Kitten

The lively disciple selection event organized by Yichen came to an end when the twelve students left the school in the afternoon.

Yichen had no idea how Han and Tomoko interacted with their students; at that moment, he was chatting with six children on the Training Ground.

Yichen looked at the six well-behaved children sitting in a row a meter away, and his eyes narrowed with laughter. He no longer needed to worry about the Medical Department.

"Alright, let's begin with the usual self-introductions. My name is Yichen, you can call me teacher or Teacher Yichen from now on."

"When I was your age, my dream was to become an excellent ninja. Later, I felt that I was already an excellent ninja, so my current goal is to become the Tsuchikage."

"The teacher likes to eat barbecue, and enjoys eating it with lots of people. As for things he dislikes, it's probably dealing with paperwork. You wouldn't believe it, as the village advisor, the paperwork I have to handle every day is driving me crazy. Leading a team on missions is much easier."

"Alright, it's your turn. Who wants to go first?" After saying that, Yichen looked at the six children in front of him.

The six looked at each other, but no one spoke first, which made Yichen a little embarrassed. Sure enough, they were still missing a student like Ogura Saki who could liven up the atmosphere.

However, since everyone was already Genin and not truly a child at heart, and no one wanted to leave a bad impression on Yichen, someone quickly spoke up.

"Teacher Yichen, my name is Uchiyama Takuhiro, and my dream is to become an excellent ninja like my father. I usually like climbing Tree Climbing, and I hate going to theory classes." Uchiyama Takuhiro was the strongest among them, so he was the first to speak.

Yichen nodded, offering encouragement.

With the first one secured, the rest went smoothly.

"Teacher Yichen, my name is Yoshimura Kazumasa, and my dream is," he paused, seemingly hesitant, and took a deep breath before continuing, "To become a ramen chef and make the best ramen in the Ninja World for my mother."

After finishing his explanation, Yoshimura Kazumasa blushed slightly, and even went on to mention his other preferences. This was normal; in the ninja world, the initial dream of most children was to become the Kage of a village.

Only after realizing that they are not the most special one will their dreams gradually become more realistic, changing from becoming a Kage to becoming an excellent ninja.

But no matter how realistic one is, dreams are ultimately directed towards the distance, and few are as grounded in real life as Yoshimura Kazumasa's.

Yichen, of course, wouldn't laugh at him. Instead, he encouraged him, "That's great! Yi Zheng is very good to Mom. From now on, I'll bring my new disciple to your ramen shop for ramen."

Hearing Yichen's words, Yoshimura Kazumasa seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

The next person to speak was Suda Himezuki, the little girl who was the most cheerful of the six.

"My name is Suda Himezuki, and my dream is to make Summoning Contract with Giant Panda."

Upon hearing this, everyone, including Yichen, was surprised. Yichen was especially surprised; it seemed the Giant Panda was indeed reliable, and the student it had chosen was indeed quite interested in Summoning Jutsu.

Ignoring what others thought, Suda Himezuki continued, "I like playing with my classmates and I hate spending my holidays alone at home."

Yichen nodded, then looked at the next disciple who was to speak.

"Teacher, my name is Katsuya, and my dream is to become a ninja like you who is skilled in developing Ninjutsu. I like daytime because I can go out and play during the day, but I hate nighttime and I hate sleeping."

Yichen smiled. What an energetic little brat.

"Teacher Yichen, my name is Kanako. My dream is to bring my origami to life, and origami is also my hobby." As she spoke, Kanako took out a carefully prepared origami from her sleeve and handed it to Yichen. "Teacher Yichen, this is for you."

Yichen accepted Kanako's gift and said, "Thank you. This is the second time I've received an origami gift. I really like it."

Kanako breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that Yichen liked it.

Last to introduce herself was Kawazoe Yura, the little girl who seemed the most pathetic. Normally, everyone else would have no problem becoming Genin, but she had absolutely no chance of passing the graduation exam.

"Teacher, my name is Kawazoe Yura, and my dream is to become a ninja like my older brother. I like to draw in my spare time." Then the little girl took out a small portrait from her sleeve.

Yichen took the portrait, glanced at it, and froze. The portrait depicted Yichen, Tomoko, and Han strolling around the Ninja Academy using Transformation Jutsu.

Yichen rubbed his nose, surprised that he had already been exposed. It's just that the Ninja Academy often had Guardian Ninja patrolling, and Yichen and his group were disguised as patrolling ninjas, so he didn't know where he had slipped up.

He truly deserves to be called a student who excels in theory but is weak in other subjects.

Yichen accepted the painting and thanked Kawazoe Yura as well.

After the introductions, Yichen, as usual, gave each student a scroll of ingredients to improve their physical condition. Then he took everyone out for a big meal.

The next day, Yichen began training with his six disciples.

The six individuals have vastly different talents. The strongest, Uchiyama Takuhiro, is already considered quite good among Genin. However, the weakest Kawazoe Yura, is far from being a qualified Genin.

Yichen needed to thoroughly understand the cultivation progress of the six people.

The first thing Yichen did was to create a training plan tailored to each of his six disciples.

Yichen is now a renowned teacher, and his words are almost considered the truth in the eyes of his six students. Therefore, all six of them carried out the plans formulated by Yichen without any compromise.

The six individuals were at different stages of their training, and Yichen's requirements were also different. Kanako, Suda Himezuki, Katsuya, Kawazoe Yura focused on basic training, while Yichen's goal was to improve their physique and willpower as quickly as possible.

Only when physical strength and willpower improve, and Chakra reserves increase, will one be able to engage in other forms of training.

In addition to basic training, Yoshimura Kazumasa also needs to practice Chakra Control. Yichen is an expert in this area, and he is Yichen at methods such as Tree Climbing, Water Walking, and Drawing Talismans to practice Chakra Control.

Finally, there's Uchiyama Takuhiro. He already had a very good foundation and didn't need to focus on basic training like the others. However, Yichen required him to do some basic training every day in order to integrate him into the group of six.

However, Uchiyama Takuhiro spent most of his time practicing Ninjutsu.

A month later, Yichen looked at his disciples who were cultivating and began to worry about one thing: grouping them into groups. Yichen had taken in six disciples at once, so they definitely needed to be divided into two groups.

However, when it came time to form groups, Yichen realized he had made a mistake. The six disciples he had chosen each had their own special skills, but Yichen discovered that there wasn't a single true close-combat ninja among them.

No matter how Yichen groups them, their combat patterns will have serious flaws.

That won't do. A ninja team should ideally consist of a mix of ranged and melee fighters, giving them a wider range of tactical options for both offense and defense.

A squad composed entirely of Ninjutsu -type ninjas has too obvious weaknesses, especially in the early stages. When the entire squad members are slow at Hand Seals and don't have enough Chakra to perform a few Ninjutsu, they can easily be approached by their opponents.

After much deliberation, Yichen decided to have Uchiyama Takuhiro serve as the melee ninja for one of the groups. As for the other group, Yichen set his sights on Suda Himezuki.

It wasn't that Suda Himezuki was particularly strong in Taijutsu, but rather that Yichen had considered that the Ninja Cat he was preparing for her was about to be born. When that happened, Suda Himezuki and the Ninja Cat could barely fill the gap in close-combat team members.

After finishing his training for the day, Yichen kept Suda Himezuki behind and took her to the Natural Energy Seal area.

Recently, because Dango is pregnant, Shironeko left Purple Lightning's team. Actually, with Shironeko's current strength, he is already capable of forming his own team.

Previously, Ōnoki kept the Shironeko, whose overall strength had reached the Special Jonin, in the team because he thought that with Purple Lightning, an Elite Jonin, there could protect Dango's safety.

Taking advantage of Dango's pregnancy, Shironeko is leaving the Purple Lightning Squad. If Shironeko stays in the Anbu in the future, he will definitely form a new squad as the squad leader.

Furthermore, Dango's strength surpasses that of its master, the Shironeko; Dango's strength is also outstanding among Special Jonin.

This was Suda Himezuki's first time visiting the Natural Energy Seal. She was quite curious about it; she had heard about the Natural Energy Seal from her father, but this was the first time she had ever seen it.

"Teacher Yichen, can living here improve one's strength?" Suda Himezuki asked with a hint of envy.

Yichen shook his head and said, "We haven't found any effect in this regard yet. In fact, apart from the Ninja Cat Dango we're going to meet later, we haven't found any other ninjas or Ninja Beast that have any effect on improving strength."

"Uh, no, I also benefited from it. I learned an S-rank Ninjutsu because of this Natural Energy Seal."

"Teacher Yichen, did you cultivate your Senjutsu by absorbing the Natural Energy here?" Suda Himezuki asked, her eyes shining.

Aside from his original appearance on the first day they met, Yichen's face was covered with Sage Mode Markings every day afterward. Therefore, all six of his disciples knew about Senjutsu and that Yichen was currently practicing Senjutsu.

Yichen nodded and said, "That's right. Senjutsu are a combination of Natural Energy, physical energy, and Mental Energy, forming an energy similar to Chakra, but higher than Chakra. Currently, I'm the only one in the village who has learned Senjutsu."

After a pause, Yichen added, "Actually, Dango also has the talent to cultivate immortal Senjutsu, but she was pregnant recently, so she hasn't been able to practice immortal Senjutsu."

Upon hearing Yichen mention Dango's pregnancy again, Suda Himezuki asked nervously, "Teacher Yichen, can I really get a Ninja Cat?"

Suda Himezuki was still somewhat incredulous; she hadn't expected to obtain a Ninja Beast so easily.

As Yichen walked, he ruffled Suda Himezuki's hair and said, "Of course! Dango, Dango's owner, the Shironeko, and I are very good Dango. The Shironeko has already promised the teacher. The teacher has asked you and Matsutani Shinya for a Ninja Cat each."

Suda Himeko's eyes lit up, then as if she had thought of something, she asked, "Teacher Yichen, will my Ninja Cat be able to practice Senjutsu in the future?"

Yichen thought for a moment and said, "It's hard to say. Theoretically, Dango is very strong now, so its offspring's talent is definitely not bad. In addition, Dango has absorbed a lot of Natural Energy over the years, so there is a certain possibility that the kitten can cultivate Senjutsu."

"But the kitten's father is just an ordinary cat, so no one can say for sure how far the kitten will grow."

Seeing that Suda Himezuki was somewhat disappointed, Yichen said, "That's precisely why Himezuki needs to accompany the kitten as it grows up. Himezuki needs to train together with the kitten so that the kitten can become an excellent Ninja Cat."

"Yes." Suda Himezuki nodded vigorously.