In Naruto, the System Asks Me to Entrust Pokémon

After Orochimaru left, there weren't many customers that day. Ryo let Cynthia continue practicing her chakra training while he handled the few customers that came by, occasionally playing with the Diancie in his arms.

He had to admit—Diancie was just too adorable.

The moment it appeared in the shop, every single customer would ask Ryo the same thing:

"Is this Pokémon available? Can I catch one?"

It didn't matter if they were men or women. Every single person who walked in asked the question.

It got to the point where Ryo even considered sending Diancie to train in the back just to avoid the constant inquiries. But every time he looked into its big, sparkling eyes, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

As time passed, the Pokémon House grew quieter.

Meanwhile, the Hokage's office was bustling with activity.

At the center of the room, Hiruzen Sarutobi took a slow puff from his pipe, his gaze sweeping lazily over the gathered ninja.

"Alright, the names of the participants have been submitted. Now, let's discuss whether our ninja should use Pokémon in the Chūnin Exam."

He was uncertain about the decision.

If they allowed it, Konoha could showcase its strength and make a bold statement.

However, doing so would accelerate the spread of Pokémon to other villages.

If Konoha had full control over Pokémon, it wouldn't be an issue. But the problem was, Pokémon weren't exclusively Konoha's.

And Ryo wasn't the type to prevent other villages from catching them.

This decision had both pros and cons, which was why he had gathered the elite Jōnin and senior ninja to discuss it.

The moment he raised the question, the room filled with discussion.

Kakashi was the first to speak.

"Hokage-sama, I think we should use them. The world will find out eventually, so why not take the initiative?"

However, before he could finish, another ninja stepped forward.

"Hokage-sama, I believe we should keep it a secret. Even if they'll find out eventually, every extra day we delay gives our Pokémon more time to grow stronger. Even if other villages acquire them later, they'll still lag behind us."

"I think using them is the right choice."

"That's nonsense! We should keep them hidden!"

"Use them!"

"Absolutely not!"

Immediately, the room descended into a chaotic debate.

Hiruzen sighed, flicking the ash from his pipe.

"Enough. Quiet down."

The room instantly fell silent, all eyes turning to him.

He took another long puff, then finally stubbed out his pipe and announced,

"We will allow it."

"Hokage-sama, this is bad for Konoha!"

"Yes, Hokage-sama! If we reveal this too soon, it could put us at a disadvantage!"

Hiruzen's gaze swept across the room before he waved his hand dismissively.

"I've made my decision. Besides, we still have time before the Chūnin Exam ends. That time will be enough for us to secure our lead."

Hearing this, the assembled ninja nodded in reluctant agreement.

"One more thing," Hiruzen added, "Keep an eye on the foreign ninja in the village. Make sure they don't spread information about Pokémon outside. Dismissed."

Swish—

In an instant, the ninja vanished from the room as if they had never been there.

As the Chūnin Exam approached, Pokémon House became even quieter.

For an entire day, hardly any ninja came by. Only a few civilians stopped in, but most of them couldn't afford to raise Pokémon.

However, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. With fewer customers, Ryo and Cynthia had more time to train and improve themselves.

"Ryo, Ryo! I extracted chakra!"

Ryo, who had been meditating on the couch, nearly fell off in surprise.

He opened his eyes and shot Cynthia an exasperated look.

"Can you calm down? You're a grown woman, why are you always so loud?"

But Cynthia didn't care. She was still bursting with excitement.

"I extracted chakra!"

Ryo blinked. "I heard you the first time... Wait, you actually succeeded?"

Cynthia nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! I did it!"

Ryo stared at her in disbelief.

Ordinary people usually needed a month or two to refine their first chakra.

But Cynthia had done it in just four days. No—less than four days. To be exact, only three and a half.

After all, Orochimaru had only given her the chakra training method five days ago, and she had started practicing that very night.

"Ryo, does this mean I'm officially a ninja now?"

Cynthia looked at him with a beaming smile.

Ryo's lips twitched. He was at a loss for words.

"Not yet. Even though you have chakra, you're just starting out. You probably don't even have enough to perform the weakest jutsu."

Having chakra alone didn't make someone a ninja. At best, she was a beginner—on par with the kids at the Ninja Academy.

"Huh?"

Cynthia's enthusiasm dimmed slightly. "So I'm still not a ninja?"

Ryo sighed. "Not yet. Just keep refining your chakra and learning some jutsu. It won't take long before you're a full-fledged ninja."

Cynthia nodded, no longer dwelling on it.

Then, as if remembering something, she asked curiously,

"Ryo, isn't today the start of the Chūnin Exam?"

"Yeah, today's the first stage."

Ryo nodded and glanced toward the Hokage Monument.

"By now, it should be starting."

He couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic.

Back when he watched this part in the anime, he had been just a kid.

Now, the Chūnin Exam was happening right in front of him.

Cynthia followed his gaze toward the Hokage Monument.

"It's a shame we can't watch. I'd love to see it in person."

She was intrigued—after all, she had never seen a Chūnin Exam before.

And now that she was technically a ninja-in-training, she was even more eager to witness it.

Ryo rolled his eyes.

Trust me, the first stage isn't worth watching.

Unless you wanted to see Naruto shouting his way through a written test.

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