I'm doing Jujutsu Kaisen in the ninja world.

"It's been a long time, Hiruzen-sensei."

"You've finally decided to come back, Jiraiya."

Turning around and looking at his former disciple, who appeared travel-worn, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a surge of joy, but for some reason, his eyes also welled up with tears.

It would be even better if Tsunade could come back too.

Of course, this is just wishful thinking.

In order to get Jiraiya back, he almost had to swallow his pride and use Misato's influence to "beg" him to come back.

That's right, Jiraiya's main purpose in returning this time is for Naruto!

[Chapter 239. Honey-Glazed Roasted Bear Paw]

"Roar!"

Beside the stream, a huge black bear-like monster bared its teeth and let out a deafening roar.

The reason is that while it was sleeping, a tiny creature dared to encroach on its water source!

Her rough linen clothes and red hair that covered most of her Kusanagi headband confirmed her identity.

Her exposed arms were covered in scars, making one wonder what kind of battle she had endured to end up like this.

Glug...

The little one swallowed hard in fear, spilling the bamboo tube he was holding to collect water onto the ground.

If it were just now, she would have been heartbroken, but right now she couldn't care less about whether she would run out of water, but whether she would even be alive enough to drink another drop.

"what!"

The little one suppressed his fear and turned to run away.

But with the bear's second roar, someone stumbled and fell to the ground in a panic.

Logically speaking, although the Forest of Death is full of various dangers, it is not a situation that these candidates who want to become Chunin are completely unable to cope with.

Take this giant bear for example. Although it is huge, it has many weaknesses.

Any candidate with any real strength would not take this mindless beast seriously, and even ordinary candidates could easily kill it by working together.

But this little guy only knew how to run and never thought of fighting back.

She didn't originally want to participate in the Chunin Exams; she was simply brought to Konoha by her 'comrades' as a 'walking medical kit'.

However, in the last battle, they encountered a powerful enemy and were separated while fleeing in disarray.

This allowed the 'little guy,' whose combat power was almost zero, to face the giant bear alone.

Shinji happened to be passing by and saw this scene, and paused slightly in his tracks.

"Red hair?"

In the ninja world, red hair was once almost a symbol of the Uzumaki clan.

Shinji recalled for a moment, and then, seeing the faintly visible headband of a Kusanagi ninja on the other person's head, he roughly guessed the identity of this unlucky guy.

"What a pity. If we hadn't been able to get the Reversal Spell - Healing right away, we might have been worth nurturing."

"But she was lucky, as she happened to be craving honey-glazed roasted bear paws."

Rumble, rumble...

The earth seemed to tremble as the black giant bear opened its blood-red maw and lunged at it. The little one lying on the ground could only close its eyes and await its death.

However, the next moment, a flash of cold light appeared.

A huge bear head shot into the sky, its eyes filled with a hint of confusion, as if it didn't understand how it could suddenly fly.

Boom!

Without its head, the massive bear carcass crashed to the ground, startling a flock of birds.

The little one then opened his eyes, revealing a nervous and surprised expression.

"Th-thank you for saving me. My name is Karin, and I'm from Kusagakure. Um... are you also an examinee?"

Shinji glanced at her, his gaze lingering briefly on the scars on her arm. "Don't talk nonsense. I'm one of the examiners here. I only came out because I suddenly wanted to eat roasted bear paws."

Not a test taker...

Karin couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief; the scroll was safe.

But then her eyes widened. "Huh? The examiner?"

Seemingly to prove his point, Shinji raised the guillotine, which had been repaired countless times, and chopped off the giant bear paw before preparing to start a fire.

Karin just stood there dumbly watching Shinji busy himself, looking like a coward who wanted to help but didn't dare.

"Do you know where to find honey? Never mind, you probably wouldn't know either. I'll just go find it myself."

If you want honey-glazed roasted bear paw, then eat honey-glazed roasted bear paw!

Shinji's ninja way is always about doing what he says!

Then he heard a weak voice, barely louder than a mosquito's buzz, say, "I...I know where it is."

"what?"

Karin stole a glance at the handsome face of the man, and mustered up her courage to say it again.

Shinji was somewhat surprised. "Lead the way and come back quickly."

During the search for honey, Shinji casually asked why the other person knew the location of the honey.

Because her mother once told her that when she couldn't bear the pain, she should apply a little honey to the wound and it would stop hurting.

However, she usually doesn't have money to buy honey, so she always tries to find it outside herself.

This time was no different; everyone else was thinking about how to snatch the scroll or how to reach the finish line ahead of time.

Even while fetching water, she didn't forget to keep an eye on these 'useless' things.

Shinji fell silent for a moment, unsure of what to say.

A short while later, the two successfully harvested honey, almost catching it all.

After returning home, Shinji began to order Karin around without any politeness. Karin, however, seemed flattered and surprised, which actually made her feel much more at ease.

After all, the Forest of Death was still too dangerous for her, so it was better for her to stay by the examiner's side.

As for whether this would violate the rules and result in disqualification from the exam, Karin no longer cared.

There's no way she could get through this on her own.

After processing the ingredients and applying honey, skewer them and start grilling.

Before long, an irresistible aroma wafted out.

Glug glug~

As the strange sound rang out, Karin's face instantly turned as red as a monkey's bottom, and she wanted to explain but couldn't say anything.

Shinji pretended not to hear, took out a kunai, cut off a few pieces of meat, skewered them with a twig, and handed them to her.

"Thank you, examiner."

Karin blushed and then couldn't resist taking a bite.

The bear paw, soaked in honey, is soft, tender, and chewy, sweet but not cloying, leaving a lingering fragrance on the lips and teeth.

She had never eaten anything so delicious before, and she finished the meat skewers in no time.

Just as I was feeling awkward, a few more meat skewers were handed over at the opportune moment.

This time, Karin shyly started chewing slowly in small bites, and then, without her noticing, a series of raindrops began to fall on the meat skewers in her hands.

Shinji looked up at the still clear sky, said nothing, and simply enjoyed his food.

In the end, the two of them ate the entire large bear paw clean.

"I have to go now."

"Ah."

Karin's eyes were a little red. She wanted to ask something, but then she lowered her head.

"Here, take this."

Karin hurriedly caught the bamboo tube, opened it, and saw that it contained the leftover honey from earlier.

At this moment, Shinji said, "If you're not happy staying in one place, you can try changing your environment. If you have this idea, you can come find me here after the exam. Although the Land of Water is a bit far, it's much better than you continuing to stay in the Land of Grass."

It was a spur-of-the-moment decision anyway, and he didn't care whether he went or not, so he prepared to leave after saying that.

Karin, however, mustered her courage and suddenly asked, "Could you tell me the examiner's name?"

"When you arrive, announce your name as Shinji Akagi, the advisor of the Mizukage of the Hidden Mist."

[Chapter 240. The Main Competition Begins]

Five days passed in the blink of an eye.

The results of the survival trial were quickly released.

To an unexpected degree, a total of ten groups, or thirty people, passed the assessment this time!

The complete annihilation of the Grass Village, Waterfall Village, and Rain Village not only demonstrates the cruelty of this exam but also proves that the quality of ninjas trained by these small ninja villages is indeed poor.

Of these thirty people, Konoha, as the host country, only had nine spots, which was quite surprising.

Besides, three people from Sound Village and three people from Kirigakure advanced, and the rest were all candidates from Sunagakure, totaling 15 people!

Upon hearing this result, the leaders of each ninja village all wore different expressions, their thoughts unknown.

Even Konoha, which convened this joint Chunin Exams, probably didn't expect something like this to happen.

After working hard for half a day, it turned out to be a waste of someone else's time and effort.

Fortunately, the exam is not over yet, and the final result is still unknown; otherwise, Konoha would have lost face big time this time.

In addition, according to rumors, after the survival trial, the Kazekage went to meet the Hokage alone. What the two talked about is unknown to outsiders. All that is known is that when he came out, the Kazekage looked very unhappy, as if he was not satisfied with the result.