Konoha.

"Ha... It's a nice day."

Aokiji stretched his arms and yawned as he walked through the streets of Konoha, for the weather in this village was far better to that of Mist.

The gentle air, together with the clear blue sky above, brought Aokiji's heart to peace.

It's been two days since the first exam ended.

Aokiji didn't want to stay at home all day, so he went for another walk around the village.

"Captain, may I return...I need to train?"

Mei, who was strolling a little behind Aokiji, stated with a little angry expression on her face.

Ichiro was practicing privately with Asahi, so Mei could only practice alone, but Aokiji asked her to follow him just as she was meditating.

"Train... Train..., always the same thing... try to relax a little"

Aokiji shook his head, realizing that coping with a training fanatic was too difficult.

"I can't afford to squander my time here."

Mei was obstinate as she turned around and prepared to go.

"You've been training for years... why not try something new... maybe you'll improve faster."

"If... I follow you... can I become as strong as you"

Mei remained silent for a minute after hearing his remarks before speaking, her dead serious eyes engaging his.

"I can't promise anything, but it won't hurt to try, right?"

Aokiji sighed helplessly as he pondered what had compelled this girl to seek power.

"Let's... have a look around here, Captain."

Mei decided to follow him, as Aokiji had also treated her to breakfast during their stroll, and just as the sun rose above her head, Mei pointed to a building where the flow of people was tremendous, a little curious.

"Hey~, not there!!"

Aokiji tried to stop her, but she went forward, leaving him behind, and he had no choice but to follow.

"I... think I made a big mistake..."

Looking at the casino board hanging outside, Aokiji wanted to cry as he suddenly had a bad feeling.

(AN:- This is fantasy, don't look from real world perspective that 9 year old kids aren't allowed in casino)

Later that day, Aokiji returned, bearing the withered wallet and a heavy heart.

"Casino... it's a great place to practice... I should go there more frequently."

Mei, on the other hand, found her experience in the casino to be extremely novel, as she learned that her observation abilities had grown significantly in just one day.

As a result, she decided to go to the casino more frequently with the Captain.

--------------------------

Third Training Ground.

"Collaboration Jutsu! Pistol of Water"

Four figures were present on the Training Ground, where a fight appeared to be taking place.

Jiraiya was in front of a red toad the size of him, and he put his hand on the back of the toad while it made hand signs.

A quick torrent of water came out of the toad's mouth towards Orochimaru, who stood before him unfazed and made hand gestures.

"Earth Style! Mud Wall"

Boom!!!

Orochimaru was shielded from the lethal water stream by a mud wall that grew up in front of him.

"Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!

But Orochimaru didn't stop there, leaping into the air and hurling a Shuriken at Jiraiya while making another hand sign.

*Swoosh*

The Shuriken in the air began to multiply quickly as numerous shurikens drowned Jiraiya.

"Needle Jiżo"

But Jiraiya remained unfazed as he poured chakra into his hair, which began to grow and became spiky.

*Keng*

Jiraiya's long spiky hair protected him like armor, as shurikens smashed with it but couldn't get through it.

The torrent of shurikens eventually halted as Jiraiya's hair armor began to move away.

Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Style! Inner Decapitation Jutsu)

"Oops..."

As soon as he undid the needle jizo, Jiraiya looked in front, and seeing no sign of Orochimaru, he cursed as he tried to jump.

*Thud*

However, two hands emerged from the ground beneath him and gripped his ankles, keeping him from escaping as Jiraiya was dragged down the next minute.

"I win!"

Jiraiya, who had been buried with only his head exposed, heard Orochimaru's voice and had a Kunai placed around his neck.

"Haha!!!, you've lost Jiraiya; I'll take this."

Tsunade and Sarutobi, both dressed in grey Kimonos, stood on the sidelines, observing the fight.

Sarutobi wants to train them today because the second exam is only three days away.

But, just as he was going to instruct them, Jiraiya unexpectedly challenged Orochimaru, leaving him with no option but to let them fight, and the outcome was as he had predicted.

"Shut up, flat chest Tsunade"

Tsunade cheerfully brandished Jiraiya's toad wallet, which irritated him so much that he couldn't help but curse.

Tsunade had bet Jiraiya that he would lose against Orochimaru, and it was the only bet that Tsunade always won.

"All right, that's enough for now."

Hearing his remarks, Tsunade was going to hit him, aiming to totally bury him, but Sarutobi intervened.

Read chapters ahead on [email protected]/Navyking6666.