190. Chunnin Exam Closes In

A/N:- Mid-semester exams are on me. So, I took a break from writing to prepare for it. I will still post chapters since the exams aren't that hard but I won't post any chapter on the day of exam.

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Inside the Hokage Office,

"Here."

Izuna delivers the report of all the participants to Tsunade.

"There are 168 participants in total. 69 from Konoha, 33 from Kirigakure, 36 from Sunagakure, 15 from Kusagakure, 9 from Takigakure, 6 from Otogakure."

Hmm…

Tsunade nods her head.

"Otogakure is a new village found by Orochimaru. We are unsure of his motives, but if Orochimaru wants to extend a peaceful collaboration, then I will give him a chance."

Tsunade closes the scroll and nods her head.

"The first stage of the Chunnin exam comprises a written exam, and it will be held in the Ninja Academy. We will hold the Second Part of the exam in The Forest of Death."

Izuna explains the details to her.

"The final exam would be held a month after the second exam as it would be a one-on-one tournament and it would provide the participants enough time to recuperate from their injuries."

Hmm…

Tsunade nods her head.

"I see… so the Daimyo and the Kazekage would be present during the final event."

"That's the gist of it. Also, I am planning to open a gambling den during the event…."

"WAIT…. WHAT?"

Tsunade jumps from her seat and clutches Izuna's shoulder.

"You are opening a gambling den?"

"Yes…"

Izuna nods his head.

"It would be a missed opportunity to earn money if I don't open a betting and gambling den."

Izuna rubs his hands and explains.

"During the final exam, the competitors from different villages will face up against each other. By announcing the matchups, we can stir the crowd and attract greater publicity for the event.

With that premise, we can set up a gamble on the winner and earn some fat stacks of cash."

'Most of my funds are used by Pride and Wrath to hunt down the sleeper agents of Kara. I seriously need cash right now. This is a well-timed opportunity; I can't miss it.'

"Fat stack of Cash…"

Tsunade's eyes shine brightly as she holds Izuna's hands.

"Izuna… can I partake in this gambling event? I also want to gamble and earn some money."

"Err… well…"

Izuna scratches his head as he stares at Tsunade.

"I don't need to remind you of your luck, right? With your luck, you will end up losing all your money."

"No…"

Tsunade bites her lower lip as her gambling craving kicks in.

"Oh!… this might work."

An idea forms in Tsunade's mind.

"Izuna since you would be the owner of the gambling den, then you can just return the money to me if I lose the gamble."

"…"

"How about NO?"

Izuna walks out of the office.

"No… wait…"

Tsunade hugs his back as she presses her enormous chest against Izuna's back.

Gulp…

Izuna gulps his saliva as he resists the temptation.

"I won't fall for your Kunoichi seduction tricks. NO means NO."

Sob… sob…

Tsunade gloomily sits in a corner and draws circles with her fingers.

Sob… Sob…

"My most beloved disciple has forgotten about his teacher. He is a grown man with a girl chasing after him. He doesn't need his Sensei anymore. Sob… sob…"

Tsunade continues to draw a circle in the corner.

"No… not again."

Izuna rubs his forehead as he stares at Tsunade.

Hmm…

Tsunade stares at Izuna from a corner of her eye to see his reaction.

"Fine… Fine… I will let you gamble. But it will be in limit."

"Yes… now I can gamble to my heart's content. It has been a while since I last got an opportunity to let loose. Haha…"

Tsunade laughs hysterically.

"…"

'There is nothing I can do to change this woman.'

Izuna shakes his head and walks out of the Hokage Office.

"Man… I am so tired of these D-rank missions. There is no challenge at all."

A familiar voice falls in his ears.

Hmm…

Izuna stops in tracks and waits for the voice.

"Naruto… you might be strong for a genin, but that doesn't mean you are strong enough to do hard missions. Every instance is a life and death during a mission. One slight mistake can cost you your life."

Kakashi walks in front of the group as he warns Naruto.

"Oh! Kakashi and the group."

Izuna greets them.

"Izuna."

Kakashi nods his head.

"Nii-san… these D-rank missions are not fun at all. I want to go out of the village and do some serious missions like a real ninja."

Naruto complains.

The group enters inside the Hokage Office as Kakashi submits the mission report.

Tsunade skims through the details and nods her head.

"Team 7 has done an outstanding job in these past few months. They have completed 8 D-Rank missions during this period."

"Obasan! These missions are hardly any challenge for us. Give us a high-rank mission already. I want to do some cool ninja missions."

Naruto slams his palms on the table. The impact sends the papers on the table flying.

Tick…

A tick mark appears on Tsunade's head as she clutches her fists and bonks Naruto.

"Naruto… you idiot."

Ouch… ouch…

Naruto clutches his head and meekly retreats.

"It's fine… Tsunade-sama."

Shizune hurriedly gathers the paper.

"Fine… since you want a hard mission, then I have a suitable mission for you."

Whoosh…

Tsunade throws a poster towards Naruto.

Swish…

Naruto catches the poster and inspects it. There is a picture of a brown cat on the poster.

'This cat…'

Izuna and Kakashi sweat-drops at the image of the cat.

'This cat still looks the same. It has been almost 13 years since I last did the mission to retrieve this cat. I wonder what kind of species is this cat?'

"It's just a cat. Humph…"

Naruto harrumphs as he scoffs.

"Obasan… I asked for a challenging mission not to search for lost pets. How is this challenging?"

Naruto tosses the poster back to Tsunade.

"I won't do this mission. Give me another mission."

Mmm…

Sasuke also nods his head.

Ahem…

Izuna clears his throat.

"Listen, Naruto… don't judge a book by its cover."

Huh…

The curiosity of the group rises as they turn to Izuna to hear the story.

"It was 13 years before when I was also a genin like you."

Izuna explains dramatically as he creates tension in the atmosphere.

"Back then, the third Hokage-sama gave us the same mission to capture this cat. But…"

Gulp…

Naruto gulps his saliva as he listens to the story.

"… but this cat is no ordinary cat. It is an immortal cat."

"Immortal cat?"

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura question him together.

"Yes… you can ask Kakashi for the confirmation."

"Kakashi sensei… is it true?" Sakura asks him curiously.

"Yes… it is true. This cat has changed little during all these years. It still looks the same as today. I still remember the struggle of my team while attempting to capture this cat. Back then I was a chunnin and this cat still gave me a hard time.

Without proper coordination and teamwork, it is almost impossible to capture this cat. This cat is a myth among genins and is called the 'legendary whisker' But you lot don't have to worry, I had made necessary arrangements to capture the cat."

Whoosh…

Kakashi takes out a pair of walkie talkie as he cooks up some bullshit to convince the group.

Twitch… twitch…

Izuna and Tsunade's eyebrows twitch as they stare at Kakashi.

'He sure can spew out bullshit like it is a natural thing.'

But of them collectively agree to this.

"Oh!… now that looks like a challenge."

Naruto clutches his fist as he grabs the walkie talkie.

"Watch me catch this cat in no time. Dattebyo!"

Whoosh…

Naruto flickers out of the Hokage Office.

"Oye Naruto! Wait for us."

Sakura and Sasuke chase after him.

"Sorry for bothering you, Hokage-sama."

Kakashi bows before Tsunade before flickering out of the office.

Sigh…

"This boy sure is troublesome. He is a spitting image of Minato, but he behaves like Kushina."

Sigh…

Tsunade closes her eyes as she reminisces the past.

"Naruto can be troublesome sometimes, but that's what makes him unique. His innocence and purity of heart is the reason he can influence others."

Izuna remarks silently as he stares at Hokage Monument.

'Just a little. Just a little longer… Minato and Kushina Nee-san. Once I get the chakra of five-tails, I would be able to manifest the power to resurrect both of you.'