"Oh, that old man wants to send us poor folks to work again."
Simu lay on a tree branch with his hands behind his head, complaining.
He had no interest in traveling—he just wanted to enjoy his time in Konoha.
Minato glanced at him.
"What are you worried about? You still have three months to prepare."
"That makes sense."
It was a blessing in disguise.
To prepare for the Jōnin exam, the Third Hokage had given Simu and the others a three-month break, allowing them to train without distractions and bring honor to the village.
Of course, Simu took the opportunity to bargain with the Third Hokage.
For example, he argued that if they didn't take on missions for three months, they would have no income and might starve to death.
Left with no choice, the Third Hokage agreed to provide them with a three-month stipend—600,000 ryō in total.
Simu figured he could earn that much by completing two A-rank missions, but free money was always better.
Satisfied, the lazy ninja quieted down.
"Since we have three months to train, we can't waste it," Minato said, taking the lead in starting his training.
After Kushina kissed Simu last night, she seemed a little shy around him today.
But that was normal—after all, she was still just a young girl.
He just needed to take things slow.
The only regret was that Rei had left on a mission soon after recovering from her injuries.
Before she left, Simu only had time to give her a Den Den Mushi but couldn't do much more.
On the bright side, this meant he could focus on building his relationship with Kushina.
Noticing Simu's gaze on her, Kushina immediately raised her small fist.
Simu just smiled and lay back down.
When it comes to girls, you have to reel them in slowly.
If he pursued Kushina too aggressively now, she might think he was too easy and not worth chasing.
But if he played it cool, she'd start feeling uncertain, and that uncertainty would tie her heart to him.
After all, Simu had been somewhat of an expert in relationships in his past life.
He might not be able to deceive an experienced woman, but coaxing a young girl? That was easy.
Thinking of this, he turned his head to Minato.
"Hey, Minato, what did you get from the old man?"
Back when the Third Hokage gave out rewards, Simu had been sent to the Shikkotsu Forest by reverse summoning, so he still didn't know what Minato had chosen.
Minato raised the scroll in his hand.
"I found a technique that suits me in the Scroll of Seals."
"It's called the Flying Thunder God Technique."
Simu raised an eyebrow.
"As expected of you, Minato. That's an S-rank jutsu."
Because of Simu's presence in this world, Minato seemed to have gotten his hands on the technique a little earlier than in the original timeline.
But with Minato's talent, mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique in three months shouldn't be a problem.
Minato chuckled.
If anyone else had said that, he might have taken it as sincere encouragement.
After all, he was a polite and kind person.
But hearing it from Simu? He could only laugh.
This guy had an absurdly powerful Light Release and could probably kick out an S-rank jutsu just by stretching his legs.
Was he really in any position to say such things?
Meanwhile, Kushina ignored Simu's antics and focused on her training.
She was practicing the secret techniques of the Uzumaki Clan, passed down by Mito Uzumaki herself.
The Adamantine Sealing Chains.
Not only would this improve her overall strength, but it would also help reinforce the seal on the Nine-Tails.
At the Hokage's Office
The two advisors, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, were in the middle of a heated argument with the Third Hokage.
"I absolutely will not allow the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki to participate in the Jōnin exam!" Koharu declared with a stern expression.
Even though they were younger than in the original timeline, their stubborn way of thinking was just as rigid.
To them, tailed beasts were unstable, terrifying weapons in human form.
They needed to be strictly controlled.
Allowing Kushina to become a ninja was already pushing the limit.
Letting her participate in a Jōnin exam? Unacceptable.
"Cloud Shinobi already knows that Kushina is the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, and now you want to send her to the Jōnin exam? Are you deliberately walking into a trap?" Homura added, equally opposed to Hiruzen's decision.
Danzo, meanwhile, sat silently, lost in thought.
Hiruzen took a sip of tea, unbothered by their concerns.
He had already considered all these factors when making his decision.
"First of all, the exam will take place in the Land of Iron, a neutral country, not in Cloud Shinobi Village."
"Secondly, I've heard that Cloud Shinobi has recently developed a method to control their tailed beasts."
"If we only focus on protecting Jinchūriki and never allow them to train and grow stronger…"
"Then the Tailed Beast will always be a threat to us, rather than an asset."
Hiruzen's voice was firm.
At this point, he was still relatively open-minded and not as overly cautious as he would become later.
"I will have Jiraiya and Tsunade lead the team. With them there, nothing will go wrong."
Danzo finally spoke.
"I suggest sending members of Root to the Land of Iron as well."
Seeing that Hiruzen was about to object, he lowered his voice and added:
"Hiruzen, have you already forgotten what happened with Cloud Shinobi last time?"
At that, Hiruzen slowly closed his eyes.
After a long silence, he let out a heavy sigh.
"...Fine."
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