"The ramen is here!"
As everyone chatted, five bowls of ramen were brought up one by one by Ayame.
At this moment, except for Tenzō, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke, as well as Li Chuan, all tacitly did not pick up their chopsticks first, but subtly glanced towards Kakashi.
It was obvious that everyone wanted to take advantage of this mealtime to see what Kakashi, who always wore a mask, actually looked like.
Li Chuan was also curious about this point; it is said that Kakashi got into the habit of wearing a mask because he had a beauty mark at the corner of his mouth and was often ridiculed by his Father, White Fang, when he was a child.
And the perceptive Kakashi obviously noticed this.
"Why aren't you eating?"
"Oh, right, right, right."
The few of them immediately picked up their chopsticks, pretending to be about to lower their heads to eat the ramen, while continuing to cast sidelong glances at Kakashi.
Seeing this, Kakashi also picked up his chopsticks, then lowered his head and made a gesture of pulling down his mask, preparing to eat the ramen.
And Li Chuan clearly saw that as Kakashi moved, the eyes of the three, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke, gradually widened, their attention completely focused on Kakashi's face, waiting for the moment he removed his mask.
Even the hand that had picked up noodles with chopsticks was frozen in mid-air.
However, just as Kakashi was about to take off his mask and eat the noodles, he seemed to suddenly remember something, let go of the chopsticks in his hand again, and quickly took out three stamped papers from his pocket and placed them on the table.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot to tell you, I've already applied for you to participate in the Chunin Exams, but it's not mandatory; these are the application forms, if you've thought it over, just sign them."
"Then, six days from now, at three in the afternoon, come to classroom 301 at the academy."
"Finally, I must seriously remind you, the Chunin Selection Exams are very brutal, and many candidates die every year, so you must consider carefully before making your decision!"
Hearing that Kakashi had already applied for them to take the Chunin Exams, the three were naturally very happy, especially Naruto, who almost jumped out of his chair.
Then, hearing about the brutality of the Chunin Selection Exams, they each picked up their application forms, read them, and fell into thought.
Just as Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were each lost in their own Worlds, Li Chuan saw Kakashi quickly pull down his mask, then finish the entire bowl of ramen in less than five seconds like a whirlwind, quickly wipe his mouth, and pull his mask back up.
"He really does have a beauty mark!"
Five seconds was enough time for Li Chuan to scan Kakashi's entire face several times.
It must be admitted that Kakashi's appearance without his mask was still very handsome, and even the beauty mark at the corner of his mouth did not detract from this handsomeness.
The only slightly lacking feature was, on the contrary, his pair of lifeless, dead fish eyes.
"I must participate, ah!!! Kakashi Teacher, you... you... you..."
Ten seconds later, when the three of them, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke, emerged from their inner Worlds, having all secretly decided that they must participate in this Chunin Exams no matter how dangerous it was, they suddenly realized that Kakashi had already finished his ramen, and their eyes almost popped out.
"What's wrong with you?"
Kakashi looked at the three of them, feigning confusion.
"Nothing... nothing."
The three lowered their heads, a very dejected aura surrounding them.
A rare opportunity to possibly see their Teacher's face had just slipped away while the three of them were lost in thought.
Seeing this, Li Chuan also burst out laughing, and he also noticed at the same time that Tenzō next to him had a look of great envy on his face.
After finishing the ramen, everyone accompanied Li Chuan to stroll around Konoha for a while before dispersing and going home.
For a period of time after that, Li Chuan rested every night, and during the day he strolled around the entire Konoha accompanied by Tenzō, ostensibly enjoying the scenery, but in reality, he was surveying the terrain.
He had visited almost all the places in Konoha that could be entered, and the general topographical map of the entire Konoha was already imprinted in his mind.
Konoha Village is built below a cliff, surrounded by thick, tall wooden city walls, with four gates to the east, west, north, and south, and a very powerful barrier; non-Konoha Ninja attempting to break through the wall will be immediately detected by the Konoha barrier team.
The main gate for passage is the South Gate, which is the large gate Li Chuan entered through when he arrived; the other three gates are normally not used for passage.
The entire Konoha Village is divided in two by a river, and it is said that this river was the one that separated the Senju and Uchiha Clans back then, and it was by this river that the First and Madara met and became good friends when they were children.
The southwest corner of Konoha is mainly the territory of the Hyuga Clan and the former Uchiha Clan, while the main road along the North-South Street is the former site of the Uzumaki clan, which is now the residential area for ordinary villagers.
There are also various shops like Tenten's Ninja tool shop, Anko's dango shop, flower shops, etc.
In the southeast, besides the same ordinary villager residences, the more conspicuous building is the Konoha Ninja bachelor apartments, where many single Ninja reside.
The area north of the river is the prosperous part of the entire Village, where the Ninja Academy, the Ino-Shika-Cho family territories, the Sarutobi family territory, the hot spring district, ramen shops, barbecue and snack streets, the hospital, the cemetery, the news department, the Hokage building, and the police force are all located.
The Villa Li Chuan is currently staying in was actually vacated by the Sarutobi family.
The large area north of the Hokage Rock cliff is where Konoha's various training grounds are located, and Li Chuan speculated that the Root Base might also be located in that large area.
Because just now, while he was strolling around the east side of Training Ground 4, he happened to encounter Danzo, covered in bandages, accompanied by two subordinates, heading towards the Hokage building.
"Greetings, Prince!"
Upon seeing Li Chuan, Danzo politely greeted him first.
Konoha is largely not controlled by the Daimyo and the nobles of the Land of Fire, but most of its resources and financial aid come from the Daimyo of the Land of Fire's appropriations.
Therefore, although Danzo inwardly viewed the nobles of the Land of Fire as mere pawns, he still maintained a good outward appearance.
Of course, another reason was that he had always been in contact with Orochimaru and knew that the Third Hokage was not far from death; once the Third Hokage died, the next Hokage would need to be chosen.
The nobles of the Land of Fire do not have the authority to appoint the Hokage, which refers to the situation where the previous Hokage has designated the next Hokage.
If the previous Hokage dies without designating the next Hokage, and the Konoha higher-ups are in disagreement over the candidate for Hokage, the Daimyo and the corresponding nobles can determine the next Hokage from the candidates put forward by the Konoha higher-ups.
Therefore, at this time, Danzo naturally would not neglect Li Chuan, this Prince.
"You must be Danzo, Your Highness, my uncle has mentioned you; my uncle said that you are the most capable leader and the most decisive person in Konoha besides the Third Hokage.
Seeing you today, Danzo, you truly have an extraordinary bearing; it is fortunate for the Land of Fire to have Danzo and the Hokage!"
Li Chuan said to Danzo in a tone that conveyed his great appreciation for him.
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