I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 388 Don't get too familiar with the people serving you; maintaining a little distance will allow you to enjoy better service.

"Shin-chan, have you figured it out yet? Where exactly is the agreed-upon location?"

Inside a training ground, three boys were huddled together, deep in thought. Yamanaka Satoru combed his ruffled hair and cast an expectant gaze at the seemingly composed Shinnosuke.

The younger Harumichi also opened his little eyes, expecting Shinnosuke to give him answers and instructions as he usually did when carrying out missions.

But after a moment of silence, he shook his head and said, "I'm not sure."

The two teammates looked disappointed, but Shinnosuke turned his gaze to a large tree not far away, where a Jonin was smilingly watching them. He asked, "Shinosuke-sensei, what are your thoughts?"

Sarutobi Shisuke smiled and nodded, but remained silent. Shinnosuke, who had been waiting for him to continue, had to ask again, "Then can you tell us?"

"Can't."

Shisuke's smile remained unchanged, but his words made the three of them gasp. Shisuke continued, "It's you who want to join the Anbu, not me. I don't need to offend an Anbu squad leader for your sake."

Hearing this, Shinnosuke and the others nodded helplessly, but Harumichi was still unwilling to give up and asked, "Then, Inusuke-sensei, could you give me just a little hint?"

"Tell me your guesses, and I'll offer my speculation?"

Ishisuke did not refuse Gendo's request. After all, these three little guys were really clueless, and he couldn't let them get stuck at the first step of the assessment, could he?

"This is a chakra test strip. Judging from the marks on it, it should have been infused with fire, water, and earth chakra. Fire, water, and earth should also be the key to solving the problem."

If we directly compare the map of the ninja world and connect the centers of the three major countries, the central point should be the northern border of the Land of Fire, at most intersecting with the Land of Iron. However, the Land of Iron is a neutral country, so it is obviously not the location for the assessment.

As Harumichi analyzed, Shinnosuke followed up, saying, "That's what I think too. However, water may not necessarily refer to the Land of Water. Based on the analysis of the test strips, the involvement of water-style chakra is actually not significant, far less than that of fire and earth chakra. So it may refer to the Land of Rain."

But these three countries can almost be connected in a straight line, with the center point in the Land of Rain. Isn't that a bit redundant? Or was the inclusion of the Land of Rain chosen to establish more precise coordinates?

After holding his breath for a while, Yamanaka Satoru said, "Could it be that the scope isn't actually that big? The confluence of fire and water, could it refer to hot springs? And since 'earth' means 'common,' could it refer to the hot spring entertainment district?"

After all, adults always like to linger in these kinds of places, and Mr. Ibusuke is one of them.

"Cough cough cough~"

Shisuke quickly interrupted with a cough, glared at Yamanaka Satoru, and said, "Apart from Yamanaka Satoru, the other two's analyses are quite reasonable. After all, the squad leaders are very busy. Maybe it's just a gap in the mission that they're giving you a chance to be tested."

Therefore, it's perfectly normal for the location to be outside the village, or even outside the Land of Fire.

As he spoke, Shisuke gave Shinnosuke an approving look. The amount of chakra on the test strip was indeed a point that required great care to find, and it was based on this point that he was able to deduce the location.

However, Ishisuke was also curious about who the examiners for these three would be. They were so high-profile, that the son of the Hokage would have to go all the way abroad to participate in the examination.

Having left the Anbu for several years, Ishisuke doesn't actually know much about the current Anbu. However, none of the squad leaders he served with seemed to be so tactless.

"Could it be the root?"

A hint of seriousness appeared in Shinobu's eyes. Root might indeed not give Shinnobu face, but... could Root have really changed the positions of the Anbu to this extent in just a few years? When he served, the squad leaders were all from the Hokage's faction.

If it's Root, then these three kids are in for a rough time. Although Root wouldn't dare let Shinnosuke get hurt, they wouldn't mind suffering a little.

Shinnosuke didn't notice the serious look in Ishisuke's eyes; he only saw the suggestive look in Ishisuke's eyes earlier. He took out the map and began to draw lines more precisely.

With the three center points determined, a triangle was drawn. Then, the center point was determined again. Looking at the point on the map, Shinnosuke said, "The border between the Land of Rain, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Fire."

It seems this assessment is a real-world test.

There is never a peaceful time at the border. Whether in wartime or peacetime, the turmoil at the border has never stopped. Setting up an assessment point there means that it is bound to encounter many enemies.

"Practice is better; consider it as getting used to life in the shadows beforehand."

Yuan Dao was extremely excited and asked directly, "When do we set off?"

Shinnosuke looked at Yamanaka Satoru, who nodded. Shinnosuke then said, "Let's not delay. Let's go and buy more equipment now, since we may have to fight several battles in a row."

"good!"

The three of them hurried towards the center of the village. Ishigaki watched them leave, then headed straight for the Hokage Building. He still wanted to find out what kind of role the examiner for these three was.

Two hours later, after purchasing everything, the three decided to treat themselves to a cup of milk tea before setting off. However, as soon as they arrived at the beverage shop, Shinnosuke showed a surprised smile.

"Tatsuma-senpai!"

A somewhat listless Tatsuma turned his head. He had failed once again in his attempt to absorb nutrients using Wood Release. He was hungry at the moment, but fortunately, because he had stored energy in his body, he was not as critically ill as before.

Good afternoon! Are you traveling far away?

Tatsuma looked at the three of them and asked, "Tatsuma-senpai, we'll be colleagues soon." Shinnosuke nodded and said mysteriously, "Tatsuma-senpai, we'll be colleagues soon."

"Um."

Tatsuma's indifferent response hurt Shinnosuke somewhat. Why wasn't Tatsuma-senpai surprised at all? And why didn't he even ask where they were planning to go?

It seemed that his message was less noticeable to Tatsuma than the movement of the team. Shinnosuke was still feeling down when it was Tatsuma's turn to join the team.

It's still early spring, so there aren't long lines at the cold drink shops. When the young woman taking orders saw Chenma, she didn't ask what he wanted to drink as usual. Instead, she took a deep breath and said:

"Strawberry ice cream, red bean milk tea with full sugar, ice cream directly on top of the milk tea, extra caramel sauce, strawberry jam, and icing sugar, with a hard candy straw, strawberry or apple flavor, and most importantly, no chocolate. Am I right this time, Tatsuma-san?"

Chenma nodded and said, "That's right, if possible, add an extra serving of candied red beans to the milk tea."

"So that's double the red beans? Is it this time, or will it be like this from now on?"

Just this once.

The conversation between the two left the three people following Tatsuma looking at each other in bewilderment. What should they do? The idol's image seemed to have collapsed. The ruthless killer, the White Demon of the Jade-Slaying Hand, was actually a person who loved sugar more than anything.

"It will take a while, Mr. Tatsuma. Please move aside a bit so that the people behind you can take their orders."

The young woman wasn't very polite, which is a major reason why customers shouldn't seek out familiar waitresses, because they tend to be rude and don't put in much effort in their service.

But Chenma didn't care. After all, the other party wouldn't make much money from this deal, so there was no need for him to act like a big shot.

Shinnosuke watched Tatsuma walk away and, when asked by the little girl, subconsciously replied, "Just drink the same as Tatsuma-senpai, I like it this way too."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Shinnosuke came to his senses and immediately regretted it. He had just thought of ordering the same thing as Tatsuma and saying, "I didn't expect you to like this too, Tatsuma-senpai," to get closer to him.

But what kind of stuff did you order, Tatsuma-senpai? Are there any other fans of this stuff?!

Not only can I no longer use "I like it too" as an opportunity to get closer to him, but I also have to face the incredulous look from Tatsuma-senpai and the drink I don't know how to put in my mouth.

Tatsuma never expected that today he would not only encounter his "mission target", but also meet a lover with the same unique taste in desserts as himself, and that the two of them were actually the same person.

For a fleeting moment, Tatsuma wanted to advise Shinnosuke to see a doctor and have his blood sugar checked, since not everyone is like Tatsuma, whose body, even at a leisurely pace, consumes more energy than others operating at full power.

If a normal person consumed that much sugar, those with a stronger constitution would see their blood sugar rise to a dangerous level, while those with a weaker constitution would probably die soon.

Shinnosuke didn't know how to explain, so he could only follow Tatsuma's example and obediently stand aside. Yamanaka Satoru and Haramichi exchanged a glance, one ordering tea with three-tenths sugar and the other ordering pure tea.

"Eat your ice cream quickly, or it will melt."

A few minutes later, Tatsuma held up a huge bucket of milk tea and urged Shinnosuke to quickly eat the ice cream on top. Shinnosuke, on the other hand, put on the Pain Mask and had already taken several bites in a row.

Now I'm in excruciating pain from my nose to my brain. If I eat any more, my brain will go numb from the cold.

He changed his approach and tried to use a hard candy straw to drink the milk tea at the bottom first, but after just one sip, the straw was blocked by a red bean.

Shinnosuke looked at Tatsuma, wanting to see how he would drink the milk tea. He saw that Tatsuma had already eaten most of the ice cream on top, then tilted his head back, raised the cup, and drank the milk tea directly without using a straw.

Just as Shinnosuke was wondering why Tatsuma needed an extra hard candy straw instead of a regular straw, he saw Tatsuma use the hard candy straw to pick off the red beans at the bottom.

After finishing the red beans, I put the hard candy straw directly in my mouth and chewed it dry. It turns out it wasn't meant to be used as a straw.

At this moment, the group had only walked from the counter to the door when there happened to be a trash can. Chenma casually threw the trash can into it.

With a happy smile on his face, Tatsuma said to the three of them, "I'll be going now. I wish you all the best in your mission."

"Tatsuma-senpai."

Seeing that Tatsuma was about to leave, Shinnosuke quickly called him back, then asked somewhat awkwardly, "Tatsuma-senpai, we're about to embark on a very important mission. Do you have any suggestions?"

After observing for a while and confirming that Shinnosuke didn't know that he was his examiner, Tatsuma said, "When you're out and about, don't trust your so-called companions too much, especially those you don't really know."

"Well said."

Just then, Inosuke, who had just been rebuffed by Hiruzen Sarutobi, arrived and heard these words. He nodded in agreement and then said earnestly:

"For this mission, the person you should trust most is yourself. Even if you encounter your target, don't blindly trust them, understand?"

Shinnosuke and the others nodded solemnly, while Tatsuma, the "target," looked embarrassed. He remembered that he had never offended his former colleague, Inosuke.

Shisuke didn't intend to target Tatsuma; he was only targeting Shinnosuke's examiner, who was very likely from Root and was trying to harm Shinnosuke.

Shinnosuke and the others set off. Ishisuke watched their retreating figures with a worried expression and said to Tatsuma, "Tatsuma, do you know which bastard is their examiner? I suspect he's trying to harm Shinnosuke."

Tatsuma:

(End of this chapter)