Chapter 124 Three Little Fish, The Chunin Exams Begin

"Since Kurenai-sensei has gone back, let's disband too."

Naruto said to Hinata and Ino Yamanaka.

"For the next week, don't be too tense. Rest well. There's no need to continue training. Give yourselves a short holiday."

"Hmm, tomorrow you guys come to my place. I'll show off my cooking skills after a long time. Remember to bring ingredients, don't come empty-handed!"

Hearing that they didn't have to train and could eat Naruto's homemade cooking, Hinata and Ino Yamanaka looked at each other, their four hands clasped together, their eyes sparkling with stars.

"Naruto, why are you suddenly giving us a holiday?"

Ino Yamanaka asked with a hint of deep-seated reverence in her voice.

She had been trying hard to overcome her fear during this period, frequently using the Mind Body Switch Technique on Naruto.

Under repeated torment, Naruto even wondered if Ino Yamanaka would develop Stockholm Syndrome towards him.

"Because—"

Naruto smiled, turned around mysteriously, and waved his hand, saying, "You'll know when the time comes."

"In short, a week from now will be the time to test the results of these past few months of training!"

"I'm really looking forward to it~"

His voice faded, and Naruto's figure disappeared around the corner.

He hadn't walked far.

Naruto suddenly stopped and looked back at a suspicious moving square rock.

To be precise, it was a cardboard box painted with a rock pattern, with two round holes dug into it for the person inside to peek out.

"Come out, Konohamaru."

Naruto said calmly.

"Ah—!!"

The rock cardboard box was suddenly thrown open, and three children, led by Konohamaru, stood up abruptly.

Their clothes and hairstyles varied, but they all wore goggles on their foreheads, mimicking Naruto.

Konohamaru exclaimed in utter confusion, "Naruto-nii, how did you find me?"

"My invisibility jutsu was flawless, so why was I seen through at a glance!"

Three black lines appeared on Naruto's forehead. He pointed at the cardboard box and said, "What kind of rock is perfectly square and has two dark holes in it?"

"Ah—oh~~~ So that's how it is!"

Konohamaru clenched one fist and hit the palm of his other hand, nodding in sudden realization, then grinned a bright smile.

"Hehe, as expected of the man I've chosen! Only then is he worthy of being my rival~"

"...Oh."

Naruto replied calmly with a single word.

Konohamaru raised his hand, pointed at Naruto, and shouted excitedly and indignantly, "What do you mean 'Oh'? Naruto-nii has become so cold lately!"

A girl with two pairs of spiky pigtails on top of her head asked, "Boss, are you free later?"

"Probably not, I still have to train."

Naruto casually made an excuse.

Training was a pretense. Anyway, he had Shadow Clones to train. Recently, he had completely transformed into a qualified angler, setting up fishing spots all over Konoha Village, looking for suitable places to fish, and enjoying peaceful and tranquil times.

"What? Naruto-nii, you haven't played Ninja games with us for a long time."

"You used to promise to play Ninja games with us."

"Hmph, you're already a real Ninja, why are you still playing Ninja games? How childish!"

A discordant, tsundere mocking voice came.

Naruto didn't even need to look to know it was Sakura Haruno.

"We can even run into each other here? Konoha Village is really small."

Naruto had no intention of responding to Sakura Haruno. Instead, Konohamaru pointed at Sakura Haruno and asked curiously, "Naruto-nii, who is this woman?"

"Oh~ I know!"

A light bulb seemed to light up in Konohamaru's head. He had a flash of inspiration and answered his own question, "She must be Naruto-nii's girlfriend!"

"Huh?"

"Is my taste that bad?"

"I don't like this shorty at all!"

Naruto and Sakura Haruno said almost in unison.

"Whose taste is bad?!"

Sakura Haruno reacted and threw a flying punch at Naruto.

With her monstrous strength, she could have sent the original Naruto skipping across the ground like a stone, then crashing through a nearby wall.

But Sakura Haruno was facing Naruto, who had bathed in Dragon Blood of Dragon Mother Tiamat!

Dragon Mother Tiamat's Dragon Blood had caused Naruto's physical attributes to break through again, reaching an astonishing [600].

Including his strength attribute, which also rose with his physique, breaking through to [150].

Naruto's agility and spiritual attributes, which he had always focused on, once again became the weakest two in his four-dimensional attribute chart.

Sakura Haruno's monstrous strength punch was easily caught by Naruto with one hand.

"Boom!"

When fist and palm collided, a white shockwave actually erupted.

"H-he blocked it?"

Sakura Haruno was stunned.

Her monstrous strength was innate, not learned after training under Tsunade. Even stronger adults could barely block her punches.

She never expected that today, she would be blocked by Naruto, whom she had always looked down upon?

"What are you doing?!"

Naruto's azure eyes gleamed with coldness.

In an instant.

Sakura Haruno, who was looking into Naruto's eyes, felt all her hairs stand on end, as if she had fallen into an ice cave. Her entire face was enveloped by a cloud of fear.

Her eyes trembled as she backed away in fear, then accidentally bumped into someone.

Sakura Haruno looked back and saw a girl with four spiky short pigtails, and a boy dressed entirely in black robes with purple patterns painted on his face.

Their Ninja headbands had a hourglass-like pattern.

They were Temari and Kankuro, Ninjas from the Hidden Sand Village of the Land of Wind!

"Oh, so these are the Genin of Konoha Village?"

"They don't seem very strong!"

Kankuro said, narrowing his eyes.

"Who are you?"

"You don't look like people from this country!"

Sakura Haruno stepped back a few paces, immediately becoming alert.

"Forget it, don't cause trouble, let's go."

Temari said calmly, hands in her pockets, advising Kankuro.

"Hmph, I originally wanted to play a bit longer before 'he' arrived."

Kankuro withdrew his gaze with a hint of regret, turned his head, and followed Temari away.

Naruto's Dark Dusk Court was hidden in the shadows beneath his feet, completely concealing his aura, so Temari and Kankuro's eyesight alone could not detect Naruto's terrifying power.

"Naruto-nii, who were they? They were so arrogant."

Konohamaru looked confusedly at Temari and Kankuro's gradually receding figures.

"Just two insignificant little fish."

"Alright, didn't you want to play Ninja games? I'll satisfy you today."

Naruto placed his palm on Konohamaru's head, ruffling his hair. Without forming hand signs, he directly summoned a Shadow Clone beside him.

The Shadow Clone took Konohamaru and the other two to play Ninja games.

Hokage Building.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, wearing a straw hat, had his hands clasped, elbows resting on the table. His gaze was heavy, and his face was serious as he looked at the Jonin gathered in the office.

Kakashi Hatake, Kurenai Yuhi, Asuma Sarutobi, Might Guy, and others were all present.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, puffing on his pipe, said, "I didn't call you all here for anything else. You should have guessed from my expression."

"It's already this time—"

"Did you notify the other countries? They seem to have arrived—"

"When will it start?"

"It seems like it's a week from now."

The Jonin began to discuss amongst themselves.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took off his pipe, exhaled a puff of smoke, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth as he replied, "Now, I officially announce—we will hold the Chunin Exams seven days from now, on July 1st! !"