"I suggest you stay still, or the next thing to travel along these wires will be my Fire Release."
Sasuke sat in a tree, holding the steel wires in his hand, his strength not at all inferior to Temari's.
Nearby, Gaara, who was silently hanging upside down from a tree, prepared to make a move, but a strange force trapped him; it was actually the Water Release: Water Prison Technique.
The one who had performed it was, naturally, Sakura.
"Now that you're caught in my Water Prison Technique, there's no escape. He has about one minute before he suffocates. I suggest you think carefully before acting. Naruto is here too, and he's listening to Konohamaru's report right now."
Naruto rolled up his sleeves, looking ready for a fight, and Temari quickly said, "Wait, we surrender!"
"We originally came to Konoha to take the Chūnin Exams, and this was all just a misunderstanding."
"My brother was sent flying and severely injured by that guy. We're even now, right?"
While apologizing, Temari glanced towards Gaara.
Gaara was indeed suffocating, but he wasn't the type to obediently submit.
If this continued, he would probably go berserk and release Shukaku.
Nojuro Ryun, naturally sensing the chakra starting to stir within Gaara's body, said, "Release him, Sakura. It was just a misunderstanding."
"Yes, yes, just a misunderstanding!"
Temari gave Nojuro Ryun a long, hard look, deciding to remember him and seek revenge later.
As for Kankuro, he was slowly climbing down from the wall at that moment.
Nojuro Ryun's punch, though seemingly immensely powerful, was actually quite skillful.
Most of the force was absorbed by the puppet crow on his back; he likely only sustained superficial injuries.
Of course, how he was going to repair his crow was Kankuro's own problem.
That guy hitting Konohamaru was one thing, but laying hands on Moegi was something Nojuro Ryun couldn't tolerate.
Temari, seeing that Kankuro seemed okay, breathed a sigh of relief.
Sakura, for her part, dispelled the Water Prison Technique.
At this moment, Gaara was inherently violent; he wasn't one to take things lying down.
Sand flew out from the gourd on his back, and in the next second, he was about to attack the people in front of him.
A kunai was pressed against his neck. Yūhi Kurenai's cold eyes stared at Gaara as she said, "If you want to die, just try moving again."
Temari's pupils contracted. It was Yūhi Kurenai!
They had come to Konoha in preparation for war, so they had naturally familiarized themselves with Konoha's intelligence beforehand.
Seeing that even a Jōnin had been provoked, Temari quickly offered a placating apology, and at the same time urged, "Gaara, this is the famously powerful Konoha Jōnin, Yūhi Kurenai. You absolutely must not make an enemy of her, understand?"
Gaara's face darkened, his displeasure evident.
However, while violent, he wasn't a fool. He knew that these renowned Jōnin of Konoha were not to be trifled with.
He could only obediently retract his sand, then landed and looked at Kankuro, asking, "Still alive? If you are, then let's go. Don't bring any more shame to Sunagakure."
"Ah, sorry. My mistake."
Blood seeped from the corner of Kankuro's mouth. He had just checked his physical condition and naturally understood that Nojuro Ryun had held back.
At this point, he didn't dare cause any more trouble, not only because he feared Gaara, but also because he was afraid that further exposing Gaara's condition might jeopardize Sunagakure's plans.
"Little girl, can you forgive me?"
Moegi looked at Kankuro. Only after seeing him spit up blood did she nod.
With the main parties involved having agreed, this matter was considered settled.
Nojuro Ryun waved his hand and said, "Since everyone's here, why not come to my place as guests?"
"Starting today, Sister Kurenai will be staying at my house for a while. You're in for a treat."
Yūhi Kurenai looked at Nojuro Ryun in surprise, about to explain, when Sakura excitedly rushed over and said, "Why would Teacher Kurenai be staying at Ryun-kun's house? Could it be...?"
"Ahem. He invited me to train you all. I just gave in to his persistent pleading."
Yūhi Kurenai quickly came up with what seemed like a plausible excuse, but upon reflection, one would realize that for a Jōnin's travel speed, was this short distance a reason to specially lodge at Nojuro Ryun's house?
However, Naruto and Sasuke naturally wouldn't overthink it; they were only interested in the training.
Sakura was also happy, since Yūhi Kurenai was a genuine Jōnin, surely not as lazy and laid-back as their team leader, Kakashi-sensei, every day.
Afterwards, the group headed to Nojuro Ryun's house, livening up the place.
Later, Nojuro Ryun and Yūhi Kurenai established some rules for the upcoming training.
First, if the ninjas' own team leaders had training plans, they naturally had to prioritize following those.
If not, they could ask Yūhi Kurenai to guide them in their strengths, spar with them, or impart experience.
Of course, if anyone was interested in genjutsu, Yūhi Kurenai would also guide them in that area.
As for Naruto and Sasuke, they weren't very interested in genjutsu. In response to their request, Nojuro Ryun agreed readily, deciding to send a Shadow Clone starting tomorrow to spar with them in taijutsu.
They would be considered qualified when they could defeat Nojuro Ryun's Shadow Clone.
Initially, Sasuke was disdainful of this challenge, but they would soon understand that while they grew rapidly, Nojuro Ryun's growth rate was far faster.
It wasn't just the gap in basic attributes, but also the difference in taijutsu experience Nojuro Ryun had accumulated through so many simulations.
Nojuro Ryun could confidently say that, in terms of pure taijutsu combat experience, he was already among the most seasoned in the ninja world.
In the last simulation alone, he had fought the muscle-bound brutes of Kumogakure countless times.
And so, the training began in full swing, especially since they had already seen Sunagakure ninja that day.
As for Moegi, she was a bit reluctant to leave.
Nojuro Ryun promised she could come and play anytime, and only then did Moegi leave happily.
As for Konohamaru and Udon, Nojuro Ryun had no interest in befriending them.
Perhaps ten years from now they would become the promising young talents of Konoha, but by then, Nojuro Ryun would already be at the Six Paths level or higher.
The next day, Sakura, Ino, and Hinata all gathered to receive guidance from Yūhi Kurenai, which rather surprised her.
After talking with them in detail, she could only shake her head and sigh, silently commiserating with Sakura and Ino.
Sakura's talent and strength were already evident, and Kakashi naturally didn't hesitate to guide her, but unfortunately, he wasn't very skilled in either Water Release or genjutsu—although Kakashi had the Sharingan, he couldn't easily use its genjutsu.
Upon hearing that Yūhi Kurenai was willing to guide Sakura, he unhesitatingly sent her over.
As for Ino, Asuma, after hearing about this, also sent her over, asking her to put in a good word for him.
When mentioning this, Ino looked at Nojuro Ryun with a strange expression, then turned to Yūhi Kurenai, staring at her until Kurenai's face flushed with self-consciousness.
Ino narrowed her eyes, then glared angrily at Nojuro Ryun, who responded with an innocent smile, pretending nothing had happened.
Faced with this situation, Ino could only sigh.
If Nojuro Ryun wanted an older woman, what could she do about it? She couldn't just turn into one, and even if she did, she probably wouldn't fit the role. She could only lament that her teacher, Asuma-sensei, was probably hoping in vain.
As for Hinata, there was no need to say much; she was originally a kunoichi under Yūhi Kurenai's command, so naturally she would now train with her.
As for Kiba and Shino, training with Yūhi Kurenai wouldn't be very beneficial for them at this point; it was more efficient for them to train with their parents and clans.
Tenten, meanwhile, was with Guy honing her taijutsu—in this area, no one in all of Konoha was indeed more professional than Guy.
And so, the training continued for three straight days.
Yūhi Kurenai was utterly astonished by the progress of Ino and Sakura. In her view, their growth seemed flawless in every aspect.
What surprised her most was that both seemed to be holding back trump cards, all of which they had learned from Nojuro Ryun.
Of course, what truly captivated Yūhi Kurenai's attention was when they all bathed together, and she saw the flowers on Ino's and Sakura's stomachs.
Those beautiful flowers were proof of the power Nojuro Ryun had given them, and moreover, he had personally tattooed them.
Upon hearing this, Yūhi Kurenai felt the blood in her brain rush. Could it be that they had already...?
But then, after carefully observing the two girls' movements and expressions, she realized that Nojuro Ryun had indeed only applied this strange True Spirit Seal to them.
As for its specific effects, she didn't ask, and the girls didn't tell, which was an unspoken understanding among ninjas.
However, whenever she saw the flowers on their bodies, faintly visible beneath the water, she couldn't help but feel her own body begin to slowly heat up.
If Nojuro Ryun offered to tattoo such a flower on her, how would she choose...?
"Kurenai-sensei?"
Hinata's voice beside her made Yūhi Kurenai jump.
"Hinata, what is it?"
Hinata, her face red, hesitated timidly before finally speaking: "Um, Ryun-kun asked me to ask you if you would be willing to watch the process of inscribing the True Spirit Seal?"