Stepping out of the Hokage's Office, Naruto felt the sunlight on his skin, but it offered no warmth. He glanced around and headed in a particular direction.
The bustling streets of Konoha were as lively as ever, filled with people going about their day.
Walking along the road, Naruto had already put the recent events behind him. Since Sandaime wanted him to skip the Chunin Exams, he might as well continue causing some trouble in Konoha.
After arriving at the meeting spot, Naruto saw the little girl and immediately put on a smile.
Everyone was busy preparing for the Chunin Exams. Originally, Naruto had D-Rank missions to pass the time, but Kakashi had exempted him from those missions.
However, Sandaime asking him to give up taking the Chunin Exams instantly made Naruto felt like he was back to square one.
Kakashi was busy coaching Sasuke, Sakura was engrossed in learning Medical Ninjutsu, and all the other teams were preparing for the Chunin Exams. Even Hinata was working hard.
Everyone was busy except Naruto, who was doing nothing. He was like the white clouds drifting in the sky, free yet incredibly bored.
So in the mornings, Naruto took the little girl to the forest to catch animals, and in the afternoons, they fished in a shallow creek. By sunset, they were atop the Hokage Rock, overlooking the Konoha Village.
Although Naruto occasionally asked about the whereabouts of the other three, the girl would vaguely reply that they were off playing on their own. He didn't mind and continued to enjoy his leisure.
If you are alone, even the most delicious food will lose some of its flavor. Having someone to share meals with greatly satisfies Naruto's desire to show off.
Anyway, he was not short of money, so they had barbecue for lunch and Ichiraku Ramen in the afternoon. The next day, he changed his taste to seafood, and then mountain delicacies.
As the days passed, the time for the Chunin Exams drew closer.
"This must cost a lot, right?" The girl looked at Naruto and asked, somewhat puzzled. Even though she was ignorant, she felt that this extremely expensive lifestyle was a bit exaggerated.
Naruto, however, was unfazed and replied casually, "Does it?"
"Um."
The night breeze blew past them as they stood on the Hokage Rock, gazing at the thousand lights of Konoha. Naruto jumped onto the railing, squatted down, and said, "As long as we're happy, money is not important."
Naruto waited a long time for a response. When he turned to look at the girl, she looked as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, and then added, "Let's go to the Valley of the End tomorrow. There seems to be a big red fish over there." (T/N: Valley of the End should be far from Konoha. I don't know why the Author wrote so.)
"I can't go tomorrow." The girl suddenly said.
"That's fine, I can go alone." Naruto said, "What about the day after tomorrow? It seems like we've been to all the places we should go. There's nothing fun to do now."
"I have something important to do. I might not have time to hang out with you anymore." The girl said hesitantly, "I really want to, but it's really important."
Naruto was stunned for a moment. He then jumped off the railing, and suddenly smiled and said, "Come on, if you have something to do, just go. We're both from Konoha, right? We'll definitely have time to hang out again."
"Yeah." The girl's eyes dimmed a little when she said this.
"Alright, go ahead. We'll hang out again when you're free." Naruto said, waving her off with no hint of sadness on his face.
"Okay." The girl nodded, stood there for a while, then slowly turned around until she completely disappeared into the darkness.
Under the night sky, Naruto let out a long sigh. His face showed a hint of melancholy, but he quickly brightened up again.
"At this time, the only people sneaking into Konoha are likely Orochimaru's people… Tayuya."
…
At this time, Tayuya had already returned to the residence of the four-member team. Although it was called a residence, it was actually just an abandoned house with leaks.
"Hey, Tayuya, why are you back so late again?" Kidomaru called out from a distance.
"None of your business." Tayuya said coldly without even looking at Kidomaru.
"You..." Kidomaru felt a bit annoyed, but he still held back.
He knew that Tayuya always spoke bluntly, but almost at the same time, Kidomaru thought of a question, 'Tayuya probably didn't act like this around that person, right?'
Thinking of this, Kidomaru spoke again with some resentment.
"Tayuya, the Chunin Exams are coming up, and Orochimaru-sama ordered us to be ready. You're not still hanging around that guy, are you?"
"None of your business." Tayuya repeated. At this time, her red hair was covering her eyes. Her gaze is icy, and her mood is foul.
"Tayuya, you…!" Kidomaru finally couldn't take it anymore. He rushed forward to block her path, shouting at her.
"You haven't fallen for that kid, have you? He just bought you a few meals, that's all. And that Kyubi's Jinchuriki is such a sucker…"
With a bang, Kidomaru's eyes widened slightly, and the next second, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of bile, and his whole body instantly bent into a shrimp shape.
Tayuya had kicked him hard in the stomach, and then watched indifferently as he writhed in agony.
"Kidomaru, are you okay?" Jirobo, who looked like a sumo wrestler, hurried over to help Kidomaru up and asked with a worried look on his face.
"Get lost!" Kidomaru pushed Jirobo away. His face is twisted with anger, and he left with gritted teeth.
The next day.
Naruto went out as usual, wandering around, fishing by the river, and swimming under a waterfall. After playing alone for a while, he felt a bit bored.
He had guessed Tayuya's identity, but chose not to expose her.
The reason was simple. Tayuya was the only one who had nothing to do at that time. With time to kill, they had played together for a few days.
Now that the dream was over, it was time for Naruto to start stirring things up in Konoha.
Naruto pulled up the system panel and typed into the avatar's dialogue box: "August 29th, with nothing to do, I'll make a casual prophecy. Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, will die during the Chunin Exams."
After clicking confirm, smile crept onto Naruto's face.
At this moment, almost everyone in Konoha put down what they were doing and a look of horror appeared on their faces.
'Sandaime Hokage-sama will die?'
In a men's hot spring somewhere in Konoha.
Jiraiya, who was soaking in the hot spring, suddenly turned serious and stared straight ahead. The tranquility of his mind shattered by the message.
Even though Jiraiya and Sandaime had their differences, it was precisely because of these differences that he chose to travel, while Tsunade chose to indulge in gambling.
But no matter what, Jiraiya never thought Sandaime would die. This message was clearly not a prank, as there was no Chakra disturbance, yet the message entered his mind without traces.
It was like a thought implanted directly into his brain, but so clear.
With a splash, Jiraiya stood up from the hot spring. He wrapped the white towel on his head onto his waist, then slowly walked out of the hot spring.
He had to meet Sandaime to see if he was dead or not.