The Third Hokage sat in his office, his face and voice unable to hide his surprise as he heard the report. "What? Chiba Taki defeated Kakashi?"
"Yes!" Homura exclaimed. He himself hadn't fully recovered from the shock yet. The battle replayed in his mind constantly. If it had been a life-or-death struggle, every move would have been fraught with danger. Even though it was just sparring, it was hard to believe the combatants were mere children.
The Third Hokage tapped his pipe thoughtfully. "It's truly unexpected that Chiba Taki would be able to defeat Kakashi. This kid has grown up too fast."
Homura paused before asking, "Lord Third, do you really intend to change the qualifications for the Chunin exam?"
The Third Hokage pondered. "Since Chiba Taki has defeated Kakashi, he already possesses the combat effectiveness of a Chunin. However, he lacks experience in missions. Hirohiko and Yukina also lack mission experience, so letting them take the Chunin exam rashly... It's not a problem if they fail, but if they pass, as Chunin, they will have to undertake more frequent missions. For them, it might not be beneficial. Kushina is being too impulsive..."
Clearly, the Third Hokage was troubled, not by the confusion that changing the qualifications would cause, but by the future growth of Chiba and his friends.
"Since the Second Great Ninja War, our Konoha has not fully recovered, and we urgently need fresh blood. That's why we organized the Chunin exam ahead of schedule... It's just that they lack mission experience, and their teacher is Kushina..." The Third Hokage lamented, frowning and puffing out smoke.
After a moment of thought, he decided, "Go and find Minato. Call him here."
"Yes, Lord Third," Homura nodded. It was the first time he had seen the Third Hokage look so distressed, leaving him a little stunned.
After Homura left, the Third Hokage sighed deeply. 'Let's ask Minato about the specific situation and get his opinion. Speaking of which, Jiraiya should also be coming back soon.'
Meanwhile, at the Konoha Hospital, Chiba squinted at Hirohiko, who maintained his poker face, sitting next to Chiba as if he hadn't noticed Chiba's gaze at all.
"I said... it's just a sprained ankle... Do we really need to be at the hospital?" Chiba commented with a grimace.
By then, his foot was already wrapped in a white bandage, and a medical ninja had just checked it. He had concluded that it was just a sprain, no bones were injured, and no further treatment was needed. In the world of Naruto, with the healing powers of Chakra, such an injury would heal by the next day.
"It's better to be cautious about bone injuries," Hirohiko said to Chiba, his face still expressionless.
Yukina added, "It's better to be safe, especially with the Chunin exam coming up. It wouldn't be good if there were any bone injuries."
'Why is Yukina so overly cautious...' Chiba thought, smiling bitterly.
"Oh, yes! Remember, since Hirohiko also won a round, he could ask for two servings of barbecue. Hirohiko, you have to look really pitiful if Kushina-sensei doesn't agree tonight!"
Yukina nodded and frowned slightly. "Is that okay? Kushina-sensei might be troubled. She said she doesn't have enough allowance."
"Adults often say that to coax kids," Chiba explained nonchalantly. "If she really didn't have money, Kushina-sensei wouldn't have casually treated us to barbecue for a week, but would have just used her fist."
After all, what's a little deception among friends for the sake of barbecue. That's barbecue!
Chiba easily dismissed any guilt over deceiving Hirohiko and Yukina. In the face of barbecue, such guilt was negligible.
"Really?" Yukina blinked, her frown deepening slightly, as if considering Chiba's words. "Is this just an excuse to coax kids?"
It appeared Yukina believed Chiba's explanation.
"Chiba," Hirohiko called out.
"Huh?" Chiba responded.
"Look, does this expression seem aggrieved?" Hirohiko asked.
Chiba raised his eyebrows, barely suppressing an amused smile. 'What's wrong with this! Your expression hasn't improved at all! It hasn't changed one bit!'
Chiba internally exclaimed, frustrated that Hirohiko still had a poker face, showing no signs of feeling aggrieved. His eyes seemed to scream, 'I'm lying, I'm faking, my grievances are all lies!'
"This..." Chiba reluctantly managed a smile and said, "It's a tiny bit, just a tiny bit..."
As he spoke, Chiba used his index finger and thumb to illustrate just how minuscule the change was.
"What about this?" Hirohiko turned his head slightly, then turned back around...
But there was no change at all. Still a poker face!
Chiba wanted to cry but had no tears. He gently patted Hirohiko on the shoulder and said, "Very good... but, maybe, expressing grievance isn't for you..."
Hearing Chiba's words, Hirohiko was visibly shocked, then quietly turned his head away, with a row of black clouds appearing above his head, looking somewhat sad.
'Uh... I was very tactful, Why are you still so affected!?'
"That old man, the Third Hokage, I'm going to pull out his beard!" Kushina Uzumaki's angry voice was heard as the door to the infirmary was flung open with a bang, startling the nurses in the corridor and some of the patients.
"Huh? Hirohiko, what's wrong with you?" Kushina Uzumaki entered the infirmary angrily, only to find her disciple, Hirohiko, looking downcast.
"Chiba just now..." Yukina began, intending to tell the truth.
"I won the competition, and I was promised a barbecue. He won but didn't get to enjoy the same reward, so he was very sad" Chiba quickly interrupted Yukina's words and gestured to her secretly.
Yukina was momentarily taken aback by Chiba's interruption, then saw Chiba's gesture, immediately understood, and said, "Yes, that's right."
"It's just a barbecue. Is it worth such a reaction? Wait a few days, and I'll treat you to another meal," Kushina Uzumaki suddenly said. "Just wait for your sensei to get paid."
In Konoha, ninjas receive a fixed salary from the village, of course, with additional compensation for missions. Genin do receive a salary, albeit much less, which was news to Chiba.
'Great!' Chiba quietly clenched his fist, relieved by the diversion about the barbecue. But before he could revel in his relief, he noticed Hirohiko still in a daze, seemingly unable to hear the outside world.
'This won't do. I have to get Hirohiko involved, otherwise, it might seem that he wasn't upset about the barbecue at all.'
With this thought, Chiba acted quickly. He patted Hirohiko on the shoulder and gave a thumbs-up out of Kushina's line of sight. At the same time, he said, "Great, Hirohiko, Sensei promised to add another barbecue. It's all thanks to you."
After his encouragement, Hirohiko seemed to react slightly. Seeing Chiba's gestures, Hirohiko immediately recovered, still maintaining his poker face, and looked at Chiba.
Chiba nodded with a "good job" expression.
Hirohiko, maintaining his poker face, nodded and then said to Kushina Uzumaki, "Thank you, Kushina-sensei."
Kushina Uzumaki observed the two. 'It looks like they're plotting something...'
In response, Kushina Uzumaki just shook her head helplessly.
For her, as long as Chiba and his friends grow up well, have the ability to protect themselves, and even become ninjas who can stand on their own, that's what matters most. She wasn't even thinking about the barbecue.
"Gather at the usual time and place tonight, and tomorrow's meeting time will be changed. We'll gather at 7 o'clock. Make sure to go to bed early," Kushina Uzumaki said.
Chiba and the others looked at each other and nodded. "Understood."
'It seems tomorrow will be another challenging day.' Seeing Kushina Uzumaki's serious expression, Chiba thought to himself.
"Oh... Chiba, how's your foot?" Kushina Uzumaki seemed to remember something and asked Chiba.
"It's okay, it won't affect tomorrow's training."
"Ah, that's good." Kushina Uzumaki showed a slight smile.