Naruto: I'm in Konoha, my name is Uzumaki Menma

Chapter 388 The Chunin Exams are Imminent, Shisui Returns to the Village

Compared to the uncertainty of the journey there, the return trip to Konoha was much easier.

Sunlight filters through the lush foliage, casting dappled patterns on the road.

Team 7 of Konoha and Team Itasuke of the Land of Stars are traveling on the main road leading to Konoha Village.

Naruto walked briskly ahead with his hands behind his head, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, his face beaming with satisfaction and excitement.

He turned to look at Menma, who was being 'held up' by Hinata and Karin behind him, and said in a loud voice, "Haha! Brother Menma, this mission was much better! There was a thrilling escort, powerful and terrifying enemies, and all sorts of unexpected situations! Although it was dangerous, we managed to overcome them all in the end! This is the life a ninja should live! It's much more interesting than those missions in the village!"

He recalled his experience on the mission to the Land of Waves, his first encounter with the 'Demon Brothers,' the tension he felt when facing enemy ninjas for the first time, the appearance of the mysterious enemy with a fishhook, and his helpless anxiety when Menma was injured...

This mission gave him a deeper understanding of "ninjas," created important bonds he wanted to protect, and made him yearn to become stronger so he could experience more adventures like this.

Kakashi, with one hand in his pocket and the other still holding his ever-present copy of "Make-Out Paradise," merely raised his eyelids lazily upon hearing this, glanced at the overly energetic Naruto, and then helplessly turned his gaze to the slightly "crowded" area in the middle of the group.

All they saw was Ma looking utterly hopeless, with Hinata and Karin holding his arms tightly on either side.

Hinata lowered her head slightly, her face flushed. Although she was shy, her grip on Menma's arm was unusually firm, as if she was afraid that if she let go, the red-haired "bad woman" next to her would snatch Menma away.

Karin, on the other hand, seemed much more "confident," leaning almost half of her body against Menma.

Menma finally lost her temper and forcefully freed her arms from the two girls' "embrace," her tone clearly showing annoyance: "Alright, alright! You two, that's enough! I've fully recovered, you don't need to support me like a seriously ill patient anymore! I can walk by myself!"

He moved his slightly numb arm, but a thought involuntarily flashed through his mind.

'Speaking of which... Hinata's appetite is huge, no wonder she eats so much... This texture... is definitely... much smoother than Karin's.'

The thought flashed through his mind, and even he felt it was a bit rude. He subconsciously glanced at Hinata's chest, which was covered by a light purple sports jacket but still couldn't hide its heaving.

Hinata felt Menma's gaze, and her face turned even redder, like a ripe apple, but she still stayed close to Menma.

She mustered her courage and glared at Karin on the other side with her watery eyes, filled with obvious jealousy and wariness.

This was the first time she had had such a close physical contact with Menma!
On the first day of the Ninja Academy, Hinata, the "big sister," made a protective declaration to Menma: "If anyone dares to seduce Menma, I will definitely beat her to a pulp!" This scared away most of the girls who had feelings for Menma, allowing Hinata to secretly watch Menma with peace of mind.

But now, a red-haired woman who is completely unafraid of threats and even dares to compete with her for Menma has suddenly appeared, and Hinata's sense of crisis has instantly soared to its peak!

She secretly made up her mind: 'No! Menma-kun is mine! Anyway... anyway, I share this body with my "sister," so eventually... eventually, it will have to be given to Menma-kun! I absolutely cannot let anyone take it away!'

Karin pouted somewhat sullenly after Menma broke free, but her gaze behind her glasses remained fixed intently on Menma, showing no sign of giving up.

She remained close to Menma, separated from Hinata by Menma, continuing their silent eye contact, as if invisible sparks were crackling in the air.

Following behind the group, Kurotsuchi, who had been quietly observing, scratched her head at the strange "love triangle" relationship, wondering what had gotten into Karin, the princess of the Uzumaki clan, that she had actually fallen for a Konoha genin.
Then, Kurotsuchi couldn't help but ask Naruto curiously, "Hey, your name is Naruto, right? What kind of missions do you guys usually carry out in Konoha?"

Upon hearing this, Naruto immediately reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on; his previous high spirits vanished instantly, replaced by a look of sullenness.

He scratched his dazzling blond hair in frustration, wailing, "The usual tasks are so incredibly boring! It's either finding lost pet cats, helping farmers clear weeds from their fields, unclogging sewers, picking up trash, babysitting... all D-rank chores! It's so annoying! If Uncle Tazna hadn't hidden the mission level this time, we'd probably still be catching cats in the village!"

Upon hearing this, Kurotsuchi exchanged a glance with Ranmaru beside her, both seeing a hint of surprise in each other's eyes.

After graduating, the genin of the Land of Stars join the military or police departments and receive specialized skills training. However, since most of them are professional soldiers, tasks such as finding pet cats and taking care of children are mostly the responsibilities of auxiliary police officers in the police department.

Moreover, Naruto's team is clearly quite strong, so how come this is only their first dangerous mission?

Ida Suke heard Naruto's complaint and looked at Kakashi, asking with some confusion, "Kakashi, with the strength your three students have shown, they are fully capable of carrying out B-rank missions, or even higher-difficulty missions, right? Why are you still making them do D-rank missions?"

As soon as he finished speaking, his gaze inadvertently swept over the cover of the book "Icha Icha Paradise" in Kakashi's hand. The rather explicit illustrations on it made his face instantly flush red, and he quickly turned his head away awkwardly.

Kakashi took in Ida's reaction, blinked his one exposed dead fish eye, and replied in a matter-of-fact and slightly lazy tone, "Why? Because they're all just a bunch of brats who haven't been out of the Ninja Academy for long. According to the rules, new genin are supposed to start from the lowest-level missions to gain experience."

He paused, then suddenly seemed to have discovered something interesting. He stopped, moved closer to Ita, and looked him up and down with a probing gaze, especially at Ita's tall stature and his unusually shy reaction when "Make-Out Paradise" was mentioned. He then drew out his words as if suddenly realizing something: "Oh—so that's why you suddenly blushed... Ita, you wouldn't... be underage, would you?"

Ita-suke felt even more uncomfortable under Kakashi's gaze. He touched his nose and said somewhat embarrassedly in a low voice, "I... I'll be eighteen in six months."

"Tsk tsk tsk..." Kakashi couldn't help but sigh upon hearing this. He looked at Ita-suke with a "youth is truly formidable" gaze: "What a young talent! When I was your age, I didn't have the strength to take down an S-rank elite rogue ninja like Zabuza Momochi all by myself. The Land of Stars is truly full of talented people."

Itada quickly waved his hand, his attitude humble: "Kakashi-senpai, you flatter me! The name of 'Copy Ninja' Kakashi is renowned throughout the entire ninja world. My little tricks are nothing to mention."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes slightly, like a cat that had discovered a new toy.

He deliberately slowed his pace to walk alongside Ida Suke, then gently nudged Ida Suke's strong arm with his elbow, lowered his voice, and said in a seductive tone, "Hey, Ida Suke, don't be so reserved. Look, you're almost an adult, you're practically a man now. Want to... take a look at this?"

He waved the copy of "Make-Out Paradise" in his hand: "This is the best-selling and most popular literary work among 'mature men' in the ninja world! I guarantee it will open the door to a new world for you!"

Itada's face turned even redder. He waved his hands repeatedly, his voice even softer: "No, no need, Kakashi-senpai! I... I've certainly heard of 'Make-Out Paradise,' but let's forget it... This kind of book... isn't really suitable for me..."

"Oh, what does it matter!" Kakashi persisted, continuing to urge, "You're not one of those little brats. Just consider it a personal gift from me to you. I have the whole set! Guaranteed to be amazing!"

Ita-suke's curiosity was piqued, and he asked, "The whole set?"

Naruto, who was walking behind, watched Kakashi-sensei and Ita-suke huddled together, whispering and occasionally letting out strange laughter. He couldn't help but take a few more curious glances.

However, his attention was quickly drawn to Ranmaru, who was quietly following Kurotsuchi.

Naruto crouched down to be at Ranmaru's eye level, giving him what he thought was a friendly smile: "Hey, little guy, are you really a ninja? You don't look much bigger than Ito."

Upon hearing this, Kurotsuchi put her hands on her hips and said proudly, "Hmph! Don't underestimate Ranmaru! Although he's not even ten years old yet, he's already an outstanding graduate of our Star Country Ninja Academy and a qualified genin!"

Ranmaru raised his head, his pale red eyes looking at Naruto.

However, unlike Naruto's bright smile, Ranmaru's eyes held a hint of apprehension and seriousness.

His "red eye" ability allows him to see through the human body and clearly see the flow of chakra.

Inside Naruto's body, he "saw" a vast, sea-like expanse of scarlet chakra, filled with a violent aura!
The sheer quantity and terrifying texture instilled a sense of dread in him.

"Not even ten years old?" Naruto's mouth dropped open in surprise. Kakashi also frowned slightly.

Although he also graduated from the Ninja Academy at the age of five or six, that was a special case during the Third Shinobi World War.

In this relatively peaceful era, it seems somewhat illogical that the Land of Stars would allow a child who is not even ten years old and looks somewhat sickly to graduate early and become a genin.

Seemingly noticing Kakashi and Naruto's confusion, Karin adjusted her glasses and explained, "Ranmaru... was born with a bloodline disease. Although it has been controlled through treatment, he was allowed to graduate early due to the special circumstances of the Red-Eyed Clan."

"The Red-Eyed Clan?" Hinata's white eyes flashed with a hint of doubt and reminiscence upon hearing this term.

She recalled that when Shura attacked the Hyuga clan's territory and stole the Byakugan from the main clan elders, the elders mentioned in horror that the attacker seemed to have used the "Red Eye" ability, which could suppress the Byakugan.

Naruto looked bewildered and asked, "What are red eyes? Are they a powerful type of eye?"

Kakashi rolled his eyes at Naruto helplessly and explained, "Idiot, that's a type of dojutsu-like bloodline limit, belonging to the same category as Hinata's Byakugan. Each has its own unique abilities."

"Oh... a bloodline limit..." Naruto nodded as if he understood, though he still didn't quite grasp the specifics of its power, but it sounded really cool.

The group consisted of ninjas, who were fast-moving and unburdened by escort missions. Traveling at full speed, they reached the familiar gates and walls of Konoha Village in just two days.

"Wow! I'm finally back!" Naruto dashed forward, stood at the imposing gates of Konoha Village, raised his hands high towards the sky and the village, and shouted with all his might, "I! Uzumaki Naruto! I'm back!!!"

His loud voice drew the attention of the people queuing to enter the village.

A middle-aged man dressed as a businessman, whose path was blocked, couldn't help but complain, "Hey, young man, if you want to shout, go shout from the side, don't block the way!"

"Ah! I'm so sorry!" Naruto finally realized what was happening and quickly chuckled awkwardly as he stepped aside to stand with Menma, Kakashi, and the others.

He scratched his head, looking at the unprecedentedly bustling crowd at the village entrance, and asked curiously, "Huh? Why are there so many people? There wasn't a single person when we left."

In front of the gate of Konoha Village, there was a constant flow of vehicles and people.

In addition to the usual villagers and merchants, there were many more nobles dressed in finery and with reserved manners, as well as a large number of travelers who were obviously from different countries and dressed in various styles. Among them were some ninjas from other ninja villages.

The "gatekeeper duo," Kanzuki Izumo and Gangzitie, who were responsible for guarding the village entrance, were extremely busy, carefully checking the identity of every person entering the village.

Kakashi glanced around, his gaze sweeping over the nobles and unfamiliar ninjas, and said knowingly, "These people are probably here to watch the upcoming Chunin Exams. This exam is quite large."

"The Chunin Exams?" Naruto blinked his bright blue eyes, looking at Kakashi with curiosity. "Kakashi-sensei, you guys have been talking about this for a while now, what exactly is it?"

Itada Sukeya looked at Kakashi with some surprise: "Kakashi, aren't you planning to let your students participate in this Chunin Exam? With their strength, they could definitely give it a try."

Kakashi scratched his silver hair, stuffed "Icha Icha Paradise" back into his ninja tool bag, then turned around to face Menma, Naruto, and Hinata, and said in a somewhat serious tone, "I was originally planning to tell you all the details after this mission was over."

"The Chunin Exams, as the name suggests, are a large-scale exam jointly organized by multiple ninja villages, where each village's genin (low-ranking ninja) participate to select those eligible for promotion to chunin. However, I must warn you in advance—"

He deliberately drawled out his words, creating a mysterious and dangerous atmosphere: "This kind of exam isn't as easy as the D-rank missions you usually do. Not only does it gather elite genin from various countries, making the competition extremely fierce, but... injuries and fatalities are allowed. It's very dangerous, you know~"

Just as Kakashi was "educating" his three students about the brutality of the Chunin Exams, in the forest near the gates of Konoha Village, Sasuke, Sai, and Yugao, a three-person ANBU squad wearing animal masks, were quietly lying in wait, carrying out the final part of their mission to protect the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

Seeing Naruto arrive safely at the village entrance, the three of them breathed a slight sigh of relief.

The village was in sight, their guard duty was about to end, and they should be able to rest for a while.

Wearing a cat-face mask, Uzuki Yugao's voice sounded somewhat muffled through the mask as she said to Sasuke and Sai beside her, "According to the arrangements from above, you two also need to participate in the Chunin Exams secretly as ordinary genin."

Sasuke, wearing an eagle mask, and Sai, wearing a tiger mask, both nodded in agreement.

For members of the Anbu, although they have their own independent promotion system, when important events such as the Chunin Exams are held, especially when the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is involved, they often need to infiltrate the exam venue under various identities to secretly monitor, protect, and deal with emergencies.

Just then, a considerable commotion suddenly broke out at the village entrance.

The crowd seemed to be parted by some invisible force, automatically making way for each other.

Sasuke keenly looked in the direction of the sound.

A group of ninjas dressed in uniform blue-gray stand-up collar uniforms and wearing five-pointed star headbands from the Land of Stars were striding confidently toward the registration point at the village entrance.

They were few in number, but each of them possessed a sharp and shrewd aura, with a calm and fierce presence that came from being tempered by war, setting them apart from the curious or fearful onlookers around them.

Wherever they went, even the air seemed to grow heavier.

Sasuke's gaze swept over the group of Star Country ninjas. When his eyes landed on the back of the leader at the very front of the group, his pupils suddenly contracted, and he froze on the spot as if struck by lightning!

The leader was tall and straight, wearing a dark blue high-necked short-sleeved clan uniform. The red and white Uchiha clan fan emblem on his back was so dazzling in the sunlight at the entrance of Konoha Village!

Seemingly noticing Sasuke's overly shocked and intense gaze, the leader paused slightly, slowly turned his head, and looked in the direction where Sasuke was hiding.

In an instant, Sasuke met a crimson three-tomoe Sharingan!

The owner of those eyes had a handsome and gentle face, yet with a hint of determination.

This face was so familiar to Sasuke that it was etched into his very being!

"That's... Brother Zhishui?!"

Sasuke felt as if an invisible hand was gripping his heart tightly, and the hairs on his body stood on end.

Beneath the eagle-face mask, his face was filled with disbelief, shock, and bewilderment.

[PS1: Yesterday's chapter got banned because I wrote some things... well, you know what I mean. I'll try to be more careful and avoid it.]

[PS2: And then another picture of the boss's disgusted face]

(End of this chapter)