to rush inside, intending to see ninjas in the shinobi world. Yet, Izumi grabbed his collar before Luffy did so.

"Ah, you are. The kid from the new village."

The one who said that was a ninja guarding the gate 3 days ago. That ninja's hair was always combed down to cover his right eye. He knew that ninja since he sometimes appeared in the series. Still, since he was just a side character, Izumi forgot who he was.

"Ah, I came back."

That ninja put his hands on his hips while saying.

"I was worried at that time that you suddenly dashed away in the night. When I told the people from your village about you, they didn't seem to be worried. Well, I guess I worried for nothing."

"Oh, sorry for the trouble. I didn't think you care too much about me." Izumi scratched his head apologetically.

"You're our guest. If you meet a mishap while you are still our guest, the other ninja villages will take the opportunity to defame us."

"Hmmm. Seems reasonable. I'm sorry. I did it without thinking about the consequences."

"It's fine, it's fine. By the way, what's your name?"

"I'm Izumi. You are?"

"Oh, our names are a little bit similar. I'm Izumo, Kamizuki Izumo."

At that moment, Luffy looked at Izumi, Izumo, and Kazuma before commenting.

"Oh, Izumi, Izumo, and Kazuma. Three of you have similar names. Are you siblings?"

Izumi immediately clutched Luffy's head in annoyance.

"What did you say? Don't compare me to Kazuma whose only habit is to think about the harem and slack off! Don't forget that he's a NEET while I'm not!"

Luffy struggled to get away.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch… Izumi, stop! Look at your hair! If you comb it down, you'll be the same as him."

"Hahahaha." The laughter behind Izumi made him stop. He turned around. The one who laughed was Izumo.

"Ah, sorry. You guys looked interesting. Anyway, you must be tired. Get inside and rest."

Izumi looked at Izumo for a while, then nodded.

After they were out of sight, Izumo's expression changed.

"The light blue-haired girl Izumi was with was really surprising. I didn't realize why the temperature suddenly dropped. But when the girl passed me, I understood why."

After he said that, someone appeared behind him.

"I bet, the kid named Izumi was the most genius among his peers."

"Kotetsu…"

The one that suddenly appeared was called Kotetsu. A spiky black-haired guy who was wearing the standard attire of Konohagakure village.

"You realized it as well, didn't you?" Kotetsu asked.

"Yeah, I heard from Naruto that he's just 15. And all from his village, even that village's leader trusted him unconditionally after I told him that he went out of Konohagakure alone. It proved that he was strong enough even when fighting enemies alone. At the very least, if he isn't strong enough, he can escape with his speed." Izumo explained.

Kotetsu's brows raised in surprise.

"His speed?"

"That's right. I think he's a ninja who excels in speed." Izumo nodded in confirmation.

"Can you catch him up?"

"Not even."

"What the hell. If he's faster than a Chūnin-level ninja like you, why does he still participate in the Chūnin exam?"

Kotetsu wondered if they had come here to play around. His guess was spot on. However, Izumo had a different opinion.

"Did you forget? His village was recently built. It's not strange if there's no Chūnin exam whatsoever."

"Hmmm, then. Let's report to the Hokage-sama and ask his opinion regarding them."

"That's what I planned."

— — — —

Not aware of what Izumo and Kotetsu were talking about, Izumi took Kuroneko, Luffy, Kazuma, and Yuki Onna for a short tour before heading to the inn.

The new alliance agreement between Konohagakure and Kaiyougakure has been the talk of the Konohagakure residents.

With alliances as a reason, the conversations between the Konohagakure residents were not limited to the good, but the bad as well. Even so, they didn't dare say it openly because it was the Hokage who declared the alliance between the two villages.

Meanwhile in another place.

It was the place where Warrod discussed something with the Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. Feeling that he would be living in Konoha for a while, Warrod wanted to borrow an empty land around Konohagakure for them to live in or train.

Since the Chunin exams would last for a month, Hiruzen thought that Warrod and the others might run out of money just to pay for lodging. So Hiruzen offered a place to stay. But unexpectedly, Warrod refused.

"In terms of housing, Lord Hokage doesn't need to bother lending us a house to live in. As long as you allow us to borrow vacant land, that's enough."

"Are you sure a vacant land was enough?"

"Yes."

"Alright. I agree. The location doesn't matter, right?"

"Yes, it doesn't matter. Also, thank you very much."

"Haha, no problem. But, how odd. If you only need vacant land, does that mean you have the ability to create a residence? I'm curious what ability you have." Hiruzen pondered while stroking his beard.

"Didn't Kakashi-kun tell you?"

Warrod had shown it to team 7 once. If Hiruzen asked, he should know.

"Right, I forgot to ask. Hahaha." Hiruzen chuckled.

Indeed, he didn't ask Kakashi about it. It was natural that he was clueless up till now. At that time, he intended to ask about Kaiyougakure village's leader, Warrod. However, when he heard about Izumi who could perform Hiraishin no Jutsu, which was a Jutsu created by the second Hokage and improved by the fourth Hokage, he completely forgot about that.

"If lord Hokage wants to see, you can come along!"

"Hahaha. With pleasure. Incidentally, I am also curious about the youngsters from your village. They seem interesting."

Warrod responded with a smile. Hiruzen asked further.

"By the way, who from your village will be taking the Chūnin exam?"

"None of us have ever taken such an exam. So in a way, everyone can take one, right? Then maybe we all will."

Hiruzen stiffened. Kaiyougakure village was recently built. So, what Warrod said might be true. If all of them participate, he was sure that there was no need to hold such an exam since he knew Rori and Warrod would sweep all of the participants.

But then, he heard Warrod's chuckle.

"Hohoho, of course that was a joke."

Hiruzen twitched his cheeks because he didn't expect Warrod to be joking.

"Then, who will participate?"

"I'll let them decide who will take and who won't." Warrod replied casually.

"Oh, quite free, aren't you? Is it because they haven't taken the Chūnin exam before, so you let them decide for themselves?"

Warrod shook his head.

"Ah, not really. Apart from me being quite old, Rori and Tabane are already in their 20s. So the three of us definitely won't be taking the exam. Those who will participate are youngsters under 19 years old."

"I see. Oh right, can you tell me about that kid called Izumi and Hiiro?" Hiruzen was interested since he heard Izumi could perform Hiraishin no Jutsu. How could he not be curious when there was someone who could master a Jutsu from Konohagakure? However, he had no intention of suing Izumi since no one had managed to learn Hiraishin no Jutsu after the fourth Hokage.

On the other hand, Izumi deliberately showed the space-time Ninjutsu because he knew something like this would happen eventually. Rather than hide all of his abilities, he showed a flashy Ninjutsu instead.

"Izumi is a ninja who excels in Kenjutsu, space-time Ninjutsu, and a wind attribute of chakra."

"Kenjutsu, huh?"

From what Hiruzen heard from Naruto, Izumi could defeat both Naruto and Sasuke in a 2v1 battle. Moreover, Izumi only used two Ninjutsus and physical strength.

But now, he heard Izumi excelled in Kenjutsu. That meant Izumi was above a Genin-level ninja. It could be said that Izumi's strength was equal to or perhaps exceeded a Chūnin-level ninja.

"This year's exam is kinda challenging for our ninjas." Hiruzen said in his mind.

Warrod carried on.

"The other one is a black-haired boy wearing glasses and he was taller than Izumi. His name is Hiiro. As for his ability, I think he's an all-rounder. Other than that, I have no clue."

"Even as a leader, you didn't ask?"

"Originally, we were just adventurous sailors. So I don't oblige them to show their skills. All I wanted was to make a home for them so they would have a place to come back to. I let them free, on one condition, they must return home safely."

Hiruzen widened his eyes after hearing that. Honestly, he only thought that Kaiyougakure village was just an ordinary village. But it seemed like everyone from Kaiyougakure village were so-called outcasts that Warrod gathered in one place so they could have a place to call home. Yet, the reason why they became outcasts was still a mystery to Hiruzen.