Jōnin? Or the examiner of these Chūnin Exams? As Ren's words echoed, Gaara and the others from Sunagakure were instantly stunned.
"No, that's impossible! He's clearly the same age as me…" Kankuro unconsciously took a half-step back, a look of utter disbelief etched on his face.
"If you don't believe me, you'll see for yourselves when you take the exam," Ren said with a faint, enigmatic smile.
For a moment, the expressions on the faces of the Genin present varied wildly, their internal reactions equally dramatic.
Tenten: Hehehe, my Onii-chan is the best!
Naruto: As expected of Ren-nii! I'll become a ninja like Ren-nii in the future too!
Sakura: He… he's already a Jōnin like Kakashi-sensei? Wow, that's incredible… Though I still like Sasuke-kun the most, I have to admit he's definitely better than Sasuke-kun. No wonder that woman Ino fell for him.
Sasuke: Hmph… Damn it, he's showing off again.
Temari: Wow! This handsome guy is already a Jōnin! Amazing! I have to use this time in Konoha to find out more about him!
Kankuro: (horrified) Fortunately, I didn't fight him just now, otherwise… I really don't know if I would have had a chance to take the Chūnin Exam.
Gaara: Jōnin…
Gaara's eyes remained fixed on Ren. After a half-minute of silence, he spoke, "Jōnin strength? Very good!" His gaze intensified. "Then I'm truly growing more and more interested in you! I'll make sure you remember my name…"
A flicker of disgust immediately crossed Ren's face. He waved a dismissive hand at Gaara. "Don't love me, it won't work out."
"???" Gaara fell silent once more. He seemed to take a long moment, still unable to comprehend the meaning behind Ren's words. Finally, Gaara managed to say, "In short… I will kill you!"
Ren simply nodded. "I'll be waiting."
"Temari, Kankuro, let's go," Gaara said coldly, turning and walking away with his siblings.
Ren watched Gaara and the others depart, a subtle smile playing on his lips. Inside Konoha, things are finally going to get lively!
Naruto, meanwhile, was fuming. That kid named Gaara only noticed Ren-nii and completely ignored me! He screamed wildly at the retreating backs of Gaara and his siblings, proudly declaring his name, Uzumaki Naruto, asserting that he was Ren-nii's younger brother, and vowing to defeat them and make them regret it in the Chūnin Exams!
And then… Naruto was completely ignored. Gaara and the others walked away without even turning their heads.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind rustled through the air, and a few leaves drifted from the sky. Naruto stood frozen mid-air, striking an exaggerated pose, completely petrified. For a moment, the scene was incredibly embarrassing.
"Idiot," Sasuke scoffed disdainfully.
"What a shame…" Sakura groaned, raising a hand to her forehead.
Naruto's eye twitched. I obviously wanted to look cool. Why did it end up like this? Ren-nii's words just now sounded so cool! Ugh! I'm truly so far from Ren-nii. There's still such a long way to go!
"If you want others to value you, then hurry up and get stronger! Come on, Naruto!" The ever-energetic Tenten beamed a sunny smile, patting Naruto on the shoulder, offering comfort.
"That's right, Tenten-neesan, you're right! I want to explode with effort! I want to train even harder! Ren-nii, please help me train to the fullest! No matter how difficult it is, I'll definitely do it!" Naruto's eyes burned with intense fighting spirit. He clenched his fists, declaring to Ren.
"Alright, seeing you so fired up," Ren glanced at Naruto, a leisurely smirk playing on his lips, "then you should add another 30 pounds to your weighted training."
"Ah?" Naruto's face immediately fell. "Ren-nii, I already have 150 pounds of weights on my body! If I add another 30 pounds, that's 180 pounds! That's just child abuse!"
"It's only 180 pounds. How is that child abuse?" Ren replied calmly. "Didn't you say you wanted to catch up to me? I could handle that kind of weight when I was seven years old. Besides, even Tenten, who's only one year older than you, is already carrying twice that weight, and she's a girl."
"What? No way?!" Naruto stared at Tenten, his face a picture of utter astonishment. He had always focused all his attention on Ren, never realizing that Tenten was so incredibly strong. Perhaps it was Ren, as her older brother, whose constant display of dazzling strength made people overlook Tenten's equally impressive abilities.
Just as Ren and Naruto were chatting, Konohamaru, who had been rescued by Naruto, walked up to them. "Um, big brother, you're all Konoha ninjas, right? Thank you so much for just now."
"Heh heh heh, it's nothing!" Naruto said with a wide, proud grin.
"Big brother, you were actually really cool just now!" Konohamaru looked up at Naruto, his face filled with admiration. In his young heart, this blond-haired big brother who had saved him was truly a great man!
"Hahaha, it's no big deal," Naruto scratched his head, a little embarrassed by the praise.
"Go home quickly. It's very dangerous for a child to walk on the street alone. If you hadn't met us, you would have been in trouble just now."
At that moment, a booming voice echoed from beside them. "Lord Konohamaru! Where are you, Lord Konohamaru?!"
"I'm here!" Konohamaru shouted loudly, then turned to introduce Naruto. "Big brother, that ninja is my tutor."
"Hmph, Lord Konohamaru, I finally found you." Ebisu, wearing his signature sunglasses, leaped in front of Konohamaru. After a quick glance around, his eyes first locked onto Ren. He bowed his head slightly towards Ren, respectfully acknowledging him. "Lord Ren, I didn't expect you to be here as well."
"I just saw there was a little trouble here, and I happened to be passing by," Ren said lightly.
At this point, Ebisu carefully noticed the wrinkles on Konohamaru's clothes. He frowned, his eyes falling on Naruto. He immediately blocked Konohamaru behind him. "Lord Konohamaru, was this fox demon bullying you just now? Also, please don't run around in the future, and be sure to stay away from such dangerous people."
Hearing this, Naruto's face instantly soured. Konohamaru was stunned for a moment, then tried to deny it. "No, this brother named Naruto is a good person. He saved me just now…"
"Save you? It's good if he doesn't hurt you! Konohamaru, your status is so noble. If anything were to happen to you, I couldn't bear the responsibility! Lord Hokage would definitely blame me," Ebisu insisted.