Elite Jonin Selection

Early morning, outside the Hanma residence.

Minato Namikaze dragged the still-sleepy Kushina over at a frantic pace, then nimbly climbed over the wall as if he knew the place well.

In the courtyard, Hanma stood bare-chested, about to begin his morning warm-up when he saw a blond head poke over the wall.

"Yo, little Minato, you came so early. Looks like you're really looking forward to your teacher's spectacular performance."

With a smile at the corner of his mouth, Hanma gestured for Minato to jump in.

He took a deep breath, and two thick streams of white mist surged from his nostrils. Muscles like coiled dragons bulged all over his body, veins standing out in countless ridges.

As he moved, the bones throughout his body seemed to come alive, crackling and popping. His muscles appeared to possess a will of their own as they slowly writhed beneath his skin.

Minato's mouth twitched wildly. Squatting in the corner by the wall, he frantically complained in his heart, This definitely isn't normal taijutsu, and he definitely isn't a normal human! Definitely not!!

He clenched his five fingers, drove power through his waist and legs, leaving a semicircular imprint on the courtyard's bluestone ground as he assumed a standard Konoha-Style Taijutsu opening stance.

—Bang!!!

With a single punch, a sonic boom caused by sheer speed exploded through the courtyard. The air let out a mournful cry under the strain, and the target of that punch was an Iron Man nearly three meters tall, its body gleaming with a sinister sheen.

Hanma's punch sent the Iron Man flying at high speed like a protagonist in a Japanese anime getting hit by a truck.

In an instant, the blue bricks beneath his feet shattered layer by layer, fragments scattering everywhere. Before the Iron Man reached the wall, Hanma had already appeared behind it.

—Iron Mountain Lean!

This was a powerful killing technique Hanma had comprehended by combining the knowledge of his previous life.

Using the lumbar spine as the source of power and the thighs as support, he gathered the strength of his entire body and unleashed it through his shoulder. It was a killing move from Baji Quan!

Bzzzzz—

The Iron Man let out a pained wail. Its body, forged from refined steel, had already been smashed apart and covered in cracks. There was no trace of its original humanoid shape left, its scattered limbs making it look eerily like a vengeful ghost come to claim lives.

Minato's face turned pale. From his perspective, he could only see the Iron Man flying toward the wall, then hurtling back toward him at high speed.

Yet Minato was worthy of becoming the future Fourth Hokage. Gritting his teeth, he stepped in front of Kushina when the Iron Man was still several meters away from smashing into them.

Hanma smiled in satisfaction, flashed in front of Minato, and delivered a standard front kick that shattered the Iron Man into pieces.

For a moment, chunks of iron flew through the courtyard, and craters dotted the ground as though it had just witnessed an earth-shattering battle.

Hanma quietly admired his handiwork, picked up a warm towel, and wiped down his body.

When his crimson body came into contact with the moisture on the towel, it gave off a sizzling sound and released clouds of steam.

Kushina had long since snapped out of her groggy state. The devastating explosions even reminded her of the nightmare of Uzushio Village's destruction, making her tremble.

Known at school as the Bloody Habanero, she was now hiding entirely behind Minato, clutching tightly at his back and not daring to show her face.

Minato's face was pale as well. He leaned weakly against the wall, tightly holding Kushina's hand as he gasped for breath.

"Ha-Hanma-sensei, is this how you fight?"

Hanma casually waved a hand, put on his combat ninja vest, then grabbed Minato with one hand and the completely frozen Kushina with the other.

"I'm special. Among the Five Great Ninja Villages, I should be the only one who fights like this."

"But your path is destined to be different from mine. Don't let my strength blind you. Your future will be just as brilliant."

Without changing expression, Hanma fed Minato a bowl of inspirational nonsense and sprinted toward the training ground behind the village.

Minato swayed in the wind while dangling in midair, his yellow hair bobbing around as he silently contemplated life.

Although Uchiha Hanma had treated him well ever since he was young, caring for him like a younger brother.

And more recently, Minato had even become Hanma's disciple. It could be said that Hanma was someone close to him.

But he truly had never seen Hanma train before!

That savage yet overwhelmingly masculine fighting style left an extremely deep impression on Minato. He even felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity toward Hanma.

Konoha, Top Secret Training Ground No. 47.

The Jonin had already gathered in twos and threes. If an ordinary Chunin had arrived here, they would surely have been astonished by the number of important figures present.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and his old comrade Shimura Danzō had already arrived.

Judging from Hiruzen's cheerful expression and Danzō's sour face, the two were bickering again.

The heads of the various clans were exchanging greetings and chatting, all wearing amiable yet false smiles.

Civilian ninja wearing Jonin armbands had also formed their own small circles, discussing today's matches.

Their seemingly casual positions quietly revealed Konoha's current power structure. The divide between clan ninja and civilian ninja had grown increasingly sharp under the leadership of the Will of Fire.

This internal Jonin Squad competition was also the civilian ninja faction's first declaration. They could no longer tolerate some incompetent clan ninja remaining in high positions.

Hanma strode toward the Third while carrying two little beans in his hands, saying with a grin,

"Lord Third, I brought my disciple and his little girlfriend to watch today's matches and broaden their horizons."

The Third sighed helplessly, while Danzō kept his sour expression as he looked at Kushina.

Danzō had always believed that Jinchuriki were weapons. What emotions could weapons possibly have?

Even if she was only a backup, she still needed to be prepared for that!

However, Kushina's identity was special as well. After all, she was a clanswoman personally raised by Uzumaki Mito. By seniority, he and this little girl were of the same generation.

The Third coughed and took Minato and Kushina, his hands passing over the tops of their heads.

"Since that is the case, This Old Man will be responsible for looking after them. They are also the new generation of green leaves in the village. Sooner or later, they must face the wind and rain."

When Kushina saw the Third, color visibly returned to her face. She had been close to old Hiruzen Sarutobi ever since she was little.

When Hiruzen Sarutobi had first taken office, his foundations had been unstable, and he had often sought Uzumaki Mito's help.

At the time, Kushina had just entered Konoha and lived in Mito's home. Over time, he had become half a guardian to Kushina.

Having gotten rid of the two troublesome children, Hanma shook himself and began calculating today's opponents and the benefits he intended to secure.

In truth, Hanma's reputation in Konoha was only immense among a certain group of people. Due to the nature of his Anbu experience, few besides the upper ranks knew of his remarkable achievements.

Hanma's purpose in coming this time was to make a name for himself, obtain leadership over the coming war, earn military merits more easily, and trade them for the Scroll of Sealing.

Danzō's gloomy voice sounded beside him. "I still believe that joining Root is where you belong. You have enough darkness in you."

Hanma narrowed his eyes indifferently. "Old Danzo, I think ninja should let their strength do the talking. If I were the head of Root, I might consider it."

Danzō's face darkened further as he gave a heavy snort. "How utterly ignorant!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi cleared his throat, amplified his voice with some strange ninjutsu, and called out loudly, "Jonin Squad, assemble!"

At once, the Jonin who had been talking rushed to their positions and listened for the Third Hokage's next instructions.

The Third took out a box for drawing lots from behind him, swept his gaze across the crowd, and began to speak.

"This will be Konoha's elite selection for the Jonin Squad. The top three will be the victors.

"All of you are Konoha's pillars. You have already prepared yourselves for the coming war.

"For this deployment, the forces will be divided into three major units: the main offensive force against Sunagakure, the main offensive force against Amegakure, and the battlefield hunting and support force.

"I will remain in the village. The three victors will serve as unit commanders."

"If you wish to become a commander, then prepare yourselves!"

After the Third finished speaking, the venue fell silent.

What the civilian ninja had not expected was that battlefield command would be decided through such a fair method.

Battlefield commanders would essentially bear the majority of both glory and responsibility. The resources gained from winning a war were enough to make a medium-sized clan prosper for twenty years.

The clan ninja had not expected this method to benefit them instead. They did not believe that, as descendants of great ninja clans, they would lose to anyone.

For a moment, the atmosphere at the venue grew tense. A fierce battle over interests, thick with the smell of gunpowder, was on the verge of erupting!