Teammates

Yichen trained at the Anbu training grounds for more than ten days. It was not because he had failed to meet the standards; in fact, Yichen had met the Anbu's requirements after just three days of training.

The only reason he had not been assigned to an operational squad until now was that there had been no suitable squad for him.

Although the Anbu's casualty rate was high, this was still a time of peace. They would not always be short-staffed.

During wartime, some Anbu squads would join the regular forces, and when the war had just ended, the Anbu had already undergone one round of reinforcements.

Although the Anbu had suffered considerable losses over the past two years, none of the understaffed squads happened to be lacking a Ninjutsu-type Ninja like Yichen.

Not until now had the eighteenth-ranked squad of the Second Division lost a Ninjutsu-type Ninja. While carrying out a secret mission in the Land of Wind, they had clashed with Sunagakure and lost a member to a Puppet Master's Sneak Attack.

Upon receiving his appointment, Yichen immediately went to report to Team 18. The squad's three members had also received advance notice and were waiting for him at one of the Anbu training bases.

Yichen arrived at the training base wearing a mask and met three Anbu members who were also masked.

All three wore standard Ninja uniforms and masks. Following the method taught during training, Yichen sensed their auras and memorized their distinctive Chakra fluctuations.

There were two women and one man. Though he could not see their faces, judging by their heights, they should all have been Adults.

After sizing Yichen up, one of the female Anbu spoke first. "I'm the Squad Leader of Team 18. My codename is Purple Lightning."

She then pointed at the other female Anbu and the male Anbu in turn. "This is Shironeko, and this is Little Stone."

Hearing the strange codename "Little Stone," Yichen could not help giving the male Anbu another look.

However, the other man was already used to such reactions and did not care. Instead, he asked on Purple Lightning's behalf, "What's your name?"

Yichen said, "My codename is Yi."

After transmigrating for so many years, Yichen had nearly forgotten his real name, Qin Yi. It was perfect for a codename, and could be considered a remembrance of his past life.

Captain Purple Lightning nodded after hearing that, indicating that she had remembered it. Then she said, "Let's get acquainted. Next, the three of us will take turns attacking you. We'll assess your strength through your responses, and you can also learn about our strength through our attacks."

The moment she finished speaking, Shironeko had already made her move. Yichen was not surprised in the slightest. As he moved in the direction opposite Shironeko, his hands rapidly formed seals.

Then, under Shironeko's astonished gaze, Yichen took just over a second to cast the C-rank Ninjutsu: Water Style: Water Pressure Line Jutsu.

However, Shironeko was worthy of being an Anbu elite. Faced with such an unexpected situation, she did not lose her rhythm. While charging forward, her body twisted bizarrely, evading Yichen's attack in an unbelievable posture.

She quickly steadied herself and prepared to charge at Yichen again.

But against an Anbu elite, Yichen had never expected to win with a single C-rank Ninjutsu.

After releasing the Water Style: Water Pressure Line Jutsu, he had already begun forming seals again. This time, he used Earth Style: Earth Rising Spear.

Yet a scene Yichen found unbelievable unfolded before him. Relying on her bizarre Movement Technique, Shironeko repeatedly evaded the earthen spikes Yichen thrust out by the narrowest margins.

And throughout the process, she continued closing in on Yichen.

"Phew..." Yichen exhaled and formed seals again, this time even faster. He used the weakest technique, Water Style: Water Line Jutsu.

This time, because the two of them were much closer than at the start, coupled with how quickly Yichen cast Water Style: Water Line Jutsu, Shironeko could no longer evade as easily as she had the first time.

Although she barely dodged Yichen's attack at the last moment, this forced twist of her body prevented her from quickly regaining her balance.

Seeing this, Yichen sighed in relief. So this bizarre Movement Technique had its limits too.

While analyzing the situation in his mind, his hands continued forming seals without pause. This time, it was still Water Style: Water Line Jutsu.

Although this Ninjutsu was weak, its speed was its advantage.

When Yichen used Water Style: Water Line Jutsu against enemies now, its speed had already surpassed hidden weapons such as kunai.

Moreover, as a C-rank Ninjutsu, Water Style: Water Line Jutsu allowed for slight directional adjustments while attacking an enemy.

Therefore, evading Water Style: Water Line Jutsu was much harder than evading hidden weapons like kunai.

Just like that, Yichen cast Water Style: Water Line Jutsu four times in succession, while Shironeko performed four extreme evasions under his continuous attacks.

But in the end, she still could not regain her balance under Yichen's attacks. It seemed that four consecutive evasions were Shironeko's limit.

Just as Yichen felt that he was about to win the first match, something suddenly flew out from the shadows Not far away and shot directly toward him.

Yichen was startled, but fortunately, although he had thought victory was within reach, he had not interrupted his fifth round of hand seals. With no time to worry about anything else, he hurriedly adjusted his aim and fired the newly cast Water Style: Water Line Jutsu at the incoming object.

But amazingly, the object seemed to be alive. It actually evaded Yichen's attack in midair.

It merely slowed slightly and changed direction a little, streaking past Yichen's side and landing on the ground Not far away before pouncing toward him again.

This time, Yichen saw it clearly. It was a completely jet-black Ninja Cat, wearing an Iwagakure forehead protector. It was clearly Shironeko's Ninja Beast.

He just did not know whether it was a Ninja Beast like those of Konoha's Inuzuka clan, or a Summoning Beast like Kakashi's Pakkun.

But this was not the time to think about such things.

Yichen formed seals again. This time, it was Water Style: Water Pressure Line Jutsu.

The cat was too close. If he used Water Style: Water Line Jutsu, he could hit it, but if it endured the injury and continued charging at him, he would definitely lose.

So Yichen sacrificed some speed and formed the seals for Water Style: Water Pressure Line Jutsu.

If the Black Cat continued charging, Yichen was confident he could injure it in one strike. At such close range, it could not possibly evade his Water Pressure Line.

Sure enough, Ninja Beasts possessed intelligence. This Ninja Cat was no less intelligent than a Ninja. It immediately determined that the Ninjutsu Yichen was casting was not the Water Style: Water Line Jutsu he had used repeatedly just now, but the Water Style: Water Pressure Line Jutsu from the beginning.

As the Black Cat had been watching from the sidelines all along, it had already realized the power of Yichen's Ninjutsu. It did not think it could withstand an attack of that strength.

Thus, after judging that the situation was unfavorable, the Black Cat decisively retreated, returning to Shironeko's side.

With the nearly three seconds of respite provided by the two Ninjutsu, Shironeko had already recovered and regained her balance.

But this time, she did not launch another attack.

The woman and cat stood Not far away. After easily dodging the Water Style: Water Pressure Line Jutsu Yichen sent at them, they faced off against Yichen, who had retreated to open the distance.

After a while, Shironeko said, "Yi, I acknowledge your strength."

With that, she turned and withdrew from the combat area. Her Ninja Cat also jumped onto her shoulder and left with her.

As soon as Shironeko and the Black Cat left, Little Stone gave Yichen no time to rest and charged at him.

Seeing Little Stone draw his long blade as he charged, Yichen's expression turned serious. A Sword Technique Ninja. He did not dare be careless and first cast Water Style: Water Line Jutsu to probe him.

Sure enough, the other man raised his hand and slashed Yichen's Ninjutsu apart with a single strike, without affecting his speed at all. It seemed the method Yichen had used against Shironeko would not work.

Yichen formed seals again and cast Water Style: Water Pressure Line Jutsu. Knowing the technique's power, Little Stone did not take it lightly and carefully dodged to one side.

Sure enough, people like Shironeko, who could withstand Ninjutsu attacks while continuing to charge forward, were monsters. It was impossible for every Anbu member to be such a monster.

As long as the Ninjutsu could interfere with his opponent, that was enough.

Then Yichen cast Earth Style: Earth Rising Spear five times in succession, forcing Little Stone to keep dodging in place.

After all, he was not an agility-type Ninja. Being able to evade so many earthen spike attacks with a Movement Technique suited for swordsmanship was already remarkable.

But in the end, he was still forced to surrender by Yichen's ever-present Earth Style: Earth Rising Spears.

Little Stone was somewhat aggrieved. Ninjutsu-type Ninjas like this were the ones he least wanted to encounter. Shironeko's ill-intentioned laughter promptly drifted over from afar.

Hearing it, Yichen could not help wanting to laugh as well. This Little Stone reminded him of Shinohara. Though Shinohara was not a Sword Technique Ninja, as a Taijutsu Ninja, every attempt he made to get close to Yichen ended the same way.

After Little Stone withdrew dejectedly, Captain Purple Lightning made her move. Yichen, who was fully on guard, only sensed a disturbance behind him.

He immediately turned while forming seals, but his hand seals were only halfway complete, and his body had not even fully turned around.

Then he discovered that a blade was already resting against his neck. A bead of cold sweat slid down from his forehead.

This was the first time since becoming a Chunin that Yichen had felt so powerless when facing a Ninja.

She was an agility-type Ninja. Unlike Tana, whose speed had yet to reach its limit, Captain Purple Lightning clearly possessed strength befitting her status as a Jonin.

An agility-type Jonin!

For a Ninjutsu-type Ninja like Yichen, Captain Purple Lightning's favorite opponents were those she could completely crush in speed. She took them down with one slash each time.

After Purple Lightning withdrew her long blade, Yichen still felt Heart Palpitation. Even when facing Kitsuchi, though he had been outmatched, he had never felt so helpless.

Purple Lightning may have had the advantage of a Sneak Attack, but Yichen knew that even if she had not ambushed him and had attacked from the front, he would not have been able to stop her. The result would still have been an instant defeat.

This was not to say that Kitsuchi was weaker than Purple Lightning. They were simply not the same type of Ninja, and Purple Lightning happened to counter Yichen perfectly.

Only after Yichen came back to his senses and calmed himself did Purple Lightning speak. "Yi, you're not bad. Your strength has earned our recognition. From now on, you are a member of our squad."

As she spoke, Purple Lightning removed her mask, and Shironeko and Little Stone removed theirs one after another.

Yichen knew this was Anbu custom. Members of the same team had to know one another's appearance, so he removed his own mask as well.

Purple Lightning was an androgynous-looking female Ninja with a relatively resolute face, possessing a heroic sort of beauty.

Shironeko was far more delicate-looking. She had a baby face, and if not for her height and figure, Yichen might have thought she was a child like him.

Little Stone was quite handsome. In terms of looks, the male member, Little Stone, was actually the best-looking person in the squad.

As for Yichen, his appearance was much more ordinary than the other three. Coupled with the childishness that had yet to fade from his face, Yichen's first impression on others was that he was unreliable.

However, Purple Lightning and the other two had just witnessed Yichen's strength. Though surprised by his age, none of them dwelled on it.