So, the appearance of the Kazekage in Konoha Village did cause a fair amount of commotion.
Everyone wanted to see what kind of person this Fourth Kazekage truly was!
However, this did not include Luffy.
After all, he didn't even understand the meaning of the word "Kazekage."
"Is that a very famous person? Very powerful?"
Luffy patted his belly. At this moment, the three of them had already eaten a snack at a ramen shop.
Just in front of Luffy alone, there was a stack of, who knows, perhaps more than ten or seven or eight ramen bowls.
"Of course, he's famous... A Kage as powerful as the Kazekage, there are only five in the entire ninja world!"
Although Naruto was also somewhat interested, it was clear that ramen held more attraction for him.
After all, it was just the Kazekage...
"I'm going to be Hokage someday!"
Naruto also ate until his belly was round, but still patted his chest and made such a bold declaration!
Sasuke, beside him, snorted and didn't say much more.
Luffy, however, was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter!
"Hahahaha... You... are pretty much like me back then!"
Luffy was once that young pirate who loudly declared he would become the King of the Pirates!
Naruto in this state now really reminded Luffy of himself when he first set out to sea.
"Can I participate in your Chunin Exam?"
After eating his fill, Luffy began to wonder if there was a good place to have some fun.
The Chunin Exam, which Naruto and Sasuke had been diligently preparing for recently, seemed quite interesting.
"Probably... not." Naruto said speculatively, simultaneously looking at Sasuke beside him.
Naruto knew nothing about these aspects. Sasuke was more reliable.
Sasuke put down his ramen bowl and nodded.
"Mr. Luffy hasn't even graduated from the ninja academy. He doesn't have any ninja abilities, can't even sense chakra... How could he participate in the Chunin Exam?"
"But..." Sasuke saw Luffy seemed a little dejected.
"Even the Jonin in the village, hmm, those whose strength is still above Chunin, even if they banded together, they probably wouldn't be Luffy-sensei's..."
Luffy casually waved his hand, jumping onto the counter.
"What's the point of that? I also want to participate in some kind of exam..."
...
"Heh heh... This Luffy is actually so interested in the Chunin Exam..."
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, immediately received intelligence on Naruto, Sasuke, and Luffy.
Within Konoha Village, the Hokage's direct Anbu units were, of course, everywhere, making it even easier to obtain information!
"It's a pity. Letting this guy participate in the Chunin Exam is impossible no matter how you look at it."
"However, I could work something out. How about making him a safety officer for one of the Chunin Exam stages?"
When the Third Hokage faced Luffy, he completely adhered to the principle of doing everything according to Luffy's wishes.
In any case, this outsider, who appeared from who knows where, still held many secrets that could be uncovered.
This was also why the Third Hokage, despite the pressure of the impending Chunin Exam, wanted to keep Luffy.
Although this Hokage had been in office the longest, Konoha Village also reached its peak under the leadership of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The decline of Konoha Village seemed to be gradually manifesting during this long period of time.
No matter what, the Third Hokage was unwilling to watch the village, to which he had poured his heart and soul for his entire life, decline before his eyes.
Currently, in the ninja world, the most senior and experienced Kage, besides the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, were the Third Raikage and the Second Tsuchikage Mu.
These two were ninjas who had survived the Great Ninja War of the previous era.
To put it more broadly, they were almost born when the ninja villages were founded! The Third Hokage's teacher was the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. The old Hokage had almost witnessed the existence of that legendary era.
The more this was the case, the more he did not wish Konoha Village to slide towards something bad under his watch.
So, he would naturally choose to seize every opportunity to make his village great again!
In terms of ninjutsu, this old Hokage had almost no room for improvement.
The title of "Professor of Ninjutsu," universally recognized in the ninja world, was not for nothing.
Whether it was Wind, Lightning, Earth, Water, or Fire Release, ninjutsu of various attributes could be performed by the old Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi as easily as pointing a finger, and could unleash powerful destructive force.
Even the fusion of two different elemental chakras' ninjutsu, he could perform it with astonishing power and brilliance!
One reason why this old Hokage conducted such profound and extensive research was, of course, that his teacher, the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, was an unparalleled genius himself.
Not to mention his mastery of various ninjutsu, he himself could create a wide array of powerful and devastating techniques.
The disciples he taught would, of course, not be useless. Another reason was to explore a future path for Konoha.
He wanted to make the village stronger, or rather, restore the greatness it once had during the reign of the First Hokage.
Maintaining the status quo would only lead to stagnation. So, it was necessary to seek new paths... 240... When poor, change; when changed, adapt.
Luffy, who suddenly appeared and did so in Konoha Village, actually represented such a new path.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had always known that Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, these two young ninjas, were learning new taijutsu from Luffy.
But he never obstructed them, nor did he stop them, and he didn't even send anyone to supervise them.
The reason was that he wanted to see what valuable knowledge these two exceptionally talented ninjas, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, could extract from Luffy!
If what Luffy possessed was truly useful to Konoha Village, then Konoha Village would show genuine sincerity to this outsider.
Even if it was useless... to be honest, both Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha were very important to Konoha, but their true combat ability...
To be frank, it was too strong, which was actually not good.
Whether it was Naruto or Sasuke, it was best to maintain the status quo.
At least, from the old Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's perspective, that was indeed the case, no doubt.
"...You go find Kakashi and tell him..."
The Third Hokage assigned various tasks. He himself went to greet the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, from the Hidden Sand Village, who had traveled a long distance.
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