A Purely Ill-Fated Connection~

"...I've told you so many times already. Only those from the clan head's line inherit the title of 'Ino-Shika-Cho.'"

Yamanaka Kei looked at Kushina Uzumaki with irritation.

Pig Girl? What the hell kind of nickname was that?

He was a grown man—male, interested in women. He was neither from the Yamanaka Clan's head family nor Sejuani riding a giant boar.

So how had he gotten tangled up with the name "Pig Girl"?

"Oh, come on~ You were just so cute when you were little that people mistook you for a girl~"

Remembering that amusing incident, Kushina laughed even more happily.

"You're probably the only one who ever made that mistake."

Yamanaka Kei rolled his eyes speechlessly.

Back when Kushina had transferred into the Ninja School.

As one of her classmates, he had been among the few who hadn't mocked her red hair during her introduction.

Then, as soon as the first class ended.

She had run up to him and asked where the girls' restroom was and whether he could go with her.

Apparently, his overly delicate appearance as a child had led her to mistake his gender.

Seeing an eight-year-old girl standing there, full of embarrassment and apprehension.

Yamanaka Kei, who was mentally an adult, naturally couldn't bear to make things even more awkward for her. He could only silently stand up and lead the way.

Looking back on it now, their first meeting had been a purely ill-fated connection!

"Hehe~ Kei, did you come to the Jonin Waiting Station for something?"

Kushina held her hands behind her back, a faint note of anticipation on her pretty face.

"Ahem... I've been transferred to the regular forces as a team-leading jonin."

Yamanaka Kei took out the scroll containing his transfer order from the Ninja Tool Pouch at his waist.

When Nara Suzaku, the Jonin Waiting Station's duty officer for the day, looked over, he raised his hand and tossed the scroll to him.

"Huh? That's great! We can see each other more often again!"

"Yeah. We'll talk later, then? My three poor subordinates have been waiting all morning."

"You're leaving right after we finally met? Hmph~ Fine, I'll let you off this time. Make sure you report in early tomorrow~"

"Report in? Uh... see you tomorrow, see you tomorrow!"

Yamanaka Kei looked at the Jonin Waiting Station, which had already become a pile of ruins.

Seeing Kushina freeze before starting to count on her fingers how much this would cost her, he hurriedly greeted Akimichi Choza, Akimichi Todo, and the others before vanishing from the spot with the Body Flicker Technique.

Konoha Training Ground 4.

The autumn sunlight carried a mild warmth as it shone upon Might Guy and Shiranui Genma, both drenched in sweat.

The two tirelessly carried out the most basic taijutsu drills and ninja tool throwing exercises.

Ten-year-old Yuhi Kurenai sat atop a large tree stump used for kunai practice, idly swinging her little legs.

Listening to her new teammates' shouts during training and the occasional explosions of Ninjutsu from the live combat exercises in Training Ground 3 less than a thousand meters away, she let out a faint sigh.

Her first year after graduation had already been unlucky enough. One of her teammates had given up on becoming a ninja, forcing her into a logistics department to do odd jobs.

Now that she had been assigned new teammates, she had initially been delighted that they were all familiar faces and strong ones at that—none of them were the sort to easily give up on being ninja.

And then they had run into a team-leading jonin who was late for an entire morning on their very first gathering.

Sure, the assembly order had only said to meet at Training Ground 4 in the morning and hadn't specified an exact time.

But it was already noon, for crying out loud!

Why was her ninja career so full of disasters?

Just as her thoughts wandered, a faint fragrance, like that of an orchid, drifted over on the autumn breeze and lingered at the tip of her nose.

Before Yuhi Kurenai could identify what flower it was.

A sudden change erupted in the training ground.

The once-flat ground slowly began to bulge.

Might Guy and Shiranui Genma, who had been training, noticed the anomaly immediately and swiftly leaped back.

Before Yuhi Kurenai could jump down from the stump and retreat, a giant python with a head nearly three meters across burst through the ground and rapidly crawled out from below!

Faced with the terrifying giant python, whose body was like a mountain, an unprecedented sense of crisis swept through Yuhi Kurenai's entire body.

It felt as though every cell in her body was trembling and every inch of her nerves was frantically sounding alarms. Her limbs went numb, and she didn't dare make the slightest move, afraid of drawing the giant python's attention.

Unfortunately, fate did not oblige her. The giant python raised its enormous head slightly, its cold snake eyes fixing directly on her as it assumed a hunting posture.

The sense of imminent death nearly drowned what little reason she had left.

Move! Move! Hurry up and move!

Yuhi Kurenai screamed wildly in her heart, and her numb limbs erupted with strength unlike anything she had ever felt before.

But the giant python's strike was still far faster than she could evade.

The foul stench rushing from its ghastly maw made her feel as though she could smell death itself.

"A-ta!"

At that critical instant, a green figure shot in from the giant python's side along with a fierce shout.

One kick knocked the python's head two feet to the side, allowing Yuhi Kurenai to narrowly pass by its jaws.

Boom!

The giant python's missed strike kicked up an enormous cloud of dust as it hissed furiously.

Its tail lashed about, and it appeared completely unharmed.

Knowing the three of them could not possibly defeat the giant python, Shiranui Genma grabbed Yuhi Kurenai, who had barely escaped its attack. As he sprinted away at full speed, he flung out a series of smoke bombs and shouted back.

"Guy! Run!"

Might Guy, having landed his blow, was no slower. He quickly followed the two as they retreated.

Perhaps because she had just walked the edge of death, Yuhi Kurenai's thoughts had never been clearer. The moment Shiranui Genma finished speaking, she immediately added.

"Run toward Training Ground 3! There are jonin there testing genin! Who has a red signal flare? Hurry!"

"Got it!"

Might Guy reached back toward the Ninja Tool Pouch at his waist.

Before he could pull out the flare, the scene before them shattered like a mirror.

The three, fleeing desperately, shot far ahead under the momentum of their bodies.

They nearly crashed headfirst into a massive tree with a trunk over a meter thick.

After barely steadying themselves, they stared at the vanished giant python and the training ground without a trace of destruction, their hearts filled with bewilderment.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Applause came from one side of the training ground.

Yamanaka Kei, dressed in a black combat uniform with a Jonin Vest over it, stepped out from the shade of a tree at the edge of the grounds.

"Enough patience, exceptional courage, excellent teamwork, and the correct choice in a crisis. Congratulations, you've passed the test. I'm your new team-leading jonin, Yamanaka Kei. I look forward to working with you."

"Youth truly never lets down anyone who works hard! I'm Might Guy. Teacher Kei, please guide me well from now on!"

Though the Genjutsu that had been impossible to distinguish from reality had thoroughly frightened him, Might Guy still raised a thumbs-up and flashed his gleaming white teeth.

"I'm Shiranui Genma. Please guide me."

Shiranui Genma also forced himself to stand up from the ground and gave a solemn bow.

"Yuhi Kurenai. Please guide me from now on, Teacher."

The color slowly returned to Yuhi Kurenai's pale face. As she bowed, she furiously complained about her team-leading jonin in her heart.

Starting a test without even saying hello first was just too awful!

She had truly felt like she was about to die just now!

But... what powerful Genjutsu!