I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 137 While you're engrossed in a conversation, the person on the other end might be studying and giving perfunctory replies.

"Bang bang bang~"

Inside the training ground, a figure in emerald green moved nimbly through the flames. Explosions continued one after another, but none of them hit him. Accompanied by the shockwave, he was also swept out of the blast radius.

"Konoha Whirlwind!"

A sweeping kick flew through the air toward the white-haired boy who was reading a scroll outside the explosion site. Facing the powerful kick, Tatsuma simply raised his right hand without even looking at the figure, and began to form a hand seal.

"Earth Release! Thousand-Year Kill with Earth Spear!"

As Chenma completed the hand seals, two rocky arms bearing the Tiger Seal suddenly rose from the ground, and above the rocky arms flew the emerald green boy.

"Ah!!! Hmm~~~"

The emerald-green boy's movements froze in mid-air, a complicated expression on his face. At that moment, the rocky arm collapsed, and he fell to the ground. With his buttocks touching the ground, he quickly rolled over and lay face down, slightly sticking his buttocks out, looking pained.

It took him a while to overcome the soreness and pain, and he shakily got up from the ground, saying to Tatsuma with dissatisfaction, "Tatsuma, you're getting dirtier and dirtier. It's either explosive tag traps or these kinds of despicable methods."

"You did very well too; you managed to trigger every single one of the explosive tag traps."

After saying this in a sarcastic tone, Tatsuma glanced at the field in the distance and said, "Being able to detonate so many explosive tag traps that are not connected to each other is a kind of talent, Nawaki."

Upon hearing this, Nawaki scratched his head sheepishly and said, "Ah, they're not connected? Oh well, by the way, with my current level, I shouldn't have any problem passing the graduation exam, right?"

Tatsuma nodded, watching Nawaki emerge unharmed from the explosive tag trap, and said, "Maybe it can even save your life on the battlefield."

Nawaki didn't understand the true meaning behind Tatsuma's words. He rubbed his butt and said, "You and Minato are also participating in the Chunin Exams tomorrow. How about it, are you confident?"

The Chunin Exams are held before the graduation exams. After all, many of the students at the Ninja Academy are from ninja clans, and they want to use this time to pass on their secret skills to their clan members. Having more time will also help them master the skills.

Thinking about tomorrow's graduation exam, Tatsuma said casually, "It won't be difficult. I predict that this Chunin Exam will be the easiest one in recent years. Even if it were the most rigorous Chunin Exam, Minato and I would be fine."

"What if you two had run into each other earlier? Or what if you had been ambushed by another three-person team? The Third Hokage is really something, not only did he not form a three-person team for you and Minato, but he also split you into two teams."

Nawaki's tone still carried some worry, but Tatsuma didn't seem to care. He simply said, "Minato and I are, after all, two teachers, and besides, the other three-person teams have all practiced together in perfect harmony."

"If Minato and I were to be assigned to someone else's team, it would only disrupt their established teamwork and might even be a burden to them. Of course, if Minato and I each took our own team, we wouldn't be dragged down by our teammates."

"That's true. If you become Chunin, how about adding me to your team? After all, Chunin are qualified to lead teams."

Nawaki asked a question on a whim. Tatsuma was taken aback. He had never thought of this question before. After all, Chunin were weak. Would leading a team only result in sending three even weaker guys to their deaths?

Actually, this is a cognitive bias on Tatsuma's part. After all, since graduating, apart from the initial mission, the ninjas he has encountered have either been young geniuses like Jiraiya or powerful ninjas like Hatake Sakumo who are already capable of standing on their own.

Even on the battlefield, he faced elites from other villages, and even fought against Jonin. Therefore, he always felt that he was very weak, but in fact, Chunin were already the backbone of the major ninja villages.

It's true that Chunin are weak, but it depends on who you compare them to. As for leading a team, they are barely qualified. After all, there is still a lot to learn before a normal Genin becomes a Chunin. They are qualified enough to teach and guide a Chunin captain for a period of time.

Seeing Tatsuma stunned, Nawaki limped over to him, waved, and Tatsuma snapped out of his daze, smiling as he said, "If we're going to the front lines, it's all legion warfare, there won't be any small squads."

Besides, you're older than both Minato and me. Wouldn't it look strange if the two of us were to take care of you?

"What's so strange about that? Youth is about learning from everyone who's stronger than you! If I ever have the chance to join your and Minato's team, please accept me!"

As Nawaki spoke, he gave a thumbs-up, revealing a mouthful of white teeth resembling those of Konoha. Tatsuma smiled and nodded in agreement. He knew that even if it came to leading a team, Nawaki was the best candidate, as was Orochimaru, who was their teacher.

As for him and Minato, even if they are assigned to lead teams, in the early stages they will probably only lead some less important functional teams, laying the groundwork for them to lead more promising genin teams after they become jonin.

After all, the team leader is also a teacher in a sense, and needs to impart a lot of things to the genin, which requires experience. For example, Tsunade couldn't teach Tatsuma anything, not even some basic things, and she wouldn't realize that she needed to teach him.

Previously, Tatsuma and Minato followed Jiraiya, who was also teaching students for the first time. Jiraiya's teaching path was not smooth sailing either, but he stood out for his extensive network of connections. Even if he couldn't teach himself, he could borrow teaching materials.

Once the teaching materials were borrowed, the rest could be left to the talents of his two disciples. Jiraiya's true mastery of teaching would only come after he had taught the Yahiko trio.

Over three years, Jiraiya mentored three students of different types, enabling them to become successful. Afterward, Jiraiya traveled the ninja world and gained more experience, which is why he was so successful in teaching Naruto.

As for Tatsuma himself, he felt that his teaching ability was also questionable. He had served as the sealing class representative for Mito Uzumaki, which shortened the study time for Kushina and Minato. He had also guided Nawaki and a few other students, which helped them make some progress.

However, Tatsuma felt that rather than teaching others how to do things, he was more about leading them to do things with him. He felt that rather than being their teacher, he was more like their instructor.

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Tatsuma pulled out the scroll he hadn't finished reading earlier and said to Nawaki, "Then you'd better do your best. Don't let Minato and I become Chunin while you fail to graduate."

Upon hearing this, Rope Tree smiled youthfully and said, "Youth will not let me down. I will definitely pass the graduation exam, starting with 5,000 pull-ups! If I can't do that, I'll do 5,000 frog jumps!"

Watching Nawaki run long distances for training, Tatsuma continued reading the scroll in his hand, occasionally gesturing with his hands as if verifying or trying out the contents of the scroll.

He stopped reading at dusk, called Nawaki, and headed towards the Senju clan's territory. Tsunade and the other two had already gone to the front lines. Before leaving, they told Tatsuma to stay at the Senju clan's territory, saying it was Orochimaru's arrangement.

Moreover, while others at most move in with just their bags, Tatsuma didn't even need to carry a bag. The clothes he wore were all Nawaki's old ones. Recently, samurai have occasionally appeared in Konoha Village, and Tatsuma guessed that this was probably due to Orochimaru's arrangement.

Although Orochimaru only misled and never confirmed it verbally, it was indeed misleading. Before the war ended, or rather before Mifune's role was fully realized, Mifune could not be offended. Therefore, Tatsuma had no choice but to continue playing the role for a while longer.

As for Minato, Tatsuma hadn't seen him for almost a month. Jiraiya and Tsunade had already set off, but Minato still hadn't appeared.

Nawaki and Kushina were quite worried, but Tatsuma had a rough idea of ​​where Minato was going. It should be one of the three legendary holy sites – Mount Myōboku.

Minato certainly hasn't reached the standard for mastering Sage Mode. Whether it's his physique, chakra reserves, or the fine control over chakra, he's still far from being able to master Sage Mode.

However, the toads of Mount Myōboku can teach Minato more than just Sage Mode and Sage Techniques. There are a large number of toads there, whether they are fighting-type, ninjutsu-type, or even more unusual types of toads. Mount Myōboku has them all.

These toads can significantly boost Minato's combat abilities in a short period of time, and perhaps Minato's physical development will also experience a leap forward if he eats high-protein foods every day.

After all, the toads on Mount Myoboku grow incredibly fast, which is probably inseparable from their high-protein, high-nutrient insect meals.

However, tomorrow is the first round of the Chunin Exams, and Minato still hasn't arrived, which slightly affected Tatsuma's sleep. It took Tatsuma almost an extra minute to fall asleep.

The next day, Tatsuma unusually did not practice with Rope Tree in the morning. He only did some simple training before arriving at the Konoha Ninja Academy, the place where the written test of the first round of Chunin Exams was held.

Tatsuma didn't rush into his exam room, but waited downstairs. Time passed slowly, and with only ten minutes left before the exam started, Tatsuma finally smiled.

"Rustling sound~"

A figure burst into the school at lightning speed. The ninjas guarding the school gates, who were on duty to prevent attacks by ninjas from other countries, didn't even have time to react.

"Tatsuma, it's been a long time. Were you waiting for me? I'm sorry, my teacher took me to Mount Myōboku for training. It wasn't until today that the summoning spell my teacher left in the village was activated, allowing me to be summoned back by the toad."

Minato, dressed in baggy clothes that were somewhat outdated for the times, landed in front of Tatsuma. Seeing the energetic Minato, Tatsuma smiled and said, "It seems you've improved a lot. Even I couldn't match that speed just now."

Minato nodded and said, "Yes, the teacher said speed is my strength, so I've been training my speed for the past two weeks."

Tatsuma still looked somewhat amazed. He had a system that allowed him to see the extent to which his talents were realized every day. He had now reached the Jonin level in all four of his physical talents, and he could realize 3-4 points of his talents through regular training every day.

Although he had been focusing on studying Tobirama Senju's notes during this period, he hadn't neglected his training. Yet, even under these circumstances, Minato, whose speed was originally similar to his, still managed to surpass him.

Tatsuma suddenly realized that Minato might have more than one hidden talent in speed. Perhaps Minato possessed both of the two enhancement directions he had chosen between [Divine Strategist] and [Divine Speed], or even more.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for Minato to surpass him in such a short period of time through training. And thinking back, it was also true that because of the effect of training through combat, Tatsuma's progress speed surpassed Minato's in many aspects.

Only in terms of speed can Minato always keep up with him. Such talent... no wonder even the Second Hokage said he was fast.

Suppressing his inner musings, Tatsuma suddenly had a mischievous thought and asked with a smile, "You seem to have grown a little taller, and your face is fuller too. You've been eating well lately, haven't you?"

"Gurgle~~"

Upon hearing this, Minato's face turned pale. He reached out and leaned against the wall, looking at Tatsuma with resentful eyes, and said, "Stop talking."

"You two! Are you going to give up on the Chunin Exams?!"

At this moment, a voice interrupted the two people's conversation. They turned around and exclaimed with slight surprise, "Teacher Hepu!" *2

"Hmph! I thought you two geniuses had forgotten about me."

Although Sarutobi Akira's words weren't exactly pleasant, he couldn't hide the smile on his face. He pointed upstairs and said, "Minato, I've already verified your documents. Go to my office to get them, then hurry to the exam hall."

"Yes! Let's go, Tatsuma!"

"Let's take him out of this little Chunin Exam!"

(End of this chapter)