CH_75

"Hey—look at the rooftop!" Kotetsu pointed out.

Almost everyone looked up at the top of the Hokage Tower at the same time.

Besides Hiruzen Sarutobi, Namikaze Minato, Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, and the other big shots, there were also about a dozen clan heads from first- and second-rate families, all standing further back.

Tōji watched as Hiruzen handed his Hokage hat to Minato. Minato put it on and walked to the edge of the rooftop, near the railing…

The morning sun was a bit dazzling at that angle, making it hard for Tōji to fully open his eyes as he looked up.

Even Minato himself seemed to shine brightly.

Minato took off the hat he'd just put on, and simply stood there, looking down at the crowd…

"Whoaa~!" A massive cheer erupted from both shinobi and civilians alike.

Tōji, caught up in the moment, found himself cheering along with everyone else.

Then came a wave of applause, overwhelming and deafening. It was a testament to just how popular Minato was.

Everyone quieted down at Minato's signal…

"I am Namikaze Minato. From this day forward, I will serve as the Fourth Hokage of Konohagakure!"

Just one simple sentence…

"Whoaa~!" Another surge of cheers and applause.

After the Fourth's inaugural address, that was essentially it.

But what Tōji and the others experienced was that burst of electrifying atmosphere.

That sense of ceremony truly made you feel that a new era had begun!

In that moment of emotion—combined with his long-standing "affinity" for Minato—Tōji almost felt like finding a chance to reveal his secret to Minato, so that Minato could always be Konoha's guardian.

Seeing how crowded it was, Tōji didn't even bother trying to find Natchi or Neru. Instead, he grabbed Izumo and headed straight to the dango shop.

Young shinobi close in age—like Asuma, Gai, Kurenai, Genma, and Izumo—often hung out at the dango shop.

Tōji played to their tastes by treating them to food—Kotetsu and Izumo both had a sweet tooth.

But Tōji was disappointed…

Izumo only had a rough idea—no concrete plan for testing it yet. If he had to describe his approach, it was basically: while molding Water Release chakra in his mouth, he'd visualize… visualize the feeling of eating mizuame.

『What kind of magical logic is that?! No wonder you're the only one in the entire shinobi world who created 「Mizuame Release」—nobody else could learn it!』

Tōji thought back further. 『The guy who made clay with Earth Release was a member of the Anbu during Tsunade's time as Hokage—code name "Beni."』

『If I figure the timeline right, he should be around our age too… I'll just have to keep an eye out.』

『It seems like someone like Asuma—who managed to develop a B-rank Fire Release technique like 【Ash Pile Burning】 just from smoking, and could even teach it to others—is truly rare talent.』

He glanced at Asuma, sitting at the next table eating dango, along with the "important figures" beside him—Gai, Kurenai, and others—but Tōji made no effort to befriend them.

『Sigh—I thought I'd found a shortcut to getting stronger. In the end, I'm back to figuring things out on my own…』 Tōji felt a little deflated.

But his disappointment didn't last long—he hadn't really expected things to change that easily anyway.

He certainly wasn't going to "imagine" an original jutsu into existence anytime soon. For one thing, he wasn't familiar with mizuame. Izumo had achieved mastery through frequent practice—just like Asuma, who never put down his cigarettes…

『Keep pushing. First, do well in the Chūnin Exams. Then, try to earn a chance to learn the 【Flying Thunder God Technique】.』

After giving himself that little pep talk, Tōji made an excuse and left Izumo and the others.

He planned to drop by the hospital to let Haruka know he'd be taking a break from assisting her for a while.

The written exam for the Chūnin Exams was in two days.

『What kind of written exam will it be?』

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Author's Note: Stuff came up in real life, and I probably won't be able to update for a few days. So I'm dropping a bunch of extra chapters today. Sorry!