CH_70

"Tōji's really working hard! I've been doing some special training too, hehe." Natchi walked alongside him, his expression growing more animated as he spoke.

Then he shifted the topic. "So… have you decided to become a medical-nin?"

"Ah—maybe. Anyway, was there something important you needed to talk to me about today?" Tōji steered the conversation back, not wanting to get sidetracked.

"Oh, right—it's about the Chūnin Exams. The date's been announced. Early March." Natchi's excitement was unmistakable.

"And—there's big news! I saw it on the bulletin board in front of the Hokage Tower today!" Natchi suddenly stopped walking.

"What big news?" Tōji stopped too, already having an idea.

"The Third Hokage has announced his retirement. Namikaze Minato will succeed him immediately! My idol is becoming the Fourth Hokage! The inauguration ceremony is in two days!" As Natchi spoke, his eyes seemed to sparkle, and his hands started gesturing more.

"Lord Minato really is an excellent choice." Tōji wore a sincere smile and echoed the sentiment.

『Looks like Orochimaru's situation is about to get worse. Will Danzo throw a fit of powerless rage?』

『Kakashi will probably be joining the Anbu soon too.』

『Which means Kushina's pregnancy is about a year away…』

『Looks like things are following the original plot. Which means—Naruto will be born next fall, right on schedule—along with the Nine-Tails Incident.』

『I wonder if Obito really did set the Nine-Tails Incident in motion because he overheard Kakashi talking at the grave.』

"Tōji! What are you thinking about? You're always spacing out. Do you even remember what I just said?" Natchi gave him a "light" pat on the shoulder—but these days, Natchi's "light" pat felt like a normal teenager's hard slap.

"Hiss—Natchi, your special training wouldn't happen to be strength training, would it? You need to dial back the force." Normally, Tōji wouldn't have found it that painful—but he'd just finished training and was completely out of chakra. Without chakra, his tolerance for "impact" was different.

"How did you know! It's kind of a clan secret technique. I chose to focus on strength development. I didn't expect to see such a noticeable improvement in such a short time." Natchi's goofy grin reappeared.

"Wouldn't improving agility be better for your clan's beast-imitation secret technique?" Tōji thought Natchi might be a bit too single-minded—strength didn't seem as useful as agility.

"I can always train that later. I just like the feeling of power!" Natchi raised his fist—significantly larger than most kids his age—and clenched it.

Why didn't the Kazamatsuri clan have such a convenient enhancement technique…

"That's not all you came to tell me, is it?" Tōji steered the conversation back on track.

"Oh, right! Lord Minato takes office, and then right after that, it's the Chūnin Exams. This time, the rules say you have to apply as a full three-man squad. So I had to come tell you!" Natchi dialed back his earlier overexcitement.

"How about we go sit down at my place and talk properly?" Tōji realized they'd been standing for a while, and his house wasn't far. He invited Natchi over.

Tōji had never truly made friends before—and had never once brought a friend home.

But now, he was starting to acknowledge that this simple, straightforward Natchi was someone he could trust.

"Can't—I just came to let you know. We're meeting tomorrow at nine in the morning, behind the Hokage Tower. I still need to get back to my special training!" With that, Natchi turned to head home.

"Alright—see you tomorrow." Tōji suddenly felt that "see you tomorrow" was a pretty nice promise to have with a friend.