Chapter 254

As the journey continued, the Konoha exchange team soon encountered Boa Hancock and Brook.

The former left them in awe with her long legs, while the latter brought up questions about biology.

The expressions of the Konoha team upon seeing Hancock were like this: 😍

The expressions upon seeing Brook were like this: 😵

If Orochimaru, who was now a rogue ninja, had been with the Konoha exchange team, there would surely have been a case of a skeleton disappearing in Alliance City today.

In summary, for the Konoha ninjas visiting Alliance City for the first time, Pokémon Island had given them too many shocks.

Although their journey took some time, their curiosity and questions about Pokémon Island only grew stronger.

They quickened their pace, aiming to reach the Alliance base quickly and then have some time to explore the city before dark.

Especially Asuma.

When he passed Leisure Street, seeing all the young couples on dates, and hearing about the 'Nighttime Central Park'—a famous date spot—he felt a twinge of excitement and couldn't help but glance repeatedly at Kurenai.

After all the walking and occasional pauses along the way, the Konoha exchange team finally arrived at the Alliance base before sunset.

Dak had already informed the front desk of the Alliance Office about the exchange team's arrival.

In reality, there wasn't much need to do so.

The Konoha exchange team was no different in essence from the spectators arriving from the world of pirates.

They simply registered the Konoha team members and issued them temporary ID cards.

Each member of the Konoha exchange team had a special exchange fund from Konoha, which was 100,000 ryō—equivalent to 1 million Berries or 100 gold.

The cost of living in Alliance City was still quite reasonable, on par with Angel City and Fishman City.

With 100 gold, an ordinary person and their Pokémon could live comfortably in Alliance City for quite some time.

However, if they wanted to stay for a month and enjoy themselves until the end of the tournament, 100 gold would certainly not be enough.

But no one said they couldn't add more funds, right? If they wanted to play, they could just top up.

After leaving the Alliance base, Asuma said a few words.

"Everyone can move around freely now. Make sure to take note of anything you find impressive, so that Konoha can consider implementing some improvements later."

Asuma waved his hand, dismissing the group to explore.

The exchange team members were largely well-known figures from the Konoha ninja clans or distinguished jonin without clan ties. Even Asuma, as the Hokage's son, found it difficult to understand why his father, Hiruzen, sent them all here to 'have fun.'

Especially...

At a time when war could break out at any moment.

But that wasn't something for him to worry about; his father surely had his reasons.

Plus, Asuma held a Pokédex, allowing him to receive messages from Hiruzen in real-time. Should anything unexpected happen in Konoha, they could immediately rush back to provide support.

The fifty members of the Konoha exchange team soon split into groups.

Asuma and Kurenai.

Kakashi and Gai.

Ino-Shika-Cho.

Inuzuka and Aburame.

Everyone had their partners.

Of course, there were also a few who acted alone.

"..."

Kakashi watched those ninjas leave on their own, a look of doubt in his eyes.

Kakashi had left the Anbu less than a year ago, and he was still that somewhat cold-hearted Kakashi. It was only when interacting with Gai and others that he showed more warmth.

It was, in fact, thanks to Gai and their contemporaries petitioning the Third Hokage that Kakashi was allowed to leave the Anbu.

Gai and his peers, upon witnessing Kakashi's "cold" demeanor during missions, hoped that becoming a jonin instructor and taking on students would help change the darkness in his heart.

But so far, there had been no significant effect.

Kakashi had vowed that "someone who doesn't understand the importance of comrades would not become a ninja."

This was actually a basic and simple requirement.

However, the current passing rate was 0%, and it would remain at 0% for the next five or six years, leading Kakashi to doubt if his requirements were too harsh.

This situation would have persisted until Konoha Year 64, when Team 7 was formed, but now it was uncertain if Team 7 would ever come together.

Kakashi still retained his Anbu-like vigilance, so he subconsciously took notice of suspicious behavior.

In his eyes, those solitary ninjas were behaving quite suspiciously.

It seemed as if they had come here with a purpose, heading directly in a certain direction without any hesitation, completely uninterested in the fascinating things around them.

More notably, their behavior was very much like his own in the past.

Most likely, they were former Anbu members.

'A mission from the Third Hokage?'

Kakashi quickly figured out what was probably happening.

He withdrew his attention and stopped focusing on them, wandering off toward the entertainment district with Gai.

Since he hadn't received any orders, he had no intention of meddling.

"Kakashi, how are things going with Froakie?"

Gai asked curiously.

He vaguely remembered that the first time Kakashi met Froakie, the two had stared at each other for ten minutes straight.

"Rioru!"

Riolu, at Gai's side, also voiced his curiosity.

Riolu and Froakie were quite good friends.

As Gai and Kakashi didn't take them along on missions yet—believing that they hadn't grown strong enough to play a significant role in A or even S-rank missions and being worried for their safety—Froakie and Riolu were often left behind in the village.

As a result, the two little ones frequently teamed up to run around the village together.

"It's alright, I guess?"

Hearing the question, Kakashi turned to look at Froakie perched on his shoulder.

They both stared at each other in silence.

"Froak."

Froakie croaked, without any special meaning.

"Oh! It looks like your relationship has really improved a lot!"

Seeing this scene, Gai nodded.

Given Kakashi and Froakie's introverted personalities, if their relationship hadn't improved, it would have been hard for them to interact.

"Rioru."

Riolu also nodded in agreement.

As Froakie's friend, Riolu could naturally tell how Froakie felt about his trainer.

"Hmm."

This time, Kakashi nodded without denying it.

Listening to Gai's words and glancing at Froakie on his shoulder, Kakashi found that he couldn't concentrate on his beloved "Make-Out Paradise," his eighteenth birthday gift.

Come to think of it, he only now realized...

This little book, which he had read eighteen times over the past three years, was rarely able to capture his full attention after Froakie had arrived.

He hadn't noticed before, but now, with Gai's remark, he realized that his relationship with Froakie had indeed improved.

He remembered that on the day Froakie first hatched, the two had sat at a table to eat with nothing but occasional eye contact, no conversation at all.

During their later daily training, when Kakashi began teaching Froakie various ninja skills, they started to have some interactions.

If Gai and Riolu were hot-blooded partners striving and progressing together, then Kakashi and Froakie were more like a father and son or a master and disciple who rarely spoke.

As for Froakie's current learning content...

It was just the basics—chakra extraction and the three basic techniques.

Kakashi was also studying Froakie's three innate moves: Pound, Growl, and Water Gun.

Pound was simply a physical attack; Growl seemed to have a strange effect on opponents, and Water Gun was classified by Kakashi as a C-rank Water Release ninjutsu.

Although Kakashi hadn't used chakra paper to test Froakie's chakra affinity, he was sure Froakie had Water affinity.

As Konoha's top technician, with seven chakra natures and mastery over a thousand techniques, Kakashi knew that training Froakie to become an excellent Water Release ninja was an easy task.

"It's great to see you change, Kakashi!"

"Rioru!"

Gai and Riolu gave Kakashi a thumbs up.

Back then, Gai and his peers had petitioned Hiruzen to let Kakashi become a jonin instructor just to see this kind of change in him.

Although Kakashi had never led a newly graduated genin squad, Froakie's arrival had surprisingly achieved that goal.

With Froakie in his life, Kakashi's world had undeniably changed.

"Is that so?"

Kakashi closed his "Make-Out Paradise" and looked at Froakie by his head.

Come to think of it...

He realized that he had never asked what Froakie wanted to do.

"Kakashi, I saw a lot of interesting places on Leisure Street earlier. Riolu and I are heading over there first, so you and Froakie enjoy yourselves."

Though Gai was carefree, he wasn't without emotional intelligence.

He could tell that Kakashi was in a unique state of mind, and the best thing to do was to leave Kakashi and Froakie alone so they could get to know each other better.

As for himself, he was going to the battle club with Riolu.

"Riolu, let's show the Trainers of Alliance City our passionate youth!"

"Rioru Rioru!"

With two howls, Gai and Riolu sprinted away.

Watching Gai and Riolu leave, Kakashi looked at Froakie again.

He had made up his mind—during this one-month exchange, he would make an effort to understand Froakie better.

He had been quite an incompetent Trainer, hadn't he?

Looking around, Kakashi decided to first buy a map of Alliance City from a nearby shop and then decide where to go next.

(End of Chapter)

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