Kurenai Yuhi led Team 8 out of the school building, but instead of heading to the playground, they left the school and arrived at a training field in the wilderness.
Such training fields were common throughout the Leaf Village.
Stopping in front of a tree stump, Kurenai turned to face Izayoi and the other two, smiling as she said, "Until one of you is promoted to the rank of Chuunin and becomes a team leader, I will be the one guiding you on missions for a long time to come."
"So, let's start by introducing ourselves and getting to know each other."
"I'll go first as an example."
Kurenai placed one hand on her hip and smiled, "My name is Kurenai Yuhi, and my surname is Yuhi. You can call me Teacher Kurenai. My specialty is Genjutsu, and I'm skilled in various types of Genjutsu. There are many things I like, such as food—like wasabi octopus, as well as sake and vodka. As for my dream, it's to become a kunoichi like Lady Tsunade."
"Now it's your turn."
Kurenai's gaze swept over the faces of Izayoi and the others, finally settling on Izayoi.
Seeing this, Izayoi slowly began, "My name is Izayoi, and I don't have a surname. My specialty is Ninja Techniques, and I'm particularly skilled in Fire Release and Wind Release. I also know a bit of Medical Ninja Techniques and Sensing Techniques. I enjoy training and fighting with others, and there are many things I dislike. My dream is to become an excellent ninja."
Kurenai nodded slightly, already forming a preliminary judgment of Izayoi's abilities and personality.
Then she turned her gaze to Hinata, who stood beside Izayoi.
"My name is Hyuga Hinata. My specialties are sensing and the Clan Gentle Fist. I enjoy training with Izayoi-kun and my sister, and I also like eating red bean paste and cinnamon rolls. The foods I dislike are shrimp and crab. My dream is also to become an excellent ninja," Hinata said softly.
After listening to Hinata's introduction, Kurenai glanced at Izayoi again, her eyes shifting between their faces until Hinata's cheeks flushed slightly, and she couldn't help but lower her head. Only then did Kurenai reveal a playful smile, nodding as if she had realized something, "I see."
Finally, Kurenai's gaze landed on Shino, who was bundled up tightly—his hood covering his hair, his forehead protector shielding his forehead, his sunglasses hiding his eyes, and his collar covering his chin and nose, leaving only a small patch of skin visible on his face.
Shino spoke in a calm tone, "My name is Aburame Shino. My specialties are also sensing and the Clan Secret Technique. I usually enjoy going to the forest to search for insects. My favorite foods are vegetable salad and winter melon, and I dislike things with strong flavors. My dream is to discover new species of insects."
"Very good. Now everyone has a basic understanding of each other."
Kurenai smiled with satisfaction and said, "But before we start missions, I need to test your abilities. Tomorrow morning at nine, we'll meet here again, and I'll be conducting a Survival Exercise with you."
"By the way, the theme of this Survival Exercise is a capture battle, and your opponent… will be me."
Kurenai pointed at herself, then waved her hand and smiled, "See you tomorrow. Don't be late."
With that, Kurenai didn't give Izayoi and the others a chance to react or ask questions. She turned into an afterimage and disappeared.
Izayoi and the others exchanged glances.
"Izayoi, what do you think?"
Shino spoke up, ready to probe Izayoi's thoughts.
Although he had been consistently overshadowed by Izayoi and the others over the years, Aburame Shino didn't feel that he was inferior to them in any aspect except for his academic performance, which lagged behind Izayoi and Hinata.
Unrestricted Duels were only held in the sixth grade, once a month, as part of the monthly exams. Until graduation, Shino never had the chance to face Izayoi and the others in a match. None of the other classmates were worthy of him using his Clan Secret Technique, so no one knew that Shino had been hiding his true strength all along.
He had already noticed the hint left by Kurenai Yuhi. If Izayoi hadn't picked up on it, it meant his mind wasn't as quick as Shino's. Considering the relationship between Hinata and Izayoi, Shino was willing to let Izayoi take the lead. However, if Izayoi's decisions were flawed, Shino wouldn't hesitate to voice his disagreement without sparing any face. Naturally, Izayoi was unaware of Shino's thoughts.
After listening to Shino's words, Izayoi slowly shared his analysis: "We don't need to wait until tomorrow to know the outcome. As newly graduated Genin, we're no match for a Jonin."
"Even if tomorrow's Survival Exercise is just a capture mission, if the Jonin doesn't want us to succeed, we won't be able to get our hands on it. After all, you've probably noticed that during the school's Survival Exercises, the Chuunin teachers always held back. As long as our performance wasn't particularly bad, we wouldn't be eliminated."
"So, in tomorrow's Survival Exercise, if our performance satisfies Teacher Kurenai, she'll likely go easy on us as well."
"Then… how can we make her satisfied?"
Izayoi leaned against the tree stump where Kurenai had just stood and continued, "Teacher Kurenai just said that she's testing our abilities, not our strength! A ninja's battle is a battle of intelligence. During the self-introductions, Teacher Kurenai already revealed her information to us—she's skilled in various types of Genjutsu."
"It's still morning, so we could start the Survival Exercise right now. But she's given us a full day to prepare and even pointed out the theme and location of the exercise. This is clearly giving us time to formulate a strategy and set up traps."
"As long as our tactics and teamwork are up to par, Teacher Kurenai will probably let us succeed in capturing the objective."
As Izayoi spoke confidently, Hinata's eyes sparkled with admiration, clearly in awe of him.
Shino, on the other hand, remained expressionless, his hands in his pockets and his body wrapped tightly, making it impossible to gauge his thoughts.
However, deep down, he had already fully acknowledged Izayoi and admitted that he was no match for him. Although he had also noticed the hint left by Kurenai, Shino hadn't thought as deeply about it as Izayoi had.
As expected of the top student. It seemed that not only had Shino been hiding his strength, but aside from Hinata, who had mentioned enjoying training with Izayoi, no one in the class had likely seen Izayoi's true capabilities.
Thus, Shino asked again, "So, Izayoi, what's your strategy?"
Unlike his earlier probing, this time Shino was acknowledging Izayoi's leadership and was ready to follow his arrangements.
"To formulate a strategy, we first need to deepen our understanding of each other."
Izayoi waved to Hinata and Aburame Shino, saying, "Come on, let's reveal our cards. Tell each other about our most proficient techniques and their effects."
Hearing this, Hinata and Shino immediately walked over.
The three of them then formed a circle and began to whisper among themselves.
Not far away, Kurenai Yuhi stood on the branch of a large tree, watching the three of them communicate. A pleased smile appeared on her face as she grew even more satisfied with Izayoi and his two students and subordinates.
The hint earlier had indeed been left intentionally by her.
Her purpose was to test the observational skills of the three, to see how long it would take for them to figure it out.
She hadn't expected that Izayoi and the others would be so outstanding.
She had just left, and they immediately deduced that the Survival Exercise and the assessment time were meant to test their abilities and teamwork.
"They're truly excellent. With a combination like this, there's hope for victory. When the time comes, I'll make sure you pay the price for underestimating me."
Kurenai recalled the bet before the team assignments, when neither Kakashi Hatake nor Asuma Sarutobi, who had always tried
to curry favor with her, had taken her seriously. She thought to herself.
Then, her body twisted and disappeared like a Mirage.
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