Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 376 A Little Bit of Daily Life

All of Naruto's comrades who hadn't yet reached the Chunin rank participated in this exam, but it was a rare occasion that Naruto didn't have to participate in it; he preferred to give himself a break.

Granny Tsunade probably thought the same way. Apart from handing him a dozen scrolls that she hadn't specified when he would finish reviewing when he first returned, she didn't bother him with anything else. Naruto, having activated his backing, was happy to have some free time. He finished processing the batch of documents in almost a day and then went into a state of staying at home.

Unfortunately, he's just too popular; even when he's at home, all sorts of people come knocking on his door.

"Naruto-nii-san!" The first one to knock on the window was Konohamaru, his lips pursed, his eyes brimming with tears. "Why won't you be our teacher! Waaah..."

Naruto was so annoyed by the noise that he had no choice but to put down his pen and let the overly noisy brat into the house.

No missions today?

Konohamaru muttered, "The teacher said that the joint exam is a rare opportunity and that we should participate as well."

"Shouldn't you discuss countermeasures with your partners?"

"We train together every day..."

"But there aren't many actual combat training exercises, are there?"

"That's because Ebisu-sensei is too weak. When we team up, he's completely overwhelmed." Konohamaru's tone was somewhat arrogant, showing that he had become conceited at such a young age.

"Really? He wasn't serious, was he?" Naruto said, expressing his disbelief.

"Really, really! You weren't there on our graduation day, so you didn't see it. During Ebisu-sensei's assessment, we completely fooled him!" Konohamaru recounted his heroic deeds with a mix of words and gestures. His story was fragmented, but in essence, the three of them relied on their unexpected ninjutsu advantage to successfully trap the overconfident Ebisu in the ground.

Naruto felt a little guilty and asked, "You didn't hit him with the Rasengan, did you?" If you did, he would have been seriously injured.

"'The Rasengan is a trump card, only used in dire situations.' I remember Naruto's words very clearly, lol!" Konohamaru struck what he thought was a very cool pose and said smugly, "There's no need to use the Rasengan against such a small fry." He wouldn't admit that it was the Sexy Jutsu that created the opening for the surprise attack!

"Oh...so what kind of person is a big shot?"

Konohamaru replied without hesitation, "Of course, it's ninjas like Grandpa, Uncle, and Big Brother Naruto!"

Naruto raised his hand and flicked the child on the forehead, saying, "You're so young and already comparing yourself to others, that's not good."

"Where did I say something wrong? Ebisu is no match for Naruto! Kole." Konohamaru retorted loudly, though he was covering his head.

"Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. For example, I'm not really suited to be a teacher." Naruto was aware of this; he knew that hands-on teaching couldn't really teach kinesthetic skills!

Konohamaru blinked at him, not quite understanding the meaning of those words.

“But we’ve all learned the ninjutsu you taught us, Kole.”

“You learned elemental transformation techniques before, so once you learn the hand seals, observe how to use them, and practice diligently, you’ll definitely be able to learn them.” Naruto tapped his little spiky ponytail and said, “As for the Rasengan you learned, that’s because that’s how my master taught me. I just taught it to you directly.”

"Isn't this also teaching?"

“But if you haven’t learned chakra control and elemental transformations, then I can’t teach you anything. After all, these two things are as natural to me as breathing. Do you know how to teach someone to breathe?” Naruto asked a rather abstract question, the answer of which was self-evident.

That's instinct. Even if you know the principle and break down the steps, you can't consciously stop breathing. In this world, no one suffocates themselves.

"Look, things I'm not good at, Ebisu-sensei taught you all very well. Doesn't that prove that strength isn't the only criterion for judging a person?" Incorrect ideas must be corrected in time. Children are the easiest to go astray. This is all Ebisu's fault for always talking about the Third Hokage. In the end, he reaped what he sowed.

Therefore, creating a world where everyone is equal is truly a long and arduous task.

It wasn't too difficult to appease Konohamaru. The kid was smart from a young age, and he was coaxed through his childhood, yet he didn't go astray at all as he grew up; he was truly a good child. The competition was just around the corner, and Naruto refused the three children's requests to spar with him. They needed to calm down more than fight.

It's worth mentioning that thanks to Konohamaru for providing such great material, his book, which he's been working on for over half a year, has a new chapter. Rigid theoretical knowledge always lacks the enthusiasm to inspire learning, so weaving in some interesting anecdotes is a great choice. However, his original intention was to write a book summarizing the theoretical foundations of "Hui" from its inception to the present, but as he wrote, it ended up resembling a personal autobiography, only without his name on it.

"Sigh, I really am not good at this." Naruto sighed deeply, stuffed the newly written manuscript into the cabinet full of seals, and buried his head in his slightly aching temples.

He wondered if it was just his imagination, but he seemed to be feeling a bit tired lately. Even his shadow clones were occasionally feeling sleepy. Was this a sign that he didn't have much time left?

It seems it's time to slowly reclaim the shadow clones around the world. He doesn't want to suddenly die without warning one day; that would be a rather hasty death.

There are too many things to come, and how to conserve resources is a big problem. He felt that he had to hold out until Konoha set its sights on the Land of Rain. If he could stop his master's suicide mission, that would be the best outcome. If he couldn't stop it, he would have to personally bring the man back before he could close his eyes in peace.

"You brat... never mind, I'm tired of talking." As the leader of the Tailed Beasts, Kurama was utterly helpless against a human. He was truly frustrated.

Oh dear, I almost forgot, Kurama also needs to be properly settled. Releasing a tailed beast anywhere before the war ends is tantamount to handing it over to Akatsuki. It's not that Naruto doesn't trust Kurama's strength, but rather that they have too many ways to counter tailed beasts. He had a good plan beforehand, essentially a form of insurance for the future, which involved coaxing Kurama into agreeing...

The fox will definitely be so angry that it will want to fight him.

"I'll go rest now, I'll go now." Naruto decisively chose to go along with the other party's wishes. At least for a long time, he would be an obedient and well-behaved child.

"Hmph. What does it matter to me whether you rest or not? You deserve to die from exhaustion."

This seemingly unfriendly statement translates to: "Lie down, you're exhausted."

Nine-Tailed Fox is still so dishonest. If he ends up living with that guy, will they just sit in the spiritual space, speechless with each other?