After Team 7 was officially formed, Naruto and the others began their life as genin—picking up trash one day, babysitting kids the next… completely swamped with endless chores.
At first, Hoshiyomi would occasionally watch them work, but after seeing enough D-rank missions, even he found it boring.
As he watched the bond between the three deepen and Kakashi's attitude completely change, Hoshiyomi eventually stopped monitoring Team 7 altogether and returned to focusing on his own home life.
Kimimaro was now placed in the ANBU for advanced training.
Haku had a stable position at Konoha Hospital.
Ryūshin and Rinne were both entering the Ninja Academy.
During the day, the Gekko household was left with only Tsunade and Hoshiyomi—allowing the two of them to rediscover the passionate energy of their younger days.
...
"Long time no see, Uncle Hoshiyomi! And Aunt Tsuna— uh, Tsunade."
One day, while Hoshiyomi and Tsunade were walking side-by-side through Konoha's streets buying groceries, they happened to run into Team 7, who were preparing to leave the village for a mission.
Tsunade had long grown accustomed to Naruto's loud mouth. She lightly flicked his forehead before asking curiously:
"Done with your mission so early? Let me guess—catching cats today? Or helping old ladies with rice planting?"
Hearing this, Naruto instantly recalled the trauma of endless D-rank missions, shivering at the memory.
But after the shiver came his trademark goofy grin:
"This time it's not a D-rank! I finally talked my dad into giving us a C-rank mission!"
Naruto proudly stepped aside, revealing the old man wearing a straw hat behind them.
Hoshiyomi's eyes narrowed as he glanced at the timid-looking old man.
As I thought.
The old man in the hat was none other than Tazuna, the bridge builder from the Land of Waves.
So it's already time for the Land of Waves mission…
Which means the Chunin Exams must be coming soon as well.
Hoshiyomi was actually very curious to see how the Chunin Exams would play out without Orochimaru secretly interfering.
Would things still spiral into chaos?
As for the Land of Waves mission itself… Hoshiyomi had no real desire to follow along. After all, the two most important enemies from that arc were no longer in the Land of Waves.
Haku was working peacefully at Konoha Hospital.
Zabuza, thanks to Hoshiyomi's intervention in Kirigakure, had successfully remained there and was now considered one of the village's influential high-ranking figures.
With those two no longer wandering into the Land of Waves by coincidence, no matter how rich Gato was, he had no way of hiring competent shinobi.
Against a group of weaklings, and with Naruto's team far stronger than in the original story, Gato's fate was already sealed.
After a few brief greetings, Team 7 excitedly led Tazuna out of the village. Hoshiyomi and Tsunade resumed shopping, though this time Hoshiyomi was noticeably distracted.
"If you have something you need to do, then go."
As they reached their doorstep, Tsunade gave her husband a half-annoyed, half-helpless look.
After so many years together, she was very familiar with this side of him—whenever he suddenly spaced out like this, it meant something had crossed his mind.
She could tell immediately: Hoshiyomi was thinking about something important again.
Hoshiyomi smiled and planted a kiss on Tsunade's cheek, immediately making her blush bright red.
"You're too old for this! Aren't you ashamed?"
But by then Hoshiyomi was already laughing as he walked away.
The place Hoshiyomi headed for was naturally the Hokage's office. He was extremely curious—had Minato received the Chunin Exam invitation from Sunagakure yet?
He pushed the office door open without hesitation and found Minato writing intensely at his desk.
Seeing Hoshiyomi enter, Minato finally looked up and greeted him:
"Sensei, how come you had time to visit today?"
Hoshiyomi glanced at Minato, who had clearly been working for hours, and helplessly patted his shoulder:
"Minato, really now… Konoha is peaceful, there's no major issue inside or outside the village—there's no need for you to work yourself to death. If you collapse from exhaustion, I'm afraid Kushina might actually come after me."
Hearing his sensei's teasing, Minato chuckled, put down his pen, and stretched a bit:
"I'm not usually this busy, and Shizune often reminds me to rest, so my health is fine."
It's just that the Chunin Exams are coming soon, so the workload has spiked these last few days."
The moment he heard "Chunin Exams," Hoshiyomi raised an eyebrow and asked directly:
"Chunin Exams? In past years you never needed to personally handle any of that. Which villages are co-hosting with us this time?"
Minato smiled appreciatively:
"As expected, nothing gets past you, sensei. You guessed right. This year both Kumogakure and Sunagakure sent invitations—they want to host the Chunin Exams together with us."
When Sunagakure was mentioned, Hoshiyomi wore an unsurprised expression.
But when Minato added Kumogakure, Hoshiyomi's face shifted to mild surprise.
He didn't remember Kumogakure having any connection to this part of the Chunin Exams in the original story.
Looks like there's something fishy behind this…
The thought made Hoshiyomi's eyes narrow slightly.
Seeing that expression, Minato nodded firmly:
"I knew you would think the same, sensei. For both Suna and Kumo—who've been quiet for so many years—to suddenly propose a joint exam… they definitely have ulterior motives.
My guess is they want to use this as a chance to scout Konoha's current strength. After so many years of recuperation, it seems Suna and Kumo can't sit still anymore."
"…Huh?"
Hoshiyomi was stunned.
I didn't even say anything yet, how did he already jump to all this…?
But watching Minato go off in his own dramatic direction, Hoshiyomi of course wouldn't contradict him—he couldn't exactly undermine his own student's confidence.
So Hoshiyomi cleared his throat and patted Minato's shoulder again:
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm concerned about too. I'm relieved you understand the situation this clearly. Looks like these years as Hokage haven't gone to waste."
Minato replied, a bit emotional:
"I'm still far behind you, sensei. But don't worry—I'll keep working harder. Now that we understand their little scheme, I'll make full preparations.
During this Chunin Exam, I'll show them Konoha's strength. I'll make it absolutely clear that the current Konoha is not some weak prey they can covet anymore!"