Bell Snatch

9:00 a.m.

Training Ground Seventeen.

Jiraiya appeared on time with a Body Flicker.

He took out two bells and fastened them to his waist.

"Your mission today is to snatch these two bells from me. You may use—" As he said this, Jiraiya suddenly leaped backward, and the spot where he had been standing exploded with a bang.

Just as Jiraiya leaped back, with nowhere to gain leverage in midair, Namikaze Minato swiftly threw three kunai. The Explosive Tags attached behind them quickly began to burn.

At the same time, Hyuga Ao and Hyuga Hotaru closed in on Jiraiya from the left and right.

Jiraiya pulled out a handful of shuriken in midair and scattered them toward Hyuga Ao and Hyuga Hotaru, intending to force them back while knocking away the kunai Minato had thrown.

Namikaze Minato's kunai fell to both sides, followed by the sound of violent explosions.

Hyuga Hotaru paused, but after her Byakugan clearly revealed the shuriken's trajectories, she easily circled around them and continued charging toward Jiraiya.

Hyuga Ao did not slow down. She casually slapped away the shuriken and struck toward Jiraiya's abdomen with her right palm.

Though Jiraiya had been caught off guard, his expression did not change. In fact, there was even a hint of appreciation for Hyuga Ao and the others' teamwork.

He drew a kunai and held it in a reverse grip, meeting Hyuga Ao's incoming palm.

Hyuga Ao changed her palm into a grab without slowing down, reaching for Jiraiya's wrist.

Jiraiya's wrist shook. His reverse grip became a forward grip, and he stabbed toward Hyuga Ao's palm.

"I saw it." Hyuga Ao subtly adjusted her palm and continued reaching for Jiraiya's wrist. Under her Byakugan, Jiraiya's movements were crystal clear. If he continued stabbing, the kunai would certainly pass between Hyuga Ao's fingers, while she seized his wrist.

As a shinobi, Jiraiya naturally could not allow his hand to be restrained, so he had no choice but to abandon the kunai.

He leaped backward again and rapidly formed hand seals.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"

A wall of earth separated Hyuga Ao and Jiraiya, while also blocking her line of sight.

Chakra surged from Hyuga Ao's palm. With one strike, she shattered the wall of earth before her, but Jiraiya was already nowhere to be seen.

Her Byakugan quickly searched the sky and the surroundings before probing underground. She discovered that Jiraiya had already used Earth Release to burrow beneath Hyuga Hotaru's feet.

"Hotaru!" Hyuga Ao shouted a warning.

Hyuga Hotaru had clearly also seen Jiraiya lurking beneath her feet. Her heart jolted, and she was just about to move, but Jiraiya was far too fast for her.

He grabbed Hyuga Hotaru's ankle and began pulling her downward. At that moment, Hyuga Ao's Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm blasted toward him.

Jiraiya had no choice but to release her and dive underground, switching his target to Namikaze Minato.

He had already seen clearly that Hyuga Ao was the strongest of the three. Without using lethal ninjutsu, Jiraiya had no good way to deal with her. So he decided to take out the other two first.

By then, Hyuga Hotaru's entire lower leg had sunk into the earth, and she clearly would not be able to move for the time being.

Namikaze Minato was observing the situation. Their original plan had been for Hyuga Ao and Hyuga Hotaru to fight at close range while Namikaze Minato maneuvered around, controlling the surrounding traps as he watched the situation.

But Jiraiya's target was clearly him now, so he could only use a Body Flicker to quickly join up with Hyuga Ao.

Hyuga Ao stood guard in front of Hyuga Hotaru, alert, while Namikaze Minato helped Hyuga Hotaru escape from behind her.

Jiraiya emerged from the earth, chakra filling his fists and feet as he began trading blows with Hyuga Ao.

At that moment, the might of an Elite Jonin erupted from him. As he fought Hyuga Ao, he repeatedly revealed his intention to circle around her.

But he was pleasantly surprised to see that although Hyuga Hotaru's foot was restrained, she still held a shuriken in her hand and kept watch over the battle.

Although Namikaze Minato was sweating profusely from digging through the earth, he had not once looked over, proving that he trusted Hyuga Ao completely to hold Jiraiya back.

Jiraiya clashed forcefully with Hyuga Ao once more, then borrowed the force to retreat. With satisfaction, he said, "All right. You pass."

"Huh?" Hyuga Hotaru and Namikaze Minato turned toward Jiraiya in unison. They had been tense from Jiraiya's imposing aura just moments ago, so how had they suddenly passed?

Jiraiya looked toward Hyuga Ao. "You knew the content of the test?"

"Heh heh, I'm a Hyuga, after all." Hyuga Ao played dumb.

"Mm." Jiraiya skipped over the subject. "How did you know I would definitely stand there?"

Namikaze Minato finally pulled Hyuga Hotaru out of the earth. Rising to his feet, he said, "Because we were standing in exactly the same positions as yesterday. If the teacher arrived on time, then after seeing our positions, he would most likely stand there too."

"Mm." Jiraiya nodded as he recalled the battle. "So if I had continued retreating, there would have been more traps waiting behind me?"

"Yes, teacher. If you had continued retreating while being attacked by Ao'er and Hotaru, there would have been more traps waiting behind you, such as falling logs and pits."

"Then even if you knew the content of the test, what were you planning to use to force me to reveal an opening and snatch the bells?"

A blue sphere of light appeared in Minato's hand.

Jiraiya had not shown any surprise even when ambushed, but his expression changed as he watched the small blue sphere quietly floating in Minato's hand.

He stepped closer to examine the Rasengan, sensing the destructive power contained within it.

Jiraiya was astonished. His first thought was, If this hits me, I might die. His second thought was, This is actually Ninjutsu without Hand Seals!

He frowned in thought and realized that this was an entirely new ninjutsu. "Who invented this?"

Namikaze Minato revealed a confident smile. "I came up with this technique."

After discovering that there were countless suspicious points surrounding Kushina and feeling that he was powerless, Minato had steeled himself and accelerated his ninjutsu research. He had originally wanted to make a big splash, but he had still been found out.

With Hyuga Ao's help, Minato completed the Rasengan more quickly. (He had already been researching it for a long time.)

"Haha, good, good, not bad." Jiraiya praised him repeatedly. He truly had not expected so many surprises today. It seemed he had made the right choice in coming to lead this team. This team was really good.

He clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention, and laughed heartily. "To celebrate the official formation of Team Nine, I'll treat you all to a meal today!"

After finishing their meal, Hyuga Ao and Ying went for a walk.

She took the opportunity to talk with Hyuga Hotaru, trying to see what kind of person she really was.

"That's right. Ao-sama is truly amazing! With her own talent, she was able to make the Main Family's elders look at her in a new light!" Hyuga Hotaru was both envious and yearning. Her smile was so pure that she truly did not seem like someone from the Hyuga.

Hyuga Ao flushed slightly at being praised by her little fangirl. She realized that Hyuga Hotaru really was unusual.

Hyuga Hotaru did not care about the Caged Bird or the Branch Family. She felt that since fate was what it was, one should face life with a smile, which was why she seemed so open-minded.

Toward Hyuga Ao, she was envious but not jealous. All she thought was, Wow, Ao-sama is amazing, without any other thoughts.

Hyuga Ao walked Ying home. She felt that she might never be able to become someone like Ying.

"I hope this world can treat her kindly." Hyuga Ao sighed.