New Team

"Are there any new orders from above, Jonin Naoki?" the young ninja who walked out of the tent asked curiously.

The man who had just called him was a member of the Personnel Coordination Department, responsible for personnel deployment and assignment.

Although he didn't know the other party's purpose for coming here, seeing the little boy following behind him, he had a guess in his heart.

Is Naoki bringing this kid over because he wants to assign him to my squad? he thought, his gaze falling on the little boy.

Because they hadn't found a suitable candidate, the vacant spot in their squad hadn't been filled, and it had been a long time.

After all, it was wartime now, and a moment's carelessness could lead to death or the annihilation of the entire squad, so he had maintained an attitude of preferring no one to the wrong person, and hadn't rushed to fill the vacancy.

Today, perhaps, a new member would arrive to fill the vacant position in their squad.

Naoki didn't explain much, just gently handed over the document in his hand.

"What's with the mystery?" Ao muttered, taking the document and slowly opening it.

The two subordinates beside him also cast curious glances.

It was a pity that their height was limited, and Ao didn't intend to show them, so even though they stood on tiptoe, they couldn't see any words.

"Name, Qi Shuang..."

Ao read it word by word, but when he saw the description of the battle between Qi Shuang's squad and Uchiha Tai, his expression gradually became solemn.

He finally understood that it wasn't luck at all that a child around ten years old could survive against a Jonin of the Uchiha clan and even injure him!

It was the result of real strength and wisdom!

Seeing his expression change, Naoki said softly, "How is it? Are you satisfied with this new team member?"

Ao glanced at the little boy behind Naoki with a very complex expression, and didn't answer immediately.

The two subordinates behind him also had wonderful expressions on their faces after hearing Naoki's question.

The little girl immediately poked the little boy's arm and teased, "Zabuza, you two old classmates can have a good reunion now!"

"Do you have anything you want to say to him?"

"Hmph!"

Facing her teasing, the little boy snorted coldly, ignored her, and didn't dare to say anything more.

Because he knew very well that his companion wasn't as cute and fragile as she appeared on the surface; in private, she was exceptionally fierce.

Her strength was already close to Chunin level, completely suppressing him.

If anything displeased her, she would resort to violence, and even he, known as the "Demon," had been severely dealt with by her several times.

This was why he didn't dare to provoke her.

Speaking of which, this companion of his was a classmate from the same year, but they were not in the same examination room during the graduation exam.

If not for that, he even suspected whether he would have had a chance to survive if he had faced her during graduation that year.

Ignoring his two playful subordinates, after some thought, Ao said helplessly to Naoki, "Judging from the information, his combat awareness is very strong, much better than many newcomers who have just gone to the front lines. I really can't find any major flaws!"

"If there's anything I'm dissatisfied with, it's only the thing he did!"

"If it weren't for that, why would they transfer him to you?"

Naoki glanced meaningfully at the two subordinates behind him and said playfully, "You already have two problem children here, so one more won't hurt!"

Hearing this, Ao's mouth twitched, and he subconsciously looked back. He said helplessly, "Alright, I have no objections! Let him stay!"

"Then... I'll be taking my leave!"

Taking back the document in his hand, Naoki disappeared before the tent with a Body Flicker Technique.

Immediately, Ao's gaze fell back on the boy brought by Naoki, and he said solemnly, "Kid, from now on, you are officially assigned to our squad!"

"And I am Ao, your new captain!"

Hearing his self-introduction, Qi Shuang couldn't help but feel a jolt.

Earlier, when he heard the ninja who brought him call the other person "Ao," he had some doubts and thought he had misheard.

Now, hearing the other party introduce himself like this, with a single name, he finally confirmed that the young man before him was the future "Byakugan Killer" of Kirigakure—Ao.

However, at this moment, both of his eyes were intact, original parts of his body. It seemed that Kirigakure had not yet obtained that Byakugan from the Hyuga Main Family.

Then, Ao pointed to the boy and girl behind him in turn and continued, "These two are your new teammates!"

"This is the 'Demon Zabuza.' You were candidates in the same exam, so you should know each other; this is Mei Terumi. She should also have been a classmate graduating in the same year as you, but you graduated a year later!"

"Mei Terumi?"

Hearing Ao's introduction, Qi Shuang finally shifted his attention from Zabuza to the little girl beside him.

Because Zabuza had captured his attention first, and coupled with the fact that the original work never depicted Mei Terumi's childhood image, he hadn't paid much attention to the little girl, thinking she was just some insignificant ordinary person.

Now, hearing Ao say this, he realized that from the little girl's appearance, he could faintly see the graceful charm of the adult Mei Terumi.

For a moment, he found it hard to believe that this cute, harmless-looking little girl was the strong woman who ended the dark era of the "Blood Mist Village Incident," the future Fifth Mizukage of Kirigakure!

"What are you looking at? Haven't you seen a beautiful woman before?" Suddenly being stared at by a stranger, the little girl couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.

"I'm sorry, I just felt you looked very much like someone, so I was a bit lost in thought!" Interrupted from his thoughts, Qi Shuang gave her a sheepish smile.

"Xiao Lin..."

"Sorry, I go by a different name now. Please call me 'Qi Shuang'!"

Upon hearing Zabuza call out his former name, Qi Shuang immediately and solemnly informed him of his new one.

Hearing this, Zabuza looked at the leader with confusion.

Ao nodded, then pointed at Qi Shuang and introduced him to his two subordinates, "This is your new teammate, named 'Qi Shuang'. He is an Ice Release Kekkei Genkai user."

"I hope you can all get along well and perfectly complete every mission assigned by our superiors!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the little girl eagerly pressed close to Qi Shuang, her emerald eyes blinking. With an innocent smile, she asked, "Hey! Back then, when you and Zabuza took the graduation exam together, did you really accidentally injure yourself and withdraw from the exam?"

"Ah? Um, um!"

Suddenly asked about this, Qi Shuang was caught off guard. He then "dryly chuckled" and nodded. In the eyes of the others, he appeared quite comical.

Zabuza and Mei Terumi didn't suspect anything, but Ao, standing nearby, fell into thought.

"Putting everything else aside, just looking at the combat data between this kid and that Uchiha Jonin, he's definitely not the type of person to be so careless!"

"Therefore, the matter of this kid accidentally injuring himself and temporarily withdrawing during his first graduation exam probably has another story behind it!"

Thinking this, Ao couldn't help but glance at the "nervous" young boy again.