Chapter 191 People Change

"Haruko, this is..."

Looking at the three legendary ninjas standing in a row waiting beside her, Nohara Rin felt immense pressure, and she could barely hold onto her kunai.

Haruko, standing next to her, wasn't much better off; she didn't even dare to look in that direction.

At first, it was just Tsunade who insisted on staying by her side, but Orochimaru somehow found out and bumped into them on the way. Jiraiya, who had always disliked Orochimaru, naturally had to get involved, and as a result, the three legendary Sannin accompanied them during training.

Just as Obito Uchiha was about to come over and whisper with them, he was suddenly stared at by three cold, sinister gazes, which made him shudder.

Stiffly changing the direction of his stride, Obito Uchiha rushed to Kakashi Hatake's side as if running away.

Kakashi Hatake: ?

"They're terrifying..."

Obito Uchiha peeked cautiously from behind Kakashi Hatake, but only saw the unfriendly looks from Orochimaru and Jiraiya, while Tsunade just smiled and watched like a bystander.

"Strange, I clearly felt three gazes."

Hearing Obito's question, Haruko said helplessly, "There's another one in the tree behind."

Following her words, Obito Uchiha met the dark gaze of Hiruko peeking out from the tree, and silently shrank back behind Kakashi Hatake.

Seeing that Kakashi Hatake had no reaction, Obito Uchiha asked him in a muffled voice, "Don't you feel suffocated by their gaze?"

"I don't think so." Having completely lost face, Kakashi Hatake was no longer afraid.

Kakashi Hatake: World-weary and indifferent.jpg

"Moreover, Minato-sensei may be under even more pressure."

Kakashi Hatake pointed to Minato Namikaze, who was standing right under the noses of his teacher and classmates, not daring to move an inch.

Watching them train, Minato Namikaze was sweating profusely, but he could only manage a forced smile to ease the tension, "You guys did a great job, haha... not bad..."

Haruko cast a pitying glance at him and whispered in Rin Nohara's ear, "Poor Minato-sensei."

Nohara Rin nodded in deep agreement. After all, they were teachers of teachers, and they mostly felt a sense of oppression, while Namikaze Minato was directly facing the fate of being harshly criticized.

for example……

Orochimaru clicked his tongue impatiently, "This boring training, when will it end?"

"Yeah, I'm still looking forward to taking Haruko shopping." Tsunade sighed, resting her chin on her hand.

Since it was his own students giving the lesson, Jiraiya's lips twitched. "Can't you guys be a little more polite?"

Minato Namikaze was inwardly shedding tears of gratitude for Jiraiya's protection when he heard him add, "Besides, Haruko should be coming to play with me!"

Teacher, this is training! Where did the teacher who used to encourage us to cultivate ourselves diligently go?!

If Jiraiya could hear his thoughts, he'd probably say: "Don't bother me, I'm seriously trying to win Haruko over."

What a joke! What's more important than Haruko than cultivation?

Moreover, Haruko is currently indifferent to cultivation. Whenever anyone mentions cultivation, Haruko immediately excludes that person when looking for playmates.

It's not that I don't advocate spiritual practice, but rather that when pursuing someone, you should cater to their preferences—a quote from Jiraiya.

Knowing that no amount of training today would achieve the desired effect, Minato Namikaze simply summoned them and reminded them, "The Chunin Exams are coming soon. In addition to your regular training, you should also go back and train hard."

"Are there exams coming up again so soon?" Haruko thought dejectedly.

Nohara Rin comforted her, "But after passing the exam, we'll become Chunin!"

"We can carry out even more challenging missions!" Obito Uchiha's eyes lit up. He couldn't stand the daily training, finding cats and dogs, and doing chores.

Although Kakashi Hatake didn't say anything, he was also looking forward to it. Once he became a Chunin, he would be one step closer to his father.

"Kakashi..."

Hearing Haruko call him furtively, Kakashi Hatake, with deadpan eyes, replied, "My house is too busy to entertain you."

"I haven't said anything yet!" Haruko's eyes widened in disbelief, but she couldn't help but reveal her guilty conscience that he had hit the nail on the head.

Kakashi Hatake was speechless: ...Do you think I don't know what you're trying to say?

Nohara Rin chuckled as she reminded her, "Haruko, don't you have someone waiting for you?"

Knowing she was referring to Jiraiya and the others, Haruko sighed, but only dared to think to herself: "That's why he wants to hide at Kakashi's house—he just doesn't want to face them."

Obito Uchiha retorted in a low voice, displeased, "Haruko is going back with me, not with them."

"Obito..."

Just as Obito was bracing himself for Haruko's touching words, he heard her continue, "Can you beat them?"

"..."

Obito Uchiha felt challenged, but he couldn't bring himself to say something so self-deceptive as to claim he could defeat him.

Finally, Obito Uchiha stubbornly replied, holding his breath, "Well... you still want to go home."

Haruko:......

Thank you so much for telling me I need to go home!

What bothers me now is that I don't want to be caught in the middle and get snatched away from them!

Kakashi Hatake crossed his arms and considered things from another angle, "But with them around, you don't need to worry about the Chunin Exams, right?"

After all, they are the legendary Sannin, and picking any one of them would be terrifying, let alone the fact that all three are waiting for Haruko to choose.

Haruko was surprised by this kind of operation and her gaze towards Jiraiya and the others changed from "troublesome" to "freebie".

Haruko, having come to terms with things, comforted Obito Uchiha instead, saying, "Obito, go home now. I will surpass Chunin, surpass Konoha, surpass the whole world!"

Obito Uchiha, betrayed by her once again: ...

Watching them play and laugh from afar, a sense of nostalgia welled up in Tsunade's eyes.

"It's like seeing ourselves in the past, always around Haruko, and our biggest worry every day was what to do."

Jiraiya couldn't help but sigh, "So much time has passed, we've all grown up, but Haruko is still so small. It's really unbelievable."

Orochimaru chuckled. "People change. If she didn't change, it just means she died before she had a chance to do it."

The moment he finished speaking, the harmonious atmosphere instantly froze.

Jiraiya grabbed Tsunade, who was about to make a move, but his eyes were fixed on Orochimaru. "Calm down, Tsunade. Don't cause trouble in front of Haruko."

"Still loves to show off in front of her, Jiraiya," Orochimaru mocked.

"It's like you're the one who always plays the gigolo," Hiruko's sneer came from behind them.

Orochimaru glanced at the tree disdainfully, "It's better than a rat that only hides in the shadows and lurks."

The air above the trees seemed to freeze, and the smoke of battle began to rise.

Orochimaru, who had tainted equality with hatred, continued in a somber and enigmatic voice, "Life is fragile. You will all die one by one, just like she did before."

"But I won't, and neither will she now."

"Nothing can take her away from me again, not even death, not even herself."

Ignoring their astonished expressions, Orochimaru put on a gentle smile and walked towards Haruko, who was freed from training.

Tsunade frowned. "Orochimaru seems even more morbid than before I left."

Jiraiya's expression also turned grim. "Orochimaru..."