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After figuring it out, Jiraiya burst into hearty laughter. Truthfully, he wasn't paying much attention to the stakes, because even if Rong Lin was outrageously talented, surpassing Minato wouldn't be that easy.
At least, Jiraiya had confidence in Minato. However, the more Tsunade affirmed it, the more curious he became about Rong Lin. Thus, today, he used the bet as an excuse to come and "trouble" Rong Lin.
Calling it "trouble" was really just an excuse to get free drinks.
Jiraiya wasn't disappointed. Rong Lin was very understanding and instantly grasped what he was after. No complaints, no arguments, he obediently paid the bill.
Looking at the nonchalant Rong Lin, Jiraiya couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Tsunade really found a good disciple!
He knew Minato wasn't this obedient; that kid strongly disapproved of many things he did.
Look how sensible this Uchiha Rong Lin was! Not only did he obediently pay, but he also proactively offered ideas. This is a good disciple, isn't it?
Of course, this was just Jiraiya's emotional reflection. Minato wasn't that bad; it was just that he strongly disapproved of his teacher doing certain things, such as... peeping on women bathing. If it was frequenting brothels and playing around with women, Minato could still accept it, but peeping on women bathing was extremely strange.
If it were some unknown, unkempt lout peeping, it might be somewhat excusable. But Jiraiya... one of Konoha's Sannin! His teacher was the dignified Third Hokage!
He was incredibly strong, and countless women threw themselves at him, yet he wasn't interested. Instead, he preferred those "romantic" (often risqué) establishments. This point puzzled not only Minato but most people who knew him.
Among them, Tsunade undoubtedly hated it the most. Every time it was mentioned, Tsunade would wear an expression of exasperation.
"By the way, kid, do you hate the Uchiha and Hyuga?"
Suddenly, Jiraiya inexplicably threw out a strange question, making Rong Lin pause. He glanced at the drunken-looking Jiraiya and replied:
"Can't say hate. Feeling unhappy is certain, of course. And I also want to prove myself, that I am the best, that abandoning me is their loss, that's all. As for crazy revenge, I don't have the leisure for that."
This question was probably on the minds of many in Konoha. Unfortunately, the only one who asked it was Jiraiya.
Rong Lin certainly didn't believe Jiraiya was actually drunk; that would be a grave mistake.
"Interesting."
With a hearty laugh, Jiraiya directly slumped onto the chair and fell fast asleep with a snore, showing no other reaction.
Shaking his small head, Rong Lin stood up and called out: "Boss, the bill! And please help me send Lord Jiraiya to the nearest inn. I'll pay for everything together."
After various missions, Rong Lin had saved up most of his money for unforeseen needs. As a result, Jiraiya had fleeced him quite a bit in one sitting. It seemed his plan to change residences would have to be postponed.
He could only wait until his ninja rank was higher and he could earn more money from high-level missions.
With a little regret, Rong Lin left the tavern. As for Jiraiya, Rong Lin couldn't bother with him too much; just leaving him to the tavern owner was fine. Anyway, he had paid a good sum.
"Lo... Lord Jiraiya, you..."
Rong Lin's guess was correct; Jiraiya wasn't drunk, just trying to get information out of him. Unfortunately, he was destined to be disappointed. Rong Lin wasn't a genuine child; inside his body was the adult soul of someone from another world. Such petty tricks couldn't fool him.
When the tavern owner collected the money, calculating how much he had profited, and was preparing to help Jiraiya to the nearby inn, Jiraiya suddenly sat up like a zombie. He nearly scared the tavern owner into a heart attack, who fell to the ground with a thump, half dead from fright, his face pale green, covered in cold sweat.
"Haha, sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to. I just wanted to go by myself. Well then, goodbye."
Jiraiya laughed heartily, not expecting that his sudden sit-up would scare the other party half to death. Laughing loudly, he jumped out of the window and disappeared, leaving the tavern owner sitting foolishly on the ground, watching him leave.
"Uchiha Rong Lin..."
An agile figure departed from the window. The Third Hokage stared intently at Rong Lin's file, lost in thought.
The exam results were out. Some were happy, some dejected. As expected, Rong Lin received a perfect score. And surprisingly, he was the only one to get a perfect score in this batch.
This surprised many people; they hadn't expected a child to get a perfect score!!
A child who had graduated not long ago.
This feeling was as astonishing as Kakashi becoming a Chunin at age 6.
Although Rong Lin was a year older than Kakashi, and took the exam at age eight, not six, because he was in the same graduating class as Kakashi, and had participated in and completed an A-rank mission, it shocked many people.
They hadn't expected this brat wasn't just a paper tiger.
The next day, everyone who passed the first exam gathered at the location indicated on the results sheet. Rong Lin looked at the dense forest surrounded by wire mesh, guarded by many ninja, and thought to himself:
Still Training Ground 44, the Forest of Death?
I wonder if it's about snatching Heaven and Earth scrolls. If so, it'll be a bit troublesome if those two don't cooperate.
"What is this place? It feels so gloomy!"
"Yeah, it feels so terrifying."
"Hmph, if you don't know, don't talk nonsense."
Some who had taken the exam before spoke smugly, while others felt their hair stand on end. Because standing outside, you could occasionally see some massive animals passing through the forest, such as snakes as thick as water buckets!!!
Some timid girls, upon seeing such large snakes, instantly panicked.
For a time, various discussions buzzed around. Rong Lin walked to the side, sat on a rock, and secretly pondered how he should pass after entering the Forest of Death, and also, as Tsunade had said, perform a bit more impressively.
"Everyone, quiet down."
The surrounding ninja seated in the pavilions, guarding the Forest of Death, were not surprised by this. Such things happened every year. For those weak ninja without survival experience, the Forest of Death was a dangerous place. Every year, some participants would die here. They were already used to it, so they didn't stop these discussions, instead watching the show with great interest.
Suddenly, a cold snort sounded, and several figures quickly appeared. One of them said in a deep voice: "I am the chief examiner for your second exam. My name is Uchiha Senzai."
It's actually someone from the Uchiha clan?!