Choji's actions brought the Konoha rookies together, and they started chatting about the details of the exam and their expectations for future team assignments.
Before long, Sasuke also walked out.
Although he didn't have Sakura and Ino's enthusiastic reception this time, Sasuke's appearance still drew cheers from many girls the moment he showed up.
He still wore that same smug expression, until he saw Nojuro Ryun and walked over.
"When are you going to teach me something new?"
Sasuke got straight to the point. Ryun patted him on the shoulder and said, "Soon you'll have jonin instructors to guide you. They're far more capable than my meager skills."
"Really?" Sasuke sounded doubtful.
Although Sasuke didn't know Ryun's true strength at the moment, the fact that Ryun could break down those fundamental concepts and teach them to him was proof enough of Ryun's mastery over those techniques.
When he tried teaching the same things to Naruto, all that came out of his mouth were the words 'idiot'.
Never mind, maybe the team jonin really were stronger than Ryun.
"Speaking of which, Ryun, who exactly are you waiting for? Everyone we know should already be here, right?"
Ino noticed some children had already left the school with their parents and couldn't help asking.
Sasuke, however, rarely interjected at this moment: "He's still waiting for that idiot. I think he might have failed."
Just as he finished speaking, Naruto walked out dejectedly.
Sasuke was ready for a verbal fight with Naruto, but instead, Naruto hung his head and walked towards a distant swing, sitting down as if abandoned by the whole world.
"Looks like he really did fail." Shikamaru sighed softly.
"Not surprising, given how unruly he is," Choji added.
Although Choji's words sounded cold at first, they were absolutely correct.
In the original story, Naruto had a very unruly personality right up until his graduation.
Not only did he not study his academic subjects well, but he was also lackadaisical in his ninjutsu classes.
While his inability to perform the Transformation Technique was partly due to the Nine-Tails inside him causing trouble, the lack of proper guidance for Naruto was also a key factor.
Sasuke frowned, looking at Naruto and considering whether to go over and comfort him, but Ryun said, "I'll handle it."
Ryun held up the Yakiniku restaurant vouchers in his hand and said, "If you encounter something unhappy, then a big meal is the answer."
Ryun went over to Naruto and handed the vouchers to him.
Naruto looked at Ryun with surprise. Were they really on such good terms?
Although Naruto had learned quite a few things from Ryun recently, Ryun primarily taught Sasuke; Naruto was just an incidental addition.
Coupled with Sakura's situation, Naruto thought Ryun didn't like him.
"Everyone gets a share, so of course you can't be left out. Plus, I brought a camera. Don't you want to take a commemorative photo with everyone?"
Naruto bit his lip, a faint taste of blood spreading in his mouth.
After a moment of silence, he turned and ran off.
As a failure, he couldn't accept charity from others.
Ryun didn't do anything further, because he knew someone would come to comfort Naruto, and that Naruto would have his own adventure today.
Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't possibly allow Naruto to fail graduation; if he, as Hokage, had raised Minato's son like this, wouldn't that make him look like a complete failure?
"Alright, alright, Ryun, forget about him. Did you really bring a camera?"
Sakura rushed over and grabbed Ryun, even boldly taking his hand.
Seeing this, Sakura's parents only felt a warm sense of happiness.
If Sakura stopped being a kunoichi because of this, they'd be overjoyed.
Ino, not to be outdone, pulled Ryun over to a spot with good lighting, preparing to take photos.
Yamanaka Inoichi watched the scene, holding his head. Shouldn't photos be taken with family first? Going to Ryun first didn't make any sense?
Hyūga Hiashi, however, was much more composed. From now on, Hinata was effectively Ryun's follower.
Whether it was taking photos or even if Ryun treated Hinata like a maid, as long as nothing inappropriate happened at her age, Hiashi wouldn't interfere.
Ryun asked the staff he had brought along to start taking photos. Amidst the flashing lights, the group took one large group photo first.
After that, the girls pulled Ryun aside to take separate photos with him.
Although many people watched them with amused glances, seemingly guessing at their relationship, Ino and the others no longer cared.
Once they became ninjas, time spent with Ryun would be much less, so they had to seize every opportunity.
Finally, when the staff mentioned there wasn't much film left, and only after Ryun urged them, did the girls finally take photos with their families.
At this point, Ryun had mostly finished what he needed to do. He said goodbye to everyone individually.
Although Ryun had given them a large number of Yakiniku vouchers, he didn't plan to join them for a celebratory meal at the restaurant today.
Taking photos with them had already taken away time they could have spent with their families; the celebration time today should naturally be spent with their families.
Of course, there would still be time with Ryun afterwards.
Inside the vouchers he gave the three girls, Ryun had tucked small notes, inviting them to admire the moon together in the forest that evening.
Since the third level of favorability meant confirming the relationship, there had to be a process where a confession was accepted. Vagueness wouldn't work at this stage.
His previous attempt at Hinata's house to blur his relationship with her through to level three had failed, which was the best proof of that.
So, what Ryun needed to do was relatively simple: confess and have the four accept, then prevent them from fighting each other or turning on him.
To achieve this goal, he needed to let the night's big event serve as a backdrop for the confessions.
Soon, night fell.
Ryun arrived at the forest in his memory, probably the very place where Naruto's thousand Shadow Clones would later appear.
The reason Ryun was so sure was because of a small hut there, a landmark building in the forest.
Moreover, with Ryun's sensory abilities, even if he strayed a few kilometers off, he could easily find his way back.
Sitting on a tree trunk, Ryun looked up at the moon.
A full moon tonight, truly a perfect match for the demon fox.
"Teehee, you're here already!"
Tenten agilely leaped onto the trunk and sat beside Ryun, tilting her head to look at him, her sparkling eyes reflecting only his image.
Ryun naturally hadn't forgotten to invite Tenten; after all, today was also the anniversary of Tenten's graduation.
"I heard you went taking photos with them. I thought you might have forgotten about me."
"How could that be? If you want to take photos, we can make up for it tomorrow."
"Alright, don't make me sound so petty—considering you invited me out, I forgive you."
Although the two often trained together and even ate out together on the streets every week, these were things friends could do.
But Ryun's invitation now was different. The two sat shoulder to shoulder in the moonlit, cool forest, the chilly air making one instinctively want to draw closer to the other!
Tenten's heart skipped a beat, because Ryun had already put his arm around her shoulder.
A faint blush crept onto her cheeks, but she didn't resist too strongly; instead, she leaned naturally into Ryun's embrace.
The weather was cold, but the warmth from the person beside her was very comforting.
Tenten now slightly regretted not dressing up more meticulously. If Ryun wanted to do something more later, how could she bring herself to refuse?
Time slowly passed in their embrace. Suddenly, a slight smile tugged at the corner of Ryun's mouth as he said, "Looks like they're here."
"They?" Tenten was puzzled.
"Yeah, Ino, Sakura, and Hinata."
Tenten immediately sprang up, looking at Ryun in bewilderment. "Why are they coming too? You're not planning to have us all train together at a time like this, are you?"
"No, actually, I have something important to say. We can't just leave things ambiguous any longer."
Ryun pulled an envelope from his chest pocket. It had no writing on it, but there was clearly a letter inside.
Just as Tenten was about to reach for it, chaotic sounds suddenly came from a distance.
Naruto, carrying a huge scroll like a tanuki, burst out of the forest. He stared in surprise at Ryun and Tenten, who were cuddled together.
Then a knowing grin spread across his face. "Considering you gave me those Yakiniku vouchers today, I won't tell Sakura about your secret date. See ya!"
With that, Naruto's figure flickered and vanished, while Iruka appeared.
"You two— oh, it's you. No time to explain now. Was that Naruto just now?"
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