Team One

Yichen returned to Advisor Saka's office and told Saka about the three children he had chosen.

Looking at Yichen's choices, Ban was speechless. "You didn't even choose students from the same class, fine, but you picked two students from the Advanced Class and one from Regular Class. How am I supposed to arrange the rest of the students?"

It's important to know that when Ninja Academy divide students into classes, the number of students in each class is always a multiple of three, precisely for the convenience of future class divisions.

Yichen addition of Yumi Uzumaki Yumi's class caused Saka a lot of headaches when it came time to assign classes.

Now that Yichen had pulled this stunt again, Ban was even more speechless and impatiently waved his hand at Yichen.

Yichen knew the reason, scratched his head awkwardly, and then quickly left.

Yichen didn't try to hide the fact that he went to the Ninja Academy to select disciples; the news spread that very day, even reaching the students who hadn't gone to the academy. These students were filled with regret, wondering why they had chosen to train at their clan's place when they could have trained anywhere else.

However, everyone knew that Yichen had already made his selections, and everyone was speculating about who Yichen would take as his disciple. They all hoped to be the lucky one.

It's worth noting that Yichen is quite famous in the village now. A sixteen-year-old Jonin is quite rare in Iwagakure, a village that lacks geniuses.

Yichen pioneered a trade route and gained considerable fame in the village.

In addition, Yichen came from a humble background and was always used by teachers at school as a positive role model to encourage everyone, so he still has quite a few fans.

With three days left until graduation, the graduating class of the Ninja Academy remained almost full. Although they knew Yichen had already chosen his disciples, what if others wanted to take on apprentices as well?

Hasn't Ikura, who's currently at the height of his power in Iwagakure, not yet taken on any disciples?

Yichen was unaware of these things; he was currently having dinner with Ikura, the other main character the children were discussing.

The two met by chance. Yichen came out of the Advisor's Office and happened to run into Ikura, who had just finished reporting the mission to Ōnoki.

Since they were both free, they went to have lunch together.

Arriving at the barbecue restaurant where they used to have meals together, it was still early and there weren't many people in the restaurant, so the two of them started chatting about their experiences over the years.

Ikura's experiences are fascinating, definitely the fate of a protagonist: defeating enemies of higher ranks, surviving assassination attempts, and even being placed on the enemy country's kill list.

Yichen's experience was much worse in comparison. If it weren't for the rather miraculous thing about him later opening up trade routes, there wouldn't be much to say about Yichen.

As they chatted, Yichen said, "In a few days I'll be becoming Squad Leader Jonin, and I plan to take on a few disciples right away."

Ikura was taken aback and asked in surprise, "You've already taken on apprentices at only 16?"

"I'm currently developing a Water Release Ninjutsu, which requires a lot of time, and I don't have the energy to perform overly difficult tasks right now. It's a good time to take on a few disciples and do some simpler missions."

Ikura nodded, then asked about the details of the Ninjutsu that Yichen was going to develop, and the two discussed the developer of the Water Style: Water Pressure Line Jutsu.

Ikura also shared her experience in developing Ninjutsu. The experience of her peers was very helpful to Yichen. They had common topics and similar ways of speaking, making it easier for Yichen to understand.

After chatting for a while, Yichen said, "The Ninja World has been at peace for seven or eight years now. Although the strength of various countries has not fully recovered, it is far from what it was at the end of Second Shinobi War II."

"It's fair to say that the slightest disturbance could trigger another war. Just like what happened at the Konoha border recently, when all the countries were already preparing for war."

"So I was thinking, while things are still peaceful, I should quickly take on a few disciples. We still have time to teach them now. Once war breaks out, we won't have the energy to take on disciples. Why don't you consider it too?"

Ikura thought it made sense and was somewhat tempted. However, after hesitating for a while, he said, "Let's skip it this year and wait until next year. I need to hone myself through a few major battles right now; it's not the right time for me to take on apprentices."

Yichen nodded without saying much. They then started talking about the current situation of their classmates.

Among the students in Yichen's class, Ikura's teammate Uzumaki Yumi, has seen her strength increase rapidly. Although she is still Chunin, her Sealing Jutsu techniques are already comparable to those of Jonin.

Another teammate, Meikou, was previously Yichen's subordinate. Now, Meikou is very proficient in his secondary attribute and was recently promoted to Special Jonin.

Along with Meikou, Taniya also advanced in rank. Taniya forged a long sword using Chakra Metal obtained from Yichen, and his strength is now among the stronger of the Special Jonin.

Yichen's two teammates, Shinohara is still Chunin, but he's not far from becoming Special Jonin. The other teammate, Tana, is doing very well in the Anbu. Although she hasn't been promoted yet, her strength has already reached the required level; she just lacks an opportunity for advancement.

Most of the others were also Chunin, and people like Mubuki and Fujino were also preparing to become Special Jonin.

Then Yichen gossiped about Ikura's love life, and to his surprise, Ikura blushed.

This time, Yichen really became interested. Ikura had always been the center of gossip, never caring about Yichen's jokes. But now, his expression clearly indicated that something was up.

Then, under Yichen's persistent questioning, Ikura admitted to flirting with Uzumaki Yumi.

Yichen sighed inwardly, "Tana, oh Tana, you've lost in the end."

It was expected that Ikura and Uzumaki Yumi would get together Yichen; the fact that they were assigned to the same group was a result of the village's deliberate arrangement.

Unable to withstand the burning gossip in Yichen's eyes, Ikura finally fled in panic.

After finishing the last piece of roasted meat and paying the bill, Yichen went back to cultivate.

Three days later, the Ninja Academy's graduation exam took place, and the three students Yichen had selected performed only moderately.

Kawakita and Kajiyamari are, after all Advanced Class students in their respective classes, graduating should not be a problem.

Tomoko fared much worse; the girl was a bit nervous during the exam and almost failed. Actually, her score was the kind that could be judged as either passing or failing, but because someone in higher-ups put in a good word for her, the teachers unanimously approved her.

The little girl was happy about this for a long time.

The Ninja Academy was noisy all day, but it became much quieter the next day.

Those who passed the exam sat in their seats waiting to be assigned to classes.

Because Yichen was a student selected in advance, the three students he chose were in the Team One in terms of ranking.

Yichen first went to the two Advanced Class to pick up Kawakita and Kajiyamari, and then went to the Regular Class to call Tomoko as well.

When Yichen, Jonin, went to pick up the Advanced Class, everyone was incredibly envious, but it wasn't too bad. The Advanced Class members all had their own pride, and even if they weren't Jonin as disciples by Jonin, they believed they wouldn't lose to Kawakita and Kajiyamari.

But when Yichen appeared in the Regular Class and called Tomoko's name, Tomoko was completely stunned. Then, to the astonishment of the whole class, she followed Yichen out in a daze.

As soon as the four of them left, the whole class erupted in excitement, and the news quickly spread throughout the entire grade.

A student from Regular Class who almost failed his graduation exams became Jonin's disciple. What's that? A comeback story?

Keep in mind that even the team captains of students in the Regular Class only Chunin after graduation.

Why was Tomoko chosen Jonin a Jonin, especially one of the leading figures of the younger generation?

Yichen already knew that the news of his plan to take on disciples had spread over the past few days, but he didn't care; having more influence was a good thing.

The three disciples I've taken on are all rather ordinary right now. If I can train them well in the future, it will greatly enhance my prestige.

Leading the three to an empty rooftop, Yichen smiled and said, "Let's sit down and talk first."

"My name is Yichen, and I'm Jonin. The village assigned me to be the Squad Leader Jonin, and I was thinking of taking on three disciples. I went to the academy a few days ago to secretly select students, but I didn't expect the news to suddenly get out."

"Your abilities are not outstanding among your peers." Hearing this, the three felt ashamed, Tomoko lowered her head even further.

"However, you all possess advantages that others don't have; you are all geniuses that I carefully selected from so many students."

Seeing that the three people's eyes brightened slightly, but they still seemed somewhat disbelieving, Yichen added, "You'll find out how I select my students later. Now, let's introduce ourselves."

"Let me start. My name is Yichen. You can call me Captain Yichen or Teacher Yichen from now on."

"I like to eat barbecue. My daily life is pretty monotonous. Apart from cultivating, I don't have much to do."

"My dream is to become an excellent ninja, like my parents, and fight to protect the village."

After speaking, Yichen looked at his three newly accepted disciples.

Kajiyamari was the first to speak. He was the only one who knew in advance that Yichen would accept him as a disciple. Because he had already been excited, he was the calmest now.

"Teacher Yichen, my name is Kajiyamari. I am a Ninjutsu- type ninja, specializing in Water Release. My dream is to become the Tsuchikage."

With Kajiyamari's intervention, the other two gradually returned to normal.

"My name is Kawakita, and I love swordsmanship, but I'm not very good at it." As he spoke, Kawakita seemed to shrink a little. "But I will definitely become an excellent Sword Technique Ninja."

When Yichen saw Kawakita talking about his dreams, he straightened up a bit more, nodded slightly, and then looked at Tomoko.

Feeling the gazes of the three, Tomoko a little nervous. She knew that her two companions were from the Advanced Class, so she felt somewhat inferior and spoke in a low voice.

"My name is Tomoko. I'm good at... good at... I don't have any special skills." Tomoko originally wanted to say that she was good at Taijutsu), but then she realized she couldn't compare to her two companions, so she didn't say it. "My dream is to become an excellent ninja as well."

Yichen nodded and said, "A very good start. From today onwards, we are acquainted."

"From now on, your teacher will teach you some cultivation techniques, but you'll have to exchange Contribution Points for these things."

At this point, Yichen paused, noticing the three were looking at him intently, and continued, "Of course, this Contribution Points will be much less than the value at the Contribution Office. Furthermore, you can request an advance if you need anything."

"For example, Ogawa and Tomoko, your physical condition is a bit weaker, so the teacher has prepared some meals to improve your health. The teacher will give you an advance payment, which will be deducted from your task rewards later. The price is one-tenth of the market price."

"Kajiyamari is in good health, and his family should have enough of this kind of diet, so the teacher won't give it to him."

After speaking, Yichen gave each of them a scroll containing a lot of food ingredients.

Then Yichen took out three more scrolls, handing the first one to Kajiyamari, saying, "This contains my teacher's insights into Water Release techniques and his thought process and experimentation in developing Ninjutsu. Take a look at it when you get back; this insight is Contribution Points, we'll put it on your tab for now."

He then handed the second scroll to Kawakita, saying, "This is a complete basic swordsmanship training manual. Use it to adjust your daily training schedule. This is valuable; we'll give you 2000 contribution points, and we'll put it on your tab."

Kajiyamari and Kawakita were very excited when they received the gifts; what Yichen gave them was exactly what they needed most right now.

Yichen then handed the third scroll to Tomoko, saying, "Tomoko, this scroll contains some basic knowledge of Sensory Ninjutsu at the beginning; learn that first. The end contains a Sensory Ninjutsu, but with your current Chakra level, you can't use it yet. You can learn the theoretical basis first. Finally, there's a general physical training plan I've customized for you; you can adjust your schedule accordingly. This scroll is worth 500 points."

When Tomoko took the scroll, her hands were trembling. Under normal circumstances, someone with her talent would barely be able to become a ninja, let alone be promoted to Chunin.

Even if you spend decades gaining experience to become Chunin, you might not be able to learn C-rank Ninjutsu. She never expected to acquire Ninjutsu on her very first day as a ninja.

Although this Ninjutsu is a sensory-based Ninjutsu, and although it was a pre-requisite, Tomoko was still very excited.

Seeing his three subordinates basking in the joy of getting what they wanted, Yichen said, "Starting tomorrow, we'll begin accepting missions at 9 AM every day. Today, let's go out for some barbecue to celebrate the official formation of our Team One."