"Huh?" Mizuki looked at the curious Inuzuka Kiba and smiled and replied, "Why? Are you interested in this too?"

"Yes." Inuzuka Kiba said, "As a ninja, it feels a bit inappropriate to not know the 'traditions of ninja'."

"This 'ninja tradition' is actually very simple..." Mizuki thought for a moment, "Do you still remember what the Third Hokage said to you a few months ago, after the second round of the Chunin Exams, before the third round of singles trials?"

"Oh, I remember that. It seemed to be about something like testing the strength between the ninja villages."

"That's it." Mizuki explained patiently, "In order for ninja villages to recognize the difference in strength between each other, the Chunin Exam is a good opportunity. The comparison of the strength of the Genin is basically a reflection of the war potential of the major ninja villages in the next few years. It is not uncommon for the major ninja villages to make strategic decisions based on this."

"Chūnin Exam? Could it be that..." The quick-thinking Aburame Shino was the first to react.

"That's right." Mizuki nodded in confirmation, "The 'tradition of the ninja world' we mentioned is based on this to make the covenant."

The Chunin Exam is the best platform to showcase one's strength, and all ninja villages take it very seriously, but it is quite rare to directly write it into the covenant as a condition. The Hidden Mist Village was dissatisfied with its strength being underestimated, and proposed to amend the covenant based on the results of the Chunin Exam, and Konoha agreed.

At this point, the explanation was clear, and the Genin also understood the heavy responsibility on their shoulders.

"But, can we do it? That Chojuro is so powerful." Hyuga Hinata asked worriedly. The next Chunin Exam is only a few months away, no later than the beginning of next year. It is already late summer or early autumn.

"Don't worry." Shuimu said comfortingly, "Since we dare to agree to this condition, of course we have confidence in you. Of course, after you go back, your life will not be as leisurely as it is now. If you lose again..."

Mizuki ruffled Inuzuka Kiba's messy hair and said teasingly: "You will have to eat less meat when you eat ramen in the future. Also, your Akamaru, the meat and bones should be saved, haha..."

Jiraiya and Kakashi couldn't help but laugh when they heard Mizuki's words.

In Mizuki's opinion, the chances of winning are still very high. What the "partners of justice" lack is just time to grow. At least three or four months is enough to do a lot of things. However, even if they lose, what can they do? It's just one less benefit, which is of no concern to Konoha. Selling a favor to the Hidden Mist Village may be a good thing.

…

When they returned to their residence, Konoha and his group found that someone was already waiting at the door.

"Who are you? Chojuro? What are you doing here?" The unconvinced Uzumaki Naruto was the first to jump out and ask.

Unlike his imposing attitude during the day, Chojuro at this moment timidly replied, "I am here to apologize. I was too impulsive at the time and shouldn't have attacked you two. After thinking it over, I feel that I should come and apologize."

After saying that, Chojuro bowed deeply, "If there is anything you need, please let me know..."

The humble attitude immediately made Uzumaki Naruto a little hesitant.

"If that's the case, forget it. But if you want to fight me next time, just come on. I won't lose to you."

"I am grateful for your forgiveness. I will continue to be your guide from now on. Also, it is already late, so I will not disturb you. I will come tomorrow morning to take your orders."

"Let's talk about it tomorrow." Uzumaki Naruto waved his hand and said rudely with a face that looked like he deserved a beating.

Watching Chojuro going away, the Konoha Genin also went back to their rooms to rest. Jiraiya frowned and said, "The Konoha Genin are a little inflated, especially Naruto. He still has the drive, but he lacks the humility he once had."

Kakashi explained: "My strength has improved, and my mood has become impetuous. I even had a fight with Sasuke a few days ago. Fortunately, I stopped it, otherwise both of us would have been injured."

"What was the result?" Shuimu asked.

Kakashi replied with a headache: "Naruto didn't lose."

"Is that so?"

Although Sasuke has a slight advantage in terms of strength, it is normal for a fight to end in a draw. However, it is not good to become arrogant because of this.

"Don't worry too much, Kakashi, leave the rest to me," Jiraiya said.

Indeed, with a personality like Uzumaki Naruto's, it is most appropriate for him to be guided by Jiraiya.

"Well, please."

…

The next day, when Mizuki got up, Kakashi had already gone to bargain with the Mist Ninjas. Jiraiya had gone somewhere to have fun that night and had not gotten up yet. As for the Genin, there were still many interesting places in this new Mist Ninja Village that they had not seen, so they went to visit them long ago.

"You're all gone now. It's rare for me to have some free time alone."

Walking on the very different streets, I was tired from the journey yesterday and didn't have the mood to take a closer look. Today I finally had the time to take a good look at this one of the five major ninja villages that is a little different.

In Mizuki's eyes, the population density of the entire Kirigakure is less than half of that of Konoha. Unlike Konoha's large number of wooden buildings, Kirigakure has a large number of brick and stone buildings and many high-rise buildings, which seems to be more modern than Konoha. The streets are also much wider than those in Konoha, which are crowded and crowded.

"If there were no war, this would be a very nice place to live. Except for the humid air which makes people a little uncomfortable, it's really a nice place."

Although there are still many inconsistencies, at least the murderous atmosphere of the "Land of Blood Mist" is no longer there, and a ninja wearing a forehead protector walking on the street will not appear particularly abrupt.

"Hey, what's that in front?"

Seeing some interesting phenomena, Shuimu couldn't help but walk forward.

In a very simple venue, you can see a group of children practicing wielding shurikens, with several ninjas giving them instructions in a very professional manner.

"Is this the Ninja School of the Hidden Mist Village?"

Although the venue was extremely rudimentary and the several ninjas who looked like teachers were not very qualified in Mizuki's eyes, at least centralized and formalized ninja education was implemented.

"Besides the Sand Village, is there another one imitating Konoha? They are really ambitious."

It is difficult for a ninja school to train elite jonin, but it can also train a large number of chunins like Iruka and a small number of special jonins like Gekkou Gale. These are the backbone of a ninja village's survival.