After eating and drinking their fill, Kazuyama looked at Minato and Kushina, who were overflowing with affection, and the corners of his mouth twitched.
"Pakura, I think we should hurry home, don't you think?"
Pakura also saw the scene in front of her and nodded. A woman's intuition told her that they should leave now and leave the night to the two people in front of them.
"Minato, can you still walk home?"
"No, should I walk you home?"
Kazuyama looked at Minato, who was getting more and more heated, and he was really afraid that Minato would turn into a street prince, which would be too much.
As a close friend, he couldn't do that to him, absolutely not.
"What? Kazuyama, are you doubting me?"
"Not only can I walk, I can walk in a straight line!"
Saying that, Minato did a snake-like move, then looked proudly at the three people behind him.
Huh? How did it become six people?
Seeing more and more people, he felt a little uncomfortable.
"No, is this really necessary? Do you still need to test me with shadow clones?"
"I'm not drunk! I'm fine!"
"Look how well I can walk in a straight line!"
Kazuyama shook his head; he couldn't bear to watch anymore, and Pakura was the same.
This was too much—Minato was completely drunk, he couldn't even count properly.
What shadow clones? They didn't even move! And Pakura didn't know how to use shadow clones!
"Hahaha, Minato, you're wrong, I didn't use shadow clones!"
"It's clearly a clone used by that bastard Kazuyama, but I'm still going to walk in a straight line!"
Kushina laughed so loudly that Kazuyama almost jumped out of his skin.
Kushina already had a loud voice, and drinking made it even louder.
It was like a lion's roar echoing from the east.
"Enough, I can't take it anymore."
Kazuyama scratched his head, then grabbed Kushina with one hand and Minato with the other.
Under Pakura's gaze, a Flying Thunder God Technique flash disappeared from where they stood, then returned in the blink of an eye.
However, when they left, there were three people, but when they returned, there was only one.
"Did you send them back?"
"Yeah, I couldn't take it anymore. Let's go back too, okay? Hehehe..."
He suddenly pulled Pakura into his arms, and the Flying Thunder God Technique activated again.
The night was enchanting, and the beautiful woman was even more enchanting.
...
As for what happened between Minato and Kushina that night, no one knew except Kazuyama and Pakura.
However, a month later, the two of them were officially in a relationship and were discussing their wedding plans.
After all, under the influence of medicinal wine that night, the last barrier between them had been broken.
...
Time flew by, and the Chūnin Exams were approaching.
Ninjas from several neighboring villages had already arrived in Konohagakure, including the Genin from Takigakure led by Konan.
Kazuyama was in charge of receiving them.
At the entrance of the village, Kazuyama looked at Konan and Yugito, who were exhausted from their journey, and couldn't help but smile.
"Hey, Konan, Yugito."
"Welcome to Konohagakure."
Yuki gave her teacher a dirty look, then followed Konan and Kazuyama into Konohagakure.
"There are quite a few people participating in the Chūnin Exams this time."
Kazuyama glanced at the group from Takigakure.
Indeed, there were quite a few people, with five teams of three.
Yugito's companions were two teenagers who looked pretty good.
"Hmm, the village is stable now."
"Let's talk about that later."
Kazuyama gave Konan a nod, and she nodded back knowingly.
After all, this was Konohagakure, and some things had to be kept secret.
The scale of this Chūnin Exam was still very large, including five ninja villages: Konohagakure, Takigakure, Amegakure, Yūgakure, and Kusagakure.
When they arrived at the dormitory arranged for the examinees, Kazuyama and Konan both looked at Amegakure.
"Kazuyama, why is Amegakure..."
A hint of displeasure flashed in Konan's eyes as she lowered her voice and asked Kazuyama.
Kazuyama shook his head helplessly and repeated,
"I'll tell you later."
"This is the dormitory arranged by the village. Let the Genin rest for now."
"You need to come with me to meet Lord Hokage."
Konan nodded. As the Jōnin leading the team from Takigakure, it was only natural for her to make an appearance.
The two of them then headed toward the Hokage Building.
When they arrived at the hall, quite a few people were already gathered—just like Kazuyama, they were the ones who had been notified to represent their respective villages.
Including Kazuyama, there were ten people in total, all Jōnin.
Among them were familiar faces like Shibi Aburame and Tsume Inuzuka.
The rest were the Jōnin leading teams from other villages.
"Yo, Kazuyama, you're here. Takigakure sure sent a lot of people this time."
They were all acquaintances, so Kazuyama nodded naturally.
Soon after, Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared and began explaining the rules for the Chūnin Exams.
The exams were divided into two parts: an individual competition and a team competition.
The team competition would start in three days.
"As for the examiners," Hiruzen said, "besides the Jōnin leading the teams from each village..."
"Konoha will also select five elite Jōnin to serve as examiners."
"They are: Kazuyama Gekkō, Minato Namikaze, Fugaku Uchiha, Hiashi Hyūga, and Shikaku Nara."
Kazuyama shook his head helplessly. He knew he wouldn't be able to escape this.
And what was with that look in Hiruzen's eyes... It felt like he was being hunted.
All over a single crystal ball?
He clearly had a whole pile of them! What a miser.
...
Later that evening, Kazuyama glanced at the bright moon in the sky, then vanished from the spot with a Flying Thunder God.
Not long after, outside Konohagakure, Kazuyama looked at Konan and Yugito standing before him and smiled faintly.
"Hmph, this lazy sensei just loves calling people out late at night. So annoying. Now I can't even go to the hot springs!"
"Alright, Yugito, don't be so stubborn," Konan said with a soft laugh, seeing Yugito's annoyed face.
Kazuyama simply showed he had no choice in the matter.
"Konan, it wasn't the Hokage's decision to let Amegakure participate in the Chūnin Exams. It was suggested by Danzō, the shadow behind the ninja world."
"He has dealings with Amegakure and insisted they be invited to join the exams, even against the others' objections."
Konan frowned slightly. Danzō Shimura…
So even the higher-ups of Konoha had ties with Amegakure…
Then what about Nagato...
"It shouldn't have anything to do with Nagato. After all, if he knew about the Rinnegan, he'd stop at nothing to seize it for himself."
"This time, Amegakure has sent quite a few people too—three Jōnin and eighteen Genin."
"If we run into them, Yugito..."
Yugito grinned, her confidence radiating outward.
"Don't worry! I'll beat them so badly they won't even be able to take care of themselves!"
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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