Chapter 188 : Naruto, You Can’t Be His Match Now
It was only a tenfold enhancement, yet Jiraiya couldn’t even begin to imagine how powerful Riku was now.
The bottleneck Jiraiya had predicted for Riku never arrived. In fact, over the past three years, Riku had only grown stronger—so much so that Jiraiya couldn’t even comprehend the scale of this tenfold growth.
Even Tsunade didn’t fully understand it. She had only estimated based on the pressure Riku gave off—it wasn’t exactly an accurate measure.
Naruto was still determined to challenge him. "I still want to fight Riku, just once! I want a chance!"
Everyone turned to look at Naruto, who stared seriously at Riku.
Riku thought for a moment, then said calmly, "That’s fine. I get challenged all the time—I’m used to it."
Tsunade, standing off to the side, sighed helplessly. "You’ve been challenged by over a hundred people, from Genin to Jōnin, just in the past three years."
Indeed, Riku had lived rather peacefully during that time. The only chaos came from the frequent challenges he received. But most challengers couldn’t even endure standing before him. His mere presence was overwhelming. Even seasoned Jōnin would tremble under his gaze, frozen before they could even make a move.
The oppressive force he gave off was heavier than what Orochimaru had once used to intimidate Kakashi.
Jiraiya was stunned by this revelation. Then he chuckled wryly. "What the hell have you been through these past three years? More than a hundred people challenged you? If it were me, I’d be bored to death."
Riku remained indifferent. Whether people came to challenge him or not didn’t matter—it was all just entertainment.
If nothing happened day after day, he’d start to feel like life wasn’t even real.
"I don’t mind," Riku said. "Most of the time, they can’t even handle my presence. So really, I haven’t had to actually fight that often."
Tsunade smiled and clarified, "Yeah, most people freeze the moment they see him. They can’t move, so the fight ends before it starts."
Jiraiya still couldn’t believe it. "Has Riku really become that intimidating? I remember three years ago—he didn’t have this kind of presence."
But Naruto and Sakura remembered the Chūnin Exams clearly. Even back then, Riku’s aura had been terrifying. Many of the other participants refused to mess with him.
Throughout the entire exam, aside from his confrontation with Orochimaru in the Forest of Death, Riku hadn’t fought a single candidate. Even Gaara had avoided him.
Still, Naruto felt that after three years of training, while he might not win against Riku, he should at least be close now.
At that moment, Tsunade chuckled. "Looks like your testers have arrived."
Naruto and Sakura glanced at her, then rushed to the window.
Outside stood Kakashi, reading a familiar little orange book.
When he saw the two of them, Kakashi looked up. "Naruto, Sakura—it’s been three years, huh?"
Naruto’s eyes widened. He immediately climbed out of the Hokage’s office window and looked at Kakashi in surprise. "Kakashi-sensei, are you our tester?"
Kakashi nodded. "Mm-hm. Come find me at Training Ground Three tonight. I’ll be waiting."
Naruto suddenly remembered something. He quickly pulled a book from his ninja pouch—the sequel to Jiraiya’s Make-Out Paradise series—and grinned. "This is the new volume Pervy Sage wrote. I don’t get what’s so good about these books, but I’m sure you’ll like it."
Kakashi’s eyes lit up the moment he saw the cover. "This... this is the sequel? Already? I didn’t expect it so soon! Thank you, Naruto. I love this gift."
With the book in hand, Kakashi smiled. "See you tonight at Training Ground Three. Don’t be late."
Then—poof—he vanished.
Probably to go hide and read the novel.
Tsunade’s expression turned dark. "That bastard... how can he be into something like that?"
She had always believed Kakashi was a serious person. But the more she learned about him, the more she felt he was just a hopeless case.
Riku chuckled. "It’s normal. Jiraiya-sensei is still a skilled writer. His books aren’t bad."
Jiraiya puffed up proudly. "Hahaha, Riku, you’ve got good taste. Want me to give you a set? I’ve still got extras~"
Before he could finish his sentence, Tsunade sent him flying with a single punch.
"Shut up! Corrupting Kakashi wasn’t enough? You dare try corrupting Riku? Do you want me to kill you, you old pervert?!"
As Jiraiya slid down the wall of the Hokage office, the corner of his mouth twitched. "Tsuna—Tsunade, your monstrous strength keeps getting worse. Besides, we don’t even know if Riku likes these kinds of books. They’re well-written!"
But as soon as he finished, he saw Tsunade cracking her knuckles again.
With her fingers clasped and a sinister look on her face, Jiraiya backed off immediately. No way he was risking another hit.
Riku smiled. "Let’s not do this now, Lady Hokage. Shouldn’t we head to the training field? You said you wanted to test them, right?"
Tsunade snorted. "If I didn’t still have things to do, I’d kill this bastard right now. If you dare to corrupt Riku, Jiraiya, you’ll see what I’ll do to you."
She didn’t care about anyone else. But if Jiraiya dared lead Riku down a questionable path, she would never forgive him.
Riku had become the one thing she absolutely couldn’t let go of.
"If you even try, you’re dead."
Jiraiya didn’t doubt her. He knew Tsunade had very high hopes for Riku.
In truth, he did too.
Reading his books didn’t count as corrupting someone, though... right?
Just then, the Hokage room door opened again.
Shikamaru and Temari walked in with some documents.
The moment they saw who was inside, they froze.
"Isn’t that Naruto?" Shikamaru said first, surprised.
Naruto walked over with a smile. "Shikamaru! You haven’t changed much."
Shikamaru grinned. "You’ve gotten a lot taller."
Temari looked Naruto up and down and thought to herself, Wasn’t he that short kid before? Can’t believe he grew so much in just three years.
After briefly observing Naruto, her gaze shifted to Riku, who stood beside Jiraiya, calm and collected.
Temari had been promoted to Jōnin by now.
She walked up to Tsunade and handed over a document. "This is the detailed schedule for the upcoming Chūnin Exams, Lady Fifth. Please take a look."
Tsunade took the folder and began reading.
Meanwhile, Temari turned back to Riku. "Riku, we meet again."
Over the past three years, Riku had frequently been sent on joint missions with Sunagakure. Temari had been his partner on several of them—especially the more difficult ones.
They’d completed two A-rank missions together.
Riku smiled at her. "No need to be so formal. You’re busy now, being the examiner for the Chūnin Exams."
Temari smiled warmly. She admired people like Riku—those with immense strength, but without arrogance. Calm, courteous, and powerful.
He was strong, but never looked down on others.
And that was rare
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