Time passed quickly, and the war of words between the Kirigakure and Konoha Village, which began with intense clashes, gradually became subdued.
However, neither side showed any intention of stopping.
Before Kakashi woke up, the Third Hokage would not allow Konoha Village to make any unnecessary moves.
The only thing that surprised Hiruzen Sarutobi was Kirigakure's attitude; this time, it was exceptionally firm yet made no substantive moves.
This was also the real reason Hiruzen Sarutobi felt uneasy.
If Kirigakure had made any excessive demands, Hiruzen Sarutobi would not have been as worried as he was now.
Hiruzen Sarutobi gently rubbed his temples, a hint of fatigue on his face. Recently, the issue with Kirigakure had caused some impact on the Village.
However,
A faint glint flashed in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes. The Chunin Exams were about to begin.
By leveraging these Chunin Exams, he could demonstrate Konoha's stability and strength from another perspective. Perhaps this could help eliminate some negative impacts.
In a forest.
Iruka's eyes showed a worried expression as he looked at the three individuals below who were on a herb-gathering mission.
The problems with these three seemed even more severe than before.
Just from where the three stood, some useful information could be analyzed.
Sakura stood close to Sasuke. Although this was always the case, what was different now was that Sakura was consciously avoiding Naruto's direction.
After Naruto's Tailed Beast transformation incident, it was impossible to say it had no impact. However, compared to the problems of the other two, this was the easiest to resolve.
As time passed, Sakura's problem would naturally be solved.
As for Sasuke,
Iruka frowned. Although Sasuke appeared to be diligently gathering herbs below, his mind was probably elsewhere.
Moreover, Sasuke's current state felt like he was both within and outside this small team.
Sasuke seemed to have no special feelings for this three-person team, and this state was not good.
For simple herb-gathering missions like this, it was fine, but for combat-type missions, with Sasuke's current state, there would be no teamwork whatsoever.
As for Naruto,
A worried expression appeared on Iruka's face. Although Naruto still seemed the same as before, with his usual carefree expression,
As one of the few people in all of Konoha who understood Naruto, Iruka could vaguely sense that Naruto seemed to have some confusion in his heart.
Was it because of Kakashi Hatake's situation? Or because of the Nine-Tailed's problem?
Iruka speculated in his heart. However, neither of these issues was something he could currently address. He could only comfort and encourage Naruto from another angle.
And this method was ultimately limited.
"After the mission is complete, I'll treat everyone to Ichiraku Ramen."
Iruka said with a gentle smile, looking at the people gathering herbs below.
"Really?!"
Naruto, who was under a large tree, was first stunned, then shouted joyfully.
On the other side, Sakura was unenthusiastic but still symbolically responded.
"I won't go. I have training tonight."
Sasuke looked at Iruka and said in a flat tone. After speaking, he turned and continued searching for the herbs they needed for their mission in the forest.
Clenching his fists tightly, Sasuke's peripheral vision glanced in Naruto's direction, and he couldn't help but recall that powerful Chakra.
Was such immense power hidden within that Loser's body?
With unwillingness in his eyes, Sasuke looked at the ground. He had to get stronger quickly, instead of doing such boring missions!!
"Alright, that's a shame, but you must train in moderation."
Hearing Sasuke's words, Iruka scratched his head and said helplessly.
He needed to find something that could capture the attention of all three, allow them to understand each other, and foster teamwork.
Iruka looked at the three below, thinking thoughtfully.
Night.
Naruto walked into his home alone. At Ichiraku Ramen, although Iruka had said many things to Naruto, Naruto had absorbed very little.
Naruto wanted to ask Iruka-sensei if he knew anything about his parents, or what that thing called the "Nine-Tailed" inside his body was.
But in the end, Naruto still didn't say it. How could Iruka-sensei possibly know?
If he knew, he would have told me already.
Naruto had seen the Nine-Tailed several times during this period. Its massive, mountain-like body and the enormous iron cage surprised Naruto and also made him seem to understand something.
Unfortunately, each time Naruto saw the Nine-Tailed during this period, for some reason, the giant fox inside his body was asleep.
As a result, Naruto did nothing but look.
Naruto didn't know that the reason he frequently saw the Nine-Tailed during this time was naturally intentional on the Nine-Tailed's part.
Although the Nine-Tailed couldn't defeat Yūto and didn't know Yūto's purpose in seeking out Naruto, if it could annoy Yūto, it would be extremely satisfying for the Nine-Tailed.
Unfortunately, when Yūto took the Chakra from the Nine-Tailed's body, he left a special seal on the Nine-Tailed.
This seal was a sealing Ninjutsu that Yūto had specifically sought out during the Sengoku period to prevent himself from being controlled by genjutsu. At the time, it had cost Yūto a considerable amount of time.
However, after Yūto used it, he discovered that this sealing Ninjutsu was not as effective against genjutsu as he had imagined, but it did have one point: it had an immediate effect against Ninjutsu similar to consciousness intrusion.
In short, only one consciousness can be dominant within a person's body, and Yūto directly planted this sealing Ninjutsu on the Nine-Tailed, resulting in:
When Naruto's consciousness appeared in the consciousness space, the sealing Ninjutsu on the Nine-Tailed would forcibly activate, compelling the Nine-Tailed into a state of forced slumber.
This was the main reason why the Nine-Tailed was sleeping every time Naruto saw it during this period.
Of course, as soon as Naruto's consciousness left, the sealing Ninjutsu would automatically deactivate, and the Nine-Tailed could wake up.
Result: Nine-Tailed wakes up - Naruto leaves - Naruto enters - Nine-Tailed sleeps... and then an infinite loop.
At first, the Nine-Tailed thought it had misremembered, but after several consecutive instances, the Nine-Tailed finally discovered the problem.
Now, whenever the name "Yūto" came to mind, the Nine-Tailed would grit its teeth in fury.
However, during this time, Naruto suddenly discovered that for some unknown reason, the flow of Chakra within his body was faster than before, and even easier to control.
His previously weakest Shadow Clone Jutsu could now be used at will during this period.
Although he couldn't figure out why, it was a good thing for Naruto.