"Five hundred ninety-eight, five hundred ninety-nine... six hundred!" Chiba completed his last push-up and looked towards the sky.
It was noon, time for lunch.
Chiba stood and walked to the center of the clearing, their usual dining spot. Since the beginning of their separate training sessions in the forest, the trio had started to train independently.
Today, the day before the Chunin Exam, was a rest day as instructed by Kushina Uzumaki. She had informed Chiba and the others that there would be no training plan for the day, advising against excessive physical exertion in preparation for tomorrow's exam.
Though not particularly interested, Chiba had qualified for the Chunin Exam and had registered to participate. It was an opportunity to broaden his horizons.
After all, Chiba's current sparring partners were either elites like Kushina or prodigies like Kakashi. Even his teammates were geniuses. His combat knowledge was tailored to facing such high-caliber individuals, limiting his experience to a narrow scope. He needed to understand the fighting styles of ninjas with varying talents and strengths to make more accurate predictions before a battle commenced.
There's a saying, "Know thy enemy and thyself, and you will never be defeated."
If his initial assessment was more accurate, "knowing the enemy" could significantly improve his chances of victory.
Ninja battles were not just about strength; they embodied a battle of wits, where the element of surprise often determined the victor.
Indeed, ninja battles were filled with endless possibilities!
This was Chiba's conclusion after reflecting on his limited combat experiences.
Looking around, Chiba wondered, 'Where are Hirohiko and Yukina?'
According to Kushina Uzumaki's schedule, training was only permitted in the morning, leaving them free for the rest of the day.
Since Kushina hadn't prepared lunch, they had decided to eat ramen together. Thanks to Kushina's meals, Chiba had been saving on lunch and sometimes even dinner, allocating his savings towards purchasing specialized training gear. A bowl of ramen, especially with extra noodles and pork BBQ added by the generous owner, was more than enough for him.
Hirohiko and Yukina were likely still training.
At that moment, Hirohiko emerged from the dense forest, quickening his pace toward Chiba upon seeing him.
From another part of the forest, Yukina also approached, looking relatively unexhausted from training.
"Let's go eat ramen!" Chiba said, seeing that everyone had gathered. He led the way, with Hirohiko and Yukina nodding in agreement as they headed towards the village.
As they were about to leave the clearing, a square object flew towards them at an incredible speed, whizzing past before they could react.
Hirohiko and Yukina, walking ahead, instinctively dodged the object—one to the left and the other to the right. Chiba, however, was caught off guard, the object striking his forehead before bouncing off.
"Ouch!" Chiba instinctively clutched his forehead, snapping out of his thoughts.
'I neglected my surroundings again! This habit really needs to change,' Chiba thought, wincing from the pain.
"Who's there?" a voice called out, breaking the silence.
"Chiba, are you okay?" Yukina looked back at Chiba, readying for combat.
Chiba noticed Hirohiko reaching into his ninja bag, prepared to launch a ranged attack at any sign of threat, with Yukina ready to follow up. The trio's cooperation was seamless.
This unspoken understanding among them was natural. Despite Hirohiko's silence, Yukina's rare speech, and Chiba's tendency to get lost in thought, a single action, glance, or expression was enough to synchronize their movements, resulting in flawless teamwork.
Although he understood the tension, Chiba stopped them, taking Hirohiko's hand that reached into the ninja bag with one hand, and lightly patting Yukina's shoulder with the other.
"It's okay, it's just a wooden clog. The person here doesn't mean any harm," Chiba whispered.
"Boom!"
It hurt!
Chiba held his head, his eyes twitching as the square object that had been thrown into the air fell and hit him on the head when he had stepped forward to stop Hirohiko and Yukina.
'Damn! Does this wooden clog have a grudge against me?' Chiba cursed silently to himself.
"Clatter..."
As Chiba was cursing silently, the square object fell to the ground. Hirohiko and Yukina looked closely and realized it was indeed a clog.
"Are you all right?" Hirohiko asked, his face expressionless.
Yukina, checking the top of Chiba's head, said, "It's okay, no bleeding."
Yukina looked at him and breathed a sigh of relief.
Because Yukina was shorter than Chiba, she had to help him check his injuries while he was bent over. Now that Yukina said it was okay, he straightened up and then looked over Yukina and ahead.
In front of the three of them stood a white-haired middle-aged man, looking at Chiba with a stunned expression. Seeing that the three had turned their gazes towards him, he coughed slightly.
"Could you please throw my clog back?" the man asked.
The three realized that this man was standing on one leg, the other foot barefoot. The clog must belong to him.
"Huh!" Hirohiko snorted coldly.
Yukina also frowned and asked, "Why did you attack us?"
The implication was clear; they were not inclined to help him retrieve his clog.
Chiba was a bit slow to react.
'Damn, this is Jiraiya! Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, mentor to the Fourth and Seventh Hokage, a pivotal character in Naruto,' Chiba thought.
After hearing Hirohiko and Yukina's words and looking at the clog that had hit him twice, Chiba's initial excitement at seeing the familiar character Jiraiya was quickly overshadowed.
'Jiraiya wouldn't attack us with a clog without reason. Is he testing us?' Chiba thought, picked up the clog, and threw it back to Jiraiya.
"Chiba..." Hirohiko and Yukina looked at Chiba.
Chiba shook his head and said, "There's no malice, just a test."
"A test? Why test us?" Hirohiko and Yukina were slightly confused.
Jiraiya caught the clog, waved at the three, said "thank you," turned around, and left.
After turning around, the smile on Jiraiya's face faded.
'Hirohiko Uchiha and Yukina Hyuga reacted very well. They are indeed deserving of their reputation as geniuses. To dodge my throw at the age of seven, the Chunin Exam should be no challenge for them. But... Chiba Taki didn't dodge at all, taking the hit a second time was too careless! Did he really defeat Kakashi? With that reaction time, it seems impossible! It seems a bit disappointing,' Jiraiya thought.
While Hirohiko and Yukina were surprised to see the clog on Jiraiya's feet, they were perplexed.
"Chiba, could you see the clog coming? I... didn't see it clearly!" Hirohiko asked.
"Wait a minute!" Chiba called out, stopping Jiraiya as he turned to leave.
"What's wrong?" Jiraiya turned around, puzzled.
"Just hitting me like that, you think you can leave so easily?" Chiba's face slowly darkened.
Hirohiko and Yukina glanced at Chiba, silent, but one hand was already on their ninja bag, and the other had stepped back slightly, readying their best stance.
"Oh? What do you plan to do?" Jiraiya turned around completely, looking at Chiba with interest.
"That is naturally..." Chiba squinted his eyes, a slow smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.