Growing Within the Ueno Squad

Time passed quickly when he was focused on thinking. After the sky darkened, the Kikaichū responsible for keeping watch were disturbed, interrupting Aburame Tetsumaru's train of thought: someone was coming.

The person was running over at great speed. Strangely, he was making far too much noise, his feet thudding against the ground without the slightest hint of a ninja's stealth.

However, this person was coming from the direction of the camp's core. Tetsumaru did not think he was an enemy. There were only a few ninjas in all of Konoha who were so utterly "unninja-like"; perhaps it was an acquaintance.

As the footsteps rapidly drew closer, a dark green figure leaped from the woods. After spinning through the air three times, he landed in a horse stance and skidded across the ground for a full seven or eight meters before stopping. Then he straightened up, stood at attention, thrust out a thumbs-up with his right hand, bared his teeth, and loudly announced himself to the tent.

"Yo-ho! Konoha Genin, Might Duy, reporting for duty!"

A green bodysuit, orange leg warmers, a yellow-green scarf, and those signature thick brows, round eyes, glossy black hair, and huge white teeth reflecting the sunlight.

Just as expected—the Azure Beast of Konoha, Emperor Guy...'s father.

Tetsumaru sucked in a sharp breath. He was simply too dazzling. Even behind sunglasses, Tetsumaru could not help turning his face aside to avoid that brilliance.

He had previously bought the Eight Inner Gates scroll from him, and they had spoken at length, so they were actually quite familiar with each other. But Tetsumaru decided that, for the moment, he would not speak to this rare beast. He was already harsh on the eyes from a distance; up close, he would surely be unbearable.

So he hung from a treetop and watched Might Duy discover that no one was around, then start searching everywhere. He kept shouting greetings in every direction, creating the racket of twenty ducks all by himself. Tetsumaru silently took out two moth larvae and plugged his ears. He was far too noisy.

"Enough!" After Might Duy had carried on for a full half hour, someone finally came roaring over to stop him.

"Ah, Ueno! Long time no see."

"You damned dead last, why are you here? Wait, don't tell me..."

"That's right, I'm here to join the Ueno Squad. So you're the captain now? You're already a Chunin."

Might Duy clasped his hands together, his eyes shining. "I'm so envious! So amazing."

"I won't lose!!"

"This is youth!!"

His raised thumb, gleaming white teeth, tears flowing like a river—Might Duy's entire body seemed to be glowing.

The corners of Chunin Ueno's mouth twitched. The Genin behind him stared dumbfounded. Although this was not Tetsumaru's first time seeing it, the glare still blanked out his mind.

Seeing something this bizarre in an anime was embarrassing enough. Transplanted into Three-Dimensional reality, it was like staring directly at an eldritch god; the mental impact on anyone facing it shot straight through the sky.

With a thud, the mind-blanked Tetsumaru failed to control his Chakra and fell from the tree.

The fall was quite hard, but it knocked Tetsumaru back to his senses. Without a word, he climbed to his feet, brushed the dirt from himself, and expressionlessly took out his transfer orders.

"Captain Ueno, Konoha Genin Aburame Tetsumaru, ordered to join the Ueno Squad. That is all."

"Oh. Oh? Oh."

Chunin Ueno snapped out of his daze, accepted the document, verified that the information was correct, and then accepted Tetsumaru into the squad.

However, he was clearly deeply resistant to Might Duy joining the squad. He mocked him in every possible way, hoping Might Duy would leave on his own—preferably retire or something—and kept babbling on without end.

The simple-minded Might Duy did not listen at all. No matter what the captain said, he responded with nothing but enthusiasm.

"This is youth!!"

"I won't lose!"

"Youth must bloom with all its might!!"

Tetsumaru had plugged his ears long ago. He exchanged looks with the other Genin, and both saw the helplessness in each other's eyes. Their squad captain was done for this time.

The fool had successfully dragged the captain down to his own level, then effortlessly defeated him with his vast experience as a fool, leaving him questioning his life.

In truth, Captain Ueno knew he could not genuinely refuse newly assigned Genin, at least not before they committed a serious mistake while in his squad. But as Might Duy's classmate, his impression of this dead last ran too deep. He truly did not want to take such deadweight onto the battlefield.

Nor did he want to see another classmate die under his command. There had been enough already. Among the graduates of Konoha's twenty-fifth year, not many classmates were still alive.

Ueno's class had long since diverged. The outstanding ones, such as Hatake Sakumo and Uchiha Fugaku, had graduated early and had even caught the tail end of the previous war. They were already renowned Jonin, and Hatake Sakumo was an elite even among Jonin.

More than half of the other classmates had died in battle or been disabled and forced into retirement. Those who survived had become Chunin or even Jonin. Only Might Duy remained a Genin.

After hearing his teammate describe the captain's and Might Duy's circumstances, the corners of Tetsumaru's mouth twitched. No wonder countless fanfics said that the strongest in the Shinobi World was nothing more than a Konoha Genin.

Might Duy, this "Eternal Genin," was the first example, wasn't he? The founding monster of Konoha Genin?

No, there seemed to be another scapegoat, one who had even received direct instruction from the Second Hokage. What was his name again?

He could not remember.

Tetsumaru chatted with his new teammates while letting his thoughts wander, waiting for Captain Ueno and Might Duy to finish their performance.

The sky darkened. Tetsumaru lit a campfire, set up a pot to boil water, and tossed in several dried blocks of condensed broth once it boiled. After the broth dissolved, he added dried mushrooms and wild vegetables. The aroma was mouthwatering.

This rich soup was fresh and delicious. Soaking dry rations in a bowl of it made for a rare feast.

Ueno Hayato, Might Duy, and the newly acquainted Zhongguang Fushi sat around the campfire, with exactly one rock for each of them.

Ueno Hayato waited until Tetsumaru had sat down before speaking. "No matter what, from now on we are one squad. Everyone, introduce yourselves as the first step toward getting to know your teammates."

"As captain, I'll go first. I'm Ueno Hayato, squad captain, Chunin, sixteen years old. I specialize in Earth Release."

"My name is Zhongguang Fushi, Genin, twelve years old. I don't have anything I especially excel at. I only know a few Wind Release and Fire Release ninjutsu."

"My name is Might Duy, Genin, sixteen years old. I specialize in Taijutsu and cannot use ninjutsu. But I believe that with Taijutsu, I can still become an incredible ninja."

Captain Ueno impatiently cut Duy off. "Your Taijutsu isn't even as good as mine. How can you call that a specialty?"

Behind his sunglasses, Tetsumaru's eyes shifted between the captain and Might Duy. He had been focused on his own work for a long time and did not know how many gates Duy could now open with the Eight Inner Gates.

Looking at the powerful muscles beneath the green bodysuit and the thick joints of his fingers, Tetsumaru understood a little. The Might family's talent had indeed all been invested in their bodies. He was already this strong at sixteen.

"Youth should bloom for the enemy. Between companions, it's just..."

"Enough. Next."

Oh-ho, I understand what that means. He must have mastered it, and he has already sworn never to go all out against his companions. This Might Duy was no burden—he was a trump card.

Tetsumaru pushed up his sunglasses and said, "My name is Aburame Tetsumaru, Genin, ten years old. I specialize in reconnaissance and am fairly confident in the Aburame Secret Technique and Wind Release."

"An Aburame Insect User. Excellent. We finally have a teammate skilled in reconnaissance. This will make our missions much easier."

Ueno Hayato was pleased. For his squad, gaining an Aburame ninja was second only to gaining a Hyuga ninja.

He shot Might Duy another fierce glare and said, "Welcome to the Ueno Squad. We belong to the camp guard company and report directly to headquarters. Our duty is to defend the camp."

"From this point on, our fates are intertwined. I hope everyone can hold on safely until the war ends."

"May your martial fortune endure." x3

The Ueno Squad was fully assembled, reaching full strength.

After Tetsumaru and Might Duy joined the Ueno Squad, its reconnaissance capabilities improved significantly. The squad's missions were adjusted as well; both its patrol range and alert distance changed. They would usually leave the camp by more than ten kilometers to stand watch, or patrol between fifteen and thirty kilometers away.

Contrary to expectations, combat during wartime was extremely infrequent. Over the past two months, the Ueno Squad encountered only one battle, and Tetsumaru did not even get a chance to fight.

The battle began when a Konoha patrol squad encountered a Sunagakure squad. After the signal was sent, as many as four Konoha patrol squads arrived to reinforce them. The unlucky Sunagakure squad was merely an ordinary Chunin leading three Genin. It was a complete rout.

There was no helping it. Reinforcement missions were highly sought after: low risk, high rewards. Any patrol squad that could take part would be extremely eager.

According to Konohagakure's regulations, patrol and guard missions without combat were D-rank missions.

If a patrol led to a reinforcement battle and combat with enemy ninjas, it was unquestionably a B-rank mission. Even if too many reinforcements caused the mission evaluation to drop, they were guaranteed at least a C-rank evaluation.

The difference in rewards between D-rank and B-rank missions was like heaven and earth. A D-rank mission paid no more than the cost of a few meals, while a B-rank mission paid enough to buy a set of bladed tools.

Most of the risk was borne by the squad that discovered the enemy. If they found ordinary enemies, they would send the signal according to procedure, and everyone would come reinforce them. If they found a Jonin enemy, they would most likely be unable to send out a signal at all.

And after the unlucky squad was wiped out, the best outcome was for the ninjas cleaning up the battlefield to find evidence of a Jonin attack, allowing the entire squad to receive a record of failing an A-rank mission.

Perhaps that would increase the amount of their pensions by a tiny bit. No more than that.

By the time the Ueno Squad reached the battlefield, the fight had entered its final cleanup phase. In the entire squad, only the fastest runner, Might Duy, rushed up and exchanged a few blows with the Suna Ninja, but he achieved no result either.

If he had to summarize those two months of wartime life, it was exhausting and boring.

As a defensive unit, the Ueno Squad's missions were all patrols and guard duties. They would patrol over a hundred kilometers or lie in ambush for an entire day. A single mission could easily last more than ten hours, and the prolonged mental tension was utterly exhausting.

Fortunately, after every mission, the entire squad could rest for a day.

Tetsumaru had ample time to train and experiment with new insect designs. Before long, a large batch of combat Ninja Insects had Kikaichū genes inserted into them.

Not every Ninja Insect could accommodate Kikaichū genes. Most had bloodlines too weak to endure them. Of the more than one hundred types of Ninja Insects, most failed, and more than a dozen kinds of Ninja Insects collapsed and died after the Kikaichū genes were inserted.

In the end, only several types of Ninja Insects displayed clear improvements in their attributes. One or several of their traits greatly surpassed those of Kikaichū of equal weight. That was what Tetsumaru wanted.

Next, he only needed to wait for an opportunity for real combat and test the Ninja Insects' fighting power in battle.